c.2013 New York Times News Service

BEIJING SIGNALS A SHIFT ON ECONOMIC POLICY

The Chinese government is planning for private businesses and market forces to play a larger role in its economy, in a major policy shift intended to improve living conditions for the middle class and to make China an even stronger competitor on the global stage. In a speech to party cadres containing some of the boldest pro-market rhetoric they have heard in more than a decade, the country’s prime minister, Li Keqiang, said this month that the central government would reduce the state’s role in economic matters in the hope of unleashing the nation’s creative energies.

NEWS CORP. BOARD APPROVES SPLIT OF COMPANY

The board at News Corp. approved a proposed split into two companies Friday and authorized a $500 million stock buyback for investors in the soon-to-be-formed publishing business. It announced appointments to the board for both companies. The company is expected to complete its separation June 28, with assets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and HarperCollins, and a handful of Australian pay television units, forming a company that will retain the name News Corp. Fox Broadcasting, Fox News, FX and the Hollywood film and television studio will form an entertainment company to be called 21st Century Fox.

OPERATOR TO CEASE ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM

The only U.S.-owned plant for enriching uranium, a Cold War relic near Paducah, Ky., will be shut down next month, its operator said Friday. The closing could pose a problem for the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal over time but is not likely to affect civilian electric plants. The plant, opened in 1954 by the Atomic Energy Commission, was becoming uncompetitive in the market for uranium enrichment. The federal government was subsidizing the plant for the past year under a barter deal in which it provided uranium to some of the operator’s customers so they would continue to use the plant.

TAKEOVER IS EXPECTED FOR EYE-CARE COMPANY

A flurry of mergers in the health care sector appears poised to continue, as Bausch & Lomb is said to be ready to sell itself to Valeant Pharmaceuticals of Canada for about $9 billion. A deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday, people briefed on the matter said, although they said that talks could still collapse. Bausch & Lomb, which makes contact lens solutions and other eye-care products, has been exploring a sale or a public stock offering for months. If completed, a sale may signal that the mergers industry is set to revive.

FOX OVERSEER OF ‘IDOL’ AND ITS KIN WILL DEPART

Not only is “American Idol” expected to lose all four of its judges, it is also bidding adieu to Mike Darnell, the Fox executive who judged correctly at the very beginning that the show would be a hit. Darnell said Friday that he was leaving the network at the end of the month. He and his superiors at Fox said he had been offered a new contract but decided to leave. There was immediate speculation that he was a casualty of the tough television season at Fox, particularly with “American Idol.” .

FTC SAID TO HAVE BEGUN NEW INQUIRY ON GOOGLE

Google’s rivals have again prompted antitrust investigators at the Federal Trade Commission to examine the company’s business practices, and staff members have begun a preliminary look at whether Google abuses its market dominance in online display advertising, like the banner ads on Web pages. People who have been contacted in connection with the inquiry said that the FTC had begun asking questions about Google’s practices, specifically whether the company was bundling advertising services together in a way that prohibited rivals from competing for the business of advertisers. The FTC said in December 2007 that it would monitor Google’s practices.

CHIEF OF AUSTRIAN BANK OFFERS TO RESIGN

Raiffeisen Bank International, one of Austria’s largest lenders, said Friday that Herbert Stepic had offered his resignation as chief executive after his personal investments in Asian real estate came under increasing scrutiny. Stepic, one of the longest-serving banking executives in Austria, said in a statement that he had offered to resign because inquiries into his investments and recent news reports about them threatened to damage Raiffeisen’s reputation. The bank said its board would consider his proposal promptly. Stepic, who has been with Raiffeisen since the 1970s, will remain chief executive until the board makes a decision.

A CORPORATE GIANT’S MISSING SUPPORT FOR GAY RIGHTS

For millions of gay and lesbian employees, much has changed since 1999, when Exxon Mobil shareholders were first asked to protect gay and lesbian employees from discrimination. One thing hasn’t: Exxon Mobil’s implacable opposition to adding sexual orientation to its official equal employment opportunity statement. The issue will be on the agenda at Exxon Mobil’s annual shareholder meeting next week for the 14th consecutive year. Last year the company went so far as to ask the Securities and Exchange Commission for a ruling that it needn’t keep including the proposal on its ballot, but was rejected.