LONDON  — BP says it has so far spent $8 billion responding to the disastrous oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said Friday that the total included $399 million paid to settle 127,000 claims from businesses and other affected by the oil spill.

The oil company said...

TOKYO  — Most Asian stock markets climbed Friday as investors took heart from a slight improvement in U.S. economic indicators amid lingering worries over the pace of the global economic recovery. But gains were modest across the region as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of...

WASHINGTON  — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis that regulators must be ready to shutter the largest institutions if they threaten to bring down the financial system. "If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem...

MIAMI  — Burger King Holdings Inc. is selling itself to private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion. Thursday's $24-per-share offer comes after a day of speculation about the deal sent shares up more than 15 percent. The stock continued to make big gains Thursday before...

BERLIN  — The European Central Bank raised its growth projections for the 16-nation eurozone on Thursday, but stressed that the outlook remains uncertain and said its effort to keep banks supplied with credit would stay in place for the rest of the year. The ECB left its benchmark refinancing...

MUMBAI  — India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications — not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion — to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data. That would likely affect digital giants...

BERLIN  — The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1 percent for the 16th consecutive month on Thursday as a still-uncertain global outlook clouds optimism about the eurozone's recovery. The ECB's decision to leave its benchmark refinancing rate at the record low...

BERLIN  — An industry group says German car exports showed another annual increase in August as the global economy fuels sales. The VDA group said Thursday that German automakers exported 252,200 cars last month — a 12 percent increase compared with August 2009. That was a healthier rise than...

LONDON  — Part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland is cutting another 3,500 jobs as part of its plan to halve the bank's administration centers across Britain. RBS said Thursday that cuts will begin next year and run through to the end of 2012 — affecting positions across back office and IT...

ROME (AP) — Ferrari says it is recalling 1,248 of its 458 Italia supercars after reports of fires breaking out in five of the luxury vehicles in several countries. The Italian carmaker said Thursday it wants to replace an adhesive that in some circumstances can melt due to overheating and possibly...