Reuters - Output from U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.7 percent as expected in February as utility output jumped with colder weather, the Federal Reserve said on Friday.

Denise Royal - AHN Staff Writer Washington (AHN) - Seven sport utility vehicles have earned the highest ratings in government crash tests. The 2006 models of the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Tucson, Mercedes Benz M-L-class, Nissan Murano and Subaru B-nine Tribeca all received five stars...

AFP - The Italian electricity group Enel is testing the conditions of a takeover bid for French energy utility Suez, a source close to the matter told AFP, a move that could incite others to compete with long-protected national monopolies.

AP - State-controlled utility Gaz de France SA, which has announced plans to acquire French utility Suez SA, said Thursday its profit jumped 29 percent in 2005, partly on rising natural gas prices and growing sales volume.

AFP - French state-controlled gas utility GDF, involved in a controversial plan to absorb Suez, reported that it had increased net profit last year by 29.0 percent.

AP - The Dominican Republic is looking to Washington for help recovering at least $80 million in damages from a U.S. utility it accuses of dumping thousands of tons of coal ash on the country's beaches, sickening residents and harming the tourism industry.

Reuters - U.S. utility Pepco Holdings Inc. said on Monday that fourth-quarter earnings rose sharply as a result of lower interest expense and higher retail sales at its energy services.

AP - E.On AG, Germany's biggest utility, on Thursday posted a 71 percent jump in full-year profit on one-time gains and said it was determined to win a takeover battle for Spain's Endesa SA.

AP - E.On AG, Germany's biggest utility, on Thursday posted a 71 percent jump in full-year profit on one-time gains and said it was determined to win a takeover battle for Spain's Endesa SA.

Reuters - Italy's Enel is ready to launch a multi-billion-euro takeover bid for Suez if the French utility does not agree to sell Belgian unit Electrabel, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Reuters - French utility group Suez set a 25 percent dividend hike on Thursday, boosting the payout to investors ahead of a planned merger with Gaz de France .

Reuters - Italian power company Enel plans to go ahead with a nearly 40 billion euro ($48 billion) bid for French utility Suez , the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people close to Enel.

Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter Chapel Hill, NC (AHN) - Six people are injured when a sport utility vehicle drives through students at a busy section of the University of North Carolina's campus. None of the five students and a visiting scholar being treated at local hospitals...

AP - For the first time in nine years, all of the top picks in Consumer Reports' annual vehicle guide are made by Japanese automakers. The Honda Civic is the magazine's top small sedan, while the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is the top mid-sized sport utility vehicle, according to results released Wednesday.

AFP - The French government stepped up its defence of a proposed merger between Gaz de France and Suez, saying the deal was the result of consolidation forces in the European energy sector amid growing fears about fossil fuel supplies.

AFP - France ignited furious debate over EU competition policy with a plan for state-controlled Gaz de France to acquire French energy group Suez, a move that would thwart a bid for Suez by Enel of Italy.

Denise Royal - All Headline News Staff Writer London, England (AHN) - National Grid PLC agrees to buy U.S. utility KeySpan for $11.8 billion in cash and debt, making the British group the third biggest gas and electricity supplier in America, by customer numbers. The company will pay $7.3...

AP - British utility National Grid PLC said Monday it has agreed to a $7.3 billion takeover of New York electric and gas utility KeySpan Corp.

Reuters - Gaz de France and Suez outlined a deal to create Europe's second largest energy utility on Monday in a government-brokered move seen as a lightning French response to designs on Suez by Italy's Enel.

AFP - French utility giant Suez and state-owned Gaz de France (GDF) have hammered out the details of a merger, to fend off a potential takeover bid from an Italian group, with the French state holding a key stake in the new company, sources said.