COMPANIES

Drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to buy U.S. consumer healthcare group Chattem Inc for around $1.9 billion, in a deal which will give Sanofi over-the-counter presence in the United States.

The recession-ravaged U.S. lodging industry will offer opportunities next year for would-be hotel investors interested in picking up plum properties suffering from falling revenue and high debt.

U.S. commercial real estate faces a long, slow road to recovery that is more than a year away for most types of property, with Washington policy-makers increasingly pulling the strings that affect prices, according to a survey commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Walgreen Co, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, reported a nearly 20 percent jump in quarterly profit as growth in sales of prescription drugs and flu shots offset the hit from consumers cutting back on buying candy and other discretionary items.

The CFM International aero-engines joint venture of French group Safran and General Electric has won a multi-billion dollar deal to supply engines for China's future C919 plane, Safran said on Monday.

Las Vegas Sands , the world's No. 2 casino operator by market value, could completed all its planned developments on Macau's Cotai strip in five years, sooner than expected, hugely expanding its presence in the world's biggest gambling market.

Las Vegas Sands, the world's No.2 casino operator by market capitalization, said it could complete all its planned five projects on Macau's Cotai strip within five years, hugely expanding its presence in the world's biggest gambling market.

Mercer is facing a $2.8 billion lawsuit by the Alaska Retirement Management Board that alleges the human resources consulting firm made a number of errors in its work as the state's actuarial consultant, according to a New York Times column published on Sunday.

Retailers are counting on time-crunched shoppers to swarm stores on Super Saturday, but a heavy winter storm threatened to strand them at home on the final weekend before Christmas.

Bargain-hunting shoppers are poised to flood U.S. stores on Super Saturday, but severe winter weather is threatening the East Coast and could limit turnout on what was shaping up to be the most important weekend for holiday sales.

More U.S. workers, hoping to make ends meet in the recession, have turned to direct selling, but revenues are not keeping pace with growth in the sales force.

Former Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Vice Chairman Gene Taylor is putting together a fund to invest in U.S. banks after a bid to inject capital into a small Florida bank fell apart, sources familiar with the matter said.

Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) will convene a meeting on February 1 to urge shareholders to approve a proposal to issue shares and bankroll its hostile bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc (CBRY.L).

U.S. copper futures ended in positive territory on Friday, recovering from an earlier slide to one-week lows with chart-based buying and firmer outside market support outweighing the bearish impact of a rising dollar.

General Motors Co said it would begin shutting down its money-losing Saab brand after last-ditch talks to sell it to a small Dutch sports car builder collapsed on Friday.

China's largest hotel operator has world-class aspirations and is betting that the U.S. is fertile ground for expansion.

Shares of LDK Solar tumbled for a second day after the Chinese solar wafer maker cut the size of its offering of American Depositary Shares (ADS) and priced it at an 11 percent discount to Thursday's close.

U.S. mobile phone maker Motorola Inc's (MOT.N) set-top box unit has generated a lot of private equity interest, with a number of major buyout firms putting in initial bids this week, several sources familiar with the matter said.

The head of network equipment maker Avaya Inc AVXX.UL said its purchase of some Nortel Networks Corp (NRTLQ.PK) assets will boost market share and help a potential initial public offering or some other type of exit by its private equity owners.

U.S. mining royalty company Royal Gold (RGLD.O) has launched a white-knight C$749 million ($707 million) bid for Canada's International Royalty (IRC.TO), hoping to top a C$640 million offer by Franco Nevada (FNV.TO).

WASHINGTON - U.S. house prices rose in the third quarter, ending a two-year downward trend, and the housing market was now slightly undervalued, an independent survey showed on Friday.

Despite “cash for clunkers” grabbing headlines earlier this year, the biggest used-car dealer in the U.S. reported strong earnings growth in the last three months.

General Motors Co Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre said on Friday that GM has paid $1 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $192 million to the governments of Canada and Canadian province Ontario.

EU competition authorities approved on Friday German builder Bilfinger Berger AG's takeover of Austrian firm MCE AG after the companies offered remedies to ease competition concerns. Bilfinger, Germany's second-largest builder, will sell its subsidiary MCE Energietechnik GmbH and transfer a large MCE high pressure pipe project from another MCE subsidiary to the Divestment Business, the European Commission said.

Ford Motor Co is on track to improve its balance sheet as the auto industry rebounds from a severe downturn and the U.S. economy stages a slow recovery next year, executives said on Friday.

Belgian film and printer company Agfa-Gevaert said it has signed a deal worth up to $500 million to have its hospital imaging systems distributed in China, seen as a critical emerging market for healthcare.

Interstate Hotels & Resorts (IHR.N) said it agreed to be bought by Hotel Acquisition Company LLC in an all-cash deal valued at $307 million, sending its shares up as much as 76 percent.

Brazil's CSN (CSNA3.SA) (SID.N) offered on Friday to buy Portuguese cement producer Cimpor (CPR.LS) for 3.86 billion euros ($5.6 billion) as the steelmaker slowly diversifies from its core business outside its home base.

Two rules in venture capital: VC firms tend to give money to entrepreneurs who've gotten venture capital before. VCs also like to fund companies that already have customers and revenue. Now that the economy's in a slump, these rules are doubly true.