NEW YORK — A bankruptcy judge said late yesterday that General Motors Corp. can sell the bulk of its assets to a new company, clearing the way for the automaker to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Federal Judge Robert Gerber ruled that the sale is needed to avoid "immediate and irreparable harm" to GM and is in the best interests of both the automaker and its creditors.

FDA ISSUES ENERGY DRINK WARNING

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy two types of energy drinks packaged in test-tube-like vials, saying utility knife blades were found in two vials in an apparent case of tampering.

The FDA said yesterday the blades were found in one vial each of Hardcore Energize Bullet drink and New Whey liquid products. Both are being recalled. No injuries have been reported as a result of the tampering.

New Whey is made and sold in the United States, while Hardcore Energize Bullet is sold in Canada.

DUBAI DEVELOPER'S SHARES FALL AGAIN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Shares of the Dubai developer building the world's tallest skyscraper extended their slide yesterday after the company shut an office overseeing $20 billion worth of real estate projects in Algeria.

Emaar Properties, the Middle East's biggest publicly traded real estate company, said in a statement posted on the Web site of the Dubai Financial Market that it closed the office because of "a lack of progress which is beyond the company's control." Emaar is building the nearly complete Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building.