IBT Staff Reporter

Chrysler Group LLC said on Monday it would introduce an all-electric Fiat 500 to the U.S. market in 2012 and drop plans to develop a hybrid 2011 Ram pickup truck.

AT&T Inc will start selling Palm Inc's mobile phones in a few months, Palm said on Monday, as it looks to expand distribution and raise consumer awareness of its phones.

(Reuters) - Global drugmakers face a hit to earnings from 2011, as they are forced to chip in to help pay for healthcare reform, but will benefit in the long run as millions more Americans become customers for their medicines.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with a history of food-induced allergic reactions may need more than one shot of epinephrine to halt a severe reaction, a study has confirmed.

General Motors Co's South Korean unit plans to recall some 60,000 of the Chevy Cruze small car and the Captiva sports utility vehicle (SUV) in South Korea.

German sportscar maker Porsche sees potential for double-digit growth in Asia this year while growth in North America will take longer to return to pre-crisis levels, a magazine reported.

Australia's Arrow Energy Ltd agreed to a fresh takeover offer from Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina, raised by six percent to A$3.4 billion ($3.1 billion) for most of its Australian assets.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama secured a landmark victory with the House of Representatives giving final approval to a sweeping healthcare overhaul, expanding insurance coverage to nearly all Americans.

In an effort to boost global coffee demand and price increase, Vietnam said it plans to stockpile the commodity in a large scale. According to country's Agriculture and Rural Development ministry, a plan to extend subsidised loans at 6 percent interest for companies to buy and stockpile coffee at 1.24 dollars per kilogram was awaiting government approval.

In a recent announcement, the Indian government today said that Qatar has given its consent to supply additional four million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to India from 2013 onwards. India currently imports 7.5 million tons of LNG every year from Qatar's RasGas under a long-term deal. Intially, this will be raised by one million tonne in 2011 and then, it will be ramped up to four million tonnes by 2014.

Stocks rose on Monday led by the healthcare sector after the House of Representatives passed a healthcare reform bill, providing clarity following months of uncertainty.

Cotton arrivals in India's domestic markets registered 0.3% surge during October 1 to March 20 to 25.06 million bales, according to a data released by the Cotton Corporation of India on Monday. As against the previous year, higher arrivals in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu markets helped to register a slight increase in the total arrivals.

Rare earths are indeed getting rare. I got wind of it only a few months back when doing a story on Canada Resource Group and their Blue River Project in British Columbia. It's President David Hodge in an interview said that tantalum that is used in cellphone, laptops, digital camerals and several modern industries is in short supply with Western supply totally eliminated.

After gold, Australia now has shifted its focus on huge deposits of newly found natural gas off its North East coast to earn the post of energy superpower. According to Australia's Resources ministry, projects being ramped up to tap huge undersea fields off the country's northwest could quadruple its exports of liquefied natural gas in the next few years.

Anticipating more gas consumption in three years, India has decided to add over 7,450 km of gas pipeline network to ramp up its supply lines. Speaking at the Asia Gas Partnership Summit here, India's Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said, The challenge for an emerging market like India is to develop pipeline infrastructure in all parts of the country, including in remote areas, in tandem with increasing supplies. Only then we will be able to secure inclusive growth.

Food Corporation of India, the government monolith for the execution of the food policies of the country, has been come under close scrutiny at the recently held international wheat seminar. According to the Union Ministry of Food, the FCI is the main government agency responsible for execution of the food policies of India. When FCI carries unconscionable levels of rice and wheat stocks, there is a smug feeling in the government circles that everything is under control, including prices.

Anything white is doing brisk business in precious metal market nowadays. Whether its is silver, platinum or palladium, all these white precious metals are a big hit with consumers in this year. With a wide spectrum of white metals now available in the jewellery trade, from white gold and platinum to palladium, sterling silver, titanium and stainless steel, more and more people are lining up to buy the white wonder now.

Since their tumble in early February platinum and palladium prices have been extremely strong. From a low of $1,475/oz on 5 February, platinum gained steadily to hit $1,624/oz by 16 March, a gain of 10% and just shy of the $1,627/oz it fixed at in January. Palladium did even better, rising from a low of $395/oz on 5 February to hit $475/oz by 8 March, 20% up from its low, and beating its January high - indeed it's the highest fix for palladium since the same $475/oz seen on 20 June 2008.

Williams-Sonoma Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on lower costs and strong holiday sales, prompting the home goods chain to forecast strong results in the current quarter and the full year.

Williams-Sonoma Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on lower costs and strong holiday sales.

Wall Street was set to open lower on Monday as investor risk aversion was revived by concerns over Greece's debt crisis and the passage of sweeping healthcare reform.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency launched a new broadside against Google Inc on Monday, saying in an angry commentary that the company had reneged on promises to abide by Chinese law.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has lost market share in major European markets, such as France, Britain and Italy, after the U.S. software firm started to make it easier for European consumers to use competing browsers.

The president of the European Commission challenged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to rise above domestic politics and agree on a financial safety net for debt-stricken Greece to help preserve European monetary union.

Tiffany & Co reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as higher sales of lower-margin rough diamonds ate into overall margins. Shares fell 3.1 percent in premarket trading.

Stock index futures fell on Monday as the passage of sweeping healthcare reform and uncertainty over Greece's debt crisis revived investor risk aversion.

Cheap U.S. healthcare stocks should perform well in the next few months now that legislative uncertainty about reform in the sector has been removed, said Legg Mason Inc fund manager Bill Miller.

Russia denied on Monday that its state-run United Aviation Corporation planned to bid for a $50 billion contract to replace the U.S. Air Force's fleet of air tankers, rivaling Boeing Co and Europe's EADS.

With speculation swirling that Google Inc will soon announce the closure of its China-based Internet portal, the reaction from some Chinese has been hurry up and leave, or simply: so what?