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Consumer sentiment improved a tad in February to rack up a year high as Americans became more confident about the economy’s resilience, a survey released on Friday showed.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 75.3, edging up from 75.0 the month before. It was the highest level since February 2011.

It surpassed economists’ expectations of 73.0 and recovered from a decline to 72.5 in February’s preliminary reading.

“It is not that surging oil prices, instability in the Mideast, the European crisis or uncertainties about future tax and spending policies could not ultimately derail the recovery, but that consumers expect the pace of overall economic growth to continue to slowly restore lost jobs despite these potential problems,” survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

The survey’s barometer of current economic conditions eased to 83.0 from 84.2, but the survey’s gauge of consumer expectations also rose to its highest level in a year at 70.3 from 69.1.

A third of consumers spontaneously reported hearing about more job opportunities, the highest proportion ever recorded by the survey.

But consumers’ outlook for the economy and job growth was more positive than their views on their own finances. Improving finances were reported by 27 percent of respondents, down from 29 percent in January.

The survey’s one-year inflation expectation held steady at 3.3 percent, while the survey’s five-to-10-year inflation outlook rose to 2.9 percent after sitting at 2.7 percent for four months.

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A senior U.N. nuclear expert says his team is leaving for Tehran with hopes that Iranian officials will agree to talk about suspicions that the Islamic Republic has worked _ or is working _ on a clandestine atomic arms program.

Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency is heading a group of experts focusing on the allegations, which Iran continues to deny.

Nackaerts told reporters Sunday before boarding a flight to Tehran “the highest priority remains of course the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.”

The trip is the second one in less than a month as the IAEA attempts to dent nearly four years of Iranian refusal to cooperate with its probe. IAEA experts came back from their last visit in late January with no concrete results.

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Five staff at Britain’s largest selling tabloid The Sun were arrested Saturday along with three other people over alleged bribes paid to police and defense officials, detectives and the newspaper’s parent company said.

News. Corp said in a statement that police had searched the homes and offices of the five members of staff at the tabloid, long regarded regarded as the jewel in the crown of Rupert Murdoch’s British media empire.

A serving police officer, a female employee at the Ministry of Defense and a 36-year-old member of the armed forces were also arrested in an early morning swoop.

London’s Metropolitan Police said all eight people are being questioned, and confirmed they were detained following information provided to detectives by the management standards committee of News Corp.

The committee “will continue to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to protect legitimate journalistic privilege and sources, private or personal information and legal privilege,” News Corp. said in a statement.

Police said their investigation relates to alleged corrupt payments made to police officers and other officials by journalists. It is part of a series of police investigations sparked by Britain’s tabloid phone hacking scandal.

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U.K. house prices fell to their lowest level in six months in January as concern increased about the outlook for the economy and the euro-area debt crisis, Acadametrics Ltd. and LSL Property Services Plc said.

The average price of a home in England and Wales fell 0.2 percent from December to 218,992 pounds ($346,840), the groups said in an e-mailed report in London. From a year earlier values fell 1.4 percent, the quickest pace since September.

The European Central Bank is considering using its bond holdings to bolster Greece

Republican senators and Gov. Jay Nixon have sparred regularly the last few years about how to grow Missouri’s economy. Now they’re sparring over who to put in charge of the effort.

Senate leaders are poised this week to sink Nixon’s nomination of St. Louis attorney Jason Hall to lead the Department of Economic Development, claiming the 36-year-old lacks the experience necessary for the job. The Senate committee that approves nominations declined to take up Hall’s on Wednesday. And if they don’t by week’s end, not only will his nomination expire, but Hall will be barred for life from holding the post.

Senate President Pro Tem Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, said Wednesday he has no plans to approve Hall this week, and people familiar with the talks said his nomination is basically dead.

But there was no official word from Nixon’s office, which put out a statement saying Hall is “highly qualified.” Hall himself did not return messages seeking comment.

The son of a Granite City steelworker and founder of a group for gay lawyers in St. Louis, Hall was an attorney at Bryan Cave before Nixon tapped him to lead the quasi-governmental Missouri Technology Corp. in 2009. In December, Nixon picked Hall to replace outgoing DED director David Kerr, calling him “exactly the type of bright, energetic leader we need to help create jobs and move Missouri’s economy forward.”

But Hall’s nomination came on the eve of an election year, on the heels of a legislative special session where lawmakers couldn’t agree on job-creation tools, and amid probes into DED’s handling of a sweetener plant deal that collapsed in Moberly last fall.

All those factors likely played a role in Senate opposition to Hall, said Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“This appointment became that much more critical and focused on,” Mehan said. “It was going to get attention because there is this opinion out there, rightly or wrongly, that [DED] needs to be fixed.”

Mehan is one of several business leaders who’ve said they support Hall’s nomination. He called Hall well-qualified, and pointed out that Missouri has had many officials - from both parties - who served in top roles while in their 30’s.

“[Hall’s] a quality guy and would be a great benefit to the state,” Mehan said.

Mayer sees it differently. Talking to reporters in Jefferson City today, he noted the nominee has “very little experience in private industry or business.”

“Most senators believe he’s a bright, articulate young man,” Mayer said. “But at this stage in his life, I don’t think he’s ready to take on the position of the Department of Economic Development.”

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British police searched the offices of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers Saturday after arresting a police officer and four current and former staff of his tabloid The Sun as part of an investigation into police bribery by journalists.

The arrests spread the scandal over tabloid wrongdoing _ which has already caused the closure of one tabloid, the News of the World _ to a second Murdoch newspaper.

London’s Metropolitan Police said two men aged 48 and one aged 56 were arrested on suspicion of corruption early in the morning at homes in and around London. A 42-year-old man was detained later at a London police station.

Murdoch’s News Corp. confirmed that all four were current or former Sun employees.

A fifth man, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.

The investigation into whether reporters illegally paid police for information is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World.

Officers were searching the men’s homes and the east London headquarters of the media mogul’s British newspapers for evidence.

Police said Saturday’s arrests were made as a result of information provided by the Management and Standards Committee of Murdoch’s News Corp.

News Corp. said it was cooperating with police.

“News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated,” it said in a statement.

A dozen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged.

They include former Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Murdoch’s News International, ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson _ who is also Prime Minister David Cameron’s former communications chief _ and journalists from the News of the World and The Sun.

Two of the London police force’s top officers resigned in the wake of the revelation last July that the News of the World had eavesdropped on the cell phone voicemail messages of celebrities, athletes, politicians and even an abducted teenager in its quest for stories.

Murdoch shut down the 168-year-old tabloid, and the scandal has triggered a continuing public inquiry into media ethics and the relationship between the press, police and politicians.

An earlier police investigation failed to find evidence hacking went beyond one reporter and a private investigator, but News Corp. has now acknowledged it was much more widespread.

Last week the company agreed to pay damages to 37 hacking victims, including actor Jude Law, soccer star Ashley Cole and British politician John Prescott.

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Solutia’s prowess in developing chemicals found in everything from car tires to office windows throughout the globe drew the interest of Eastman Chemical Co. last summer. Now it’s buying the Town and Country-based company in a deal worth $4.7 billion.

Eastman, a chemical manufacturer based in Kingsport, Tenn., is acquiring Solutia for $3.4 billion in cash and stock, and assuming $1.3 billion in debt. The deal is set to close in mid-2012, pending shareholder approval.

Solutia makes specialty films and chemicals for the automotive and architectural industries, and employs 3,400 people worldwide, including 450 locally.

With $2.1 billion in revenue last year, Solutia is one of the largest public companies based in the St. Louis region.

Solutia has two local facilities - the Town and Country headquarters, with 300 employees, and a Sauget manufacturing plant where 150 people work.

A Solutia spokeswoman said there was no information yet on the fate of local workers, though headquarters jobs are often a cost-cutting target in mergers. On Friday, Eastman said the headquarters of the combined companies will be in Kingsport.

Menawhile, the Sauget plant - which makes chemicals for tire manufacturing - runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sauget Mayor Rich Sauget said he spoke with Solutia employees as recently as last week who were unaware that a sale was in the works.

“They mean a lot to us,” Sauget said of Solutia’s local workforce. “We hope, whoever comes in, that they see an opportunity with Solutia and their properties here.”

Despite the uncertainty, Eastman won’t be leaving the region, Solutia’s chairman, president and CEO Jeffry Quinn predicted.

“I certainly would expect the combined company to have a significant presence in St. Louis for some time,” Quinn said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. Quinn, who joined Solutia in 2003, will leave the company once the sale finalizes.

In the sale announcement, the companies did not disclose how much Quinn stands to gain when the deal closes. However, Solutia’s most recent proxy statement stated last year that Quinn’s compensation, including cash severance and stock options, would have totalled $21.6 million based on the company’s stock price at the end of 2010.

Under the deal, Solutia shareholders will receive $22 in cash and 0.12 shares of Eastman stock for each share of Solutia that they own. Based on Solutia’s closing price Thursday, Eastman offered a 42 percent premium for Solutia’s stock.

Eastman, which had $7.2 billion in revenue last year, plans to fund the cash portion of the buyout with available cash and debt.

After the early morning announcement, Eastman’s stock soared. Based on Friday’s closing prices, Solutia shareholders will receive cash and stock valued at $28.05 for each Solutia share.

Meanwhile, Solutia’s stock jumped more than 41 percent after the sale was announced, closing Friday at $27.52 a share.

Eastman expects about $100 million in annual cost savings by the end of 2013, as the acquisition is expected to help lower costs and help the company purchase raw materials at lower prices payday loans. The company said the deal will immediately boost earnings.

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The original Monsanto Co. spun off Solutia in 1997 in an effort to focus on drugs and agriculture. Solutia, burdened with heavy debt loads and retirees’ benefits dating before the spin-off, floundered as raw material prices rose and environmental legal costs increased.

In 2003, Solutia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It didn’t emerge out of bankruptcy until 2008.

During the years in bankruptcy, Solutia grew its international reach while divesting underperforming or non-core brands and businesses such as nylon, acrylic fibers and feed ingredients.

In 2003, only 30 percent of Solutia’s revenue came from international sales. Today, that has jumped to 75 percent.

“We’ve really transformed the company into one of the preeminent specialty chemical companies in the world,” Quinn said. “Many of the products we make are expensive to ship, so we built around the world to serve our customers.”

Growth in the company’s technical specialties division, for example, paralleled the development of infrastructure in places such as China. With the new roads, demand for radial tires - which use a chemical made by Solutia - is on the rise.

That global reach drove the Tennessee company’s interests in Solutia, Eastman’s chairman and CEO Jim Rogers said in a conference call with analysts Friday.

“With the addition of Solutia, Eastman will be adding manufacturing capacity in Asia over the next couple of years to meet growth,” Rogers said.

Eastman, which has 10,000 employees globally, was itself a product of a spin-off. The company was spun-off from camera and film maker Kodak in 1994.

In the conference call, Rogers said Eastman began exploring acquisition opportunities last summer.

“Solutia was number one then, and it has stayed number one through this whole process,” he said.

Talks with Solutia’s board began in the fall and intensified in the past 30 days, Quinn said.

The deal came on the same day Solutia announced fourth quarter and full-year financial results. Solutia’s fourth-quarter net income rose 15 percent to $54 million, or 45 cents per share, from $47 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 8 percent to $526 million.

For the full-year, Solutia earned $262 million, or $2.16 per share. That compares with earnings of $78 million, or 65 cents per share, in the previous year. Annual revenue climbed 8 percent to $2.1 billion.

Tim Logan of the Post-Dispatch and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is gaining support among Canadians for his plan to ship oilsands crude to China after President Barack Obama rejected TransCanada Corp. (TRP)