Settlement includes a deal for 5 big banks

Bank of America, Wells Fargo and three other banks that settled a nationwide probe of foreclosure practices this month will get a bonus from the deal: protection for $308 billion of home-equity loans they hold. The banks that service about half the nation's mortgages on behalf of investors will be able to share losses on their junior loans with bondholders and get credit toward the cash they pledged to spend in the settlement, said an Obama administration official involved in drafting the $25 billion agreement. Second liens would typically be wiped out before senior-mortgage investors take a loss, said Laurie Goodman, managing director at Amherst Securities Group in New York.

Berkshire gets $1B from BNSF as cargo gains

Berkshire Hathaway took a $1 billion distribution from Burlington Northern Santa Fe in the first quarter, matching the highest quarterly payout since billionaire Warren Buffett acquired the railroad in 2010. The distribution was declared and paid this month, Burlington Northern said in a filing Monday.

Monsanto lawsuit dismissed by federal judge

A federal class-action lawsuit brought last year by a consortium of farmers against the agricultural and chemical company Monsanto was dismissed in New York by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of Federal District Court. The plaintiffs, none of whom use Monsanto's products, are seeking to have the company's agricultural patents invalidated. In Monday's ruling, the judge said the farmers' consortium, the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, had no standing to bring such a suit, had not been harmed, and had engaged in "a transparent effort to create a controversy where none exists."

Fashion house YSL's creative director leaving

Stefano Pilati is stepping down as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, the French label said. Pilati has been at the top of YSL, a unit of the luxury giant PPR, since 2004. The company said a new creative director will be announced in "coming weeks." Hedi Slimane, a former designer for YSL, said Dior Homme, who is working as a photographer, is thought by industry insiders to be the favored candidate to replace Pilati.

China urged to give freer rein to its economy

A new study by the World Bank and a Chinese government research organization warns that the country's economic growth is likely to diminish over the next few decades unless China alters its development model and rethinks the role of government in managing the economy. The report, called "China 2030" and produced by the bank and the Development Research Center calls on Beijing to complete the transition to a market economy, scale back the power of state-owned companies, encourage private enterprise and confront rising inequality and environmental degradation.

VW nearing deal to buy the rest of Porsche

Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, is closing in on a deal to buy the remaining 50.1 percent stake in Porsche's automotive business that it does not already own, people familiar with the matter said. Approval from German tax authorities is one hurdle to an agreement, which VW and Porsche are still negotiating, the sources said, declining to be identified. VW may announce the plan within the next two weeks, the sources said.

FROM NEWS SERVICES