Toyota said it would reshuffle its management as automakers struggle to cope with sliding global demand.

Toyota picks the grandson of the company's founder to be its new president as the carmaker braces for a tough year.

Reuters - Germany's BMW , the world's largest premium car maker, is looking into applying for state guarantees to back up its borrowings, the Bild Zeitung newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Reuters - American International Group Inc Chief Investment Officer Win Neuger will step down from his post and focus on a narrower role at the company, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Toyota Motor named Akio Toyoda, 52, to head the company in a widely expected management reshuffle.

Russia?s Gazprom gas monopoly said it had restarted gas shipments through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe after halting them nearly two weeks ago.

Russia's Gazprom says it has resumed gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, ending weeks of disruption.

The luxury brand Burberry is to cut up to 290 jobs in the UK and another 250 jobs in Spain in its latest cost-cutting programme.

Reuters - Asian shares slumped on Tuesday on concerns that increasing woes in the global financial sector will deepen the world's economic downturn, highlighting the difficulties confronting incoming U.S. President Barack Obama.

Reuters - Barack Obama takes over as U.S. president on Tuesday with hopes riding high he can conjure

Russia and Ukraine said they would quickly resume shipments of fuel to freezing homes and idled factories.

Ukraine confirms that Russia has resumed gas supplies, raising hopes of an end to weeks of disruption.

The UK and Germany clash over economic questions

The cut in VAT helps to push UK inflation down in December to 3.1% from November's rate of 4.1%.

Concerns about the health of the UK banking sector cause sterling to hit its lowest level against the dollar since 2001.

US computer company T3 Technologies says it has filed a complaint against IBM with the European Commission.

Reuters - Fears about banks and the world economy underlined the difficulties confronting incoming U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday, sending equities sharply lower.

Reuters - Italy's Fiat confirmed it was in talks with Chrysler over taking a stake in its U.S. rival as France prepared to announce an injection of state funds to revive its carmakers.

Reuters - Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) still wants to sell its nearly 20 percent stake in U.S. carmaker Chrysler, a spokesman for the German group said on Tuesday amid speculation Fiat would join forces with Chrysler.

Two carmakers that have struggled to expand outside their home markets have agreed to an alliance.

Italian carmaker Fiat signs a global strategic alliance with troubled US giant Chrysler.

Pub operator JD Wetherspoon sees sales rise but cancels its dividend and reduces spending on opening new pubs.

The food firm Vion is cutting 820 jobs at Haverhill in Suffolk, Malton in North Yorkshire and Cambuslang in Scotland.

Reuters - Improved German investor sentiment failed to lift equity market gloom on Tuesday as investors fretted about the financial system despite the promise of further multi-billion dollar interventions around the world.

Reuters - Fears about banks and the world economy underlined the difficulties confronting incoming U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday, sending equities sharply lower.

The inauguration of Barack Obama helped offset gloom in the banking sector in Europe, while Asian markets tumbled as financial stocks took a beating.

The health care products maker said that fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent, topping Wall Street forecasts.

The online brokerage?s quarterly earnings met Wall Street expectations but it cut its guidance for the year, citing the economic slowdown.

The financial services company reported rising unrealized losses in its commercial paper program and investment portfolio.

The New York Times is set to get $250m investment from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim to help the paper clear mounting debts

Which shares will win or lose under Barack Obama?

What's with Google's tiny new logo?

Employees on long-term sick leave are entitled to take all holiday accrued when they return to work, European judges say.

Reuters - Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Tuesday as investors fretted over grim earnings and the health of the banking sector, highlighting difficulties facing President-elect Barack Obama.

Reuters - Italy's Fiat took an initial 35 percent stake in Chrysler, launching a venture designed to secure both carmakers' futures, as France asked its auto industry to commit to output targets in exchange for aid.

Reuters - Johnson & Johnson reported higher quarterly earnings on Tuesday as cost cuts helped offset weak sales of its drugs, devices and consumer products, but J&J forecast 2009 earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Reuters - Pressure on incoming U.S. President Barack Obama to act quickly on the global financial crisis was underlined on Tuesday by tumbling bank shares, a slump in Japanese consumer sentiment and a teetering car sector.

Reuters - U.S. bank shares fell on Tuesday after a U.S. regional bank recorded a huge loss, the Royal Bank of Scotland posted the biggest loss in UK corporate history, and the British government launched a second bank rescue package.

As millions converged in Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama, stock markets slid in New York, a reminder of the persistent troubles in the financial markets.

The central bank predicted a period of falling prices as an economic recession takes hold and signaled that further cuts may be on the horizon.

Germany's largest retailer, Metro, is planning to cut 15,000 jobs or 5% of its workforce due to the economic slowdown.

Saudi industrial and petrochemical firm Sabic sees profits steeply decline in the fourth quarter as demand drops.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday as investors fretted over gloomy earnings and the health of the banking sector that underlined the depth of the difficulties facing President-elect Barack Obama.

Reuters - The Treasury Department has asked big banks receiving government bailout funds to provide more details about lending activity in a monthly report, a Treasury official said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Barack Obama prepared to take office on Tuesday with bank shares tumbling, Japanese consumer sentiment slumping and the car sector teetering, and the new U.S. president has vowed to act quickly on stimulating the economy.

The mutual fund giant and institutional money manager became the latest financial institution to come under pressure after reporting substantial losses on bonds and other investments.

France is considering providing car firms with up to 6bn euros in additional state aid, a french news agency reports.

The Irish government plans to keep the country's biggest lenders, Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland, private.

Reuters - Stock indexes extended losses and hit session lows on Tuesday after President Barack Obama's inauguration speech provided few new details about measures to tackle the growing economic crisis.

?Career transition? firms are growing even as they help other companies shrink.

Most of the job cuts will come out of the studio?s headquarters in Burbank, Calif., in a mix of layoffs, the elimination of open positions and outsourcing.

Furnished office space in small units and on short leases is seeing some movement in a sluggish economy.

Reuters - Stocks fell to their worst day in nearly two months on Tuesday as President Barack Obama took office amid growing troubles in the banking sector and grim profit outlooks that hurt stocks across the board.

Reuters - U.S. bank shares sank on Tuesday, with Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp hitting their lowest levels since the early 1990s, as a series of analysts cut their forecasts for both banks for the rest of 2009.

Reuters - State Street Corp , the world's largest money manager for institutions, reported on Tuesday a sharp drop in quarterly profit and billions of dollars of unrealized investment losses, causing its shares to plunge as much as 55 percent.

Despite widespread optimism about President Barack Obama, the major indexes plunged more than 4 percent on Tuesday.

The forecast may signal that the company?s focus on high-margin services and software contract is paying off.

Struggling from the advertising downturn, the company said it was eliminating about 9 percent of its employees effective immediately.

Heartland Payment Systems said the system it used to process Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover Card transactions was breached last year.

The company said it would end a program to sell ads in newspapers because the effort had not been as successful as expected.

Furnished office space in small units and on short leases is seeing some movement in a sluggish economy.

Eight new office towers are under construction in a city at the center of Canada?s oil and gas industry.

The Bank of England's governor warns business leaders it remains uncertain how long it will be before an economic recovery.

Reuters - Wall Street ushered in the Barack Obama presidency with a record Inauguration Day drop on Tuesday amid fresh signs the global bank crisis was far from over.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp is expected to post a quarterly profit that misses its own target and announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry's biggest players.

Reuters - U.S. bank shares sank on Tuesday, with Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp hitting their lowest levels since the early 1990s, as a series of analysts cut their forecasts for financial firms for 2009 as the recession deepens and credit losses soar.

Once considered too risky, mixed martial arts is now seen by companies as a way to reach young male consumers.

Furnished office space in small units and on short leases is seeing some movement in a sluggish economy.

Eight new office towers are under construction in a city at the center of Canada?s oil and gas industry.

US indexes see their biggest fall for almost two months, with banking shares ending sharply lower.

Reuters - Wall Street ushered in the Barack Obama presidency with a record Inauguration Day drop on Tuesday amid fresh signs the global bank crisis was far from over.

Reuters - The collapse of electronics retailer Circuit City could drive down shopping and strip mall rents, and deal another blow to commercial mortgage-backed securities' (CMBS) investors who have already seen their bond prices slide.

Administration advisers have cautioned that they would not be rushed into announcing a plan.

Fiat said it would take a 35 percent stake in Chrysler, giving it the ability to market its cars through Chrysler?s dealership network. Chrysler will have access to Fiat?s technology.

The forecast may signal that the company?s focus on high-margin services and software contract is paying off.

Overwhelming demand for live Internet video feeds of the inauguration ceremony caused some providers to experience network problems.

The return of the newspaper?s top editors ends a period of several days when the newspaper staff did not know whether the editors had been ousted by the paper?s owner.

There is a growing sense in the capital that legislators are likely to turn to an income tax increase on the wealthiest New Yorkers to help close the state?s $15 billion deficit.

Kingdom Holding Company, owned by the Saudi billionaire Prince Walid bin Talal, posted a $8.26 billion net loss in the fourth quarter, caused by huge drops in the value of some of its assets, like Citigroup.

Mr. de Rothschild led the development of a major hydroelectric project in Canada while helping his firm expand globally and opening it to people outside his family.

A Czech businessman wanted in the U.S. on charges of bribing government officials in Azerbaijan, settled a lawsuit filed against him by a hedge fund, Omega Advisors.

Profit tumbled in the final quarter because of sizable losses on investments and a severance-related charge.

Though he has two charges to answer to in his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Treasury secretary pick Timothy Geithner should still get the job.

The recession of the early 1980s doesn?t have a catchy name, and many Americans are too young to remember it. But indicators say that these were worse times then.

Mining giant BHP Billiton says it will close a nickel mine in Australia and lay off more than 2,000 staff.

Business blogger who got it right held in South Korea

Reuters - Diversified U.S. manufacturer Eaton Corp said on Tuesday it planned to cut 5,200 jobs in an effort to further slash costs in the face of a struggling economy.

The company said it would end a program to sell ads in newspapers because the effort had not been as successful as expected.

Reuters - General Motors Corp Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said the automaker expected to receive a delayed U.S. government loan payment in the next several days that it needs to avoid running out of cash.