IBT Staff Reporter

After eight years of war in Afghanistan, an initial report about a new push by President Barack Obama to replace the Taliban with a new government within the next 18 months is reassuring, U.S. Senator Carl Levin said on Monday.

Diversified manufacturer Honeywell International Inc believes its revenue could grow to a range of $41 billion to $45 billion over five years, as the world economy climbs out of a severe recession.

Power company DTE Inc (DTE.N) reported fourth-quarter profit in line with estimates and forecast an operating earnings range that was largely above market expectations.

General Motors Co [GM.UL] said on Monday that Stephen Girsky, special adviser to Chief Executive Ed Whitacre, has been appointed vice chairman in charge of corporate strategy and business development.

Microsoft announced on Monday its bid to help local languages to be integrated online more effectively. As part of their Unlimited Potential program, Microsoft is offering its software in 67 local languages.

When it comes to getting the word out about the state capital's most famous avian couple, what could be more appropriate than Twitter?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will buy the Vudu movie service in a deal that puts the world's largest retailer in competition for online delivery of films with the likes of Netflix Inc, the New York Times reported on Monday.

A former shuttle driver at Denver's airport, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring with others to bomb the New York City subway system on September 2009.

Laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc has offered $6 billion to buy Millipore Corp, according to a person familiar with the situation, in a deal that would increase its presence in the manufacture of biotech drugs.

Stocks finished flat on Monday as investors held back before congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, while scattered buying lifted shares of health insurers and banks.

The Australian Dollar opens steady today a shade under the US90 cent level.

Although the S&P 500 Index was trading in the positive for most of Monday's afternoon session, it took a dive in the last hour of trading as its energy components sold off heavily.

Economic activity rose sharply in January, further evidence the recovery is gaining ground, but manufacturing in Texas slipped in February.

Stocks finished flat on Monday as investors held back before congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, while scattered buying lifted shares of health insurers and banks.

Bank of America Corp won approval of a $150 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the Merrill Lynch & Co merger, though the federal judge who signed off on the accord called it half-baked justice at best.

The U.S. credit card sector posted mixed performance in January as charge-offs rose sharply, while early stage delinquencies declined for a third month in a row, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Actor Andrew Koenig, who is probably best known for playing the role of Richard “Boner” Stabone in the 1980's sitcom “Growing Pains,” is reported to be missing in Canada.

Continental Airlines Inc is cutting 600 reservation agent jobs, effective April 11, as customers increasingly book flights online.

The FBI will reportedly begin investigating allegations that a suburban Philadelphia school district spied on students using remotely activated Web cams without students being aware of it.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn plans to nominate himself and three others to the board of Genzyme Corp , which is struggling to recover from a manufacturing crisis that lead to shortages of two of its life-saving drugs and sparked outrage from patients and investors alike.

Past deals by Greece and others to massage public deficits lacked transparency, a senior Goldman Sachs banker said, the first time it talked openly about financial instruments it and other banks sold.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday as takeover news and gains in bank shares on hopes of a regulatory reprieve were offset by uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's policy intentions.

Documents reviewed by Congress appear to show that Toyota Motor Corp consistently dismissed the possibility that electronic failures could be responsible for incidents of unintended acceleration.

German car maker BMW has offloaded 3 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) of longevity risk from its UK pension scheme to Deutsche Bank.

General Motors should raise its share of the reorganization costs for its European arm Opel in order to get state aid from Germany, Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday, citing German government sources.

The U.S. stock market is trading in positive territory in the afternoon session with banks leading the rally after investors shrug off concerns of global tightening.

Goldman Sachs has defended the cross-currency derivatives it conducted for Greece in 2001.

Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance, Japan's second-largest life insurer, said on Monday it would sell about 1.07 trillion yen ($11.7 billion) worth of shares in the country's biggest initial public offering in more than a decade.

Bank of America Corp wants to aggressively expand Merrill Lynch's business of managing investments on behalf of pension funds, foundations and endowments.