By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for utility PPL Corp <PPL.N> in its dispute with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over credits the company claimed to offset overseas tax payments. The court ruled on a unanimous vote that Pennsylvania-based PPL can claim $39 million in U.S. foreign tax credits against a 1997 British windfall tax.

Croatia Airlines pilots on Monday ended a seven-day strike but cabin crew continued the walkout that the loss-making company said had cost it hundreds of thousands of euros (more than $1 million). "Croatia Airlines management and pilots' union today reached a deal according to which pilots will immediately cease the strike and continue talks on new contracts," an airline spokesman told AFP. "Direct financial damages (from the strike) are estimated at up to 6.5 million kunas (859,000 euros, $1.1 million)," spokesman Davor Janusic said.

A group of ex-Nokia employees who quit over the company's decision to abandon the planned MeeGo operating system in favour of Windows presented their own smartphone on Monday, hoping to rival the sector's giants. The Jolla smartphone, which is entirely intuitive and has no buttons, is "a strong candidate" on the mid- to high-range market, the Helsinki-based company said. The model, which is so far just called Jolla, has a 4.5-inch touch screen and features two different-coloured halves that together make up the phone.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A gunman shot dead four people execution-style in a bank in Israel on Monday after being refused an overdraft and cash from its automatic teller machine. The assailant, identified by media reports as a former paramilitary border policeman, killed himself after police raided the Bank Hapoalim branch in the southern city of Beersheba to free his hostages.