COMPANIES

Tata Steel Ltd, the world's No. 8 steel maker by output, on Wednesday reported a larger-than-expected 47 percent fall in June quarter profit from its Indian operations as realisations fell sharply on lower commodity prices.

Senior U.S. housing officials and leading mortgage companies met on Tuesday to set explicit goals for preventing evictions and helping struggling borrowers with their home loans.

A Taiwanese proposal for an agreement establishing closer links with China could add up to 1.72 percent to Taiwan's gross domestic product, according to a think tank report commissioned by the economics ministry.

BMW confirmed it would leave Formula One racing at the end of 2009 for image reasons as the maker of sporty luxury cars wants to focus on sustainability and the environment. We are of the opinion that the premium segment has to remain a positive role model within our society, Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said in a statement on Wednesday.

Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co surprised markets by eking out small profits last quarter helped by cost cuts, but a sustained recovery looks some way off with demand relying largely on government stimulus.

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis raised its earnings growth goal for the year and outlined new cost savings to help it cope with the effect on profit of patent expiries on a number of its top drugs.

Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and boosted its full-year forecast as revenues improved in all its business segments.

The U.S. housing market may finally have turned around after three years, given the rise in the widely-watched Case-Shiller home price index for May, the developers of the index told Reuters on Tuesday.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, but its shares dropped 4.1 percent as revenue missed analysts' estimates and the company failed to increase its full-year earnings forecast.

Property services company FirstService Corp (FSV.TO) reported a quarterly net loss on Wednesday, hurt by a drop in revenue in its commercial real estate unit and a deferred income tax charge.

It would seem that the US housing market - arguably the Achilles heel of the global financial morass - is finally looking up.

The world's top two steelmakers and leading carmakers said on Wednesday any return to growth would be gradual, casting doubt over some economists' forecasts for a recovery starting later this year.

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, part-owned by the Carlyle Group, has hired China International Capital Corp (CICC) and three other investment banks to arrange its Hong Kong initial public offering, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, part-owned by the Carlyle Group, has hired China International Capital Corp (CICC) and three other investment banks to arrange its Hong Kong initial public offering, two people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.

Timken Co, which makes industrial bearings and specialty steel, said it agreed to sell its needle roller bearings business to Japanese autoparts maker Jtekt Corp for about $300 million.

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to buy the stake it does not already own in the Merial animal healthcare business from its U.S. partner Merck & Co, Bloomberg News said on Wednesday.

Spain's biggest bank Santander followed the trend for extra bad loan provisions against the continuing economic slump, lifting its bad debt cushion in the first half and warning the setaside could hit 10 billion euros by end-2009.

Daimler expects a gradual improvement in the group's operating profitability in the course of this year, it said on Wednesday, after it beat expectations for an even worse second-quarter operating loss.

Time Warner Inc's quarterly revenue fell a steeper-than-expected 9 percent due to a slump in advertising spending and DVD sales, but cost cuts helped profit beat Wall Street forecasts.

Time Warner Inc's quarterly revenue fell a steeper-than-expected 9 percent due to a slump in advertising spending and DVD sales, but cost cuts helped profit beat Wall Street forecasts.

Japanese car manufacturers unexpectedly posted profits on Wednesday and Mercedes-maker Daimler forecast improving performance this year but clear sings of sustained recovery for the world's battered auto sector remained elusive.

Time Warner Inc posted a lower second quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by falling revenues at its magazine publishing, AOL and movies units.

Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan unexpectedly clung to profits in the first quarter and either raised or stuck to their full-year forecasts, while France's Peugeot swung to a loss.

Honda Motor Co , Japan's No.2 automaker, posted an 88 percent fall in operating profit as demand slumped, but beat expectations for a loss and lifted its forecast for the year on the back of an improved outlook for its global car sales.

American Airlines expects to win U.S. approval by October to form an alliance with British Airways and Spain's Iberia , and it is pinning its hopes on intra-alliance competition and global partnerships to help it survive, an executive said on Wednesday.

Sanofi-Aventis raised its earnings growth goal for this year and said new cost savings should result by 2013 in a net profit and sales level similar to 2008 as the French drugmaker grapples with patent expiries.

Dutch chemical group Akzo Nobel NV on Wednesday reported a 12 percent fall in core second-quarter profit, beating estimates as cost savings started to pay off, partly offsetting lower volumes.

Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp, whose acquisition by CSL Ltd was blocked by regulators, may be moving toward an initial public offering, according to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Spain's Banco Santander has appointed advisers to spin off its Brazilian business in a 2.6 billion-pound ($4.3 billion) initial public offering to create one of Brazil's largest banks, the Financial Times reported.