IBT Staff Reporter

Euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve a second bailout for Greece on Monday to try to draw a line under months of uncertainty that has shaken the currency bloc, although work remains to be done to make the numbers add up.

A court in Ecuador has rejected an order by arbitrators that an $18 billion pollution ruling against Chevron should be frozen, but the judges referred an appeal by the U.S. oil company to the country's Supreme Court.

Japanese companies Fujitsu and Panasonic plan to enter the European smartphone market as rivals Apple and Samsung have piled on the pressure in their previously isolated home market.

UAE telecoms operator Etisalat may restructure its operations to cut costs, the company said on Monday, as it tries to arrest falling profits.

Defusing questionable local government debt and containing risky real estate loans are priorities at a time when the global financial crisis is deepening, China's banking regulator said on Monday.

The cost of financing new planes may come off current highs for some carriers as lenders step up competition for creditworthy debtors, a top supplier of aircraft financing told Reuters.

The Reston, Va.-based closely held company failed to pay London-based telecommunications firm Inmarsat $56.3 million under a spectrum-cooperation accord, Bloomberg reported Monday. Inmarsat was providing wireless spectrum for the wireless network LightSquared wants to build out in the U.S.

Workers at an idled ArcelorMittal steel plant in northeast France occupied the site Monday, seeking to put their plight on the political map ahead of a presidential election where industrial decline is a central theme.

Euro zone finance ministers and officials arrived on Monday to discuss a second bailout package for Greece. They were expected to approve a package of aid to draw a line under months of turmoil that has shaken the currency bloc. But technical issues remained outstanding before the meeting.

Lloyds will slash the bonuses of its former chief executive and 12 other leading members of staff, following an insurance mis-selling debacle at the part-nationalized British bank.

Hedge funds are cranking up their bets in equities and credit in 2012's buoyant markets in the belief that the euro zone, U.S. and Chinese economies will fare better than many were fearing last year.

Satellite firm Inmarsat said its partner LightSquared, a venture struggling to build a U.S. mobile broadband service with Inmarsat's spectrum, had failed to pay a $56.25 million instalment to the British company.

Dow Chemical Co hoped an Olympic sponsorship would boost its global cache, but the company's link to a gas leak tragedy 28 years ago threatens to curb some of the benefits from the $100 million advertising deal.

Media conglomerate Vivendi, the Paris-based parent of Universal Music Group, officially sought approval from the European Union to purchase London-based EMI Group's recorded-music business, the European Commission announced Monday on its website.

British chipmaker CSR Plc underscored its financial strength on Monday with a share buyback of up to $50 million, helping send its shares up more than 20 percent to their highest in six months.

The European Central Bank will lend nearly half a trillion euros to banks at rock-bottom rates next week through its three-year refinancing operation, despite signs institutions already have adequate liquidity, Reuters polls showed on Monday.

Vladimir Putin will be elected president in the first round of March's election with more than half the vote, avoiding a runoff that would dent his authority on the eve of his planned return to the Kremlin's top job, a state pollster predicted Monday.

Bank of China International is on track to become the first Chinese member of the London Metals Exchange - giving the bourse a boost while it is considering possible takeover bids - following authorization by the UK financial regulator.

Four Seasons Health Care is not trying to sell itself, as media reports suggested, but is in talks to renegotiate debt and raise new equity, a spokeswoman for Britain's biggest care home operator told Reuters.

A second injection of cheap funds from the European Central Bank may give the euro a temporary boost but is likely to trigger a longer-term decline in the common currency.

A senior U.S. regulator was optimistic on Monday about finding a framework for the world's top economy to use global book keeping rules for investors to compare cross-border companies.

Any surprise at the timing of China's move this weekend to spur bank lending may be misplaced. Instead, investors should recognize that China is determined to engineer a soft landing for the world's second-biggest economy.

Travelers in Europe face further delays and flight cancellations this week as ground staff at Frankfurt airport plan to extend their strike until early on Tuesday, with neither side in the dispute showing any sign of giving ground.

French media group Vivendi's Universal Music is seeking EU regulatory approval to buy British record label EMI's recorded music unit for $1.9 billion to boost its worldwide market share, the European Commission said on its website on Monday.

Iranians faced a second and more extensive disruption of Internet access Monday, just a week after email and social networking sites were blocked, raising concerns about state censorship ahead of parliamentary elections.

Euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve a second bailout for Greece on Monday to try to draw a line under months of uncertainty that has shaken the currency bloc, although work remains to be done to make the numbers add up.

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group is set to sign on Monday a $3 billion loan it plans to use to take private its Hong Kong-listed unit, Alibaba.com, Thomson Reuters publication Basis Point reported.

It is getting busy in Cristino Naguiat's spacious 5th-floor office overlooking Manila Bay.

Chinese authorities keep a tight grip on the country's commodity exchanges as part of efforts to deter speculators from driving up food and resource prices.