IBT Staff Reporter

A U.S. judge on Monday upheld the prison sentence of a key informant in the tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS AG and ordered him to start serving his 40-month term as scheduled this Friday.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said the financial industry needs to embrace a looming regulatory overhaul instead of fighting it, but added that breaking up the biggest U.S. banks would be a mistake.

Dubai opened the world's tallest structure in a glitzy ceremony meant to put a brave face on crushing debt woes, leading some to wonder whether the tower is the emirate's crowning glory or its last hurrah.

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's top automaker, said on Monday it aimed to raise global sales volume by 17 percent in 2010 on an worldwide economic recovery and new models.

German industrial conglomerate Robert Bosch sees sales at its core car parts business rising by a tenth in 2010, on growth in emerging markets and as carmakers build up inventory, a senior official said on Monday.

General Motors expects to sell 100,000 vehicles in 2010 in India, up 43 percent from 70,000 sold in 2009, its India head said on Monday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he believed a global agreement to combat climate change might still be possible despite the limited results of last month's Copenhagen meeting.

Oil rose more than 2 percent to touch two-month highs over $81 a barrel on Monday as cold weather battered the United States and other big consumer regions, driving up demand for heating fuel.

U.S. stocks climbed in a commodities-fueled rally on Monday after data showed the manufacturing sector expanded for a fifth straight month, lifting confidence in a global economic recovery.

Japan Airlines Corp could remain listed after filing for bankruptcy in a restructuring plan under consideration by a state-backed turnaround fund, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Raymond James cut Exxon Mobil Corp to market perform from outperform, saying it does not expect shares of the oil major to outperform in an environment of steadily rising oil prices. Analysts, led by Pavel Molchanov, said they still see much potential in Exxon with industry leading returns on equity, solid balance sheet and steady execution.

Plains All American Pipeline LP said it had increased its stake in the Capline Pipeline system after buying additional interest and associated tankage for $64 million.

Canadian mid-tier gold miner Iamgold Corp said on Monday that Chief Executive Joseph Conway has resigned effective Jan. 15 and will be replaced on a temporary basis by board member Peter C. Jones.

Power company Dominion Resources Inc said it will continue with the sale of its Pennsylvania natural gas unit to a subsidiary of private equity firm SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund North America for $780 million.

Novartis aims to buy the rest of leading eye care firm Alcon for $39.3 billion to reduce reliance on prescription drugs, but is offering minority shareholders a worse deal than major owner Nestle .

U.S. stocks rallied in the first session of the New Year on Monday, after data showed the manufacturing sector grew for the fifth straight month and a brokerage upgrade of Intel helped lift semiconductor stocks.

PetroBakken Energy Ltd (PBN.TO) said on Monday it is buying smaller Berens Energy Ltd (BEN.TO) for C$271 million ($261 million) to establish a position in a prolific but technically challenging oil prospect in Alberta.

Dubai's Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) opened the world's tallest tower on Monday, marking the completion of the last of its big local landmark projects and the start of a new strategy which is expected to focus on overseas projects, hotels and hospitals.

Mortgage insurer Radian Group Inc (RDN.N) said it completed two of the three tender offers for certain preferred securities issued by custodial trusts, related to a contingent-capital program of its financial guaranty subsidiary.

Billionaire Carl Icahn and Beal Bank filed a competing reorganization plan for Trump Entertainment Resorts (TRMPQ.PK), which offers a $45 million loan to the bankrupt casino operator, court documents showed.

The following are some of the major companies planning initial public offerings on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Iran postponed a visit by members of the European Parliament on Monday, but the EU delegation said it had canceled the visit because Iran had blocked meetings with opposition figures.

Dubai's ruler inaugurates the world's tallest building on Monday, in a testament to the emirate's still strong ambitions to become a global business hub despite the debt problems that have dampened investor optimism.

France's Total (TOTF.PA) signed a $2.25 billion tie-up with Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N). becoming the latest international oil major to take advantage of low gas prices to snap up shale gas assets.

Michael Widenius, the creator of the MySQL database and a potential stumbling block for Oracle (ORCL.O) in its takeover of Sun (JAVA.O), handed 14,000 signatures opposing the deal to regulators in Europe, China and Russia

U.S. food group Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) is set to clear a hurdle in its hostile 10 billion pound takeover bid for Cadbury (CBRY.L) by winning EU approval this week, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.

U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, rallying in the first session of the new year, after data showed the manufacturing sector expanded for the fifth straight month and a brokerage upgrade of Intel helped lift semiconductor stocks.

Avatar sped past the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office after three weekends in release, making it the fourth-biggest movie of all time, according to data released on Sunday.

Swedish central bank governor Stefan Ingves said the Riksbank could face a dilemma ahead in reining in rising house prices without cutting off credit to businesses, the minutes of the latest central bank meeting showed on Monday.