IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme Corp and Sanofi-Aventis have executed a nondisclosure agreement, effectively giving the French company the ability to examine Genzyme's books as they continue talks on a possible merger.

U.S> stocks, led by AMD and Exxon Mobil, are up slightly today

Shares of coal miner Massey Energy surged 13 percent in premarket trading on Monday, the first trading day after rival Alpha Natural Resources agreed to buy it in a $7 billion deal.

An elected parliament convened in Myanmar on Monday for the first time in half a century but inspired scant enthusiasm among a sceptical public convinced it is just a smokescreen for continued military rule.

Neiba scrapes out a meagre income selling soil-caked clumps of wild garlic she picks in the forests of Russia's poorest province -- an occupation a growing Islamic insurgency has made increasingly hazardous.

A Canalys report finds that Android overtook Nokia's Sybian operating system for the first time last year, topping offerings from Nokia and Apple.

Unidentified people torched the Sri Lankan office of a British-based website that regularly criticises the Sri Lankan government, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa immediately ordered an investigation into the arson.

Google's Android dethroned Nokia's Symbian as the most popular smartphone platform in the last quarter of 2010, ending a reign that began with the birth of the industry 10 years ago.

Angry protesters in Bangladesh clashed with police on Monday over a government plan to acquire their land for a new airport, killing one policeman and injuring dozens.

Closed systems can't be successful indefinitely, says Patrick Lo, CEO of Netgear.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is recovering well from a respiratory infection that led to his hospitalisation last week but doctors are worried there may be too many people trying to visit him.

South Korea on Monday rejected a push by the North to bring forward military talks by 10 days, saying it was not enough time to prepare for their first dialogue since the North's deadly attack against a border island last year.

South Sudan almost unanimously voted to declare independence from the north in a referendum, officials said on Sunday, sparking mass celebrations in the southern capital Juba.

Hollywood starlet Winona Ryder has sold her long time home in Sunset Strip, Los Angeles for $3,725,000.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday as merger activity and solid earnings, including Exxon Mobil, offset concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt to other parts of the Middle East.

Morocco will have to raise fuel subsidies to a record $5 billion this year from $3 billion in 2010 if oil prices remain in the $100 per barrel range, a senior energy ministry official said on Monday during a visit to London.

India rejected on Monday Research In Motion's offer to allow it only partial access to its BlackBerry data services as neighboring Pakistan also moved to restrict the popular smartphone's services.

Tanzania's economy grew 6.2 percent in the third quarter of 2010 from 5.7 percent in the same period a year ago due to an improvement in construction, transport and communication sectors, data showed on Monday.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday on strong earnings and merger activity, overshadowing concerns about the possible spread of unrest in Egypt which had caused a sharp selloff in world stocks on Friday.

Kenya's inflation rate rose to 5.42 percent year on year in January from 4.51 percent in December on higher food prices, rents and school tuition costs, a source at the statistics office said on Monday.

A sharp debate rages among top U.S. lawmakers on ways to create new jobs and deal with rising federal government deficits, with limited cuts on one side and bigger cuts on the other.

Affluent women expect to be more active than their male counterparts in retirement, but they are also more worried about outliving their money, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch study.

U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme Corp and Sanofi-Aventis have executed a nondisclosure agreement, effectively giving the French company the ability to examine Genzyme's books as they continue talks on a possible merger.

Chrysler Group LLC, the automaker managed by Fiat SpA, reported a $199 million net loss for the fourth quarter on Monday and it expects to be profitable in 2011, the year it plans to go public.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as the potential for spreading geopolitical tremors in the Middle East caused investors to exercise caution.

Kenya's biggest sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company on Monday forecast it could earn 2 billion shillings from a new ethanol distillation plant once it is in production next year.

Shares in Rwandan brewer Bralirwa jumped 62 percent on their market debut as the country's stock exchange opened for business on Monday.

South Africa's trade account recorded a 10.3 billion rand surplus in December compared with an 8.4 billion rand surplus in November, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Monday.

The most famous Egyptian in the world, actor Omar Sharif, well known for starring in film classics such as Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Ariabia, told a French radio station this morning that Mubarak should go.