Nation & world

Wheat surged to an 11-year high in Chicago Monday as the government lowered its U.S. winter-wheat estimate after rains delayed harvesting and fostered crop diseases.

U.S. farmers will produce 1.609 billion bushels of winter wheat, less than last month's forecast of 1.616 billion and more than last year's drought-damaged harvest of 1.298 billion, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Global stockpiles will fall to a 26-year low, the USDA added, indicating higher food prices ahead.

Wheat futures for July delivery rose 28.5 cents, or 5.4%, to $5.56 a bushel in Chicago. Earlier, they rose 30 cents, the most allowed by the exchange, to $5.575, the highest price since May 1996.

FINANCE: CEO made $400 million

Private-equity powerhouse Blackstone Group LP said Monday that Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman made $400 million in 2006 -- almost double the combined compensation for the CEOs of Wall Street's five biggest investment banks.

Schwarzman, 60, will lead the New York-based firm to the highly anticipated initial public offering of its management company within the next few weeks. He could cash in as much as $677.2 million of his stake during the IPO, and still walk away with a 24% interest in the company valued at as much as $7.7 billion.

MEDIA: ABC, USA Today agree

ABC News and USA Today, the biggest U.S. newspaper by circulation, agreed to share written reports and video focused on the 2008 elections.

USA Today will contribute political coverage that ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., can use on its Web site, while ABC will offer Gannett Co.'s USA Today video that can be posted on its Internet site, the companies said Monday. They also will collaborate on some political stories.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Qwest CEO to step down

Richard Notebaert, who took over as head of Qwest Communications as the telecommunications company coped with an accounting scandal, said Monday he will retire as chairman and chief executive officer.

Notebaert, 59, a former chairman of Ameritech, said he would leave after the board had chosen a replacement. Qwest Communications International Inc. said no timetable had been set for that process.

Denver-based Qwest is the primary telephone service provider in 14 Midwestern and Western states and operates a fiber-optic network for broadband services.

TECHNOLOGY: More researched urged

The U.S. government should quadruple investments in biotechnology, health care and nanotechnology to improve productivity and reduce health care costs, academic researchers said.

If federal investment had remained at 1964 levels, the United States would be spending about $500 billion a year on research, $140 billion more than the current amount, according to a report released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The recommended spending would total $1.6 trillion a year.
Source : http://www.freep.com