COMPANIES

Citigroup Inc said on Monday it sold three credit card portfolios representing $1.3 billion in managed assets, as part of a plan to unload weak businesses and troubled assets that caused huge losses.

Ford Motor Cowill report a U.S. auto sales increase in August and the industry may post its first monthly year-over-year sales rise since October 2007, the automaker's chief sales analyst said on Monday.

U.S. copper futures sank to a one-week low below $2.80 a lb on Monday, after a sharp plunge in Chinese equity markets raised doubts about the strength of global economic recovery.

WASHINGTON - Democrats leading the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee widened their probe of the health insurance industry on Monday, seeking information on companies' policies for small businesses.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday said he was encouraged by Lockheed Martin Corp's efforts to address issues with the F-35 fighter, and said company officials clearly understood the importance of keeping the program on cost and on schedule.

FORT WORTH - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday cited consensus among lawmakers, the Pentagon and the White House on the need to reform the defense acquisition process, especially given the current economic situation.

Banks that were deemed

In many of the Sun Belt cities, growth from 2002 to 2006 was tied to real estate and construction. Now, the economies and foreclosures in those places are worse than in other regions.

Selling a home and helping the buyer finance may be a good option to getting a house sold, experts say. Yet it is imperative that the seller thoroughly investigate the buyer's finances before agreeing to the deal.

Property auctions are likely to heat up this fall as winter nears and foreclosure moratoriums expire.

Merck & Co Inc announced plans on Monday for a reorganization once its acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp closes later this year, including naming leaders for five main divisions.

Hon Hai, the world's largest electronics parts maker, posted a market-beating 26 percent jump in second-quarter earnings on Monday due to improving global demand and a smaller tax bill at some of its manufacturing bases.

U.S. credit card defaults declined in July after five straight months of record highs, suggesting the ability of cardholders to pay bills could be stabilizing, Fitch Ratings said on Monday.

Mobile tariff cuts introduced by European Union regulators will leave a multi-billion-euro hole in the telecoms sector's investment budget, Telefonica's chief operating officer said on Monday.

Solar cell maker China Sunergy Co Ltd said it signed a series of sales contracts to supply up to 10 megawatts of solar modules to NUE PTY Ltd, an Australian solar company.

Mondobiotech, which listed on the Swiss stock exchange last week, aims to raise 5-10 million Swiss francs ($4.7-9.4 million) every two months by issuing new shares, its chief executive said.

Polish refiners PKN Orlen and Lotos said weak margins would continue to weigh on operating results which dropped 60 percent in their second quarters, although both beat low expectations on the net profit level.

Kenya's biggest cement producer, Bamburi, reported a 55 percent jump in first-half pretax profit to 4.5 billion shilling ($59 million), as the economy recovered from last year's violence.

Whirlpool Corp (WHR.N) said on Monday that it would take $51 million of charges in connection with the closing of its Evansville, Indiana, facility.

South Korean private equity firm Vogo Fund is buying the 30.7 percent stake of two banks in a domestic card processing company for $156 million and is in talks with other banks to raise its holdings to more than 50 percent within this year.

Chemical maker Huntsman Corp said on Monday that it would bid $415 million for some assets of bankrupt rival Tronox Inc to expand its pigments business.

U.S. accounting rulemakers have proposed requiring new disclosures on how companies value illiquid assets, a move designed to make it easier for investors to assess businesses' financial health.

NEW YORK - Merck & Co Inc announced plans on Monday for a reorganization once its acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp closes later this year, including naming leaders for five main divisions.

NEW YORK - Walt Disney Co said on Monday it plans to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion in a deal that would add characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four to its entertainment empire.

Hedge fund firm Citadel Investment Group LLC on Monday said it terminated a plan to sell 120 million shares of E*Trade Financial Corp over the next three months.

For more than two decades, Frank Ramirez has made a living working an unusual job in Silicon Valley: assembling cars and trucks for Toyota Motor Corp and General Motor Co.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials are thinking carefully about tapering off their purchases of mortgage debt to push the $1.45 trillion program into next year rather than end it on Dec. 31 as planned.

A fast-growing Silicon Valley start-up firm is aiming to put its methanol-based fuel cells in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars.

The roughly 370,000 employees of Volkswagen and Porsche are striving initially to acquire a stake of up to 5 percent in the automotive group, VW's labor chief told a German newspaper.