COMPANIES

AMR Corp's American Airlines said on Friday it expects September mainline passenger traffic to slide 16.4 percent from August levels and sees costs rising 1.7 percent during that time.

Southern California Edison's 1,070-megawatt Unit 2 at San Onofre nuclear power station in California ramped up to 98 percent by early Friday from 60 percent early Thursday after exiting an outage, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

American Electric Power Co Inc planned to shut the 528-megawatt Unit 3 at the Welsh coal-fired power station in Texas on Sept. 18-20 for maintenance, the company told Texas regulators in a report.

Mazda Motor Corp said it would begin selling the Mazda2 hatchback in the United States towards the end of 2010, getting a late start in a segment that has held up relatively well as consumers seek cheaper and smaller cars.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental obesity drug, lorcaserin, met the goals of a second late-stage study, but its shares dropped more than 15 percent as the results fell short of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration guideline.

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental obesity drug, lorcaserin, met the goals of a second late-stage study, but its shares dropped more than 15 percent as the results fell short of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration guideline.

Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) is planning to integrate its three different brands for light and heavy commercial vehicles under one roof, the group's head of sales and marketing said late on Thursday.

Top Russian car maker, AvtoVAZ (AVAZ.MM), may join state-run Sberbank (SBER03.MM) and Canada's Magna International Inc (MGa.TO) in a deal to run Opel and bring new technology to Russia.

Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) said it would begin selling the Mazda2 hatchback in the United States toward the end of 2010, getting a late start in a segment that has held up relatively well as consumers seek cheaper and smaller cars.

Toyota Motor Co (7203.T) will not raise prices on the new version of its 4Runner sport- utility vehicle in a bid to shore up sputtering sales of the vehicle, dealers briefed on the plan this week said.

The Italian government is working on an extension of car incentives which will include their gradual phasing out, industry ministry under-secretary Stefano Saglia said in Il Giornale daily on Friday.

The head of Airbus said in remarks published on Friday that the European planemaker faces two further difficult years and does not rule out making further production cuts if necessary to adjust to demand.

A U.S. energy information company has brought a James Bond approach to the otherwise bland job of gathering oil inventory data, hoping high-tech detective work will attract the business of petroleum traders hungry for accurate supply figures.

Deutsche Lufthansa could permanently ground several of its 19 MD-11 cargo planes, German daily Handelsblatt reported, citing unnamed sources.

BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, is close to selling its stake in ABN AMRO TEDA Fund Management Co in China, in a step toward complying with Chinese mutual fund regulations.

Output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia's Bontang plant is expected to fall next year due to lower natural gas supplies, a senior official at the operator of the plant, PT Badak NGL, said on Friday.

The shareholders of Amadeus have hired investment bank Rothschild to study a possible stock offering of the travel reservations giant, a source with knowledge of the deal said on Thursday.

The Nasdaq Stock Market could surpass its archrival, the New York Stock Exchange, this year or next in the number and value of initial public offerings, Nasdaq OMX Group Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said on Thursday.

Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein said on Thursday that he sees potential for more IPOs from Carlyle's portfolio companies and said leverage for new deals is returning.

Former Chicago Cubs All-Star Shawon Dunston has objected in bankruptcy court to the sale of the team because it owes him money to pay for a college education, according to court documents filed on Thursday.

GlaxoSmithKline is in talks to buy a 5 percent stake in Indian drug maker Dr Reddy's Laboratories in a deal likely to be valued at $150 million, the Economic Times reported on Friday, citing sources privy to the development.

Warren Buffett is probably not trying to be Warren Wonka, but the Oracle of Omaha is certainly in a position to influence the struggle for control of the global chocolate industry.

U.S. tax authorities on Thursday said that 1.4 million taxpayers have used an $8,000 homebuyer tax credit so far and reminded homebuyers they need to close on a purchase before the December 1 deadline to qualify.

The federal government and states are girding themselves for the next foreclosure crisis in the country's housing downturn: payment option adjustable rate mortgages that are beginning to reset.

Bernard Madoff once slept there. Soon, someone else will. The imprisoned swindler's Montauk, New York, home, located on a beach with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, has been sold for more than the $8.75 million asking price, a spokeswoman for broker Corcoran Group said on Thursday.

Shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp soared as much as 25 percent on Thursday after the company said it had raised $2.9 billion in troubled credit markets and would shift flying to more profitable routes.

The exit of a popular CEO at World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE.N) comes at a time when the sports entertainer has seen shares rise more than 60 percent since last November, helped by a loyal fan base and aggressive cost cutting.

Electric Co's deal to provide the parent of No. 2 U.S. carrier American Airlines with $1.88 billion of financing and also to sell engines for up to 100 new jets is its largest aviation finance deal in about a decade, a GE executive said on Thursday.

Chemical shipments on U.S. railroads fell 9.1 percent last week, the Association of American Railroads said on Thursday.