UNITED KINGDOM

Global miner Rio Tinto wrapped up one of the world's biggest rights issues on Friday, saying its Australian shareholders had taken up 94.76 percent of their entitlements to the new shares.

Global miner Rio Tinto wrapped up one of the world's biggest rights issues on Friday, saying its Australian shareholders had taken up 94.76 percent of their entitlements to the new shares.

Magna's board of directors is scheduled to approve on Tuesday a business plan for the acquisition of German carmaker Opel, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Iranian hardliners pressed on Thursday for legal action against moderate leaders accused of inciting post-election turmoil that has dimmed Western hopes of engaging Tehran on its disputed nuclear program.

China's state-run carmaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co is preparing to make an offer for General Motors' Opel unit in the coming days, a source told Reuters, but the Russian partner of bid frontrunner Magna said the race was all but over.

India's Tata Steel, the world's sixth-largest steel maker, plans to sell global depositary receipts worth about $600 million, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Thursday.

British telecoms and retail group Carphone Warehouse will offer contracts from Vodafone from next week in its 820 stores, ending a three-year dispute, Vodafone said on Thursday, confirming media reports.

Rio Tinto Ltd sold virtually all of the UK part of its $15.2 billion rights offer, the world's fifth-biggest, easing its huge debt burden and putting the world's top iron ore miner back in growth mode.

Rio Tinto Ltd's $15.2 billion rights offer, the fifth-biggest on record, generated strong demand from UK investors, putting the world's top iron ore miner back into growth mode after a debt-funded purchase of Alcan had brought it to its knees.

Two losing contenders in Iran's presidential election denounced the result on Wednesday in clear defiance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's next cabinet would be illegitimate.

Iran, stung by European Union criticism of its handling of post-election unrest, on Wednesday accused the 27-nation bloc of meddling and demanded an apology before any more talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Asian stock markets put in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with Seoul gaining but Tokyo and Sydney weak as data showed the process of swinging the global economy around to a recovery would be a slow grind.

Bizarre in life, Michael Jackson's complex personal affairs are taking even stranger twists in death, with sketchy reports on Tuesday of plans for an elaborate public memorial and questions over the parentage of his children.

British authorities have frozen $100 million linked to Texas billionaire and alleged swindler Allen Stanford following a request from the United States Department of Justice.

Financial products should undergo registration like medicines to curb investor access until safety is proven, the Bank for International Settlements said on Monday.

Michael Jackson's greatest hits album Number Ones became Britain's top-selling album this week, after his death on Thursday spurred interest in his back catalogue, lifting five albums into the top 20.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will focus on housing, health and education on Monday when he sets out plans for the final few months of his government before an election that could end Labour's long grip on power.

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

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.

what is a rare occurrence of late the Aussie dollar remained in a narrow trading band between 0.8040 and 0.8090 on Friday to finish the week exchanging at 0.8070. With no local economic data released the AUD searched for direction from offshore threatening to break higher after better than expected German data however a rebound in demand for USD put a lid on any further advances.

Iran accused the United States of trying to destabilize it and sparked a new row with Britain on Sunday, underscoring the hardline leadership's efforts to blame post-election unrest on foreign powers rather than popular anger.