Elizabeth A Phaneuf

Off to college? It can be a bit scary, especially if you don't know anyone at the school you plan to attend. Still, take heart; things could be worse. Girls and boys of the Okiek tribe of Kenya are ritually circumcised or excised when they're 14-16 years old. They then cover themselves in clay and

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron about the shareholder conflict at Anglo-Russian crude producer TNK-BP (TNBP.RS) at a meeting in London Thursday, according to Putin's website.

Kirin Holdings Co. (2503.TO) is not interested in gaining control of Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd., the company's president said Friday, dismissing the prospect that it might go head-to-head with Heineken NV (HEIA.AE) to try to buy a stake in the maker of Tiger Beer from its affiliate

Taiwan handset maker HTC Corp. (2498.TW) said Friday it expects its third-quarter revenue to fall 41%-48% from a year earlier, reflecting the pressure that intensifying competition and a slowing global economy is putting on its sales in key markets such as the U.S. and Europe.

South Korea will hike electricity prices by an average 4.9% effective Monday to reflect a recent rise in prices of oil, gas and coal, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a release Friday.

Private sector activity in the 17-nation euro zone continued to contract at a rapid pace in July, the Markit composite purchasing managers' index for the region indicated Friday.

Franco-Belgian lender Dexia SA (DEXB.BT) Friday posted a EUR1.2 billion ($1.46 billion) loss for the first half of 2012 and saw trade in its shares suspended.

France's Schneider Electric SA (SU.FR) received two bids for its CST unit, which manufactures electronic sensors, from Singapore-based Avago Technology Ltd. (AVGO) and a consortium of private-equity funds Carlyle and PAI Partners, French newspaper Les Echos reported Friday, citing unidentified

Someday, the conventional wisdom and statistics keep telling us, we're all going to throw out our wallets and replace them with digital phones.

Exchange operator NYSE Euronext (NYX) said Friday its net profit fell to $125 million in the second quarter of the year from $154 million a year earlier due to lower trading volumes, mainly in derivatives.