(Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) escalated its battle with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) on Monday, saying it is asking a federal court to stop Starbucks from trying to unilaterally end their lucrative deal to sell packaged coffee. Kraft said it is seeking a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court in New York, seeking "to stop Starbucks from proceeding as if the agreement has been terminated, when, in fact, the contract is still in force."

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(Reuters) - A French court Monday found Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the airline guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their part in the 2000 Concorde crash that spelled the end of the supersonic airliner. In a ruling that could affect the way planes are maintained and inspected, the court said the U.S. airline and a welder were to blame for a small metal strip that dropped off a Continental aircraft onto the runway and ruptured a tyre on the Concorde, triggering the crash that killed 113 people.

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(Reuters) - The chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc,, the world's largest drugmaker, retired in an unexpected move to "recharge his batteries" after completing the mega merger with rival Wyeth. Jeffrey Kindler, 55, is being replaced by the global head of pharmaceuticals, Ian Read, who is 57, Pfizer said. In a statement issued by the company late on Sunday, Kindler said: "The combination of meeting the requirements of our many stakeholders around the world and the 24/7 nature of my responsibilities, has made this period extremely demanding on me personally."

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(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) Chief Executive James Gorman plans to take on the firm's top-paid bankers and may play "hardball" with bonus payouts this year, the New York Post said, citing people familiar with the plans. Gorman is bracing to have some "difficult conversations" with bankers about scaling back their bonus money, the people told the newspaper.

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(Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday face IMF pressure to increase the size of a 750 billion euro ($1,006 billion) safety net for debt-stricken members to halt contagion in the single currency bloc. But EU paymaster Germany firmly rejected any such move and also dismissed a call by two veteran finance ministers for joint euro bonds guaranteed by the whole euro zone.

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(Reuters) - Stocks extended gains on Thursday after data showed pending sales of existing homes unexpectedly surged in October. At the same time, the euro rose versus the dollar, erasing early losses as investors focused on comments from the European Central Bank related to the euro zone debt crisis.

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(Reuters) - Pending sales of existing U.S. homes unexpectedly surged in October, data from a real estate trade group showed on Thursday, despite concerns that problems in the foreclosure process might curtail activity. The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, jumped 10.4 percent to 89.3 from 80.9 in September.

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(Reuters) - Barry Diller is stepping down as chief executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp, the company said, adding it had bought out one of its largest shareholders, John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. IAC said on Thursday Liberty had sold its entire equity stake in IAC in exchange for $220 million in cash and the Evite and Gifts.com businesses. The online businesses will become part of Liberty's Interactive unit.

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(Reuters) - U.S. retailers reported stronger-than-expected sales for November, as shoppers flocked to stores and spent more during the annual discount bonanza known as Black Friday. Still, analysts cautioned that the discounting will need to continue in order to bring shoppers out in December, which could pressure margins.

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(Reuters) - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but a drop in the four-week moving average to a fresh two-year low continued to point to an improvement in the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 436,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists had forecast claims rising to 425,000. The data has little bearing on Friday's employment report for November as it falls outside the survey period.

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