NATION

NATION
Betting on nasal spray
TRENTON, N.J. -- Could squirting a little medicine up the nose before mealtime be the Holy Grail for people trying to shed pounds?
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & amp; Co. appears to be betting on it, with a multimillion-dollar partnership with a company that last year began small-scale testing of a nasal spray drug designed to make the stomach feel full faster.
Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. of Bothell, Wash., said Monday that its compound, known as PYY for short, could help address not only obesity but also related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis and cancer.
Ford's new '05 Mustangwins analysts' praise
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. launched its all-new 2005 Mustang on Monday, the fifth generation of the iconic sports car the company sorely needs to help lift sluggish U.S. sales.
The new car, built at the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock that Ford co-owns with Mazda Motor Corp., is scheduled to reach showrooms next month. The base price for a V6 version will be $19,410. The GT version with a V8 engine will start at $24,995.
The new car's design has received kudos from analysts for effectively marrying design cues from the 1960s with modern enhancements. The three-element taillights, for example, harken back four decades to Mustang's origins. But the new 4.6-liter, 300-horsepower engine has more than 50 percent more power than the V8 in the classic 1964 model.
WORLD
Cemex plans to buy RMC
MONTERREY, Mexico -- Mexican cement giant Cemex SA announced Monday its largest overseas investment, saying it planned to buy British-based RMC Group PLC, the world's biggest supplier of ready mixed concrete.
Under terms of the deal, worth $4.15 billion, Cemex said it will also acquire $1.7 billion of RMC's debt. Cemex said the addition will make it the world's largest concrete company, with revenues of more than $15 billion.
Associated Press