COMPANIES

HSBC has this week launched the 2 billion pound ($3.1 billion) sale of its UK rolling stock leasing company as it builds its balance sheet by shedding non-core assets.

Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its $4 billion hedge fund business to SkyBridge Capital LLC, a New York firm that invests in start-up fund managers.

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc agreed to take steps to help inconvenienced owners of more than 500,000 recalled vehicles in New York.

Euro zone industrial new orders unexpectedly rose in December against November, data showed, helped in large part by a car-scrappage scheme in France designed to encourage vehicle purchasing.

Toyota Motor Corp. will decentralize its Japan-centric recall power, giving its global regions more responsibility in an effort to boost customer safety following recent quality problems which have tarnished the car maker's reputation.

Sales of newly built single-family homes unexpectedly fell to a record low in January, according to government data on Wednesday that hinted at potential trouble for the fragile housing market recovery.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported a lower quarterly profit and signaled that cutbacks by financial customers last year would continue to hurt revenue in 2010, sending its shares down 2 percent.

World number two truck maker Volvo said on Wednesday deliveries of its trucks fell 8 percent year-on-year in January as weak demand continued to plague its main European market.

Toyota Motor Corp's president braced for tough questions from a U.S. congressional panel on Wednesday.

The U.S. government will pull the plug soon on a popular tax credit that has helped prop up the struggling housing sector amid hope that a pickup in hiring will give the market a fresh shot of life.

US mortgage applications fell for a third straight week, with demand for home purchase loans sinking to the lowest level in 13 years as inclement weather weighed.

Printing services firm RR Donnelley & Sons Co has agreed to acquire Bowne & Co Inc, which helps companies print regulatory filings, for $481 million.

Seahawk Drilling Inc posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by lower costs, and said it sees deamand improving for jackups.

Thomson Reuters Corp reported a lower quarterly profit and said it expects 2010 revenue to be flat or to fall slightly because of the impact of negative net sales last year.

Two days after his appointment as president of Toyota Motor Corp last June, Akio Toyoda delivered his vision for steering the company founded by his grandfather.

Toyota Motor Co. has not ruled out an electronic malfunction as a cause of unintended acceleration in its vehicles which has led to a major global recall.

UBS AG named investment banker Jim Spencer as head of banks in its North America financial institutions group, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

A number of private equity firms put in second round bids for Dow Chemical's Styron unit a week ago, including buyout firms TPG and Apollo.

AutoNation Inc Chief Executive Mike Jackson said that Toyota Motor Corp's U.S. sales will recover by April, but only if the automaker offers customer incentives.

Toyota Motor Corp promised a quality shake-up and apologized for safety mistakes that it blamed on rapid growth.

Consumers Union issued a call on Tuesday for urgent changes to strengthen U.S. auto safety regulation in the wake of a massive recall by Toyota Motor Corp.

South African police are investigating the disappearance of a German auto executive who went missing three weeks ago while on a business trip to the country.

Target Corp posted a quarterly profit slightly above Wall Street expectations, helped by better-than-expected holiday sales, improved margins and a lower tax rate.

Top executives at Toyota Motor Corp promised a quality shake-up on Tuesday as the Obama administration said it would hold the carmaker's chief to a pledge to address safety issues after massive recalls.

The House Oversight Committee has released the opening statement for the committee's Wednesday's hearing that features Toyota President and CEO Ako Toyoda. The follow is the full text:

Lawmakers delivered opening statements today during a hearing investigating Toyota's and the government regulators' response to complaints of unintended acceleration in the company's vehicles.

Full text of James Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., to Committee on Energy and Commerce

Medtronic Inc on Tuesday posted a 19 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by lower operating expenses and higher sales of its devices to treat heart disease, diabetes and other chronic disorders.

U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc reported lower quarterly profit on Tuesday as sales at its stores dropped sharply, and the company's outlook fell short of Wall Street expectations.