COMPANIES

India's carmakers may just break even in the fiscal year that ends in March, an industry body warned on Thursday and said it would cut its sales outlook for the year, as firms struggle with sluggish demand on rising input costs and high interest rates.

Google Inc. is preparing to celebrate its 10 billionth download on the Android Market with a 10-day promotional offer that will see ten apps on sale for $0.10 throughout the offer period.

Should the tablet live up to its promises, at the price, it should provide a lot of bang for your moolah, making it one of the top tablets to look out.

General Electric Co and Microsoft Corp are forming a joint venture to develop and sell software systems to make it easier for healthcare providers to store, access and share patient information.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is enlisting some Hollywood heavy hitters to help raise money for the proposed Academy Museum.

Washington Wealth Management, a start-up that is expanding nationwide by poaching Wall Street brokers and managers, on Wednesday said it hired three Morgan Stanley Smith Barney producers and opened offices near Las Vegas and San Diego.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc said it received a $60 million loan from private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in return for two board seats and the right to buy a 20 percent stake in the teen retailer.

Video on demand supplier Gravitas Ventures is expanding its international operation with an eye toward Asia.

J.C. Penney Co. is buying a 16.6 percent stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., a move by chief executive officer Ron Johnson that he hopes will build up the company's line of brands while also bringing up sluggish sales.

It turns out that credit unions did not benefit so much from fed-up customers of big banks. The Credit Union National Association said in early November that their survey showed an estimated 650,000 Americans have opened new accounts at credit unions since Sept. 29, the day Bank of America (BAC) announced the $5 debit card fee that it later cancelled due to mounting pressure. However, a newly released regular monthly report shows quite a difference scenario.

As his peers in larger financial institutions are dealing with collapsing stock prices and laying off tens of thousands, the chief executive at boutique investment firm Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) said he believes smaller, more nimble investment banks like his are likely to benefit from trends developing on Wall Street.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded five more North American banks late Tuesday, a move to better reflect a recalibration of its view of the banking sector. The downgrade is a result of the application of the revised bank criteria published on Nov. 9, rather than any sudden and striking changes in creditworthiness.

Yet the New York Police Department has warned all banks in the city to beef up mailroom security in light of the episode. The package in Germany was made of explosives and shrapnel, and it was discovered in the mailroom at Deutsche Bank's headquarters. The package was detected by X-ray technology, police said. It did not detonate.

The United States Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods Market Group on Tuesday on behalf of a former employee, alleging she was fired after she reported health concerns stemming from a raw sewage spill at a market in Miami Beach, Fla.

U.S. mortgage loan delinquencies are projected to decline to five percent by the end of 2012 from around six percent at the end of 2011, according to TransUnion.

Canadian imams plan to condemn the misguided notion of so-called honor killings in their Friday sermons this week, responding to the high-profile trial of a father accused of murdering his three teenage daughters, allegedly because they shamed his Afghan family.

Commercial crude inventories in the week ended Dec. 2 rose by 1.3 million barrels of oil when compared to the week before, remaining in the upper limit of the historical average for this time of year, according to EIA's weekly report.

Facebook revealed its top 10 global topics for 2011 on Wednesday. Yes, planking made the list.

J.C. Penney Co Inc took a stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc and plans to open Martha Stewart shops within its stores, in the first big deal announced by its new chief executive as he tries to turn the department store chain around.

J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) bought a 16.6 percent stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc (MSO.N) and will build mini-stores under that brand in a deal new Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson called a key centerpiece in the company's transformation.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) announced that all deposit-taking ATMs in its network of more than 12,000 machines in the U.S. are now entirely envelope-free. Citibank (C) stated in its recent edition of client manual for consumer accounts that the bank will be installing new envelope-free ATMs at Citibank branches and other Citi locations "throughout 2011."

J.C. Penney Co Inc bought a 16.6 percent stake in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc and will build mini-stores under that brand in a deal new Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson called a key centerpiece in the company's transformation.

Brazilian oil major Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, will not be meeting its daily production target this year said company executive in Qatar Wednesday, citing increased safety regulations in Brazil.

The St. Louis-based agricultural chemicals and biotechnology company now expects ongoing EPS guidance in the range of $0.15 to $0.20 for the quarter, up from the previous guidance of $0.10 to $0.15 and exceeding analysts' consensus of $0.13.

U.S. mortgage applications increased by 12.8 percent in the week ending Dec. 2, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Bishop Eddie Long's announcement of his departure from the New Birth missionary Baptist Church on Sunday has uncertainty for the future of the church, The Associated Press has reported.

A deal with a native chief that Enbridge Inc held up last week as an example of rising support of their planned oil pipeline to the Pacific appears to be unraveling as the community battles over who has the authority to negotiate.

According to reports, the man known as the Geezer Bandit, responsible and wanted for robbing close to 20 banks throughout California, left some vital clues in his most recent robbery of a bank that could lead authorities to his capture.

The LG Nitro HD smartphone, made available on AT&T's networks on Sunday, is expected to face immense pressure from Samsung's Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, which, along with the HTC Vivid will be the first AT&T 4G LTE-capable smartphones.