COMPANIES

John Costas, who helped make UBS AG into one of the world's biggest investment banks, wants to build a lasting Wall Street player -- and put the 2007 demise of hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management behind him.

Telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said on Monday it expected the wireless business set to be acquired from Nortel to produce a double-digit operating margin this year.

Aetna Inc slashed its full-year earnings forecast on Monday because of higher-than- projected medical costs, sending its shares down more than 5 percent as the health insurer also posted a 28 percent drop in second-quarter net income.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker is looking into a possible joint venture spin-off of its stainless steel business, worth around $3 billion, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

India's Tata Motors Ltd reported an unexpected surge in first-quarter net profit, helped by a change in accounting policy, but concerns remain over its loss-making Jaguar Land Rover unit and how it will strengthen its balance sheet.

Verizon Communications Inc posted a lower quarterly profit and said it would cut 8,000 jobs in its wireline business, as weakness in wholesale and corporate segments overshadowed wireless growth.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, is considering a capital increase as one option among many to finance its takeover of debt-laden sports car maker Porsche, bankers familiar with the situation said.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc reported a 38 percent drop in earnings that matched Wall Street's forecasts and cut its full-year profit forecast to the bottom of its prior range.

Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), Europe's largest carmaker, is considering raising up to 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) ahead of a takeover of Porsche (PSHG_p.DE) to protect its credit ratings, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Opel's labor force demanded greater say in the process of selecting a future investor for the German carmaker and called on former parent General Motors GM.UL to forgo any right to buy back a stake at a later point.

Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO), India's largest vehicle maker, reported a 58 percent rise in net profit, with a change in accounting policy and lower costs seeing it defy forecasts for a halving of profit and sending its shares up.

Japan's top automakers will report weak first-quarter results hit by a stronger yen and production cutbacks, but most expect a steady improvement in coming quarters helped partly by government programmes to encourage car purchases and progress in cost-cutting.

U.S. funds T Rowe Price and TPG are among anchor investors for Indian utility Adani Power's initial public offer to raise as much as $623 million, two sources with knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

Nissan Motor Co is developing a hybrid system that can be used to power smaller cars as an interim solution to improving mileage before pure electric cars can take over, a top executive said on Monday.

U.S. solar startup Suniva Inc said on Monday it completed a $75 million financing round led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Citigroup Inc is closing its consumer finance business in Italy and will reduce its employees in the country to about 500 from 1,000 as part of its plans to focus on the Citicorp business.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc said second-quarter profit dropped more than 75 percent because of lower demand from power producers and steelmakers.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc said it agreed to buy Harleysville National Corp for $5.50 per share, or $237 million, in stock to create a strong foothold in Pennsylvania.

Drugmaker Mylan Inc refuted a newspaper report its staff overrode government-mandated quality controls, saying the report was based on improperly obtained documents, uninformed third-party commentary and anonymous sources.

Though business is more competitive than ever, she finds nothing more gratifying than building and maintaining relationships with colleagues and clients in her seaside community north of San Diego.

China's eHi Car Rental Co Ltd, backed by venture capital firms including CDH Venture Investment and Jafco Asia, is planning an initial public offering in 2011 to fund expansion in the fast-growing but fragmented domestic car rental market, Chairman Ray Zhang said on Monday.

British life insurer Friends Provident said on Monday it had ended talks with would-be acquirer Resolution after rejecting a fresh takeover approach from the Guernsey-based bid vehicle over the weekend.

Agilent Technologies Inc said on Monday it agreed to buy Varian Inc in a $1.5 billion deal designed to bolster the company's bioanalytical measurement business.

Two-way navigation systems can be programmed for house hunters who want to tour the neighborhood on their own.

Troubled insurer American International Group Inc has formed a special-purpose vehicle for its AIU Holdings property-casualty unit, a key step toward selling at least part of that business.

So what would a staging professional do if faced with a less-than-perfect room in a listing? Get ideas for your own listings by viewing some of these staging professionals' best room makeovers.

The recession-fueled advertising downturn underlines the urgency of using the Web to glean data and target consumers directly, rather than blasting them with a barrage of TV-style ads, media executives say.

Diversified U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc reported a 38 percent decline in earnings as a slump in the aviation and construction markets eroded demand for its products.

Verizon Communications Inc posted a lower quarterly profit on Monday as weakness in its wholesale and corporate activities offset strength in its consumer wireless business.