The chancellor is expected to significantly raise road tax on the least fuel efficient cars in this week's budget.

Reuters - The head of United Airlines voiced support for a transatlantic air travel pact even though the company will have to confront the same prospect of new competition as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic

Reuters - Dow Chemical Co. is in talks with India's Reliance Industries Ltd. about a potential joint venture, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Sunday citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters - The Blackstone Group, together with The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, are mulling a rival offer for TXU Corp., a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday, in a move which could upset a record-breaking $32 billion bid for the Texas power company from competing buyout shops.

The Airbus A380 is set to land on US soil for the first time on Monday after its maiden transatlantic flight.

Latin America migrant workers send home more money than investment and aid combined, a report says.

Deutsche Postbank, Germany's biggest retail bank, sees net profits for 2006 grow 40% to 695m euros (£475.8m; $923.4m).

UK travel firm First Choice says it will merge with the tourism division of German rival TUI.

Babycare chain Mothercare says it is in talks to buy the Early Learning Centre chain for £85m.

Reuters - Britain's Barclays is expected to confirm on Monday it is in preliminary merger talks with ABN AMRO Holding , British newspapers reported.

Reuters - Union leaders on both sides of the Atlantic are vowing to fight a sale of DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCXGn.DE) Chrysler Group to a private-equity buyer, throwing a potential hurdle in front of a deal, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The US says it has resolved a financial dispute with North Korea as talks on nuclear issues resume.

Barclays will clarify its stance regarding Dutch rival ABN Amro as speculation swirls it is planning an £80bn merger.

Reuters - ABN AMRO shares jumped on Monday following approaches by Britain's Barclays and several other with interest in a takeover for all or parts of the Dutch bank, sources familiar with the matter said.

The trial of media tycoon Lord Conrad Black on fraud and racketeering charges is expected to begin on Monday.

China's government gives the go-ahead to plan to design and build large passenger planes in the country.

Joseph Nacchio, former head of US telecoms giant Qwest, prepares to face court on insider trading charges.

Reuters - Germany's TUI AG (TUIGn.DE) unveiled a tie-up of its tourism unit with Britain's First Choice to boost its position as Europe's biggest travel firm in the face of new competition from merging rivals.

Reuters - Home-services operator ServiceMaster Co. said it agreed to be acquired by an investment group led by private equity investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. for about $4.7 billion in cash.

The Airbus A380 is set to land on US soil for the first time on Monday after its maiden transatlantic flight.

Virgin Atlantic announces a direct daily flight from London to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in a move that may spark a price war with BA.

India says it will 'refine' its policy of buying land for industrial development after escalating violence over the plan.

Reuters - Shares in ABN AMRO , the Netherlands' biggest bank, hit a record high on Monday after what sources said was a merger approach by Barclays for Europe's biggest financial services deal.

Reuters - ServiceMaster Co. , which owns TruGreen LawnCare and Terminix pest control, said on Monday that it had accepted a $4.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc.

Shares in drugs giant AstraZeneca fall more than 2% after it says that a heart disease treatment had proven ineffective in trials.

The Airbus A380 is set to land on US soil for the first time on Monday aftera test flight with 500 passengers on board.

Reuters - Shares in Dutch bank ABN AMRO hit a record high on Monday as Barclays and other banks considered a takeover approach that could result in Europe's biggest financial services deal.

Reuters - Triad Hospitals Inc. said on Monday it agreed to be bought by Community Health Systems Inc. for $5.1 billion, a union that would create the biggest publicly traded U.S. hospital chain.

Reuters - Oil and gas drilling rig company Hercules Offshore Inc. said on Monday it had signed an agreement to buy larger peer TODCO for $2.3 billion in cash and stock.

Reuters - Shipping company EGL Inc. said on Monday it has agreed to a management-led buyout worth $1.7 billion.

The world?s largest passenger plane, plagued by production delays, will stop at several United States airports this week.

Barclays is in exclusive talks with Dutch rival ABN Amro about an estimated £80bn merger, the BBC has learnt.

The Airbus A380 lands on US soil for the first time after a test flight from Frankfurt with 500 passengers on board.

Businesses are failing to tap into a global market among low-income earners worth a potential $5 trillion, a report says.

New rules to combat the spread of Value Added Tax (VAT) carousel fraud will start on 1 June 2007.

One of Japan's leading businesswomen, Tomoyo Nonaka, quits as chairwoman of the troubled electronics firm Sanyo.

The US says it has resolved a financial dispute with North Korea as talks on nuclear issues resume.

Germany says the United States has blocked progress on two key issues to protect the global environment.

Reuters - Triad Hospitals Inc. has agreed to be bought by Community Health Systems Inc. for $5.1 billion in a deal that will create the biggest publicly traded U.S. hospital chain, the companies said on Monday.

Reuters - Deepening problems in the subprime mortgage sector, which specializes in loans to borrowers with weak credit histories, chipped away at U.S. homebuilder confidence in March, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.

Reuters - ServiceMaster Co. , which owns TruGreen LawnCare and Terminix pest control, said on Monday that it had accepted a $4.7 billion takeover bid from a group led by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc.

BP is expected to be heavily criticised by US safety regulators over a refinery blast that killed 15 workers.

Reuters - Confidence among U.S. homebuilders sank in March in data reported on Monday, while shares of subprime lender Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. plunged 12 percent for the day after the company said it was in talks about possible financing.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software rose 8.4 percent after the company postponed its annual meeting and said it would consider alternatives to a proposed hostile takeover.

The Airbus A380 lands on US soil for the first time after a test flight from Frankfurt with 500 passengers on board.

Reuters - Dutch bank ABN AMRO and British bank Barclays confirmed on Monday they were in exclusive "exploratory discussions" to merge with each other.

Reuters - Triad Hospitals Inc. has agreed to be bought by Community Health Systems Inc. for $5.1 billion in a deal that will create the biggest publicly traded U.S. hospital chain, the companies said on Monday.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after Britain's Barclays Plc and Dutch bank ABN AMRO confirmed they were in talks to merge, boosting financial shares in the wake of the subprime mortgage market turmoil.

Reuters - CBOT Holdings Inc., parent of the number 2 U.S. futures exchange, said on Monday its board had authorized talks with IntercontinentalExchange Inc., the energy mart that on Thursday made an unsolicited $9.9 billion takeover offer.

The trial of Lord Conrad Black is delayed until Tuesday, following objections from the media tycoon's lawyers.

UK businesses are not ready enough for extreme events such as storms and terrorist attacks, a report claims.

Reuters - Dutch bank ABN AMRO and British bank Barclays are in exclusive talks for a possible $160 billion merger that would be Europe's biggest financial services deal, they said on Monday.

Reuters - Shipping company EGL Inc. said on Monday it agreed to be bought by an investor group led by CEO James Crane for $38 per share, or around $1.7 billion, in Crane's second attempt to take the company into private ownership.

Reuters - Investment banks Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc. and Credit Suisse Group won a huge victory when a $40 billion class-action lawsuit filed by Enron Corp. investors was blocked by a federal appeals panel in New Orleans on Monday.