COMPANIES

A monthly barometer of online U.S. employment demand fell in December from November amid a year-end pause in recruitment activity, a private research group said on Thursday.

MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM.N), a provider of tools and industrial services, reported a quarterly profit that edged past Street estimates by 1 cent, helped by a recovery in demand from large accounts.

The world's leading steelmakers Arcelor Mittal (ISPA.AS) and POSCO (005490.KS) have plans for $14 billion of new investment in India, despite a history of delays in their existing projects.

Motorola Inc (MOT.N) said it will sell a new inside-out Android flip-phone with a keyboard and display on the outside, and is considering joining the latest craze for tablet computing devices.

Home buyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below asking prices in November, but had less negotiating power than in October, real estate website Zillow.com said on Thursday.

Brian Moynihan, the new chief executive of Bank of America (BAC.N), has been confirmed as one of the four bank executives set to testify Wednesday before a U.S. commission created by Congress to examine the financial crisis.

Insurer Pearl Group (PEARL.AS) said a dispute with its bondholders over repayment terms won't jeopardise its efforts to obtain a listing on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) most closely-regulated segment.

The U.S. commercial paper market had its biggest weekly percentage contraction in a decade, suggesting companies were nervous about the prospects for a sustained economic recovery, analysts said.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and Sempra Energy (SRE.N) have received bids for their commodities joint venture from a trio of banks keen to expand in the booming business, a person familiar with the matter said.

Life insurance company Symetra Financial Corp set the terms of its initial public offering on Wednesday, lowering the overall value of the deal from its October filing and signaling that it is likely to price soon.

Hedge funds are at the top of a list of financial career categories with fewer job postings compared to a year ago in the United States.

Canada's Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) said on Thursday it will spend $513 million to buy mining giant Xstrata's (XTA.L) 70 percent interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile, foiling Barrick Gold's (ABX.TO) plans to acquire the stake.

China Investment Corp (CIC), a $300 billion wealth fund, may be weighing up a bid for state-owned Chinalco's stake in mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) in what would be its boldest move yet into natural resources.

Dubai World, the state- owned holding company seeking to restructure its debt, moved to quell speculation it could present its restructuring plans to creditors on Thursday, as reported by an Arabic-language newspaper.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) and U.S. group Sempra Energy (SRE.N) have received a trio of bids worth about $4 billion for their commodities joint venture, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Japan's new finance minister, Naoto Kan, said he expected a state-backed fund to support Japan Airlines (9205.T), fuelling growing expectations that Asia's largest carrier by revenue will be bailed out with public money

Prospective bidders in Sweden, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were making last-ditch efforts on Thursday to buy Saab, hours before a deadline set by owner General Motors to either sell or close the Swedish carmaker.

With a new year ahead, video game publishers are returning to their roots and core gamers to maintain sales at a time when a contraction in the industry is expected to mean fewer overall new releases.

A U.S. software maker is suing China, several major PC makers and two Chinese software makers for $2.2 billion, accusing them of using stolen code in controversial Web filtering software that drew global criticism last year.

After a tumultuous year that saw General Electric Co stock tumble to 18-year lows, then whipsaw back to triple that level, shareholders of the largest U.S. conglomerate may be in for a year of few, if any, gains.

Motorola Inc plans to make a phone that Google will sell in its direct cellphone sales channel and that device could potentially sport the Motorola brand, the company's cellphone chief Sanjay Jha said in an interview on Wednesday.

Members of Cadbury Plc's board have been talking with counterparts at Hershey Co as expectations fade for a significantly higher bid from Kraft Foods Inc .

General Motors Co Chief Executive Ed Whitacre said on Wednesday he is not hopeful a breakthrough deal can be reached to save Saab and said GM is proceeding with the wind-down of the Swedish brand.

A recent special dividend from leading oilfield equipment provider National Oilwell Varco Inc did not signal a change in its strategy of steadily making acquisitions, a company official said on Wednesday.

Tianjin Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Co, the first Chinese automaker to break into the United States, hopes to significantly boost sales of its self-developed electric models in the world's second-largest market this year, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Vacancies at U.S. strip malls hit an 18-year high in the fourth quarter and the vacancy rate for large regional malls reached the highest in at least 10 years, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc.

Following a successful public debut of one of its companies last year, a San Francisco venture capital firm is now guiding two more of its green portfolio firms to raise money in the public markets.

Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) said top-line results of a mid-stage study showed that its experimental drug regimen to treat HIV infection met the main goal, sending its shares up as much as 4 percent.

Morocco will invite bids for construction of its first solar power station at the end of next month as part of a $9 billion solar energy project, its energy minister said on Wednesday.