Mattel Inc. has settled with a former employee that designed the Bratz line of dolls, but will carry on with a suit against the maker of Bratz, MGA Entertainment, according to media reports. (MAT)

Bank of America Corp. has sold $2.7 billion of preferred shares, Reuters reports, citing International Financing Review. (BAC)

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been given a five-year contract from the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment for architect and engineer services. (JEC)

California, along with 28 other states and the District of Columbia reached a $58 million settlement with Merck & Co. Inc. Tuesday over deceptive advertising allegations related to Vioxx, the company's discontinued pain medicine drug. (MRK)

Scripps Networks has hired Burbank software firm Xytech Systems Corp. to streamline its business workflows at production operations in Nashville, Knoxville and New York City.

Longs Drug Stores has joined with Internet powerhouse Google Inc. to launch a new service that will enable customers to import their prescription information, share it with their doctors and streamline the dispensing of their prescriptions.

IHOP Corp. has reached an agreement for a $347 million sale-leaseback of company-owned real estate from its Applebee's unit. (IHP) (FIG)

Wells Fargo & Co. will not be consolidating student loans any longer, according to media reports. (WFC)

Clear Channel Radio has struck a deal with Reciva, the largest provider of Internet radio modules for use with broadband applications, to stream all of its stations on Reciva-powered receivers. (CCU)

JetBlue Airways Corp. will be the official domestic airline of the Los Angeles Dodgers under a sponsorship deal announced Monday, according to a report in the Sports Business Daily. (JBLU)

Alerion Capital Group is partnering with Merit Capital on a deal that would fund a company that creates devices for testing electronic equipment and complex systems.

A California company will take over distributing doughnut mixes, other ingredients and supplies to most Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. facilities west of the Mississippi River, in an agreement announced Monday.

Anthem Blue Cross -- formerly Blue Cross of California -- said Monday that it is making available to 1.8 million members in six California counties a new online cost-comparison tool with hospital information about 40 different medical procedures. (WLP)

Luxury home prices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego were down at least 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to the Prestige Home Index compiled by First Republic Bank.

Kochis Fitz/Quintile said Monday that it adopted a new name, Aspiriant, following the merger of the two wealth management firms last January.

The board of directors of Maguire Properties Inc. over the weekend ousted company founder, chairman and chief executive officer Robert Maguire. (MPG)

Ascent Media Group, a collection of companies offering postproduction and media services, has appointed John Phipps as senior vp global strategic sales.

The U.S. Supreme Court brushed aside free-speech concerns on Monday as it upheld a law that made it a crime to promote child pornography.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged eight former executives of AOL Time Warner, now known as Time Warner Inc, in a fraudulent scheme that overstated company advertising revenue by more than $1 billion.