COMPANIES

Exchange owner OMX said on Monday that daily trading on its exchanges reached a new high in August, eclipsing a record set in February of this year.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) said on Monday it agreed with partners to set up a bank in Syria, the latest Gulf lender interested in entering the country since it opened its banking market to foreigners three years ago.

Germany's IKB said on Monday it would return to its small-company lending roots, and expects to lose nearly $1 billion this year after its U.S. subprime investments turned sour.

Gaz de France and Suez on Monday cleared the way to create the world's third-largest electricity and gas company after their boards approved the revised terms of a politically charged merger.

HSBC's purchase boost's its profile in Asia's third-largest banking market.

Many U.S. clothing retailers think the skirt may be the next dress.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc expects quick growth in India, China and Vietnam, with its ventures in these markets contributing a larger share of its overall revenue, a senior company official said.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it expects its group's worldwide sales to expand to 10.4 million vehicles in 2009, up 18 percent from last year, as it grabs a bigger share in mature markets and taps growing demand in China and other emerging countries.

Japanese ADSL provider Acca Networks Co Ltd signed up NTT DoCoMo Inc to its WiMAX joint venture, tapping the mobile phone giant's resources to launch ultra high-speed wireless Internet access.

Sweden's IKEA said on Friday the contribution from Asia-Pacific to the group's total sales could triple to 10 percent in 5 to 6 years, creating a huge challenge for the world's largest furniture retailer.

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co shares rose 43 percent on Friday after Lone Star Funds said it was prepared to buy the subprime mortgage lender at a lower price than it previously agreed to pay.

Honda Motor Co Ltd is on track for a 3 percent increase in U.S. sales in 2007, an executive said on Friday, but he also called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to boost consumer confidence.

L'Oreal said on Friday it was confident on the outlook for 2007, despite signs of a slowdown in the United States, thanks to booming demand in new markets and the launch of new brands like Sanoflore and Diesel.

Virgin Group boss Richard Branson said on Friday he would aim to avoid buying fuel-thirsty four-engined airplanes in future to curb fuel costs and the environmental impact of his fast-growing airlines.

Publisher McGraw-Hill Cos Inc is replacing the president of Standard & Poor's, the company's financial services division, effective immediately, amid questions about the role of credit-rating agencies in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Barclays was recovering from a week of bad headlines, denials and late-night statements on Friday, as analysts said there was little substance to the frenzy and few harbored genuine worries over the bank's health.

Toys R Us Inc is recalling 27,000 wooden coloring cases that were made in China and sold under its Imaginarium brand because lead was found in the printed ink on the art set's outer packaging and in some watercolor paints.

Credit Agricole, reported a 0.6 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, which beat an average forecast, and said the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has had a limited impact on it.

Freddie Mac, the nation's second-largest source of home loan funding, said on Thursday its second-quarter net income fell 45 percent from a year earlier as more borrowers defaulted on their loans.

H&R Block Inc, the largest U.S. tax preparer, said it was trying to renegotiate the sale of its Option One Mortgage Corp unit and would get out subprime lending after its quarterly loss more than doubled.

General Electric Co said on Thursday it is considering pulling out of the consumer lending business in Japan, as tighter regulation has crimped profits across the industry, but said nothing has been decided yet.

The head of Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, said on Thursday he expects further cooperation between truck affiliates Isuzu Motors Ltd and Hino Motors Ltd to better compete in global markets.

Biotech company Actelion is due to report results from clinical trials of two key drugs at the weekend, and positive results could further boost its already highly valued stock, analysts said.

German drug maker Merck KGaA's Merck Serono unit won European Commission approval to market a new formulation of its Rebif drug to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis, the company said on Thursday.

Sears Holdings Corp said on Thursday that its quarterly profit fell 40 percent as sales declined and the retailer marked down prices for shoppers coping with a tough economy.

CITIC Securities, China's biggest listed brokerage, said on Thursday it has raised 25 billion yuan ($3.31 billion) in a heavily oversubscribed new share offer to finance expansion.

General Motors of Canada will cut about 1,000 jobs at a truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario, in January amid slumping pick-up sales, the Globe and Mail newspaper said in its online edition on Thursday.

An Australian hedge fund felled by its exposure to risky credit derivatives filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, and liquidators on Thursday were assessing how much money, if any, would be returned to investors.

While funding for large leveraged buyouts has dried up in the last month, the middle market M&A climate remains strong, with hundreds of potential deals currently in the pipeline, American Capital Strategies Ltd Chairman and CEO Malon Wilkus said on Wednesday.