IBT Staff Reporter

Exxon Mobil Corp plans to buy XTO Energy Inc for about $30 billion in stock, in a move that thrusts the U.S. energy giant to the forefront of North America's fast-growing natural gas industry.

A key ingredient for any climate change deal in Copenhagen this week will be a money pledge by rich countries to help poor ones fight global warming.

Citigroup laid out a plan to repay the money it owes the U.S. government, including issuing about $20 billion of capital, as the bank looks to end the executive pay restrictions that came with the funds.

Expectations of cold weather in the U.S Northeast is seen supporting stronger heating values in the region, the world's largest consumer of the fuel, traders said on Monday.

Stocks closed at 14-month highs on Monday as Abu Dhabi's $10 billion in aid to help Dubai avoid default eased concerns and a takeover deal by Exxon Mobil Corp raised optimism about mergers and acquisitions activity.

New data released today by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program says that by 2010 ocean levels are expected to rise by 0.5 to 1.5 meters.

Google Inc plans to sell two versions of its own-branded cell phone: one with a service contract with T-Mobile USA and another that is unlocked, a source familiar with the matter said.

President Barack Obama said Monday that Banks must be active in helping accelerate the U.S. economic recovery after receiving help from taxpayers.

UK chocolatier Cadbury teased shareholders with the prospect of rival bids and promised bigger dividends and stronger growth as it again knocked back a hostile 10 billion pound ($16.2 billion) offer from Kraft Foods .

Italians asked on Monday if an ugly assault on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was prompted by a climate of hatred splitting their nation and commentators said a wave of sympathy looked set to boost his political fortunes.

President Barack Obama told top U.S. bankers on Monday they owed it to the country to help lift the economy out of crisis by lending more money to small businesses in need and embracing financial reforms.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, sending the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, as the appetite for riskier assets returned, following news of Abu Dhabi's $10 billion rescue of Dubai, and Exxon Mobil Corp's planned takeover of natural gas supplier XTO Energy Inc .

Tisha Taylor Murphy, the wife of comedian and actor Charlie Murphy, passed away last night in the couple's home in New Jersey according to reports from mediatakeout.com.

A planned meeting of diplomats from major powers on Iran's nuclear program will not take place this year although discussions will continue by telephone, the State Department said on Monday.

Survivalism is big news these days, and the hottest novel on the market is Patriot. It contains extremely detailed discussions of everything a group of college students who banded together in 2000 bought for or did at their Idaho retreat to prepare for TEOTWATKI, which occurs in 2009.

The EMBA course is aimed at experienced executives who prefer not to take a career break to take a full-time MBA and typically require significant business experience to gain admission. The regular MBA course is generally taken by candidates with relatively lesser work experience...

Tiger Woods has just made life a whole lot tougher for athletes looking to score big deals to pitch a company's products or services.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as Abu Dhabi's $10 billion in aid to help Dubai avoid default eased concerns, and a takeover deal by Exxon Mobil Corp raised optimism about mergers and acquisitions.

Google Inc will sell a version of its own-branded cellphone for a reduced price to U.S. consumers who agree to a service contract from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA, a source familiar with the matter said.

A senior Chinese envoy said on Monday that developing nations' top concern at a slow-moving climate summit is securing funds from the rich to pay for carbon emissions cuts and cover the cost of adapting to a warmer world.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, Japan's biggest maker of construction steel, said it would cut the price of H-shaped steel, its mainstay product, to the lowest level in six years due to weak domestic demand.

Retailers looking for a big surge in customer traffic the week after Christmas may be disappointed by a new survey that shows an unusually low number of consumers plan to shop in the post-holiday week.

12-day walkout spells chaos for nearly 1m passengers British Airways' 12,500 cabin crew today voted overwhelmingly in favour of a 12-day strike over Christmas and the New Year.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday the French state would raise 35 billion euros ($51.33 billion) to fund strategic investments in the coming months, with the priority given to higher education and training.

Charles Schwab Corp expects earnings per share in the current quarter to be 2 cents to 4 cents lower than in the third quarter, due to lower interest rates and slower trading in recent weeks, sending its shares down 2.7 percent.

Westman Islands now an easy day-trip from Reykjavik. A new ferry pier on Iceland's south coast will soon provide the first high-speed link to the jewels in Iceland's volcanic crown, Vestmannaeyjar or the Westman Islands.

The town of Livingstone, Zambia, near Victoria Falls, was named after Doctor David Livingstone, the missionary born in Blantyre, Scotland, where I once lived as a child. It is illustrative of how much the world has changed, in such a relatively short time, that it was a mere 150 years since he had become

Bankrupt petrochemicals company LyondellBasell has filed an amended reorganisation plan with a U.S. court proposing a $2.8 billion rights issue as it awaits a possible bid from Indian Reliance Industries.

Chipmaker ON Semiconductor Corp said it will buy California Micro Devices Corp for about $108 million in cash, to strengthen its handset portfolio.