IBT Staff Reporter

U.S. regulators on Friday closed two banking subsidiaries of Irwin Financial Corp, bringing the total of U.S. bank failures this year to 94.

Pakistan said on Saturday it was investigating an Islamist militant leader whom India accuses of masterminding last year's Mumbai attack, but said he would be arrested only after concrete evidence was found against him.

Russia's participation in the Opel deal may be a waste of time if Western technologies are not transferred to the country, German Gref, cheif executive of deal participant Sberbank (SBER03.MM) said on Saturday.

The United Nations is investigating the use of its vehicles by suicide bombers who killed 17 African Union peacekeepers at their main base in Somalia, a senior official said Saturday.

Struggling Russian carmaker Avtovaz (AVAZ.MM) said on Friday it wanted to strengthen its partnership with shareholder Renault (RENA.PA), a day after a top Russian banker suggested a tie-up with Opel.

Debt-laded Continental AG, a German auto supplier controlled by Schaeffler, wants to keep its portfolio structure in the current from, new chief executive Elmar Degenhart was quoted on Saturday as saying.

U.S. tax authorities on Thursday said that 1.4 million taxpayers have used an $8,000 home buyer tax credit so far and reminded home buyers they need to close on a purchase before the Dec. 1 deadline to qualify.

First talks between European unions and delegates from General Motors and Magna (MGa.TO) begin next week over plans to cut 10,500 jobs at Opel save labor costs in the hundreds of millions of euros.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Saturday that Ireland could lose its right to nominate an EU commissioner if it rejects the Lisbon Treaty for a second time.

About 19,000 General Motors Co [GM.UL] workers in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo went on strike on Friday, demanding better wages after failing to reach an agreement with the company.

Thousands of supporters of exiled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra braved torrential rain and flooding on Saturday in a rally to mark the third anniversary of the billionaire's overthrow by the military.

President Barack Obama vowed on Saturday to work with fellow G20 leaders next week to close gaps in financial regulations and insisted reckless schemes that yield fat executive bonuses could no longer be tolerated.

At first impression, the man no one knows as Michael Penniman seems uncharacteristically quiet. As he takes a well-earned break from rehearsing for a tour to promote one of the year's most eagerly anticipated music releases, he seems tired and anxious, a far cry from his usual ebullience.

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Michael Jackson's mother can challenge the administrators of his estate without losing her share in a lucrative family trust, according to court papers released on Friday.

Its sharp decline in the last week has pushed the euro to its highest level in a year and reignited fears that there's only one place for the dollar to go, and that's down. Rhetoric from influential investors like Warren Buffett as well as big foreign buyers of U.S. debt like China and Russia has fed that sense of doom.

China's central bank said on Saturday it had done a good job promoting economic growth and would keep implementing pro-growth policies as set by the country's top leadership at a meeting this week.

Forensic tests on the DNA from the body of a man killed during a raid by Indonesian police this week confirm he was Noordin Mohammad Top, one of Asia's most wanted militants, police said Saturday.

China's public security ministry has warned police to be on guard against any threats to public order linked to the spread of the H1N1 strain of flu, including the spreading of rumors and price-gouging for drugs.

A majority of Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday called on the Obama administration to let the authority to tap a $700 billion financial bailout fund expire at the end of the year as scheduled.

China's economy will be able to achieve a growth target of 8 percent this year, but the country should not rest on its laurels as problems remain, the statistics bureau's top economist was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Financier Danny Pang, who died last weekend while facing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he ran a massive Ponzi scheme, likely committed suicide, police said on Friday.

The U.S. Justice Department urged a New York court on Friday to reject Google's controversial deal with authors and publishers that would allow the search engine giant to create a massive online digital library.

A Paris tribunal has found that eBay Inc violated LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA trademarks in keyword searches, but the fine of 80,000 euros ($117,600) leveled against the Internet company was far less than the French luxury brand had hoped for.

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said on Friday he will resign, effective immediately, from the unit of the Walt Disney Co to pursue new adventures.

One of the best-known auto industry executives in the world has fallen on hard times.

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, the world's biggest fertilizer producer, lowered its 2009 earnings target on Friday, citing weak sales.

The United States and Air Canada appeared on Friday to have settled a spat over charter flights, which had threatened to disrupt the upcoming National Hockey League season.

Financier Danny Pang, who died last Saturday while facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he perpetrated a massive Ponzi scheme, appears to have committed suicide, police said on Friday.

A fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats who was charged last month with defrauding Citigroup Inc is being sued by HSBC for deceiving it into lending him $100 million.