Wall Street rose moderately today, carving out its fourth straight weekly gain amid a fresh round of corporate takeover news and employment figures that largely met expectations.

Billionaire Ken Thomson, Canada’s richest person whose worldwide business empire once included the Canadian newspaper chain founded by his father, has died at age 82, the Globe and Mail reported today.

Economic uncertainty overshadowed a peaceful and early transfer of power in Iraq today, cutting off a rally and leaving stocks modestly lower while investors fretted about the Federal Reserve’s imminent decision on interest rates.

BROWN THOMAS owner Galen Weston’s $1 billion bid for Selfridges Plc, a luxury-goods retailer that competes with Harrods, may cost Canada’s second-richest man as little as $5 million of his own money.