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Rich China Communists Echo U.S. Tea Party Activists in Property-Tax Debate Zong Qinghou, China’s richest man, says a property tax will hurt homeowners. Wang Jianlin, the 16th wealthiest, agrees. Lu Guanqiu, No. 19, says China isn’t ready for such a levy.

Mercedes Bets `Old Man' Car Image Ends With Schumacher's Formula 1 Return Mercedes-Benz scored a publicity coup by luring Michael Schumacher out of retirement to race for its new Formula One team. It might backfire if he can’t keep up with drivers a generation younger.

Disney World Bullet Train May Spur U.S. Sales of Japan, China Locomotives Walt Disney World in Florida may be the next stop for bullet-train makers in Japan and China.

GDF, Siemens, Alstom Turn to Saudi Partners for $400 Billion in Contracts ACWA Power International, the biggest Saudi power project developer, was rebuffed by GDF Suez SA and Marubeni Corp. in 2004 when it proposed partnering to bid for a $2.4-billion desalination and power plant.

Renault, Daimler Share-Swap Talks Said to Stumble on Valuation Differences Daimler AG and Renault SA have been unable to resolve differences over valuations as the carmakers explore a share swap that would bring Daimler into the Renault- Nissan alliance, two people familiar with the matter said.

Worst Returns Fail to Make U.S. Telephone Stocks Cheap: Chart of the Day Telephone companies in the U.S. including AT&T Inc. have posted the worst returns during the yearlong rally in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, and their shares are expensive considering their growth prospects.

San Miguel Plans $1 Billion in Asset Sales to Finance Expansion, Ang Says San Miguel Corp., the Philippines’ biggest food and drinks maker, plans to raise $1 billion selling stakes in its food, packaging and liquor businesses to fund growth and acquisitions.

Dinallo Receives Attorney General Campaign Cash From Insurers He Regulated Eric Dinallo, the former insurance superintendent running for New York attorney general, has received more than 15 percent of his campaign donations from the industry he regulated until July.

Goldman Sachs Squeezes Hedge Funds in $110 Billion `Collateral Arbitrage' Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., two of the biggest traders of over-the- counter derivatives, are exploiting their growing clout in that market to secure cheap funding in addition to billions in revenue from the business.

Muni Middleman's Financing in the Dark Leaves Homeless Outside Looking In David Rubin, accused of rigging hundreds of investment contracts for local governments across the U.S., is at the center of investigations by city and federal authorities into a Los Angeles housing development.

Google Advertisers in China Told to Switch on Speculation Site Will Shut Google Inc. advertisers in China are being advised to switch to rivals such as Baidu Inc., and business partners are exploring alternatives as speculation grows the U.S. company will shut its Web site in the country.

Regulators Blamed Human Error as Ford Led Non-Toyota Acceleration Deaths U.S. regulators have tracked more deaths in vehicles made by Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and other companies combined than by Toyota Motor Corp. during three decades of unintended acceleration reviews that often blamed human error.

Money Rates Rising Foreshadow Treasury Losses as Bernanke Prepares an Exit Money market interest rates at five-month highs show the Federal Reserve is laying the groundwork to siphon a record $1 trillion in excess cash from the banking system and sending a bearish signal on Treasuries.

OPEC Expands Oil Rigs Most in Three Years as Quota Promises Prove Illusory OPEC is increasing oil drilling at the fastest rate in 2 1/2 years, even as production exceeds its quotas by the equivalent of a supertanker of crude a day and delegates prepare to pledge no increase in output.

Cnooc May Step Up Overseas Acquisitions After $3.1 Billion Bridas Purchase Cnooc Ltd.’s failure to buy Unocal Corp. for $18.5 billion in 2005 taught Chairman Fu Chengyu a lesson: use overseas ventures rather than takeovers to gain the global oil resources China needs.

`Invisible Power' of London Money Exposed as Lord Mayor Fights Politicians When money needs to talk in London, it’s the lord mayor who speaks.

Monsanto May Have Antitrust Edge as Protecting Patents Trumps Competition Monsanto Co., facing antitrust probes into its genetically modified seeds, may benefit from previous court rulings in which intellectual property rights trumped competition concerns, antitrust lawyers say.

BHP, Anglo, Xstrata Bypass Europe on 10,000-Mile Coal Route to China Ports BHP Billiton Plc, Anglo American Plc and Xstrata Plc are shipping coal 10,000 miles to China from their Cerrejon mine in Colombia for the first time this year because of surging demand and rising prices in Asia.

Toyota Sets Goal of Regaining U.S. Market Share Lost to Recalls Within '10 Toyota Motor Corp. set a 2010 goal of regaining most of the U.S. market share lost in the past two months after global recalls of 8 million vehicles damped demand, the No. 2 U.S. sales executive said.

Retail Buyouts Return in `Goldilocks' Market After Credit Freeze Thawed Private-equity firms looking to buy retail and consumer companies said they’re now able to finance deals and pay reasonable prices after the credit crisis and global recession triggered a buyout slump.