COMPANIES

General Motors Co GM.UL could extend its offer of a 60-day, money-back guarantee for consumers when the marketing program expires at the end of November, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on CNBC on Friday.

Electrical equipment maker AZZ Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by growth at its electrical and industrial products segment, and raised its 2010 earnings outlook, sending its shares up as much as 8 percent.

Canadian medical equipment maker Noveko International Inc's fourth-quarter loss widened, hurt by a goodwill impairment charge.

Nycomed, the private equity-owned Swiss drugmaker, is looking at sweetening its bid for Solvay's drugs unit with the Belgian chemical and drug maker's board set to meet to decide on the unit's future.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) announced on Thursday plans to build a new $490-million flexible assembly plant in China, its third in the country, increasing annual production capacity by one-third to meet growing demand.

Allied Irish Banks would gain 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in cash by selling its stakes in two U.S. and Polish banks, but wants to keep its holding in Poland's BZ WBK BZWB.WA, a brokerage said on Friday.

A world where electric cars running on clean power is getting closer, corporate leaders said on Thursday, the day after an electric car battery maker raised much more than expected in an initial public offering.

ING will sell its 51 percent stake in a wealth management joint venture to partner Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) for 1.1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) as the Dutch group slims down through asset sales.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) said it expects to return to the black in 2011, as it expanded ties with the fast-growing and lucrative China market with plans to build a new $490 million plant there.

Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery GmbH to develop more powerful batteries for use in electric cars, Europe's biggest carmaker said on Friday.

Swiss watchmaker Omega, a part of the Swatch Group, has extended its deal as one of the IOC's top sponsors and will be the Olympic Games' official timekeeper until 2020, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts' $1.6 billion Initial Public Offering of its Macau unit in Hong Kong is more than 10 times covered, a source familiar with the deal said on Friday.

India aims to set up a real estate regulator and an appellate tribunal to control and facilitate construction and development in its largely unorganised housing sector, the government said on Friday.

A 50 percent leap in the shares of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc on their first day of trading looks likely to jumpstart the market for clean-tech share offerings.

Sales of newly built U.S. homes likely rose to their highest level in a year in August, supported by government-sponsored tax incentives and growing signs of the economy's recovery, according to a Reuters poll.

Britain's takeover watchdog is reviewing private comments by Cadbury Plc's chief about the company's valuation amid a potential takeover by Kraft Foods Inc, saying Todd Stitzer had stoked uncertainty in the market, the Financial Times reported.

A government task force set up to help revive Japan Airlines Corp said on Friday it would review the carrier's turnaround plans from scratch and that splitting it into good and bad parts was an option.

Shares of A123 Systems Inc, a maker of lithium-ion car batteries, had the second-best debut of any 2009 U.S. initial public offering, rising 50.3 percent in their first trading session, far outpacing the four other stocks that came to market on a particularly busy day for IPOs.

The U.S. car market should see a modest recovery in 2010, with sales possibly reaching between 11.5 million and 12 million vehicles, General Motors Co Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said on Thursday.

The hotel operator formerly called Hilton Hotels Corp said on Wednesday that it has changed its name to Hilton Worldwide and unveiled a new logo.

Steelcase Inc, the world's largest office furniture maker, broke even in the second quarter, but guided lower third-quarter earnings as demand remains sluggish, sending shares down 7 percent.

Legal entanglements and well-intentioned home-owner-assistance efforts have slowed the pace of foreclosures, but eventually many of these distressed homes will hit the market anyway.

American Greetings Corp posted a 10-fold jump in quarterly profit, helped by lower expenses and improved inventory management, sending its shares up as much as 27 percent to their highest in more than a year.

Telecom equipment maker Comtech Telecommunications Corp gave fiscal 2010 outlook above market estimates citing a strong backlog, sending its shares up 8 percent.

New Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) shareholder Qatar will start with only one seat on the carmaker's supervisory board, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Onex Corp plans to take advantage of a building crisis in the U.S. commercial real estate market, an official with the Canadian private-equity company said on Thursday.

Chinese housing prices have surged since March, but they will soon lose momentum and even start to fall around the end of the year, boding well for a more sustained contribution to overall economic growth.

Shares of Canwest Global Communications Corp, Canada's biggest media company, jumped more than 75 percent on Thursday after it announced it would sell its stake in Australia's Network Ten television network for more than C$630 million ($578 million).

Canada's industry minister said on Thursday the government will review Avaya Inc's AVXX.UL purchase of Nortel Networks Corp's enterprise business to see if the deal is in Canada's best interest.