Reuters - Commercial real estate investors and executives believe private equity firms will continue buying up large portfolios of properties over the next year, according to a survey released on Monday.

Turkey's main stock index and its currency, the lira, fall amid a row over a vote for the country's next president.

The People's Bank of China tightens credit, making another interest rate rise less likely in the near future.

The decision to halt a fraud inquiry into a Saudi arms deal may have damaged Britain's reputation, MPs warn.

EDF Energy says that it will cut its gas prices by more than 10% with effect from mid-June.

Babycare retailer Mothercare buys the Early Learning Centre children's toy chain for £85m in cash and shares.

Reuters - German sports car maker Porsche launched its lowball takeover offer for Volkswagen on Monday, offering less than current market prices in expectation of not getting a majority stake.

Reuters - Citigroup and Lehman Brothers are leading the race to acquire a 26 percent strategic stake in Indian long-term lender IFCI Ltd. , the Hindustan Times reported on Monday.

AFP - Britain's economy has flourished under the decade-long tenure of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his likely successor, finance minister Gordon Brown, but economists expect a difficult period ahead.

Reuters - German retail sales fell by 0.7 percent on the month in March, bucking expectations for a rise, preliminary Federal Statistics Office data showed on Monday.

Bank of America is reportedly threatening legal action if its deal to buy LaSalle Bank from ABN Amro collapses.

Apple says that 'some batteries' in its range of MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops have 'performance issues'.

German retail sales unexpectedly fall by 0.7% in March, official figures show, raising new concerns about the impact of higher VAT.

Reuters - German sports car maker Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) launched its obligatory takeover offer for Volkswagen at marginally improved terms on Monday, still aiming for less than a majority stake in VW.

Reuters - DaVita Inc. , the biggest provider of dialysis in the United States, said on Monday its first-quarter profit rose 33.2 percent, helped by an increase in the number of treatments at its facilities.

Six out of eight Iraqi reconstruction projects are failures, a US federal investigation finds.

Online gambling firm 888 Holdings sees its annual profits rise 34% despite the US ban on such companies.

Babycare retailer Mothercare buys the Early Learning Centre children's toy chain for £85m in cash and shares.

Reuters - Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL_w.N) on Monday emerged from bankruptcy after a 19-month restructuring that resulted in $3 billion in annual financial improvements, the third-largest U.S. airline said.

Powerful new mobile devices are allowing people to send round-the-clock updates about every detail of their lives.

US consumer spending rose less than expected in March, the latest sign that economic growth is cooling.

Embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will fight for his job in front of a panel of bank directors on Monday

Delta Air Lines exits bankruptcy protection after completing a 19-month restructuring programme.

The Bank of England needs to raise interest rates to 5.75% by June to tackle wage inflation, a think tank warns.

The Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, needs to do more to combat financial crime, a report says.

Reuters - Incomes rose a greater-than-expected 0.7 percent in March, but core consumer prices were surprisingly unchanged, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday.

Reuters - Verizon Communications on Monday reported a fall in first-quarter profit due to discontinued operations, although profit from continuing operations rose in line with expectations amid strong wireless and Internet growth.

Reuters - Tyson Foods Inc. on Monday reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit as last year's cost-cutting program paid off, and the largest U.S. meat producer raised its fiscal-year outlook.

Reuters - Loews Corp. , the conglomerate, said on Monday first-quarter profit rose 42 percent, helped by improved results from its insurance, tobacco and oil drilling units.

Reuters - Consumer electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. said on Monday that first-quarter net profit jumped five-fold, helped by lower expenses and higher interest income, sending shares up 5.7 percent.

Microsoft wins a legal battle with AT&T in the US Supreme Court regarding overseas software patents.

Deutsche Boerse is in talks to take over US options trading market International Securities Exchange for $2.8bn

The annual US-EU summit aims to dismantle barriers to transatlantic trade and investment.

Reuters - U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as investors paused after a month-long rally that saw the Dow set record highs and left stocks poised for the best monthly performance in more than three years.

Reuters - U.S. incomes rose a greater-than-expected 0.7 percent in March, but core consumer prices were surprisingly unchanged, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday.

Reuters - Doral Financial Corp. is talking to a private equity fund about investing in the Puerto Rican lender but any such deal would substantially dilute existing shareholders, Doral said on Monday.

AT&T had sued Microsoft, alleging that computers running Windows infringed on AT&T?s speech technology. The ruling restricts the reach of patent holders overseas.

Reuters unveils software that can read corporate news stories and decide whether they are positive or negative.

Scottish Power and EDF Energy become the latest energy supplier to announce significant price cuts.

Head offices of two building firms may close as they merge and cut jobs, it is announced.

Reuters - Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) and Eurex partner SWX have agreed to buy International Securities Exchange for $2.8 billion in cash to create the largest transatlantic derivatives marketplace, Boerse said.

Reuters - The Dow Jones industrial average touched a record high for the fourth straight session on Monday as government data helped soothe inflation worries and the latest earnings results pointed to robust corporate growth.

Reuters - Consumer spending grew at its slowest rate in five months during March despite rising incomes, as higher costs eroded purchasing power, a Commerce Department report showed on Monday.

Reuters - Subprime mortgage lenders created a surge in delinquencies in the past year by repeatedly breaking their own underwriting guidelines to capture business, analysts said on Monday.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says he will not resign in the face of 'bogus' charges against him.

US consumer spending rose less than expected in March, the latest sign that economic growth is cooling.

Reuters - German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) will buy fast growing U.S. options market International Securities Exchange for $2.8 billion, creating the No. 1 transatlantic derivatives marketplace, the companies said on Monday.

Reuters - The Dow Jones industrial average turned flat while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended losses on Monday as investors sold off some of April's top advancers to secure gains just before the end of the month.

Reuters - Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL_w.N) emerged from bankruptcy on Monday, following a 19-month, $3 billion restructuring during which the carrier thwarted a hostile takeover, cut costs and jobs, and eliminated some unprofitable routes.

Reuters - Bankrupt Northwest Airlines Corp. on Monday posted a narrower quarterly loss largely on expenses related to its restructuring.

FT.com - The global economy has yet to decouple from the US, according to David Rosenberg, chief North American economist with Merrill Lynch.

Alibaba.com, which is partly owned by Yahoo, is a business-to-business site whose public offering could raise $1 billion.

Deutsche Boerse is to take over US options market International Securities Exchange for $2.8bn

The annual US-EU summit takes steps to dismantle barriers to transatlantic trade and investment.

Turkey's main stock index and its currency, the lira, fall amid a row over a vote for the country's next president.

Reuters - U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday as investors locked in profits on some of April's big gainers, such as Caterpillar Inc. , at the end of Wall Street's strongest month in three years.

Reuters - Centex Corp. , the fourth-largest U.S. home builder, on Monday reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as it scrambled to deal with the real-estate slowdown by selling off land that was decreasing in value and exiting the sub-prime lending and commercial contracting businesses.

Reuters - Southwest Airlines Co. said on Monday it raised fares up to $2 each way on some of its flights, a move that was matched by competitors.

AP - Consumer spending rose at the weakest pace in five months in March as a surge in gasoline prices left shoppers with little left over for other items.

Several groups are working on massive fields of plankton intended to absorb carbon dioxide.

Tajikistan has announced a $1bn plan to become one of the world's leading hydropower producers.

Many shoppers who use store cards are to be told on their account statement they can get a better deal elsewhere.

Reuters - MedImmune Inc. , which earlier this month agreed to be bought by AstraZeneca Plc. for more than $15 billion, reported on Monday that first-quarter profit more than tripled on increased sales of its respiratory drug Synagis.

AP - Electronics and entertainment retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday it will report a loss in its first quarter and is withdrawing its outlook for the first half of the fiscal year.

A rights group says the retailer's aggressive efforts to keep out labor unions violated federal law and infringed on its workers? rights.

Reuters - Australia's Symbion Health said on Tuesday it has received a takeover approach valuing the pathology company's ordinary shares at A$2.78 billion ($2.32 billion) from a consortium led by Healthscope .

Reuters - Merck KGaA , Germany's drugs and chemicals group, received four final bids for its generics drugs business, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Critics warn that the F.D.A. is woefully understaffed and underfinanced to keep America?s food supply safe.

The Supreme Court made it more difficult to get a patent on new products that combine elements of existing inventions.

LaSalle is at the center of what could be the biggest bank deal ever, as a trophy for Bank of America and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

An accounting technique called gain on sale is haunting New Century Financial as it faces bankruptcy and federal investigations.

An emergency food supply can make an unplanned tarmac delay, if not pleasant, at least bearable.

A rights group says the retailer's aggressive efforts to keep out labor unions violated federal law and infringed on its workers? rights.

Profit was down 8.4 percent but the company continued to have strong growth in wireless and broadband subscriptions.

Alibaba.com could raise $1 billion in what would be the biggest initial public offering ever for a Chinese Internet company.

The lonely Maytag repairman is getting a personality makeover in a change meant to appeal to a new generation of shoppers.

The cross-examination of a crucial witness grew heated when a defense lawyer portrayed the witness as forgetful or inept.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has used a myriad of tactics, including some that are illegal, to hinder the ability of its workers to form labor unions, a human rights group said in a report to be released on Tuesday.

Reuters - A former Tyco International Ltd. executive has agreed to settle civil charges he helped inflate the company's profits through sham transactions, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday.