Global business

Hewlett-Packard launched its biggest acquisition since its 2002 takeover of Compaq by agreeing to buy Electronic Data Systems. The deal is valued at $13.9 billion. HP hopes its new purchase will enable it to compete better with IBM in a broad range of computer services. Investors are not so sure. HP's share price fell by 10 percent on news of the deal.

General Electric is thinking of selling its appliances division, which supplied homes with refrigerators, air conditioners and the like for decades. The conglomerate is under pressure to improve returns to shareholders and the division has become a relatively small part of its business.

Among May's list of casualties in the subprime-loans crisis, MBIA, the world's largest bond insurer, reported a $2.4 billion quarterly loss and took write-downs of $3.6 billion; Crédit Agricole, a French bank, launched a $9.1 billion rights issue to offset mounting losses at Calyon, its investment-banking unit, and Freddie Mac, a government-backed housing-finance company, posted its third consecutive quarterly loss and unveiled a plan to raise $5.5 billion in new capital.

The decision by Yahoo to reject Microsoft's takeover offer led to grumbles from shareholders. But they took heart at the news that Carl Icahn, a veteran activist investor, has bought a stake in Yahoo and will press the company to return to the negotiating table.

With the price of oil hurtling toward $130 a barrel, the cost of gasoline crept ever higher just before the start of the summer driving season, which begins on Memorial Day. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency again cut its forecast for growth in demand for oil this year, causing analysts to ponder whether rising oil prices would cause global energy consumption to fall.

Canada's biggest energy company decided to split into two separately traded enterprises to take advantage of high oil prices. EnCana is separating its oil sands and refinery operations, which account for a third of its current assets, from its natural-gas business.

Nissan forecast that its profit for the 12 months ending March 31, 2009, will fall by around 30 percent because of higher material costs, a stronger yen and the slowdown in America. Other Asian carmakers have produced similar gloomy outlooks.

China established a state corporation to build commercial jets. With an expanding domestic market, the government wants to lessen its reliance on Airbus and Boeing. But observers remain skeptical that China can compete globally.

Another senior policeman was shot dead by gunmen associated with drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico, bringing the number of high-ranking officers that have been assassinated recently to four. More troops were deployed to fight drug-related violence, which has resulted in more than 1,000 deaths this year.

A computer hacker published on the Internet confidential records belonging to 6 million Chileans, including their ID-card numbers, academic records and telephone numbers. He said his aim was to demonstrate Chile's poor level of data protection.