COMPANIES

Those green shoots that optimists keep seeing may be growing in the real estate market -- there are some indicators of healthier, more stable activity in housing.

Matrixx Initiatives Inc, which stopped selling its cold medicine Zicam on Tuesday, said it had 800 consumer complaints about the product but did not give it to regulators.

Talks to sell the storied Chicago Cubs baseball team have reopened with a rival bidding group, and are continuing alongside negotiations with the original Ricketts family buyers, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Fiat (FIA.MI) plans to stop car production at one Italian plant and change to a new platform at another, its CEO told government and unions at a meeting on the impact of its deal to steer Chrysler CBS.UL back to health.

Opel labour leader Klaus Franz hopes General Motors Corp's (GMGMQ.PK) planned sale of a majority stake in the German carmaker to a consortium led by Magna (MGa.TO) will make it a more attractive partner for rivals.

Carnival Corp & Plc posted a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates helped by better-than-anticipated pricing and lower net cruise costs, driving shares up nearly 9 percent in midday trading.

The possibility of the Federal Reserve gaining regulatory authority over General Electric Co's hefty finance arm could influence how the company restructures that business.

Discover Financial Services reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly operating loss as the fourth-largest U.S. credit card network cut costs and bad loans grew less than expected, sending its shares up 5.5 percent.

Airplane makers plan to crank up production volumes as soon as the global economic crisis starts easing, and they are using this year's Paris Air Show to convince suppliers that they can sell as many planes as planned.

Ford Motor Co, the only U.S. automaker not to file for bankruptcy this year, has a sound balance sheet and is seeking to further reduce debt, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Wednesday.

PlusPetrol Resources Corp NV said on Thursday it plans to bid about C$400 million ($354 million) for Petro Andina Resources Inc (PAR.TO) to expand its oil and gas operations in Argentina, Colombia and Trinidad.

Greece said on Thursday it would sell a further 5 percent stake in OTE, southeast Europe's biggest telephone company, to Deutsche Telekom, raising 674 million euros ($941 million) to help cut the country's debt.

Women's apparel manufacturer and retailer Liz Claiborne Inc on Thursday projected a wider second-quarter loss than analysts forecast, and its shares plummeted 13 percent.

Anheuser-Busch InBev's central European assets are not top of its for-sale list, not on the must-buy charts of rivals, and will need some sweetening to secure a deal with a private equity suitor.

Fiat called on Italy's government and unions to back its efforts to maintain jobs while cutting output in the country and secured a commitment from Rome on Thursday for investment near two plants that could face cuts.

Heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc said on Thursday that its retail sales of machines had declined at a faster pace in May, sending its shares lower.

Intel Corp said it bought an additional 25 million shares in Imagination Technologies Group Plc for strategic reasons, and now owns 13.99 percent of the British chip designer's total issued voting rights.

Chipmaker Broadcom Corp said on Thursday that it had extended the deadline of its tender offer for storage technology company Emulex Corp by about two weeks, amid little sign that shareholders are warming to the hostile bid.

Ford Motor Co, the only U.S. automaker not to file for bankruptcy this year, has a sound balance sheet and is seeking to further reduce debt, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Wednesday.

HONG KONG/NEW YORK - U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP is in talks with the Shanghai city government to set up a wholly-owned China subsidiary as it prepares to launch a local currency private equity fund, sources said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama's administration sought to regain momentum on healthcare reform on Wednesday as lawmakers, stunned by the trillion dollar price tag, delayed the legislative timetable for the program.

Medical device maker Medtronic Inc paid almost $800,000 in consulting fees to a former U.S. Army surgeon accused of fabricating a key study, according to published reports.

Abu Dhabi state investment agency Mubadala Development said on Wednesday it was interested in partnerships with leading aerospace groups but denied a report it planned to take stakes in major European aerospace companies.

Women's apparel retailer and manufacturer Liz Claiborne Inc indicated it expects a wider second-quarter loss than analysts forecast and its shares fell 10 percent.

Home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc posted a first-quarter profit versus a prior year loss, due to a gain on the repurchase of debt.

The tortuous question of when ailing steel demand might recover from the global economic downturn is likely to dominate talks at an industry gathering in New York next week.

Shire and Johnson & Johnson won the backing of Europe's highest court on Thursday in their battle for data exclusivity against a generic rival for Alzheimer's drug Reminyl, the court said.

Shire Plc and Johnson & Johnson won the backing of Europe's highest court on Thursday in their battle for data exclusivity against a generic rival for Alzheimer's drug Reminyl, the court said.

European TV Market Heats up despite Economic Crisis With the European Union’s economy showing signs of recovery, television sales in the region are expected to rise in 2009 as consumers continue to snap up LCD-TVs, according to iSuppli Corp.