COMPANIES

Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, said on Monday it was restructuring its business to consolidate all of its major product divisions into a new Intel Architecture Group, and appointed Sean Maloney and Dadi Perlmutter as its leaders.

The new Opel formed when Canadian automotive group Magna (MGa.TO) and its Russian partners take over the carmaker plans to invest 170 million euros ($247.5 million) in operations in Russia, Magna co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf said on Monday.

The cash for clunkers stimulus program helped the auto industry but there is no need for another similar program, General Motors GM.UL Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on CNBC on Monday.

Renault (RENA.PA) has yet to emerge from the global economic crisis, although the auto sector should see a gradual rebound from 2010, the French car maker's chief operating officer, Patrick Pelata, told French newspaper La tribune on Monday.

Britain and Belgium on Monday urged the European Commission to ensure the takeover of carmaker Opel did not favor German workers because of 4.5 billion euros ($6.55 billion) in promised aid from Berlin.

Goldman Sachs raised its price targets on several European auto makers, saying the sector can continue to outperform, helped by potential positive 2010 earnings surprises that could come from an increase in sector consolidation.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc said an independent committee of experts recommended that a late-stage trial of the company's experimental cancer treatment may continue.

Prospect Capital Corp, a closed-end investment company, reported a lower-than-expected net investment income for the fourth quarter, hit by a 27 percent drop in interest income.

The auto industry faces a cap on carbon dioxide emissions from vans in the European Union from July 2013 or fines for each vehicle that fails to comply, a draft EU document shows.

NEW YORK - Constellation Energy Group Inc's 498-megawatt Ginna nuclear power station in New York shut by early Monday from full power early Friday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a report.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc said preliminary results from a mid-stage trial of its migraine drug showed it did not meet the primary goal of headache pain-relief at two hours post-dose.

Nortel Networks Corp said Avaya Inc has emerged as the successful bidder at a bankruptcy auction for its Enterprise Solutions business and has agreed to pay $900 million in cash for the unit.

Thomson Reuters Corp said its tax and accounting business agreed to buy the Abacus Enterprise range of software and related business operations from Deloitte LLP.

Visa Inc, the world's largest payment network, said on Monday that its U.S. payment volume had declined in August as fewer consumers used their credit cards.

Germany's plan to provide 4.5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in state aid to Opel threatened on Monday to spark a political storm across Europe over where the carmaker was likely to cut plants and jobs.

The global economic crisis will weed out Italy's jewellery industry and prepare grounds for consolidation in the strongly fragmented sector, jewellers and industry officials said at a trade fair.

Japan Airlines Corp is considering raising about 250 billion yen ($2.76 billion) by March through measures including new shares issuances and borrowings, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

A merger between Dubai's top stock exchanges, Dubai Financial Market DFM.DU and Nasdaq Dubai NDAQ.DI, is a possibility, a leading official said, according to newspaper Emirates Business (www.business24-7.ae).

Reports that a Wells Fargo & Co executive used a bank-owned, beachfront Malibu home as her own private party pad reignited outrage over unbridled excesses at firms that received U.S. bailouts.

Moves to save jobs and sites at carmaker Opel when a group led by Canada's Magna International takes control continued on Sunday.

Hundreds of millions of euros in German state aid planned for carmaker Opel is earmarked for operations in Russia, an Opel trustee with reservations about the project was quoted as saying in a newspaper interview.

British carmaker Bentley, owned by Volkswagen, is seeing some signs of revival in the super luxury vehicle segment and expects sales of premium cars to improve next year, one of its top executives said on Friday.

A Canadian-Russian consortium's plan to buy automaker Opel from General Motors faced more hurdles as scrutiny of German state aid intensified and labor leaders demanded a veto over job cuts.

Belgian PVC window frame maker Deceuninck said on Saturday it had sealed final deals as part of a restructuring of its credit arrangements, paving the way for a rights issue of up to 85 million euros.

The German government plans to support the planned construction of the Airbus A350 wide body plane with a state guarantee worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.61 billion), a magazine reported on Saturday. Focus magazine said the government would secure a loan from state-owned bank KfW, citing a confidential memorandum from Germany's finance and economy ministries to the parliamentary budget committee.

Cadbury turned up the heat in its defence against a takeover from Kraft as its Chairman Roger Carr said it was an unappealing prospect being absorbed into Kraft's low growth conglomerate business model.

U.S. regulators seized Corus Bank on Friday in the fourth-largest bank failure this year and sold its deposits to MB Financial Bank.

Cadbury turned up the heat in its defense against a takeover from Kraft as its Chairman Roger Carr said it was an unappealing prospect being absorbed into Kraft's low growth conglomerate business model.

New York-based private equity firm Quadrangle Capital Partners will substantially close its London office and pursue its European investments out of the United States, an investor letter dated Friday said.