COMPANIES

U.S.-based fund manager Harris Associates has built a $1 billion stake in troubled Swiss investment bank UBS, the Sunday Times said in an unsourced report.

British sandwich chain Pret A Manger is considering ditching flotation plans and taking advantage of interest from several competing private equity firms, the Financial Mail reported on Sunday.

Castleberry's Food Co. said late on Saturday it voluntarily expanded a recall of hot dog chili sauce and canned meat products originally announced on July 18 due to a risk of botulinum toxin, a bacterium that can cause botulism.

Internet entrepreneur Brad Greenspan outlined a new proposal on Friday to keep Dow Jones & Co Inc out of Rupert Murdoch's hands, saying his plan could help boost the stock price to above $100.

Finance and travel price comparison Web site Moneysupermarket.com has paid a competitor almost 4 million pounds to settle a dispute over intellectual property, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Barclays would make a better merger candidate with ABN AMRO than a bid by a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland aimed at breaking up the Dutch bank, a Dutch newspaper quoted ABN's chief executive as saying on Saturday.

U.S. lenders facing losses are abandoning the popular but risky loans in favor of safer opportunities.

Big Pharma finds it's tough to get products past clinical trials, regulators and in wide use.

Facing complaints about soaring costs, U.S. health insurers want health reform but not less profits.

Executives at Caterpillar Inc., the U.S. heavy equipment maker whose disappointing earnings dragged Wall Street into the red on Friday, said internal company factors -- as much as broader economic headwinds -- were to blame for the company's bad quarter.

The Redstones, the family that controls Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp., have taken their private squabble public in a battle that throws into question succession plans for the global media company.

Natural and organic food retailer Whole Foods Market Inc. on Friday extended its tender offer for Wild Oats Markets Inc. for a fourth time as it waits for a hearing that will decide if it can go ahead with the deal.

Chrysler Group Chief Executive Tom LaSorda on Friday said that the closing of a $7.4-billion deal for the acquisition of a majority interest in the automaker from German parent DaimlerChrysler AG is 'very, very close.'

The U.S. Senate voted on Friday to cut federal subsidies to college student loan firms, such as Sallie Mae, by $18.3 billion, redirect savings to student grants and ease some student loan repayment terms.

Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank, said on Friday that strong international growth fueled a higher-than-expected 18 percent increase in quarterly profit. Revenue rose faster than expenses for a second consecutive quarter, as Chief Executive Charles Prince continued to emphasize controlling costs.

Boston Scientific Corp. posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as sales of its flagship drug-eluting heart stents fell by 32 percent.

Chrysler Group and the United Auto Workers union on Friday mark the formal start of a summer of crucial contract negotiations under intense pressure to break the model of business as usual for Detroit.

In a public-private partnership, Australian agribusiness ABB Grain signed a A$5.7 million deal with the University of Adelaide to develop new malting and feed barley varieties for export and domestic markets.

M2 Telecommunications Group Ltd. announced on Thursday that it has been chosen by sales intermediary Capricorn Society Ltd. to provide a full suite of telecommunications services the latter’s 10,000 member companies.

India's leading biotechnology enterprise, Biocon, has entered into an agreement to sell its enzymes unit to Denmark's Novozymes for $115 million.

Chinese telecom equipment supplier Huawei Technologies is making its presence felt in India, the world's fastest growing mobile market, by wooing telecom services providers for millions of dollars worth of network outsourcing contracts.

India's largest private mobile services provider, Bharti Airtel, and Sweden's Ericsson have inked a $2 billion, two-year deal whereby the latter will help Bharti expand its telecom network as it looks to push into new rural markets.

Tata Motors, which is reportedly looking to enter into a tie-up with Italian sports automaker Ferrari for marketing and servicing Ferrari cars in India, is also evaluating a bid to buy luxury British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from struggling US automaker Ford, according to a report.

Viacom Inc. Vice Chairman Shari Redstone may leave the board over a falling out with her father, Chairman Sumner Redstone, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Diversified manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. said on Thursday quarterly net profit rose 17 percent, boosted by strong demand from the aerospace and construction industries.

Motorola Inc. on Thursday posted a quarterly loss as revenue fell amid weak phone sales, as it loses market share.

Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. said on Thursday they plan to jointly construct a nationwide mobile broadband network in the United States using WiMAX technology, designed to run more than five times faster than current wireless networks at a lower cost.

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis pledged on Thursday to complete the $21 billion acquisition of all of LaSalle Bank from ABN AMRO Holding NV early in the fourth quarter.

Dow Jones & Co. Inc. board member David Li, a prominent Hong Kong banker, may face civil charges in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading investigation linked to News Corp.'s $5 billion bid for the U.S. media company.