A J.C. Penney department store sign is shown in Oceanside, California, November 5, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files

By Tom Polansek and Mark Weinraub SHERIDAN, Illinois (Reuters) - With the U.S. spring planting season off to a historically slow start, an increasing number of farmers are counting on powerful tools to catch up: Monster machines that sow 36 rows of corn at once and feature high-tech innovations like computer-guided directional …

By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force plans to start operational use of Lockheed Martin Corp.-built F-35 fighter jets in mid-2016, a year earlier than planned, using a similar software package as the Marine Corps, two sources familiar with the plans said on Monday. The Air Force's decision to accelerate …

By Arshad Mohammed SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flies to Oman on Tuesday for Raytheon Co's signing of an estimated $2.1 billion arms deal and to consult on Syria and Iran, U.S. officials said. Oman is expected to sign a letter of intent to purchase a ground-based air defense system that …

By Patrick Temple-West and Poornima Gupta WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Using an unusual global tax structure, Apple Inc has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government, a Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure said on Monday. ...

By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will argue for a comprehensive corporate tax reform that will levy a "reasonable tax" on foreign earnings and is not dependent on a company's revenue when it goes before a Senate panel on Tuesday to explain its offshore tax practices. In prepared testimony released by …

By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended little changed on Monday, with indexes hovering near record levels as concerns about a correction cut earlier gains that had been prompted by news about a flurry of acquisitions. The Dow and the S&P 500 briefly hit all-time intraday highs. Early in the session, investors' …

By David Henry TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - As final ballots come in on a proposal to strip JPMorgan Chase & Co Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon of his chairman title, some worry about what will happen if shareholders win what will likely be a close vote. JPMorgan's annual meeting on Tuesday will bring to head a months-long …

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has been sued by an Alabama medical laboratory that claims it steered retirement plan business to ING U.S. Inc and others in exchange for extra fees in an illegal "pay-to-play" scheme. Skin Pathology Associates Inc. filed suit in federal court in Manhattan on May 16, accusing Morgan Stanley of …

By Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp said its Japanese suitor SoftBank Corp granted it a waiver allowing it to consider a $25.5 billion rival bid by Dish Network Corp, as pressure mounts on SoftBank to sweeten its offer for the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier. Sprint said its recommendation in favor of the SoftBank …

(Reuters) - Dell Inc said in a letter to suitors Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management that the company would not provide more information about itself unless the board determined that their proposal was "superior" to founder Michael Dell's. Earlier this month, Icahn and Southeastern offered $12 in cash per share …

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc announced on Monday it would shell out $1.1 billion to buy blogging service Tumblr, in a bid to revitalize its brand and attract a younger generation of users. Yahoo has been criticized for making big acquisitions that have not always reaped lasting returns. Under CEO Marissa Mayer, the …

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Car maker Mercedes Benz said on Monday workers at its South African assembly plant had gone on an illegal strike at the end of last week but had agreed to resume operations on Tuesday. "Scheduled production will resume on Tuesday 21 May," company spokeswoman Lynette Skriker said in a statement. She …

By Kate Holton and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone will reinvest a $3.2 billion dividend from its healthy U.S. arm to counter weakness in southern Europe that contributed to the largest ever quarterly fall in the group's main revenue measure. The British firm is trying to decide whether to sell Verizon Wireless, …