IBT Staff Reporter

The head of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) said he has had no contact with Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE), shooting down a report last week that the German auto giant was considering a 10 percent stake in Suzuki, a Japanese newspaper said.

Victims of convicted and admitted fraudster Bernard Madoff, 71, on Monday morning told a judge and the swindler how they how they were affected.

Sanofi-Aventis's diabetes drug Lantus may increase the risk of cancer, according to new but inconclusive studies from experts around Europe.

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff heard scorn from his victims on Monday at a sentencing hearing at which he will learn his punishment for running Wall Street's biggest and most brazen investment fraud.Emotional victims asked Judge Denny Chin to impose the maximum sentence of 150 years, an effective life term for the 71-year-old Madoff.How could somebody do this to us? How could this be real? ...

The eToro platform is continuing to lead the pack as far as forex trading platforms are concerned, now adding commodity trading to their wide selection of trading instruments and tools. eToro, which had started out targeting the beginner trader market segment, has recently made leaps and bounds to capture a more advanced crowd of traders with great success.

Canada's alternative energy sector is showing signs of a budding recovery, as companies resurrect financing deals and public offerings that withered with the recession, but that revival remains very fragile.

A partial recount of Iran's disputed election won by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began on Monday, but one defeated reformist candidate said an annulment of the poll was the only way to regain the people's trust.

Higher fuel prices and the H1N1 flu virus will hurt Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's full-year earnings, the world's second largest cruise operator said on Monday.Royal Caribbean said its full-year fuel expenses could be 12 cents per share higher at today's oil prices, which have leaped 45 percent since the company provided its outlook in late April. The impact of surg...

Israel's Defense Ministry said Monday it had approved construction of 50 new homes at a West Bank settlement as part of a plan for 1,450 housing units, an expansion that defies a U.S. call for a settlement freeze.

Financial products should be treated like medicines and sold to consumers only when they are certified safe to prevent a repeat of last year's financial meltdown, the world's central bankers said on Monday.The Bank for International Settlements , which acts as a forum for central banks, said government efforts to revive the global economy might have only a temporary impact because banks are not ...

Asset management and servicing giant State Street Corp said it might face civil charges by U.S. securities regulators for exposing investors to losses on subprime mortgages.The company said on Monday that Securities and Exchange Commission staff had issued a Wells notice to its banking unit on Thursday regarding disclosures and management by State Street Global Advisors of acti...

Leftist Latin American leaders rallied around ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Monday and tried to thrash out a response to an army coup that sparked protests in the impoverished nation and drew worldwide condemnation.

Consulting firms Towers Perrin Forster & Crosby and Watson Wyatt Worldwide said on Sunday they plan to merge in an all-stock deal valued at about $3.5 billion, as they hope to cut costs amid an economic slump that has caused clients to curb discretionary spending.Under terms of the deal, Watson Wyatt shareholders will receive 50 percent of the shares in the combined company, which...

Sony Corp is considering developing a cellphone-game gear hybrid in a bid to better compete with Apple Inc's highly popular iPod and iPhone, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate launched its first Walkman three decades ago, dominating the portable music player market, but it has been running far behind the iPod and iPhone in recent yea...

Audiences worldwide flocked to the film in theaters, with a global take of $387 million. In its weekend run, it earned $112 million over the weekend, as measured from Friday to Monday.

Financial products should be treated like medicines and sold to consumers only when they are certified safe to prevent a repeat of last year's financial meltdown, the world's central bankers said on Monday.The Bank for International Settlements , which acts as a forum for central banks, said government efforts to revive the global economy might have only a temporary impact because banks are not ...

Top mobile telephone suppliers have agreed to back an EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, the European Commission said on Monday, hailing the pact as good news for consumers and the environment.The agreement by Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors will mean phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year, said the EU executive, which has pushe...

The International Energy Agency on Monday cut sharply its medium-term forecast for oil demand because of economic recession, but said the threat of a supply crunch had only receded, not gone away.

The deterioration of the Manhattan office availability rate slowed in the second quarter, signaling the worst may be over for the market, real estate services company FirstService Williams said in a report.

Norway's government proposed a new law on Friday to develop sea-based wind power as part of a plan to diversify from offshore oil and gas toward renewable energy.

State Street receives Wells Notice, may be sued by SEC over securities-law violations

Oil rose above $70 a barrel on Monday after Nigeria's main militant group said it attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform, outweighing a fairly bearish report from the International Energy Agency .The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said its fighters struck the Shell Forcados platform in the Delta state at about 0230 GMT.There was no immediate independent confirmation but Shel...

President Barack Obama on Sunday called a House-passed climate change bill an extraordinary first step, but spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that fail to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Advertising on mobile phones should really take off within two to three years, driven by new applications on smartphones and the growing popularity of social networks such as Facebook.Executives, who attended last week's Cannes Lions 2009 ad festival, told Reuters that emerging economies were also promising though the lack of a global mobile phone standard could be a brake to speedy develo...

Microsoft has hired Morgan Stanley to sell Razorfish, its digital agency, and French marketing company Publicis Groupe SA is thought to be a possible bidder, the Financial Times said on its website late Sunday.Microsoft acquired the agency, formerly called Avenue A Razorfish, as part of its $6 billion takeover of aQuantive in 2007.The report cited an analyst valuing Razorfish at $600...

Oil rose to $70 a barrel on Monday after Nigeria's main militant group said it attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform, outweighing a fairly bearish report from the International Energy Agency .The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said its fighters struck the Shell Forcados platform in the Delta state at about 0230 GMT. [nLT318433There was no immediate independent...

NetSuite Inc said on Sunday it has received certification from a member of a German auditing body for its on-demand business management software, which can now be used by companies in Germany.NetSuite said it got the certification for its NetSuite OneWorld from a member of the German Institute of Auditors, whose members include certified accountants and certified auditors.Under the c...

Admitted thief Bernard Madoff will leave his jail cell and be taken under guard to court on Monday morning to hear his punishment for running Wall Street's biggest and most brazen investment scheme.A U.S. judge is expected to sentence Madoff, 71, to an effective life term in prison during an emotional court hearing starting at 10 a.m. EDT, in which some of his defrauded investors will desc...

Michael Jackson dressed his three children over the years with veils and masks and even famously dangled one from a balcony.