Demand and admission standards are up, as students around the world look to sharpen business skills and add global credentials with a European MBA

Morgan Stanley, ranked third in investment-banking fees for 2009, hired Janice Dunnett and two other executives from Standard Chartered Plc’s convertible bonds team in Hong Kong, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Britain had a smaller budget deficit in February than economists forecast as tax income climbed at the fastest pace in almost two years, adding to evidence that the economic recovery is strengthening

Germany’s suggestion that it may order spies to track speculators targeting currencies is “sinister and silly,” according to analysts, who said hedge funds in London and New York would be the targets.

Astro All Asia Networks Plc, Malaysia’s largest pay-television operator, surged by a record after a group led by billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan bid as much as 2.5 billion ringgit ($759 million) for full control.

U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman said he is confident bilateral ties are improving following disputes ranging from currency valuations to weapons sales to Taiwan.

India, planning a sovereign wealth fund to help companies compete with China for overseas energy assets, has ordered state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Oil India Ltd. to speed up purchases in the year starting April.

SLM Corp., the biggest U.S. student-loan company, tapped the bond market for the first time in almost two years, paying more than it charges some borrowers as $11 billion of bonds mature through 2011.

Investing pros tell Bloomberg BusinessWeek where they're finding opportunities in the sector now

John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. and hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. have decided not to bid for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. movie studio, according to people with knowledge of the bidding.

India’s swap rates overstate the amount by which the central bank will likely raise borrowing costs, providing investors an opportunity to profit by receiving fixed payments, Standard Chartered Plc said.

Asian stocks fluctuated amid concerns a rally that drove the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to a two-month high had outpaced prospects for earnings growth.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia is doing all it can to support Rio Tinto Group iron- ore chief Stern Hu before his trial in China and the world will watch how his case is conducted.

Google Inc. received demands from advertising agents in China to provide compensation plans for companies threatened to go out of business by a possible shutdown of the U.S. company’s Web site in the country.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia’s third-largest bank, said corporate lending is increasing for the first time in a year as the strengthening domestic economy bolsters business confidence.

BTIG LLC hired Jesse H. Lentchner, who spent more than a decade at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Asia, as chief executive officer of its Asia-Pacific operations.

U.S. stocks gained on evidence the economic recovery isn’t stoking inflation

Ford Motor Co. rose to a 5-year high in New York trading and its bonds gained after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the automaker’s credit rating.

Audio-equipment giant Harman is expanding into mainstream vehicles and plans to try to steal business from Microsoft’s Sync system

What Wall Street economists and strategists had to say about key developments on Mar. 17