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AP – An Australian executive and three other employees of mining giant Rio Tinto went on trial Monday on charges of stealing secrets and offering bribes in a case viewed as a barometer of China’s handling of foreign business.

Reuters – The U.S. pay czar will slash the number of top General Motors Co executives who will receive base salaries of more than $500,000 this year.

AP – Australia expressed disappointment Thursday that charges of stealing business secrets against one of its citizens would be tried in a closed court in China, and some lawmakers doubted the mining executive involved would get a fair hearing.

AP – Kraft Foods Inc. said Wednesday that it will cut the salt in its products that are sold in North America by an average of 10 percent over the next two years to appeal to health-conscious consumers.

The opium trade in Afghanistan is a key source of income for the Taliban. The group uses the money to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks. But a team of Afghan police commandos is working around the clock to cut off this dangerous funding source.

AP – A former executive of KB Home testified Tuesday against former chairman and Chief Executive Bruce E. Karatz, who is accused of bilking shareholders out of millions of dollars by backdating stock options.

AP – Job cuts at United Technologies Corp. are adding to the political debate over taxes and other costs of doing business in Connecticut.

Reuters – U.S. tax authorities are expected to “very shortly” launch another prosecution against a foreign bank similar to the tax evasion case they pressed against Switzerland’s UBS AG, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent said on Monday.

Reuters – Bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp on Friday posted a 62 percent drop in quarterly revenue, as customers cut spending in the face of uncertainty about its bankruptcy proceedings and the shaky economy.

AP – An Associated Press calculation finds that steel maker Nucor Corp. paid its CEO fell 43 percent last year as it eliminated cash bonuses for executives to help it weather the recession.