UNITED KINGDOM

Japanese bank Nomura is to buy London-based corporate finance advisory firm Tricorn Partners, according to a memo, strengthening its foothold in the lucrative corporate broking business.

A surprise $536 million settlement by Credit Suisse to a U.S. probe over financial dealings with Iran should only do short-term damage to the Swiss bank, but others could now be in the line of fire.

People who had greater intellectual ability as children may have fewer heart disease risk factors in middle-age, a new study suggests.

European leaders are courting some African, Asian and Latin American nations to counter the clout of China and the United States at the climate change talks in Copenhagen, French officials said.

World leaders took the stage at the largest ever climate talks on Wednesday as ministers scrambled to rescue troubled negotiations on a pact to avoid dangerous global warming.

Gold prices were flat at around $1,125 per ounce on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which could provide clues about the timing of interest rate moves.

The Aussie dollar retreated in local trade yesterday following the release of the RBA board minutes to the December meeting where rates were increased by another 0.25%.

Israel is using its civilian technological advances to enhance cyberwarfare capabilities, the senior Israeli spymaster said on Tuesday in a rare public disclosure about the secret program.

AT&T Inc (T.N) is looking to sell its outsourced services business in Japan, in a pullback for the U.S. giant from Asia's largest telecommunications market, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

YouTube is considering offering users the option to pay for subscriptions in a bid to encourage more media companies to license premium TV shows and movies to the popular online video site, a senior executive said.

British and Irish Cadbury workers kicked off a campaign to fight a hostile bid from Kraft Foods on Tuesday vowing to pressure the UK government to do what it can to resist the bid.

British Airways has started legal action in an attempt to halt the 12-day strike planned by its cabin crew over the Christmas holidays.

British Airways is taking legal action to halt a 12-day strike planned by cabin crew over Christmas, alleging balloting irregularities.

U.S. computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc said on Tuesday it won intellectual property cases in both the United States and Britain.

Obesity is becoming more common among poor city dwellers in Africa because of easier access to cheap, high fat, high sugar foods, scientists said on Tuesday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were down 0.2 to 0.3 percent at 1006 GMT (5:06 a.m. EST), pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street on Tuesday.

World leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as Pope Benedict XVI sent condolences on Monday to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who was attacked Sunday at a rally in Milan.

With aggressive AUD/JPY selling following the release of Japanese economic data the AUD/USD exchange rate fell from its early Monday morning high around 0.9120 to trade as low as 0.9055 during the Asian afternoon.

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 .

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.

Iran worked on testing a key component of a nuclear bomb as recently as 2007, a British newspaper said on Monday, a finding which if proven would be at odds with Iran's assertion its nuclear work is for civilian use.