Business

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Inflation unexpectedly slowed in September despite a pick-up in retail sales, keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve to act soon to lessen the risk of a downward price spiral. Full Story »

BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's Sinochem Corp has abandoned efforts to make a rival offer for Potash Corp as part of plans to spoil BHP Billiton Plc's $39 billion bid for the Canadian fertilizer maker, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets mainly rose on Thursday, after overnight gains in New York and earlier in Asia, but London slid after recent gains that were rooted in hopes of more US monetary easing. Full Story »

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A top economic adviser to President Barack Obama said on Friday protectionism is a rising threat to the global economy that destroys value. Full Story »

SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. is still spending money like the recession is a distant memory, but investors can't complain too much as long as the Internet search leader keeps expanding its advertising empire like it did in the summer. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Google

LONDON - America's ambassador to Britain said Thursday there is no evidence that violent dissident groups in Northern Ireland are getting money from U.S. sources. Full Story »

CLEVELAND - Federal authorities say three Cleveland-area people conspired to scam mortgage lenders out of about $7 million that was then used to buy items such as a luxury car and a plasma TV. Full Story »

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Recriminations over currencies reverberated worldwide on Friday ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke, whose loose policies are blamed by China and others for destabilizing capital flows. Full Story »

• Video: Bernanke's College Tour CNBC

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retail sales jumped 0.6 percent in September, topping expectations in the third monthly gain in a row, government data showed Friday. Full Story »

The U.S. and other Western democracies have grown wealthy over the past three centuries for a simple reason: Their citizens have been able to establish clear title to land, buildings, and other property. So argues Hernando de Soto, the Peruvian economist, in his influential 2000 book The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. While people in developed nations can borrow against their property and use the money to start businesses and accumulate wealth, he wrote, squatters in countries like Peru have no such option. Property rights beget prosperity. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Crude oil prices fell on Friday, one day after the OPEC oil cartel froze its production levels, as traders awaited a crucial speech from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Oil Industry

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn calls his Republican challenger "heartless" for his budget tax cuts, while Bill Brady accuses the incumbent of cutting a shady deal with a key union to help his campaign. Full Story »

DETROIT - General Motors is recalling more than 300,000 Chevrolet Impala sedans because the seat belts may fail to restrain people in the front seats during a crash. Full Story »