Bloomberg Microsoft Corp.’s effort to halt the FBI’s so-called sneak-and-peak searches of e-mails may ride on whether it’s allowed to defend its customers’ constitutional rights. The judge who will decide whether the case can go ahead told the company’s lawyers to be ready in court on Monday to address earlier rulings that undercut their arguments. At stake is half …

  Bloomberg Cynosure Inc., the maker of lasers for medical and cosmetic treatments, is exploring strategic options including a sale, according to people familiar with the matter, amid increasing interest in the technology from larger global companies. Cynosure is in talks with financial advisers as it weighs strategic options, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations …

  Bloomberg A unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to buy Wilhelm Schulz GmbH, a closely held German maker of piping components, as the billionaire accelerates an expansion in Europe. Rainer Floeth, chief executive officer of Krefeld, Germany-based Wilhelm Schulz, confirmed by phone that Berkshire’s Precision Castparts had agreed to buy the company. He declined to elaborate on …