J. C. Penney, Kohl’s and Nordstrom reported first-quarter profits that surpassed estimates and they increased their full-year earnings forecasts. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

The CW network plans shorter ads and ads blended into shows to hold the attention of viewers through commercial breaks. Read more..

By STUART ELLIOTT - The New York Times

Texas lawmakers are on the verge of rejecting a requirement that state and local governments disclose the cost of the health care they have promised to retired employees. Read more..

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH - The New York Times

An investment advisory firm is calling the removal of Roger L. Headrick, amid concern that his re-election to the board was aided by “phantom votes.” Read more..

By DOW JONES NEWSWIRES - The New York Times

Ben S. Bernanke said problems in the subprime market were unlikely to have a major effect on the economy. Read more..

By JEREMY W. PETERS - The New York Times

A Syrian-born financier who helped broker an arms contract between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia said he was not a target of a money-laundering investigation. Read more..

By NICOLA CLARK - The New York Times

General Motors said its North American marketing and advertising chief, Mike Jackson, would leave the company June 15. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

The sales gap between the Nintendo Wii and Sony’s competing PlayStation 3 widened during April. Read more..

By MATT RICHTEL - The New York Times

Mexico’s economy grew in the first quarter at its slowest rate in more than a year as construction fell and automobile output declined on slumping demand in the United States. Gross domestic product grew 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the govern... Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

For the lawyers who worked under Eliot Spitzer in the New York attorney general’s office, the options have ranged from law firm partnerships to state agency heads. Read more..

By ELLEN ROSEN - The New York Times