COMPANIES

Roche Holding AG said Tuesday it has completed its Genentech acquisition, setting up Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson as the chair Genentech’s new board.

Amid a brutal advertising downturn, the UK's main free to air commercial broadcaster ITV is seeking options to shore up its balance sheet before debt repayments come due in 2011.

One in every eight U.S. households, a record share, ended 2008 behind on their mortgage payments or in the foreclosure process as job losses intensified a housing crisis spawned by lax lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

UBS AG said Wednesday it will cut 11 percent of its production, in an effort to save 4 billion Swiss francs, or $3.5 billion, after its first quarter losses on write-down’s and clients withdrawal.

Showing a commitment to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, the commercial real estate sector is partnering with the Department of Energy in a program launched Thursday called the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance.

Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine said on Wednesday it will cut working hours for thousands more of its staff as the global downturn cripples demand for steel.

Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday its Nigerian joint venture has declared force majeure on the country's Bonny Light crude oil exports in April and May.

Burger King Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it saw a surprise drop in customer visits to its restaurants in March and its shares plunged more than 16 percent.

Japan's Santen Pharmaceutical Co agreed to license to Merck & Co Inc its glaucoma and ocular hypertension drug tafluprost, in a move to help drive global sales of one of Santen's key products.

Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with three banks interested in buying its Asian retail and commercial banking assets as it pulls back to core markets, a person familiar with the matter said.

Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc's first-quarter aluminum output fell a steeper-than-expected 6 percent, iron ore production was down 15 percent while refined copper rose 33 percent as the firm struggled to balance supply with global demand.

Meet the new Goldman Sachs, trying to be the same as the old Goldman Sachs.

Swiss banking giant UBS is likely to cut upwards of 10000 jobs as it succumbs to the global financial meltdown.

Philips Electronics, Europe's largest consumer-electronics company, on Tuesday kicked off the European earnings season on a downbeat note, saying it swung to a first-quarter loss as demand for its lighting and consumer products waned.

General Motors Corp is recalling nearly 1.5 million Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac mid-sized cars due to a potential leak of engine oil that could cause an engine fire.

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said its quarterly earnings fell, hurt by generic competition for its Risperdal schizophrenia drug and the strong dollar, but lower costs enabled the company to beat Wall Street expectations

Ford Motors shares were raise Monday after it planned to restructure its debt by 38 percent or $9.9 billion to bolster up its finance despite economic downturn and low demand.

Boeing Co. shares fell more than 5 percent Monday, after a plan to cut its production schedule for 2010 due to the economic downturn and lower price demand, is likely just the beginning of a long downturn.

Tech Mahindra, an Indian telecommunications outsourcing firm won a bid to buy Satyam Computer Services for $351 million.

Unemployment is a bigger reason for missed mortgage payments than high interest rates, according to a study from the Boston Federal Reserve that raises questions about President Barack Obama's plan to stem foreclosures by modifying loans.

Exxon Mobil on Monday confirmed natural gas production from the Sable Offshore Energy Project in Nova Scotia had returned following an operational incident last week.

Indonesian drilling firm PT Apexindo Pratama Duta Tbk said on Monday it planned to raise 750 billion rupiah ($68 million) from the sale of Islamic and conventional bonds next month.

Iran has replaced the head of partly state-owned Iran Khodro, the Middle East's largest car maker which has a joint venture with France's Renault, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

Want Want China plans to make a second listing in Taiwan on April 28, becoming the first such firm to return to its home market to list under relaxed regulations, an industry source said on Monday.

Two of Pakistan's biggest banks, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) and MCB Bank (MCB), are competing to bid for Royal Bank of Scotland's local assets, which the market values at $266 million.

South Korean engine maker STX Enpaco Co Ltd may raise up to 29.9 billion won ($22.37 million) in a Seoul initial public offering, and shares will be listed and start trading on the main KOSPI index .KS11 on May 15.

The value of Japanese investment trust funds rose nearly 3 percent in March, up for the second straight month, amid a recovery in global share prices and a weaker yen, a fund industry body said on Monday.

Islamic banks will face a crisis scenario by the end of September that could include forced consolidation if liquidity does not return to the financial sector, a leading banker said on Monday.

BNP Paribas will abandon its attempts to buy the assets of Fortis if shareholders of the stricken Dutch-Belgian group reject the latest revised deal this month, BNP's chief executive said.