IBT Staff Reporter

General Motors has tripled its funding of European arm Opel and cut its request for state aid in a bid to win over European governments and labor.

Allied Irish Banks posted its first ever full-year net loss, after being burned in a property market crash, and did not offer any exact guidance on when or how it would restore profits and its capital base.

Japan's Canon Inc said it had acquired or been tendered 71 percent of Oce's shares in a takeover bid of the Dutch printer maker that closed Monday, short of its target of 85 percent.

Allied Irish Banksposted its first ever full-year net loss on Tuesday after being burned by exposure to Ireland's property market crash, saying the outlook and environment remained extremely challenging.

The pound came under further pressure on Tuesday, battered by political worries and engorged public finances, while global equities stayed relatively buoyant.

Asian shares climbed for a third session on Tuesday, led by tech stocks, while the Australian dollar slipped on uncertainty about the pace of future interest rate hikes.

Two telecom operator-backed mobile software groups signaled closer co-operation on Tuesday as carriers face increasing competition from the new rivals Google and Apple.

General Motors Co is recalling 1.3 million compact cars in North America to address a power steering problem that has been linked to 14 crashes and one injury, the company said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp will roll out an aggressive incentive program for U.S. consumers in March, including zero-percent financing for five years and two-year free maintenance, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.

Asian shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, led by tech stocks, while the Australian dollar slid ahead of what is expected to be a close decision by the central bank on whether to raise interest rates again.

Google Inc. acquired the photo- editing site Picnik Inc., according to a company blog, adding to its Picasa picture-storing service.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is planning to sell $1.8 billion of guaranteed asset-backed debt, according to IFR, in what may be a step toward restoring confidence in securities closely tied to the financial meltdown.

Two key senators were discussing making the Federal Reserve the home of a proposed U.S. government watchdog office for consumers that has been the main obstacle to bipartisan agreement on financial reform, said sources familiar with Senate discussions on Monday.

Britain's Prudential will buy American International Group's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion in the insurance sector's biggest deal ever, helping the bailed-out U.S. group repay a big chunk of its taxpayer debt.

Global hedge funds posted small gains in February as many prominent managers steered clear of stocks and bet against Europe's common currency, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said.

McDermott International Inc reported higher quarterly net income on Monday as offshore oil and gas work offset weakness in power generation systems, but it posted revenue well short of analysts' estimates.

The co-head of Intel's Corp microchip architecture group, regarded as a potential successor to CEO Paul Otellini, suffered a stroke at home and will take several months' medical leave.

Chile's mines returned to service on Monday after the massive weekend earthquake briefly shut nearly a quarter of the top copper producer's output, while improving power supply eased concerns of further disruption.

The Bank of Japan remains under steady government pressure to loosen monetary policy further, even as the central bank's ammunition to beat deflation dries up. While the government has not openly said what exactly it wants the BOJ to do, it is relying on it to act in the event of a sharp rise in the yen or in bond yields that could threaten a fragile economic recovery.

Two key senators were discussing making the Federal Reserve the home of a proposed U.S. government watchdog office for consumers that has been the main obstacle to bipartisan agreement on financial reform, said sources familiar with Senate discussions on Monday.

The number of U.S. companies with public stock or debt that filed for bankruptcy protection last month dropped more than 70 percent from a year ago, as companies have benefited from strategies to stay out of court.

The possibility of setting up a new financial consumer watchdog within the Federal Reserve was one of a range of options being discussed by members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, sources said on Monday.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who is advising the Obama administration, said the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency is likely not in jeopardy, but warned central bankers to keep a close eye on inflation.

Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd, a solar equipment maker that recently relocated to Toronto from Calgary, may soon land its first large-scale orders in its new home province, the world's newest go-to region for solar power.

Sands China , the world's most valuable casino operator by market capitalization, said its 2009 net profit rose 22 percent from a year earlier, driven by a surge in gambling revenue in Macau.

A range of scholarship worth more than $1.5 Million is to be awarded by The University of Adelaide as their continuous commitment in educating students based on their abilities, regardless of their backgrounds.

U.S. regulators are closely monitoring banks' exposures to sovereign debt risk, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said on Monday.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn, a 40-year veteran of the U.S. central bank, will step down in late June, giving President Barack Obama more scope to reshape the institution.

U.S. manufacturing grew in February, though more slowly than expected, while consumer spending rose for a fourth straight month, showing the economy continued a modest recovery.