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NATO blasted Tripoli with a series of air strikes early Thursday, sending shuddering booms through the city.

Ambulances, sirens blaring, could be heard racing through the Libyan capital after the rattling blasts. A NATO statement said the attacks hit military vehicle and ammunition depots, a surface-to-air missile launcher and a fire control radar.

Libyan government officials refused repeated requests for information.

The air strikes rained down just hours after NATO and its partners said it would extend the Libyan mission for 90 more days in support of a rebel insurgency. The opposition that is trying to oust Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. The rebels have taken control of much of eastern Libya,

“This decision sends a clear message to the Gadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya,” said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Extending the mission also reflects resiliency of the Gadhafi regime that is hanging on to power despite the NATO strikes that have targeted military sites and the ruling family since mid-March, a naval blockade and top defections from his government and military.

They included the Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem, who said in Rome on Wednesday that he now supports the rebel insurgency who have set up a de-facto capital in Benghazi.

“In this situation you can no longer work, so I have left my country and my work to unite myself with the choice of young Libyans to fight for a democratic country,” the ANSA news agency quoted Ghanem as saying.

Ghanem said he left the regime two weeks ago and arrived in Rome on Tuesday. The Italian Foreign Ministry refused to comment. Up to now Libya has insisted that Ghanem was on a business trip.

Ghanem said Libya’s oil infrastructure had been badly hurt by the war.

Up to now, oil and gas has accounted for 95 percent of Libya’s export income, 25 percent of its gross domestic product and 80 percent of government revenue, according to U.S. government statistics.

The defection followed the departure of eight top Libyan army officers, including five generals, who were presented to reporters in Rome earlier this week by the Italian foreign ministry days after they fled Libya.

Another 13 servicemen loyal to Gadhafi, including a colonel and four commanders, have fled to neighboring Tunisia, the official Tunisian news agency reported. It was the second group of military men to defect to Tunisia this week.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is visiting Rome, said again Thursday that the Kremlin stood ready to do whatever it can to solve the crisis in Libya through negotiations rather than military action.

Russia has been critical of the NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya, and during a G-8 summit last week,

Meeting Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Rome, Medvedev said Russia will send an envoy to Tripoli and Benghazi as part of the country’s efforts to mediate a solution, an Italian diplomatic official said, adding that the three leaders agreed that Gadhafi must relinquish power. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity under customary Italian government policy.

Also Wednesday, a car exploded next to a hotel where foreign diplomats stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital.

Jalal al-Gallal, a rebel spokesman, said the blast caused no injuries or deaths. The burning car sent plumes of black smoke into the air.

“It’s a cowardly act,” he said, adding that rebels assume it was carried out by Gadhafi loyalists.

The car explosion was the first attack of its kind in Benghazi since NATO started its bombing campaign in mid-March and helped drive government troops away from the city. Despite months of fierce conflict between rebel forces and Gadhafi’s military, Benghazi has been calm.

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By now most Canadian investors who are familiar with the seasonal strategy

PNC Bank has asked a federal judge to appoint a receiver for the Suson Pines Apartments in south St. Louis County. The apartments are owned by Gannon International.

PNC Bank alleges that Creve Coeur-based Gannon is in default on a loan that is secured by the 336-unit apartment complex at 5265 Suson Hills Drive.

In a court filing Monday, PNC Bank amended a lawsuit the bank filed against Gannon last month and claims that an affiliate of Gannon is in default on a promissory note signed in 2005 and owes $13.2 million in principal and interest. PNC asked a judge to appoint a receiver to take over management of Suson Pines Apartments.

PNC filed the original lawsuit on April 18 against several affiliates of Gannon International and its chief executive, William Franke.

In late April, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Mummert III signed an order appointing a receiver, Brentwood-based MLP Investments, to take over management of two Gannon-owned properties: Springwood Apartments in Bel-Ridge and the Aspen Cove Townhomes in Ellisville no checking account payday advance. PNC alleges in its lawsuit that Gannon is in default on a $5.7 million loan secured by Springwood and $272,438 for Aspen Cove.

Terry Pabst, an attorney representing Gannon, said his client has not yet decided how it will respond to PNC’s allegations of default on the loan secured by Suson Pines Apartments.

Suson Pines is located on 36 acres in unincorporated St. Louis County and has an occupancy rate of about 92 percent, said Bill Schierholz, president of Gannon’s real estate group.

“If there would be a receiver, the (rent) payments would go to another party,” Schierholz said. “It would have no impact on tenants.”

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McDonald’s Corp. CEO Jim Skinner came out swinging Thursday when asked about Ronald McDonald and whether the burger chain hooks children with junk food.

Skinner, speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting at McDonald’s headquarters outside Chicago, said that newspapers ads Wednesday calling for Ronald’s retirement had prompted an outpouring of support to his office, with parents and customers asking Skinner “to defend their right to choose.”

A group called Corporate Accountability International paid for the ads, which said Ronald is encouraging unhealthy eating habits and contributing to childhood obesity and related diseases such as diabetes.

At the meeting, shareholders defeated a proposal the group had helped craft asking McDonald’s to issue a report on its responses to childhood obesity. The proposal received 6 percent support, according to preliminary results released by the company.

Nick Guroff, a spokesman for Corporate Accountability International, called it “an extreme success for a first introduction” and said the results will force McDonald’s executives “to take these concerns _ as much as they diminished them at their shareholder meeting and otherwise _ very seriously.”

When Deborah Lapidus, an organizer with the activist group, said McDonald’s is interfering with political efforts to curb marketing unhealthy food to children, Skinner replied that “this is about choice.”

“We believe in the democratic process and our government officials believe in the democratic process,” he said to applause from the audience of McDonald’s shareholders. “This is about choice, this is about personal, individual right to choose in the society we live in. That’s where we play, that’s where you play, and we have every right to do so.”

Skinner also got applause when he called Ronald, the burger chain’s smiling spokesclown, “an ambassador for good” and noted that he is the face of Ronald McDonald House Charities.

“He does not advertise unhealthy food to children,” Skinner said. “We provide many choices that fit with the balanced, active lifestyle. It is up to them to choose and their parents to choose, and it is their responsibility to do so.”

When another shareholder said he was disappointed that Ronald wasn’t at the meeting, Skinner replied: “Ronald hasn’t been here because he’s out in the field busy doing work and fighting through the protestors.”

McDonald’s has fared well throughout the recession, and Skinner started his presentation by saying that the company has turned in eight straight years of growth in stores open at least 13 months, an important measure for a restaurant chain. He also said that store remodelings and an expanded menu, including smoothies and oatmeal, will broaden the restaurant’s appeal.

“It’s oatmeal, people,” he added, an apparent jab at a shareholder who said the oatmeal contains as much sugar as a Snickers bar.

Shareholders re-elected all five directors on the ballot, including Skinner, with each getting at least 97 percent of the vote, the company said.

Shareholders also passed a proposal, with 77 percent approval, asking the company to require that all directors be re-elected annually. The Florida State Board of Administration, which submitted the proposal, said the change would help keep directors accountable. McDonald’s had opposed the change, saying its strong financial performance should be evidence of a proper board structure.

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A renewed rise in layoffs is the latest sign that higher fuel prices may be slowing the economy.

A 23 percent spike in applications for unemployment benefits over the past month suggests that hiring may look weaker when the government issues the April jobs report Friday.

Most analysts agree the economy has strengthened enough to keep growing this year. But gas prices have risen for 44 straight days. Consumers are spending more to fill the tanks, leaving them with less to spend elsewhere. As a result, many companies are feeling less certain about the economy’s health and could delay hiring plans.

“We have found that higher gas prices can lead to a slowdown in the pace of hiring,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan Chase.

Applications rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, an eight-month high. A Labor Department spokesman said the spike was largely the result of unusual factors, including a high number of school systems in New York that closed for spring break.

Still, the level of applications is nearly 100,000 higher from February’s three-year low of 375,000 _ a figure typically consistent with sustainable job growth.

The third rise in four weeks also contributed to a sell-off on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 139 points to close down at 12,584 for the day, although the decline was also influenced by a drop in oil prices.

“The trend is clearly upward, so that’s disconcerting,” said Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist for Swiss Re. “When you get three or four weeks in a row of special factors, they’re no longer so special.”

Most economists are sticking with their prediction for Friday’s employment report. The consensus view is the economy added 185,000 jobs in April and that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.8 percent. But the weaker data on layoffs and other recent reports have stirred concerns that the gains could shrink in the coming months.

A private trade group said the U.S. service sector, which employs 90 percent of the work force, grew last month at the slowest pace since August. And the National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday that nearly twice as many firms cut jobs in April as added workers fast cash advance. The number of firms planning to create jobs over the next three months was also weak.

“Apparently, customers aren’t showing up,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the NFIB.

Gas prices are weighing on consumers. The national average was $3.99 a gallon on Thursday, according to the AAA. That is 30 cents higher than a month earlier. The sustained surge is siphoning money away from other purchases.

Silver, the JPMorgan analyst, said higher gas prices are one reason why he expects the economy added only 165,000 new jobs in April. That would be down from gains of 216,000 in March and 194,000 for February. Temporary shutdowns in the auto industry are another, Silver said.

The earthquake in Japan created a parts shortage that is affecting automakers. Honda Motor Corp. has reduced production at 10 of its U.S. and Canadian plants. Toyota has cut its U.S. production by two-thirds. Both have said they aren’t laying off workers.

Most analysts agree the economy has strengthened enough in recent months to keep growing. Auto sales have risen at a healthy clip this year. And retailers said Thursday that sales surged in April, though some that cater to low-income shoppers warned that their customers are struggling with higher gas prices.

U.S. companies squeezed more work out of their staffs in the first three months of the year, according to a separate Labor report. But the overall gain in productivity was much slower than in the previous three months.

A slowdown in productivity growth is bad for the economy if it persists for a long period. But it can be good in the short term when unemployment is high because it signals companies must hire more workers in order to make further gains.

“We still think that hiring will pick up this year as companies can’t continue to milk the productivity cow as fast as in recent years,” said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.

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Merck & Co. Inc. said Wednesday its board of directors approved the buyback of up to $5 billion in common stock for the drug developer’s treasury.

The company, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., said the program has no expiration. Overall, the company is now authorized to buy back up to $6.4 billion in common stock.

Merck has about 3.08 billion shares of common stock outstanding.

The move comes ahead of the company’s scheduled release of its first-quarter financial results on Friday.

“Merck has a history of leadership in returning cash to shareholders,” President and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier said in a statement. “Together with our strong dividend, today’s action reflects our confidence in Merck’s strategy and demonstrates our commitment to delivering shareholder value no fax payday loans.”

On Monday, the company’s development pipeline got a boost when the Food and Drug Administration posted a review of the potential hepatitis C drug boceprevir. The review said the drug appears to cure more patients in less time than established drugs that have been used for 20 years. But the agency has questions about how the drug should be combined with older medicines for the maximum effect.

The agency is holding a public meeting Wednesday to consider whether to approve the drug candidate.

Shares of Merck closed at $35.06 Tuesday. The stock has traded between $30.70 and $37.68 over the past year.

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A human rights group says that forces loyal to Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president have killed hundreds of civilians, raped his rival’s supporters and burned villages in the country’s west.

Human Rights Watch, in a report obtained by The Associated Press late Saturday, calls on Alassane Ouattara to investigate and prosecute abuses by his forces and those supporting rival Laurent Gbagbo.

The group also says forces loyal to Gbagbo killed more than 100 civilians to retaliate against pro-Ouattara fighters who launched a major offensive advancing toward Abidjan.

Violence since elections in November has left hundreds dead and has forced up to 1 million people to flee.

The U.N. this week said it was concerned about violence in the west after more than 100 bodies were found, with some victims burned alive.

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Toyota Motor Corp. says it will temporarily suspend production at its North American plants for several days this month as a result of parts shortages caused by the earthquake that hit Japan.

The automaker Friday announced a series of one-day shutdowns, starting April 15 and ending April 25.

The shutdowns will affect about 25,000 workers, but there will be no layoffs. Toyota says workers will focus on training and reviewing plant operations when production is halted.

Shutdowns will total five days, except at the plant in Georgetown, Ky best payday advance., where production will halt four days. That plant makes the Camry.

Toyota says most of its North American engine and component plants will follow the same schedule.

Toyota executive vice president Steve St. Angelo says production is slowing to conserve parts.

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Buckingham Asset Management, a Clayton investment advisory firm, said it has acquired RNM Financial Management, Inc., based in Soldotna, Alaska. Terms were not disclosed.

Buckingham manages about $14 billion in client assets.

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The Irish government may be forced to take controlling stakes in Bank of Ireland Plc and Irish Life & Permanent Plc, the last of the country’s biggest lenders to escape state control, following tomorrow’s stress tests.

“They’ve clearly got most to lose,” said Oliver Gilvarry, head of research at Dublin-based Dolmen Securities, who has “sell” rating on both banks. “It’s difficult to see how either will end up less than 50 percent owned by taxpayers.”

The Irish Central Bank will at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow publish its third round of stress tests. The results will determine if the two can avoid joining four of the country’s biggest banks in majority state ownership after they all logged record losses as the country’s decade-long real estate bubble burst.

Ireland may require banks to raise an additional 27.5 billion euros ($39 billion) of capital, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The government has pledged to provide that money if banks fail to raise it themselves from a 35 billion-euro fund set up under the country’s international bailout in November. Shares of the two lenders have declined by more than 50 percent since that rescue.

Spokesmen at Bank of Ireland and Irish Life declined to comment. Officials at the central bank and Finance Ministry in Dublin also declined to comment.

The government has already taken control of Anglo Irish Bank Corp., Allied Irish Banks Plc (ALBK), EBS Building Society and Irish Nationwide Building Society after injecting 46.3 billion euros into the industry over two years.

“It’s struck me for some time that the bank would find it very difficult avoiding this,” he said. “Still, government control is not necessarily a bad thing as it aligns the interests of government with that of investors in looking to generate a profit cash advances pay day loan.”

Even before the latest stress tests, the regulator ordered Bank of Ireland, already 36 percent state-owned, to raise about 1.4 billion euros, more than its market value of 1.3 billion euros today.

Irish Life, the only government-guaranteed lender to avoid a bailout so far, was ordered to raise 243 million euros in November. That’s now equivalent to twice its market value today.

The Dublin-based company may require more than 1 billion euros to allow its banking unit to operate without support from the company’s life and pension operations, Eamonn Hughes, an analyst with Dublin-based securities firm Goodbody Stockbrokers, said in a note to clients yesterday. The stress tests “may drive this base figure higher again,” he said.

‘Fight Hard’

Both Bank of Ireland and Irish Life, the country’s largest life assurance and pensions company, will “fight hard” to avoid falling under government control, said James Forbes, director of investment solutions at Dublin-based securities firm Bloxham, which manages about 1 billion euros of assets.

“A pragmatic and likely solution would be for the government to give both companies a certain period of time to sell further assets and raise equity, while pledging to support them if they are not successful in raising money privately,” he said.

The previous Irish government had been in talks to acquire non-voting shares in Bank of Ireland, two people with knowledge of the situation said Feb. 4. The securities would convert into stock if the bank failed to raise the same amount in a rights offering to repay the government, they said.

Bank of Ireland was established in 1783. It was appointed official banker to the Irish government when the state became independent from the U.K. in 1922.

“It would be foolish to assume anything other than Bank of Ireland falling under majority state control,” said Brian Lucey, associate professor of finance at Trinity College, Dublin. “If they do avoid that, it’s a signal that the government is low-balling the number.”

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