IBT Staff Reporter

The Winter Games may be nearly over, but a mime dressed in workman clothes finally pulled the missing leg of the Olympic cauldron out of the ground at BC Place on Sunday.

Britain's Allergy Therapeutics (AGY.L) swung to a first-half pretax profit, helped by cost cuts, and said it was comfortable with the full-year market view, sending its shares up nearly 10 percent.

Biodel Inc (BIOD.O) said the U.S. health regulator accepted for review the marketing application for its experimental diabetes drug VIAject, sending its shares up 15 percent in premarket trade.

Global markets are recovering as various media reports surfaced that Germany and France are planning a 30 billion euro Greece bailout.

Canada herded 60,000 man-made moose and made its dignified Mounties dance in the Olympic host nation's playful poke at what it means to be Canadian as the Winter Games came to a close on Sunday.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc (ARIA.O) said its experimental cancer drug, AP24534, received orphan drug designation from U.S. health regulators, sending its shares up 8 percent in pre-market trade.

Sid the Kid became the Man by scoring what will be forever remembered as Canada's golden goal in a 3-2 Olympic final overtime win over the United States on Sunday to cap one of the most compelling sporting showdowns ever seen on a sheet of ice.

Tower Group Inc's (TWGP.O) fourth-quarter operating income rose 68 percent on higher net premiums, but the property and casualty insurer cut its 2010 earnings view.

PHH Corporation (PHH.N), a provider of mortgage and fleet management services, posted a fourth-quarter earnings that handily beat market expectations, helped by large gains on mortgage loans and higher fee income.

Webster Financial Corp (WBS.N) said it received U.S. governmental approval to repurchase $100 million, or 25 percent, of the shares of preferred stock issued to the Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program.

Iberian spot power prices recovered on Monday from two-month lows hit over the weekend as demand rose with the beginning of the working week.

The Vancouver Winter Olympics ended in spectacular triumph on Sunday with a dazzling closing ceremony that mixed traditional pomp with self-deprecating humor to put the icing on 17 days of unrelenting drama and action.

Belgium's dominant telecom operator Belgacom (BCOM.BR) may offer electricity deals to help diversify its activities, Belgian daily Le Soir reported.

Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda sought to ease quality concerns during a low-key visit to China on Monday, fresh from a grueling hearing in the U.S. Congress over his company's biggest safety crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the Congress voiced confidence on Sunday they will have the votes, possibly within a couple of months or so, to pass landmark legislation to overhaul the healthcare system.

Factories around the world enjoyed a bumper February with business surveys showing the manufacturing sector in major economies continued to lead an economic recovery, despite a slowdown in some growth rates.

LONDON (Reuters) - Young people who smoke cannabis or marijuana for six years or more are twice as likely to have psychotic episodes, hallucinations or delusions than people who have never used the drug, scientists said on Monday.

Britain's Prudential said it would buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion, making it the undisputed foreign leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets.

Vivendi, Europe's largest entertainment group, sounded a cautious note on its profit outlook for this year despite posting better than expected results for 2009, boosted by its video games and telecoms units.

Two key Republicans are urging the House of Representatives to speed up a public hearing to investigate the administration's bailout of home funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Bapineuzumab -- being developed by Pfizer Inc, Irish drugmaker Elan Corp and Johnson & Johnson -- is a potential game-changer because it could be the first drug to treat the underlying cause of the degenerative brain disease.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eating meat may be a much more common trigger for anaphylaxis -- a severe and potentially deadly allergic reaction -- than previously thought, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

China's Suning Appliance Co said it planned to open 520 stores in China this year, increasing its total number of shops by more than half in the world's third-biggest economy.

Canadian construction company Aecon Group Inc said it acquired GCCL Contracting Ltd for about C$4.4 million as it looks to expand into other areas of the road building business.

Germany's family-controlled Merck KGaA agreed to buy U.S. biotech tool maker Millipore for $6 billion to diversify away from its embattled drugs business.

Petrohawk Energy Corp said it agreed to sell its interest in an Oklahoma asset for $155 million to a private company.

Corrects title of Akira Sasaki and changes spokesman to spokeswoman in ninth paragraph

Investment analysis and market index company MSCI Inc said it will buy RiskMetrics Group Inc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.55 billion.

US specialty chemicals maker Solutia Inc will buy closely-held Etimex Solar, a maker of chemicals used in solar panels, for 240 million euros ($327.1 million) in cash