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Reuters writes that British tobacco company Gallaher has been approached about a buy-out, probably by Japan Tobacco.

Reuters also writes that drug coated stents face a safety review in the US. The large suppliers of the products at Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson.

Reuters writes that the CEO of Research In Motion sees sales of its products doubling in Asia over the next year.

Reuters also reports that Microsoft’s Zune player sales should hit one million by mid-2007.

The Wall Street Journal reports that News Coporation is close to buying the stake that Liberty Media has in the company. News Corp would give Liberty it ownership stake in DirecTV and other assets.

The WSJ writes that Ford is adding $5 billion to the $18 billion in debt it is raising

The WSJ also reports that it found routine options backdating from 1981 to 2000, and that it would have to restate financials.

The New York Times reports that royalties owed to the US government by oil companies often go unpaid.

The New York Times reports that technical advances and airline needs have put the 36-year-old Boeing 747 back in demand.

The FT reports that Google will provide video programming to British broadcaster BSkyB and will use its Adsense program to help target BSkyB customers.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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