COMPANIES

Two U.S. drug safety reviewers have recommended that GlaxoSmithKline PLC's diabetes drug Avandia be pulled from the market after concluding it is more dangerous to the heart than a rival medicine, according to documents released on Saturday.

A Chinese vocational school has denied a report it was a source of recent cyber attacks on Internet giant Google and other U.S. corporations, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc, one of the world's largest casino operators, said on Friday it acquired the 2,500-room Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Simon Property Group Inc said it could not agree to conditions General Growth Properties Inc.

Top executives at The New York Times Co. went into great detail to discuss their new metered model system that the company intends to launch on its web site next year.

U.S. home improvement chains Home Depot and Lowe's Cos must find a quick fix for their sagging sales to retain investor confidence in 2010.

For handlers of AIG's massive IPO of its Asian life insurance unit, getting investors to recognize the name and the size of the business is the easy part.

Toyota Motor Corp's head bowed to pressure to testify before U.S. lawmakers and explain the company's safety crisis.

MDS Inc said that it planned to buy back more than 40 percent of its outstanding shares as it advances its plans to narrow its focus to nuclear imaging.

Private equity firms are putting floatation candidates back in the box after receiving knock backs from angry fund managers, and will try again in a couple of years when they hope the market will be more receptive.

Bank of Ireland was in talks on Friday with Irish and European authorities over whether Dublin would have to acquire a fresh stake of up to 20 percent in the group.

U.S. department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as improved margins from cost-cutting and leaner inventories.

President Barack Obama will use a campaign stop for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday to announce a new initiative to help support homeowners in five states hit hardest by the U.S. housing crisis.

Volkswagen's Czech unit Skoda Auto has plans for a new model, its union's weekly newsletter reported, although details of its pricing and production schedule are still not certain.

Chrysler Group LLC reached a deal on Thursday with the shell company holding its old assets to acquire a Sterling Heights, Michigan, assembly plant for $20 million, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents.

Honda Motor Co has taken a big step toward developing a new hybrid system for larger cars, its head of automobile research and development said on Friday, indicating a finished product could be about three years away.

The head of Toyota Motor Corp will need a crash course in preparing for his debut in the U.S. Congress next week.

Nestle expects higher sales growth this year after beating 2009 forecasts through strong growth in North America and developing markets.

U.S. department stores are by and large set to report far better earnings in the coming week than they did a year ago in the thick of retail meltdown.

Quarterly sales at Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. fell for the first time in the giant retailer's history.

Tycoon Carlos Slim's America Movil (AMXL.MX) and Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) are among 17 companies that have signed up to bid for wireless spectrum being auctioned in Mexico later this year.

U.S. health regulators approved Roche's (ROG.VX) blockbuster cancer drug Rituxan to treat the most common form of leukemia in adults.

New York Fashion Week is the place to spot new trends and, if this season's event is any indication, going green is definitely in style.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange lumber futures closed lower on Thursday amid pressure from reports of slowing cash trade and possible easier prices as wholesalers discount their wood, traders said.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH.TO), which deals in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, reported fourth-quarter profit that plunged 77 percent on investment losses.

A thorny inflation clause and a shopping list of military gadgets dominated closing stages of talks to rescue the delayed A400M troop plane on Thursday as France held out the prospect of a deal next week.

Nearly all the major oil companies are looking across Europe for shale gas, an unconventional energy source that has transformed the U.S. energy market.

Oil company Petrobras said it is importing gasoline to ensure supplies to the domestic market after a spike in demand for the motor fuel.

Spyker will have to raise more cash in order to make its $400-million acquisition of Sweden's Saab sustainably profitable amid gut-wrenching changes in the global automobile industry.