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Joe Jimenez, the new chief executive of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, is targeting bolt-on acquisitions as the group digests the multibillion dollar acquisition of eyecare group Alcon.

European Union privacy regulators are urging Google to make changes in the way it executes goes about its controversial Street View program, adding to its legal worries in Europe.

General Electric Co has seen interest from several banks to buy its stake in Garanti Bank but tough new rules for bank minority stakes might dampen appetite.

U.S. authorities are probing individuals close to NIR Group on whether the U.S. hedge fund firm paid kickbacks to outsiders to inflate the value of its holdings, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Canada's ice hockey women celebrated their gold medal win on Thursday by taking to the ice afterwards drinking beer and smoking cigars but they look likely to escape a rap from Olympic chiefs.Sports | LifestyleYes, we will look into this matter but it is not an investigation, Mark Adams, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman told Reuters.Without a formal investigation the IOC it looked unlikely the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Hockey Canada or the players would fac...

The panic that gripped Canada a few days ago swung to giddy optimism on Thursday as the men's ice hockey team's path to the Olympic gold suddenly looked a lot less daunting.

Vivendi is expected to post higher revenues and operating profit for 2009 than a year earlier, even as its music division struggles and its telecommunications units face more intense competition.

3-D films face new test with Burton's Tim Burton believes author Lewis Carroll's 19th century story, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, screamed out for a 3-D film because of its surreal elements, or what the director calls its trippyness.

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States unexpectedly plunged in January, an industry survey showed on Friday, fresh evidence the housing market has yet to find stable ground.

Oil rose toward $79 a barrel on Friday, after sliding more than 2 percent the previous session, as an upwards revision in U.S. gross domestic product for the fourth quarter helped revive lackluster sentiment.

The U.S. stock market is trading slightly down in early Friday trading, showing little enthusiasm over the revised Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report.

After a seven-hour healthcare summit that did little to change Republican hearts and minds, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats face a challenge on Friday in deciding their next moves to reform the costly U.S. system.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for the first time in three weeks, leaping above 5 percent, a key level that could suppress demand for home loans, a closely watched mortgage survey showed on Thursday.

Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. home funding company, said on Friday its mortgage investment portfolio shrank in January, while delinquencies on loans it guarantees accelerated.

Commentators in both India and Pakistan greeted on Friday the first official talks between their countries since the 2008 Mumbai attacks with a degree of cynicism even though no breakthrough had been expected.

At least 14 people were killed and 32 wounded in Taliban attacks in Kabul on Friday, officials said, the latest audacious assault in the Afghan capital despite a renewed push against the insurgents.

American International Group Inc has decided not to use securitized U.S. life insurance policies to repay the U.S. government after a $182.3 billion rescue, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Taliban fighters opened fire, hurled grenades and staged suicide bombings in central Kabul on Friday, killing at least 16 people in defiance of the Western-backed government and a NATO offensive.

Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda had a cordial and open meeting on Thursday with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood before thanking workers in Kentucky for supporting him during his appearance before Congress.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open on Friday after the government said the U.S. economy expanded more than initially thought in the fourth quarter of last year.

The economy grew a touch faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter as businesses drew down inventories at a much slower pace and boosted investment, a government report showed on Friday.