COMPANIES

HealthPort Inc, a healthcare information service provider, filed with regulators on Monday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, becoming the latest company with private equity funding to apply to go public.

China Everbright Securities' 30 percent rise on its Shanghai debut, subdued by China standards, suggests investor demand may be cooling after previous soaraway debuts fuelled concerns over price bubbles.

India's Reliance Communications has started talks to buy Kuwaiti Zain's African operations, which media say are worth $10 billion, two banking sources said.

Novatek, Russia's second-largest gas producer, on Tuesday reported a 1.6 percent rise in net profit in the second quarter of 2009, year-on-year, above analysts' expectations.

A rich asking price could once again sink AIG's plan to sell its Taiwan insurance unit after an attempt at a sale earlier this year met a similar fate.

Schaeffler announced a 12 billion euro ($17 billion) refinancing deal on Tuesday that eases the German ball-bearing maker's debt problems and moves it a step closer to merging with Continental AG.

Upscale department store operator Saks Inc posted a wider quarterly loss on Tuesday as well-heeled shoppers held back from pricey purchases in the recession.

Drug wholesaler Cardinal Health Inc posted a 14 percent decline in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, hurt by costs related to its spin-off of its medical technology company CareFusion.

Drug wholesaler Cardinal Health Inc posted a 14 percent decline in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, hurt by costs related to its spin-off of its medical technology company CareFusion.

Sweden's Koenigsegg and U.S.-based General Motors said on Tuesday they had inked a deal for the niche sports car maker to buy loss-making Saab Automobile.

Tribune Co chief executive Sam Zell is close to giving up his claims to buy a 40 percent stake in the company, the New York Post said, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Global miner Rio Tinto agreed to sell its Alcan packaging unit for about $2 billion to Australia's Amcor Ltd , easing its debt burden after an ill-timed acquisition two years ago.

Hong Kong plays a strategic role as the Mainland financial market reaches out to the world, adding renminbi, or Chinese yuan, business development in the city is one of the most important policy initiatives, Chief Secretary Henry Tang said at the launch of HSBC Bank (China) Limited's renminbi retail bonds offering on Monday afternoon.

CITIC Securities Co, China's largest listed brokerage, posted a 19.77% drop in net profit in the first half of this year on a suspension of initial public offerings (IPOs) and a decrease in fund sales.

Electronics testing equipment maker Agilent Technologies Inc reported better-than-expected results and gave a strong forecast for the current quarter, sending its shares up over 2 percent on Monday.

Chrysler Group is planning to produce Fiat SpA's (FIA.MI) Fiat 500 subcompact at a Chrysler plant in Mexico, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reader's Digest Association Inc, whose namesake magazine has been a staple of dentists' offices for generations, said on Monday it planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its U.S. businesses as part of a prearranged plan with lenders to cut debt by 75 percent.

Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Europe's biggest carmaker, gave a wary outlook for world automotive markets on Monday even while reporting a third consecutive month of sales growth in July.

Nokia's global vice president James Lin has confirmed that the company has entered into serious negotiations with China Mobile to introduce its Ovi Store handset services to China, although the parties have not yet reached any public agreement, Sina Tech reported on Monday.

As American consumers abandon gas-guzzling SUVs for greener alternatives, they also face a new kind of sticker shock -- confusing claims about the energy efficiency of electric cars heading for showrooms.

Entrepreneurs don't retire, they just find a new project.

Months supply is one of the most insightful statistics used to describe the housing market. It gives a concise assessment of a market's condition as of that point in time.

U.S. loan demand fell in the second quarter for every major category except prime residential mortgages, while banks tightened credit standards at a less-intense pace than in the first quarter, the Federal Reserve said on Monday.

Lowe's Cos, the No. 2 U.S. home improvement chain, curbed its expansion plans and forecast worse-than-expected results in the third quarter as recession-weary consumers put off big renovations, sending its shares down more than 11 percent.

Consumers, the cornerstone of U.S. economic activity, are still in disarray, data and central bank measures signaled on Monday, as households struggle amid the worst recession since the Great Depression.

More countries are seeing a rise in distressed sales of commercial properties in the second quarter, with South Africa, the United States and New Zealand faring worst as the market downturn worsens, a report showed.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment in August rose to its highest level in over a year, a private survey showed on Monday, adding to mounting evidence that the housing market and economic recession were leveling out.

Reader's Digest Association Inc, publisher of the widely-read Reader's Digest magazine, said on Monday it would likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its U.S. businesses to cut its debt load.

A U.S. regulator has extended a deadline to bid on Guaranty Financial Group assets to Tuesday, while bids for another troubled, lender Corus Bankshares Inc, are due Sept. 3, sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.