COMPANIES

The U.S. Treasury plans to kick off a fresh $15 billion liquidity and mortgage bond purchase program to assist state finance agencies providing mortgages to low-income borrowers, Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The company's two largest shareholders -- Gratco LLC and Holiday Stationstores Inc -- will buy shares held by the remaining shareholders for $5.15 a share, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said in a statement.

Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell said on Monday Johnson & Johnson had bought 14.6 million new Crucell shares for 302 million euros ($443.5 million) as part of a flu vaccine development deal.

Donald Fisher, who co-founded Gap Inc with his wife Doris forty years ago, died on Sunday after a battle with cancer, the clothing retailer said.

The Chrysler Group LLC board of directors met on Friday to discuss Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne's plan for revamping the automaker's product line-up at a time of sagging sales, a person with direct knowledge of the plans said.

Swiss National Bank Vice Chairman Phillip Hildebrand said on Friday that the bank would do whatever it takes to adjust monetary policy -- but only when the right time comes.

Citigroup Inc sued Morgan Stanley on Friday for breach of contract, saying the Wall Street firm owed it $245.4 million for protection it bought on a loan.

Toyota Motor Corp, has raised its global sales forecast for the year to March 2010 by 3 percent to 6.7 million cars, the Tokyo Shimbun daily reported on Saturday, in the latest sign of a nascent recovery in auto demand.

Marriott International Inc. announced Wednesday that it will stop building new timeshare and luxury-vacation projects and write down the value of the projects it already has under construction by $760 million.

Koenigsegg's chief executive said on Saturday the Swedish luxury sports car maker still aimed to finalize a deal to buy Saab Automobile from General Motors by the end of October.

A majority of U.S. consumers say they have permanently changed their spending and savings habits in response to the global financial markets crash and recession, according to a Citigroup survey released on Friday.

Hicks Acquisition Co I Inc on Friday said its stock and warrant holders approved its deal to buy privately held oil company Resolute Natural Resources Co.

Seven U.S.-listed initial public offerings priced this week and raised $2.95 billion in the busiest week for U.S. IPOs since December 2007.

Johnson & Johnson said on Friday U.S. regulators approved its new treatment for psoriasis, called Stelara, for patients 18 years or older with moderate to severe psoriasis.

Fidelity National Financial Inc, which controls one of the largest U.S. title insurers, said it will sell Fidelity National Capital Inc to Winthrop Resources Corp, a unit of TCF Financial Corp, to lower debt

The chief financial officer of government-controlled mortgage finance company, Freddie Mac's, will start his new job with annual pay of up to $3.5 million and a nearly $2 million signing bonus, the company said in a regulatory filing late Thursday.

Mattress makers Simmons and Serta are planning to dethrone competitor Sealy as the world's largest mattress company in a $760 million deal that includes Simmons filing for bankruptcy.

Some U.S. airlines have added a $10 surcharge to fares for travel dates around the Thanksgiving and New Year's holidays, according to FareCompare.com, a site that compares prices for flights.

Financially stricken U.S. hog producers are cutting back on supply in a bid for profits but consumers will continue to get plentiful pork at grocery stores well into next year, analysts said on Friday.

An estimated 5.7 million U.S. families live in substandard housing, with one in every three houses in U.S. metropolitan areas plagued by health hazards, according to a study released Thursday.

Airgas Inc is not yet out of the woods brought on by the recession, the specialty gases supplier's chief executive said on Friday.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will exhibit a large collection of important 20th century art amassed by the founders of the Gap apparel chain including pieces by Warhol, Lichtenstein and de Kooning.

Honda Motor Co has unveiled an electric battery-powered personal transporter, a unicycle shaped like the number eight that riders steer by leaning in the direction they want to travel.

Fitch Ratings put AIG's aircraft leasing unit, International Lease Finance Corp. on negative rating watch on Friday, citing concerns whether the company could be sold in a way that would keep its ratings at investment grade level.

Thomson Reuters on Friday released the top government-guaranteed bond underwriters for the third quarter of 2009 as of Thursday, September 24.

The New York Federal Reserve said on Friday it bought $1.970 billion of U.S. agency debt with maturities ranging from April 2016 to March 2019.

Mauritius-based clothing group Ciel Textiles Limited FKL.MZ posted a 51.16 percent slump in full-year net profits on Friday that it blamed on a fall in demand and aggressive price cutting.

U.S. copper futures bounced from one-month lows Friday morning, as a weaker dollar and rising consumer sentiment underpinned prices and countered weaker-than-expected durable goods and housing data.

Shares of U.S. airlines rebounded on Friday following three straight days of losses after an analyst upgraded five carriers' stocks to a buy.