IBT Staff Reporter

The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Monday Britain's High Court had ruled in its favor in a patent dispute with IPCom, and it would now seek to recoup legal costs of the case from the German firm.

Europe's main security and human rights watchdog said on Monday that Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for arbitrary and political reasons and urged reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression.

Oil rallied above $78 per barrel on Monday, snapping a five-day losing streak as the dollar eased against a basket of currencies, but concern over the outlook for energy demand and economic recovery weighed on the market.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML is expected to report an improvement in orders, indicating a technology sector recovery, but analysts said rising expectations could disappoint if any of the numbers slip.

President Barack Obama's promise to build a new Haiti out of the ruins of the earthquake could prove politically risky if the United States finds itself in a losing battle to rebuild the impoverished nation.

Russia will supply more than two dozen MiG-29 fighter jets to India's navy in a $1.2 billion deal to be finalised this week, a defence ministry official said on Monday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday Germany would be preparing possible further sanctions against Iran in the weeks ahead if there was no change in Tehran's stance on its disputed nuclear energy program.

The Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut after handing out 224,000 yuan ($32,810) as of late last week, state media said on Monday.

Finding a winner in the legal battle between Nokia and Apple will likely take years as the two cellphone giants use the courts to pressure each other into a licensing agreement.

Taliban gunmen launched a brazen assault on the centre of Kabul on Monday, with suicide bombers blowing themselves up at several locations and militants battling security forces from inside a shopping centre engulfed in flames.

The Unite union will open a strike ballot for BA cabin crew on January 25 after talks with the airline failed to secure a deal on changes to working conditions, potentially prolonging the winter of travel chaos.

Cadbury shares edged upwards on Monday in anticipation of a higher bid from Kraft Foods, while one major shareholder, Standard Life, said Kraft needed to bid over 900 pence to get its support.

President Barack Obama went on a rescue mission on Sunday to try to save an endangered Massachusetts Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate whose defeat by a Republican could imperil Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul.

From 2000 to 2009, the S&P 500 averaged a loss 0.82% after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday in the United States.

Baidu, Inc., the operator of the top search engine in China, said today that its chief technology officer Yinan Li resigned today from the company for personal reasons. No replacement was named.

Developed countries may slip back into recession if they abandon strategies deployed to battle the global financial crisis too early, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday.

Europe's main security and human rights watchdog said Monday Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for arbitrary and political reasons and urged legal reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression.

Investors will focus on cellphone makers' comments about the strength of the recovery in demand when they report their December quarter results this week and next.

Cadbury shares edged upwards on Monday in anticipation of a higher bid from Kraft Foods, while one major shareholder, Standard Life, said Kraft needed to bid over 900 pence to get its support.

Developed countries may slip back into recession if they exit strategies taken to battle the global financial crisis too early, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday.

Shares in Cadbury Plc pushed higher on Monday in anticipation of a higher bid from Kraft Foods , which is expected to sweeten its original takeover offer before the January 19 deadline.

Ford Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp said on Monday they had no plans to dissolve their car making joint venture in China, which overtook the United States as the world's largest auto market in 2009.

Profits from top U.S. technology companies like IBM and financial companies like Goldman Sachs Group Inc this week could help stocks gain as long as investors see room for more profit growth.

Motorola Inc is planning to launch five to six smartphones in China this year with one model ready to be unveiled shortly, officials of the U.S. mobile phone maker said on Monday.

Credit Suisse will increase the headcount in its prime brokerage team in Asia by 15 percent to 20 percent in 2010 as it aims to win business from the increasing number of global hedge funds eager to set up base in the region, a senior official at the Swiss bank said.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank will keep monetary conditions accommodative to help pull the country out of deflation.

Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a top reformer in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet, may be replaced by February, the Jakarta Post reported, quoting anonymous sources from a political party.

China XD Electric Co , the nation's largest electricity transmission and distribution equipment maker, plans to raise as much as 10.27 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in the country's first major initial public offering this year.

Cadbury Chief Executive Todd Stitzer said the British confectioner could be worth more than 10 pounds a share by 2013, in an interview published in the Daily Telegraph's Monday edition.