George Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow agree to merge, creating the UK's biggest homebuilder worth £5bn.

US computer chip manufacturer Intel unveils plans to build a $2.5bn chip plant in China.

Porsche raises its stake in German carmaker VW to a level where, by law, it has to make a takeover bid.

German power firm E.ON raises its bid for Spanish rival Endesa to 42.3bn euros in an effort to win the support of investors.

A dispute over water rights and fears of pollution hits one of Chile's largest copper mines, Los Pelambres.

Private equity takeovers which back management buyouts tend to create new jobs, a report says.

Reuters - Housebuilder Taylor Woodrow has agreed to buy rival George Wimpey for 2.5 billion pounds ($4.9 billion) to create a market leader in Britain and combine businesses in a tough U.S. housing market.

Under pressure from shareholders, the bank intends to focus outside North America for growth.

The dispute with Iran over 15 captured UK navy personnel pushes the price of oil above $63 a barrel.

Venezuelan investors are being urged to buy bonds in the state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

Chinese leader Hu Jintao is to begin a three-day state trip to Russia, aimed at promoting energy deals.

Whitbread has been approached by parties keen to buy its David Lloyd health clubs, the leisure firm says.

The battle for Spanish power firm Endesa takes a new twist after a Spanish-Italian consortium launches a 43.4bn euros bid.

New Zealand's Telecom Corporation agrees to sell its Yellow Pages directory arm to a private equity group for $1.59bn.

Fewer than half of net users believe it is down to them to protect personal information online, a UK survey suggests.

Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata agrees to buy Canadian nickel producer LionOre for $4bn.

Venezuela's president announces 16 large farms have been seized to be redistributed them under a land reform plan.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc. , the largest U.S. bank, may cut 15,000 jobs and take a charge of more than $1 billion to revitalize itself and boost a lagging share price, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.

Reuters - UK housebuilder Taylor Woodrow has agreed to buy rival George Wimpey for over 2.5 billion pounds ($4.9 billion) to create a market leader in Britain and combine businesses in a tough U.S. housing market.

Reuters - German sports car maker Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) has exercised an option to take an extra 3.6 percent voting stake in Volkswagen , Porsche said on Monday, taking its holding to 30.9 percent as of Wednesday.

Reuters - Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) (2010.SE), the world's largest chemical firm by market value, is considering a bid for the plastics unit of General Electric Co. , a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.

AP - Upscale jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. on Monday said fourth-quarter net income was nearly flat, weighed by an impairment charge.

Chinese leader Hu Jintao starts a three-day state trip to Russia, aimed at promoting energy deals.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc. , the largest U.S. bank, may cut 15,000 jobs to revitalize itself as shareholders demand better performance and a higher stock price, published reports said on Monday.

Reuters - Walgreen Co. , one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, posted a better-than-expected 25 percent increase in quarterly profit on Monday, boosted by strong holiday sales and continued growth in prescription drugs.

Reuters - HealthSouth Corp. , the nation's largest rehabilitation services provider, said on Monday it has agreed to sell its surgery division to the privately held investment firm TPG for $945 million as it continues to focus on its inpatient rehabilitation hospital business.

Intel has only seven other similar wafer fabrication facilities in the world, mostly in the western United States.

The number of new US homes sales fell for the second month in a row in February, according to official data.

Reuters - Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly fell 3.9 percent in February to the lowest rate in nearly seven years while the number of new homes on the market grew, according to a government report on Monday that showed more signs of weakness in the housing sector.

Reuters - Shares of General Motors Corp. , which surged last year on early turnaround indications, could stall now as the automaker comes to terms with sliding market share and continued cash burn, according to analysts.

Reuters - Shares of U.S. home builders fell more than 2 percent on Monday after a government report showed new home sales declined 3.9 percent in February.

AP - Upscale jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. on Monday said fourth-quarter net income was nearly flat, weighed by an impairment charge. The company offered a mixed outlook, sending shares slightly down in morning trading.

The fight for Spanish power firm Endesa turns nasty, with E.ON accusing a rival suitor of market manipulation and insider trading.

Reuters - General Motors Corp. offered DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) a stake of less than 10 percent of its own stock in an early, "longshot" bid to acquire Chrysler Group, the Detroit News reported on Monday.

Reuters - International Business Machines Corp. said on Monday it formed a unit that will sell software and computers for processing mortgage applications and also manage processing of home-loan paperwork on behalf of lenders.

Edward E. Whitacre Jr. has overseen a string of multibillion-dollar takeover deals, and now must compete through execution, not acquisition.

David A. Stockman is accused of committing financial fraud at the auto parts company he ran.

China and Russia urge Iran to meet UN demands over its nuclear programme as President Hu Jintao visits Moscow.

Reuters - Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in February, hitting their lowest level in nearly seven years, according to a report on Monday that raised concerns the troubled housing sector had not yet hit bottom.

Reuters - An executive who paid more than $500 million to buy dozens of small U.S. newspapers from former media magnate Conrad Black's company testified on Monday at Black's fraud trial that he balked when asked at one point to wire $9.5 million directly to Black and his associates.

Reuters - U.S. technology stocks ended higher on Monday as positive brokerage comments on tech companies offset worries about economic growth after government data showed an unexpected drop in new-home sales.

David A. Stockman is accused of committing financial fraud at Collins & Aikman, the auto parts supplier he ran.

A Barclays Bank executive has become the highest earner among companies in the FTSE 100 index.

The Palestinian territories saw their financial situation worsen in 2006, according to reports by the IMF.

Reuters - U.S. technology stocks rose on Monday, pulled higher by positive broker comments on companies such as Dell Inc., but renewed signs of weakness in the housing market halted a five-day winning streak for the Dow.

The dispute with Iran over 15 captured UK navy personnel sends the price up, to hover around $63 a barrel.

A Barclays Bank executive becomes the highest earner among firms in the FTSE 100 index, earning £22m.

The move is part of a broad effort to cut costs and streamline the bank?s unwieldy global operations.

The former budget director for President Ronald Reagan was indicted on charges that he covered up the dire financial state at Collins & Aikman, the auto parts supplier he ran.

Total?s aggressive practices may have led to an investigation of the company?s chief executive.

The Supreme Court will determine whether retailers are permitted to discount a manufacturer?s product, even if the maker does not want the price to go below a certain level.

The combined $21 million in stock payouts to five top executives at American Airlines is looming large in labor talks with pilots.

Think you have a hard time eating right while traveling? Imagine if all your business was done in the ballpark.

The German media giant will pay an undisclosed sum to the EMI Group for copyright infringement but admit no liability.

Life magazine will cease publication next month, the third time since Life?s founding in 1936 that its owner has pulled the plug.

The sales drop hit their lowest level in nearly seven years, according to a report released on Monday.

Automakers urged President Bush to bring ethanol and biodiesel to more pumps as they bolster output of so-called flex-fuel vehicles.

Testimony has offered new insights into the hands-on style of the chief executive of the WPP Group, and the strong feelings it has sometimes produced.

A half-billion dollars in asset sales by Hollinger were structured to funnel money to a Canadian holding company controlled by Conrad M. Black, the executive said.

Robert Diamond, the president and head of investment banking, made $30 million in 2006, five times as much as John Varley, the C.E.O.

The two companies will develop a medicine combining their Zetia with Pfizer?s blockbuster Lipitor.

Morgan Stanley will auction $2.48 billion of residential mortgages from the troubled subprime lender New Century Financial.

The $920 million deal is second major divestiture for the rehabilitation chain as it restructures after a major financial scandal.

A surprise drop in new-home sales for February set off concern that economic growth was slowing more than expected.

Xstrata, the Swiss mining company, moved to extend its presence in the nickel market with a friendly takeover of LionOre Mining International.

Northwest Airlines can begin seeking creditor approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy that values the company at an estimated $7 billion.

The developments came as E.On began legal action to fight a rival 11th-hour bid for the Spanish utility.

The former chief executive of Aspen Technology pleaded guilty to federal charges that he lied to investors.

Profit was bolstered by strong holiday sales and continued growth in prescription drugs.

Quarterly earnings beat estimates and the luxury jeweler said it was on track to meet its first-quarter earnings forecast.

The accounting firm was ordered to pay $1.6 million to settle charges that it compromised its independence and contributed to faulty accounting by a client in 2001.

Analysts questioned the figure and said it shed little light on the program?s popularity during its first month on the market.

Robert E. Petersen channeled his fervor for fast cars with tailfins and chrome-plated engines into a string of successful magazines.

The mobile ad network will allow marketers to place ads not only on Yahoo?s mobile services, but also on those of other online publishers.

For some, an Airbus A380, the largest passenger plane, is just the right size for a private jet.

CBS will bring back the former president of its radio division, Dan Mason, to succeed Joel Hollander as head of the 144-station group.

Business travel is a lot like space travel. The fatigue you experience is pretty much the same.

The former chief of Qwest Communications insisted on telling analysts the company could meet revenue targets that were later revised, an ex-finance chief testified.

The former C.F.O. of Engineered Support Systems is accused of backdating stock options without disclosing his actions.

Speculation that Carrefour, the French retailer, was headed for a takeover were dashed late Friday, setting off a sharp decline in the company?s share price yesterday. Takeover speculation ended when Bernard Arnault, a French investor, and Colony Capital, an American investment firm, said they would not acquire more than 20 percent of Carrefour until June 30, 2008, unless Carrefour?s largest shareholder, the Halley family, decided to sell its 13 percent stake or a new shareholder bought more than 5 percent of the company. Speculation that a takeover was imminent had swirled around the company since last month when Colony Capital and Mr. Arnault, together with a hedge fund, bought a 9.8 percent stake. Stock in Carrefour, which is based in Paris, fell 1.19 euros, or 2 percent, to 54.22 euros a share.

CCMP Capital Asia and a unit of the Ontario Teachers? Pension Plan agreed to buy the Yellow Pages unit of the Telecom Corporation of New Zealand for 2.24 billion New Zealand dollars ($1.6 billion). CCMP Asia, a buyout firm spun off from JPMorgan Chase, and Teachers? Private Capital will pay 2.17 billion New Zealand dollars in cash for the print and online directories, Telecom New Zealand said. Telecom New Zealand also expects to get 75 million New Zealand dollars from the unit?s debtors, and plans to use income from the sale to return capital to shareholders, it said.

A British home builder, Taylor Woodrow, agreed to buy a rival, George Wimpey, for more than £2.5 billion ($4.9 billion) in stock to create a market leader in Britain and combine businesses in the United States. The deal will create Taylor Wimpey, with 51 percent of the company held by Woodrow shareholders and 49 percent by those of Wimpey. Taylor Wimpey intends to cut costs by £70 million a year by buying in bulk and by cutting jobs. George Wimpey?s chief executive, Peter Redfern, above, said that fewer than 700 jobs, less than 5 percent of the two company?s combined work force of about 14,000, would be cut. Most of the job losses would be in Britain, he added. In the United States, Taylor Wimpey will combine the two companies? operations in Florida, Arizona, Texas and California. Stock in both companies rose in response to the agreement.

The deadline for Microsoft to reply to a new charge sheet brought by the European Commission has been extended to April 23 from April 3, a spokesman for the European Union said. The extension, granted at Microsoft?s request, was made by the hearing officer dealing with the case, the spokesman said. The commission has charged that Microsoft was unjustified in seeking payment from rivals for interoperability information so that their servers would work properly with its products.

Alcatel-Lucent, the telecommunications equipment maker, signed a $6 billion contract with Verizon Wireless, the telecommunications service provider, to help the company expand its network and offer new services. The three-year deal calls for Alcatel-Lucent to supply equipment, software and additional services for improvements at Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture between Verizon Communications and the Vodafone Group, based in Basking Ridge, N.J. Work by Alcatel-Lucent, which is based in Paris, will allow Verizon Wireless to increase the coverage and capacity of its high-speed network and introduce services like voice-over-Internet protocol and mobile video telephony, the companies said.

The first Chinese-built MG cars roll off the production line in the eastern city of Nanjing.