COMPANIES

Barnes & Noble Inc plans to buy Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc for $596 million, in a deal that will expand the retailer's store base while providing entry into the burgeoning digital textbook book arena.

General Motors Co and eBay Inc are launching a test program in California that will allow consumers to negotiate with dealers and buy new vehicles online, the companies said on Monday.

General Motors Co and eBay Inc are launching a test program in California that will allow consumers to negotiate with dealers and buy vehicles online, the companies said on Monday.

Dynegy Inc said it will sell eight power plants to private equity firm LS Power for around $1.5 billion in cash and stock, basically ending a two-and-a-half-year joint venture between the two companies.

McDonald's Corp said sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose a better-than-expected 4.3 percent in July, helped by gains in Britain, France and the United States.

GMAC Inc on Monday said it will resume offering leases on select vehicles in most U.S. states, a year after curtailing the practice.

Network security provider Fortinet Inc filed with U.S. regulators on Monday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of common stock.

Partner Communications, Israel's second largest mobile operator, posted a 2.1 percent rise in quarterly profit but said the launch of Apple's latest iPhone would hurt cash generation in the second half.

Philippines' San Miguel Corp (SMC) said it was keen to gain a majority in Manila Electric Co by buying a 13.4 percent stake of the Lopez family in a deal that could be worth as much as $840 million.

Barnes & Noble Inc said on Monday it plans to buy Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Inc for $596 million, reuniting the Barnes & Noble brand, and its shares jumped more than 12 percent.

Russia's MDM bank plans to boost its loan portfolio by 20-25 percent this year and may sell a minority stake to financial investors as growth in bad loans slows down, the bank's chairman said.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, is in talks to buy smaller rival Mitsubishi Rayon for up to $2.1 billion, the Nikkei business daily reported, in a move that would help consolidate Japan's overcrowded chemicals sector.

China's Yanzhou Coal has agreed to buy coal miner Felix Resources Ltd, a source said, in a deal worth up to $3.3 billion that underscores China's growing interest in Australia's resources sector.

Hormel Foods Corp raised its fiscal 2009 earnings forecast on Monday, citing a stronger-than-expected third quarter.

Can fast cars, glamorous locations and superstar acts establish a global live-music TV franchise? Universal Music Group International and Formula One Administration are banking on it as they prepare to launch their F1 Rocks concert series this fall.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) plans to raise its global output target for the year to March 2010 by three percent to 6.5 million units, the Yomiuri newspaper said, in the latest sign of a nascent recovery in auto demand.

The ethanol industry called for requirements that all vehicles sold in the United States accept the renewable gasoline substitute as part of a push to slow global warming and provide jobs at home.

As makers from Tesla to Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) jockey to dominate the next generation electric-powered cars, a fight on which companies will control the lucrative market to fuel them is just getting started.

Dynegy Inc said it was selling some of its power plants to LS Power for $1.0 billion in cash as the U.S. power producer seeks to pay back debt and improve its liquidity position.

Shares in global miner Rio Tinto Ltd fell more than 3 percent on Monday after a Chinese magazine published additional spying allegations against the company.

China's state secrets watchdog has accused mining multinational Rio Tinto of engaging in commercial spying over six years, saying data on Rio computers showed the espionage came at a huge loss to China.

Recession has shaken nearly every corner of the U.S. economy but Trinity Yachts is still turning out custom-built luxury boats, thanks in part to a sagging U.S. dollar.

The outcome of the bidding process for GM's German unit Opel is not a foregone conclusion despite widespread backing for rival bidder Magna, the head of RHJ International said in a newspaper interview.

A journal issued by China's state secrets watchdog has accused the mining multinational Rio Tinto of commercial spying over six years, saying data found on Rio computers showed the espionage had come at a huge cost to China.

Chief executives of General Motors and autoparts maker Magna made some progress in Friday talks on the sale of GM's Opel unit, but key barriers remain, Opel's top labor leader and board member said on Saturday.

A European Union official will tell antitrust regulators they failed to consider potentially exculpatory evidence in a ruling against chip maker Intel Corp, according to a source who had seen a confidential report.

Bank of America Corp on Friday revealed that its U.S. operations lost money in the second quarter as the quality of consumer and commercial loans deteriorated.

A new bidder has emerged to buy the 137-year-old Boston Globe from New York Times Co, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical company, plans to delay by as much as two years of investments worth $4.5 billion in Venezuela, the Valor Economico newspaper said, citing the company's vice president of international operations.