COMPANIES

The Justice Department will announce a $515 million fraud settlement with a major U.S. pharmaceutical company later on Friday, a spokeswoman for the department said.

Merrill Lynch has built a 5.1 percent voting stake in Munich Re, making it one of the two largest shareholders in the German reinsurer.

German lender IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, whose near failure amid the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves through Europe's financial sector, reiterated its full-year loss could reach almost $1 billion.

Shares of Italy's biggest insurer Generali fell on Friday after its updated business plan failed to shore up the already highly valued stock.

Stricken British mortgage lender Northern Rock may have borrowed a further 5 billion pounds ($10.1 billion) from the Bank of England in the past week, an economist said after analyzing Bank of England data.

A consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland could lower the level of acceptances needed to buy Dutch bank ABN AMRO to a simple majority, it said on Friday.

The chief executive of investment bank Carnegie resigned on Friday after regulators called for sweeping management changes following a trading scandal and fined the bank 50 million Swedish crowns ($7.7 million).

Shares in British reinsurance broker Benfield rose up to 13 percent on Friday after a report it had received an unsuccessful 700 million pound ($1.42 billion) bid approach from Goldman Sachs revived takeover speculation.

Digital camera and office equipment maker Canon Inc said on Friday it may buy back more of its own shares, adding to the $3.9 billion worth already repurchased so far this year, sending its shares higher.

State-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd said on Friday it would split off and list its high-growth mobile business, separating it from the slower-growing fixed line and broadband businesses.

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp, which leads a multi-billion dollar energy project in Myanmar, will not alter its investments there following a violent government crackdown on protests, the company said on Friday.

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have bought 5 percent stakes in India's top commodities exchange, valuing it at up to $1.1 billion, or more than the Bombay Stock Exchange which sold stakes earlier this year.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.

General Motors Corp would be able to buy out as many as 24,000 UAW workers and replace them with lower-paid hires under a tentative contract agreement, according to a report.

Communications equipment maker 3Com Corp has struck a deal to be bought by China's Huawei Technologies and private equity firm Bain Capital for more than $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Shares of Bear Stearns Cos Inc fell 3 percent on Thursday afternoon after a CNBC report downplayed any talks between the investment bank and potential outside investors.

India needs to develop its market for securitised assets and allow foreigners and pension funds to invest in the sector if it wants to free up funds to finance its rapid growth, industry experts said on the Thursday.

Hotel operator Marriott International Inc said it planned to quadruple its hotels in China to 100 in the next five to six years to tap growing demand for tourism and business.

HSBC Holdings, Europe's biggest bank, is entering insurance markets in China and Taiwan as part of its broader strategy to tap the fast-growing Asian region.

Big banks try to gird for crises as a matter of course and investors will soon learn how prepared they were for this summer's credit crunch. Analysts and investors are speculating how badly Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and smaller rivals may have gotten caught by a flight from risk that caused the value of billions of dollars of mortgages and loans to evaporate.

British Airways ended decades of loyalty to Boeing's 747 jumbo with a switch to Airbus's new A380 superjumbo on Thursday as it announced a mixed plane order worth up to $8.2 billion.

FL Group, one of the largest shareholders in AMR Corp, has urged the board of the American Airlines parent to consider strategic alternatives, including spinning off its frequent-flyer program, to boost its flagging share price.

A $25 billion takeover of Sallie Mae was on the verge of collapse on Wednesday after the student lender said a consortium does not expect to complete its planned acquisition on the agreed terms.

KB Home on Thursday posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on write-downs for land values, and revenue fell 32 percent as the swelling supply of homes and tighter mortgage standards kept potential buyers on the sidelines.

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $12.5 million to resolve regulatory charges that it failed to provide arbitration plaintiffs with e-mails it said were destroyed in the September 11, 2001, attacks, when in fact it had saved the e-mails on backup files.

A group involving title insurer Fidelity National Financial Inc and several private equity firms has emerged in the bidding for burger chain Wendy's International Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Website on Thursday.

British Airways ended decades of loyalty to Boeing's 747 jumbo with a switch to Airbus's new A380 superjumbo on Thursday as it announced a mixed plane order worth up to $8.2 billion.

British Airways said Thursday that it has ordered 12 Airbus A380 and 24 Boeing 787 aircraft and has options for a further seven Airbus A380s and 18 Boeing 787s, it's largest order since 1998.

The consortium that agreed to buy student lender Sallie Mae for $25 billion said on Wednesday that as of today conditions for the closing of the deal would not be met.