March 14, 2006

Mario Monti knows something about blocking deals. While serving as the European Union's antitrust enforcer in 2001, Mr. Monti torpedoed General Electric's takeover of Honeywell -- a brash move that made Brussels a new force in the global markets. Mr. Monti acted in the name of Europe's single market, but the recent rash of blocked deals are different: making it seem as if Europe is splintering into a familiar collection of feuding national interests.

With its $14.6 billion acquisition of the North Fork Bancorporation, Capital One is looking less like a credit card company and more like a traditional bank. But will Wall Street approve? For years, the success of Capital One, the country's largest stand-alone credit card issuer, rested on its uncanny ability to innovate, from new products (like zero-interest balance transfers) to new marketing (like a series of clever Viking ads).

Beginning April 4, The Times will change its daily financial tables, replacing the six existing pages with two pages of analytical tools and summary information on the markets and the economy. As part of a continuing effort to integrate The Times and its Web version, online readers will be able to choose from an array of new functions, including a host of interactive graphics. Readers will also be able to receive closing prices of their stocks and mutual funds by e-mail and will be able to receive midday alerts about sharp price shifts or business news that affects them.

The blind, hairy lobster named Kiwa hirsuta may represent a family of animals previously unknown to science.

What happens when an endangered species and humans claim the same turf? The paradox of the Florida panther.