IBT Staff Reporter

MILAN - Fiat SpA's chief executive might swear that he is not trying to build an empire, but he is certainly looking for scale -- on the cheap.

Britain has ruled out a controversial proposal to set up a government database to store Internet and telephone traffic, saying it prefers to have such information held by private companies.

General Motors Corp on Monday said it would cut debt, close plants, slash jobs and drop the Pontiac brand as part of a sweeping restructuring that would see the automaker emerge under the ownership control of the U.S. government and its major union.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remained a mystery and there was a suspicion that he could be dead.

An outbreak of swine flu dampened tentative hopes for the global economy, sending markets lower on Monday and analysts fear a possible pandemic could force countries further into recession.

Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said on Monday that German automaker Daimler AG is working with Cerberus Capital Management to divest its 19.9 percent stake in struggling U.S. automaker.

Spanish engineering company Abengoa has begun operating a 20 megawatt solar power plant that is the world's biggest, using a tower to turn the sun's rays into electricity and can supply 10,000 homes, it said on Monday.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has failed to use all its powers or to beef them up if inspectors are obstructed, leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in tatters, a former top agency official says.

Sri Lanka on Monday ordered troops to stop using heavy weapons against the Tamil Tiger rebels, and instead focus on protecting and rescuing tens of thousands of people still trapped in the last rebel pocket.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown flew to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday touting a new security strategy for the region as international alarm spreads over Taliban advances.

The flu virus spreading around the world should not be called swine flu as it also contains avian and human components and no pig was found ill with the disease so far, the World Animal Health body said on Monday.

Humana Inc posted a huge gain in first-quarter profit on Monday on improvement in its Medicare health plans for seniors, and the insurer raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Iraq considers a U.S. military raid that killed two people a crime and wants U.S. forces to hand over those responsible to the courts, an Iraqi official said on Sunday.

A U.S. business group said on Monday it was worried that protectionist sentiment could rise in both China and the United States as the global economy shrinks.

Apple and Verizon have reportedly been engaged in high-level talks to bring the iPhone onto the network as early as next year when Apple's exclusivity deal with AT&T expires.

Releasing classified memos showing whether harsh Bush-era interrogation methods yielded useful information from terrorism suspects is not necessary, Republican Senator John McCain said on Sunday in a public disagreement with former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The prompt resolution of a 15-year old dispute over access to U.S. roads by Mexican trucks could be another casualty of the deadly swine flu outbreak, international trade experts said on Monday.

Stocks fell on Monday on anxiety that a possible global flu outbreak could derail the economy's efforts to climb out of a recession.

Apple Inc said a shareholder proposal for more say over executive pay was approved at its annual meeting on February 25.

Governments around the world acted to stem a possible flu pandemic on Monday, as a virus that has killed 103 people in Mexico and spread to North America was confirmed to have reached Europe.

Stocks fell on Monday, sending benchmark indexes down more than 1 percent, as investors worried that a possible global flu outbreak could complicate efforts to revive the economy.

General Motors Corp on Monday announced plans to close plants, cut hourly workers and dealers and to eliminate its Pontiac brand in an effort to meet government demands for a quicker and deeper restructuring.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by cost cutting and improving demand for glass for flat screen televisions and computer monitors.

General Motors Corp on Monday announced plans to close plants, cut hourly workers and dealers and to eliminate its Pontiac brand in an effort to meet government demands for a quicker and deeper restructuring.

Whirlpool Corp on Monday reported a surprising quarterly profit after cost-cutting efforts helped the world's biggest appliance maker offset a slump in global sales.

Energy services provider Duncan Energy Partners LP's (DEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) first-quarter profit jumped 50 percent, helped by higher natural gas volumes and lower operating costs.

Canadian oil and natural gas trust Daylight Resources Trust said it agreed to buy a private oil and gas company for about C$109 million ($89.64 million) in a cash and stock deal, which will boost its total production by about 13 percent.

A Swiss insurance worker lost her job after surfing popular social network site Facebook while off sick, her employer said on Friday.

Oil prices fell nearly 6 percent to below $49 a barrel on Monday, pressured partly by expectations the world economy could suffer another blow if a flu outbreak in Mexico turns out to be the start of a pandemic.