COMPANIES

Alcoa Inc. shares could rise by as much as 30 percent in 2012 as weak aluminum prices may have bottomed while demand for the metal remains strong, financial weekly Barron's reported on Sunday.

U.S. authorities have given Swiss banks suspected of selling tax-evasion services to wealthy Americans a Jan 23. deadline to hand over the names of client advisers, a Swiss newspaper reported on Sunday.

The $190 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry is about to began its annual winter extravaganza in Las Vegas where the latest toys, gadgets, smartphones, video games, TVs, cameras and laptops will be unveiled – some not to be available until late in 2012.The real story may be in improving people's lives.

It's about sustainability of profits, and sustainability through efficient products that contribute to both the broader environment and consumer benefit that will be at the heart of every automaker's presentations. America's Big Three, in particular, have revealed they are still among the biggest and best global forces to be reckoned with through profitability and strong, advanced product in the past year or two.

The Nissan Motor Co. and Daimler AG said on Sunday they would produce Mercedes-Benz gasoline engines at Nissan's Tennessee factory for fitting on Mercedes and Infiniti models, beginning in 2014.

3-D goggles are not new, but Sensics, a leader in 3-D technology, is now all set to introduce 3-D goggles at Consumer Electronics Show 2012 (CES 2012), which not only look uncannily similar to the helmets worn by the stormtroopers in Star Wars, but also promise to be light years beyond previous goggles.

Tobii Technology, a pioneer pioneer and the world leader in eye tracking and eye control technology, is all set to show off its recent innovation at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 (better known as CES 2012), which is set to kick off on Jan. 10 in Las Vegas - its gaze interface for Microsoft Windows 8 Metro, which allows users to interact with their computers using eye tracking technology.

Venezuela's oil minister said on Saturday he does not expect a ruling in World Bank arbitration with the Exxon Mobil Corp. this year, after another tribunal awarded the U.S.-based company $908 million last week.

The Xbox 720 may feature at the E3 2012.

An unconventional dress which an eighteen-year-old girl is seen to be wearing in a portrait and the rejection of the photo from Durango High School's yearbook have drawn a nation-wide debate.

A top 5 of what has been showcased so far.

Scandal-tainted Olympus Corp. is considering suing current and former executives for compensation totaling about 90 billion yen ($1.2 billion), while its new president is considering resigning, a source familiar with the matter said.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has agreed to acquire Inhibitex Inc. for about $2.5 billion to gain access to its promising hepatitis C treatment, the companies said on Saturday.

The very idea that a 30-story building could be built in 15 days -- or 360 hours -- is mind-boggling. But that's what happened in China, as a 30-story hotel went up in just 15 days.

In the constant game of thrones that is the Silicon Valley tech giants' battle for dominance, 2012 could be the year that Microsoft comes back from exile.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new plan to sell the Jacob Javits Center and build the largest convention center in the country at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens is an urban upheaval on a scale that evokes the legacy of Robert Moses, the parks commissioner who shaped the city in wide swaths in the middle of the last century.

Since its initial release in 2010, the Apple iPad tablet has survived an onslaught of competition to remain the world's most popular tablet. Now, it has even survived a 100,000-plus foot drop from the sky.

Nikon has unveiled its D4 professional DSLR camera which is the ultimate in versatility and functionality on Friday. The camera will also be exhibited at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2012, scheduled to kick off next Tuesday in Las Vegas.

According to figures released by rival aircraft manufacturers - Boeing and Airbus - the former finished second, in terms of orders and deliveries in 2011, for jetliners.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd expects to sell Mahindra Reva electric cars in India by November, a top official said.

The founders of engineering and construction firm Jaiprakash Associates said they would challenge an order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's capital market regulator, penalising them on insider trading charges.

The Dutch government has appointed Credit Suisse to advise on a potential sale of its 33 percent stake in UK-based uranium enrichment company Urenco, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

American automotive giants Ford are no strangers to promoting environmentally friendly technology in their cars. Now, however, the company has gone one step further. Ford will be recycling bottles from the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012, for its Focus Electric cars.

The Exxon Mobil Corp. and the U.S. government struck a deal on Friday that would allow the company to move ahead with development of a field in the Gulf of Mexico estimated to yield tens of billions of dollars of oil.

Yahoo Inc. is searching for new members for its board of directors, following its hiring of a new chief executive, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Yogawear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc said on Friday that its charismatic founder Chip Wilson will step down from his executive position.

A wrongful death lawsuit linked to a defining moment of the Iraq war has ended with the company formerly known as Blackwater agreeing to settle with the families of four security contractors killed in a gruesome 2004 ambush.

An Ontario judge has ruled that a C$50 billion ($48.82 billion) lawsuit against a group of 14 tobacco companies can proceed, after rejecting an application to dismiss the lawsuit by a group of seven companies.

Whistle-blowers earned more than $532 million in 2011 through lawsuits alleging fraud against the U.S. government, a record for such payouts, according to a law-firm study published on Friday.