The Transportation Department rejected a petition for...

The Transportation Department rejected a petition for hearings on the proposed alliance between American Airlines and British Airways and said it won’t delay consideration of the alliance until after the U.S. and Britain have reached a more liberal aviation pact. . . . Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, is selling American Demographics magazine and its related publications to Cowles Business Media Inc. for undisclosed terms. . . . Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. said gains in investment banking helped boost first-quarter earnings 38% to $144 million, or $1.16 a share, from $104 million, or 79 cents, a year ago. Analysts had expected 91 cents a share. Net revenue rose 11% to $925 million.