NEW YORK — Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's biggest private equity firms, today said it seeks to raise up to $4 billion in a highly anticipated initial public offering.

The New York-based firm, known for multibillion dollar takeovers like February's $23 billion buyout of Equity Office Properties, announced its intentions to go public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Blackstone — founded in 1985 by former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankers Stephen Schwarzman and Pete Peterson — said the initial public offering will allow it to tap new sources of capital for buyouts. In addition, it helps extend Blackstone's brand name and gives management a way to profit from the increased value of their stakes.

EU OKs 'Open Skies' deal, delays implementation

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union today approved an aviation deal with the United States that opens up restricted trans-Atlantic routes to new rivals, but bowed to British concerns in delaying when the agreement takes effect.

The "Open Skies" deal will allow airlines to fly from anywhere in the EU to any point in the U.S., shedding limitations that also discourage them from charging what they like or combining with other carriers.

The EU said its 27 nations had unanimously voted for the deal, which will take effect at the end of March 2008. European negotiators will now have to secure U.S. agreement to delay the pact, originally scheduled to begin Oct. 28, and want to push on with new talks to eliminate remaining barriers on airline ownership.

Britain won its demand for extra time before opening up London Heathrow, the EU's busiest airport, to more carriers.

Only four airlines — British Airways PLC, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines — currently have the right to fly from Heathrow to the U.S., a lucrative route that represents around a third of all EU flights to the United States.

Judge strikes down Child Online Protection Act

PHILADELPHIA — Software filters work much better than a 1998 federal law designed to keep pornography away from children on the Internet, a federal judge ruled today in striking down the measure on free-speech grounds.

Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr. also said the Child Online Protection Act fails to address threats that have emerged since the law was written, including online predators on social-networking sites like News Corp.'s MySpace, because it targets only commercial Web publishers.

The never-enforced law was Congress' second attempt to protect children from online porn. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 2004 a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect; Reed today issued a permanent injunction.

The law would have criminalized Web sites that allow children to access material deemed "harmful to minors" by "contemporary community standards."

NBC Universal, News Corp. join to fight YouTube

NEW YORK — NBC Universal and News Corp. joined forces today with several major Internet companies to distribute TV shows, video clips and movies online in an effort to better control their programming and counter competition from YouTube.

The new network, which would launch this summer, comes in response to the explosive growth Google Inc.'s YouTube, a do-it-yourself video-sharing site that is being sued by Viacom Inc., another major media company, for copyright infringement.

The venture is aimed at giving broadcasting companies like NBC and News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network and the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, greater control over how their shows are distributed on the Internet. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., also owns the Universal film studio and several cable channels including Bravo.

Jobs appear to be propping up economy

NEW YORK — A strong job market appears to be propping up an economy suffering from slumping home prices and a slowdown in manufacturing, two economic reports suggested today.

Industry research group The Conference Board said that its composite index of leading indicators, which is meant to project changes in the economy six to nine months in advance, slipped 0.5 percent to 137.3 in February after a revised 0.3 percent decline to 138 in January.

The drop in February, while expected, was the steepest since February 2006.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said today that jobless claims dropped last week for the third consecutive time, signaling that the labor market is not seriously weakening although the overall economy is slowing.

The Labor Department reported today that the number of applications for jobless benefits totaled 316,000 last week, a decline of 4,000 from the previous week.

Katrina class-action suit against State Farm rejected

UNDATED — A federal judge today refused to allow a class action against State Farm Insurance Cos. over the insurer's denial of claims on Mississippi's Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

State Farm policyholder Judy Guice had asked U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. to permit her to join other policyholders whose homes were reduced to slabs by the August 2005 storm in a class action against the Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer.

But the judge, who heard testimony on the proposal during a Feb. 28 hearing in Gulfport, Miss., ruled that a class action for "slab cases" is "inconsistent with the requirements of due process."

In a class action, a court authorizes a single person or a small group of people to represent the interests of a larger group.

Total SA CEO charged with corruption

PARIS — An investigating judge filed preliminary charges today against the chief executive of Total SA in a corruption case linked to a 1997 contract with Iran, the company and judicial officials said.

Preliminary charges were filed against Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie for alleged abuse of company assets and corruption of foreign agents, the judicial officials said. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the case and provided information only on condition of anonymity.

De Margerie, who replaced Thierry Desmarest as Total's CEO in mid-February, was released after two days of questioning in the case. However, he is forbidden to meet with certain people during the investigation, the officials said without elaborating.

Oil prices climb more than $2 a barrel today

NEW YORK — Oil prices surged more than $2 a barrel today, a day after the government reported more robust refinery usage for the first time in weeks _ a sign that refiners have begun to ramp up production ahead of the summer driving season.

Traders also appeared to interpret a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged as positive for the market.

A barrel of light, sweet crude for May delivery climbed $2.08 to settle at $61.69 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — its highest closing price in two weeks. Oil settled at $61.64 a barrel on March 8.