IBT Staff Reporter

The Federal Reserve cannot rule out additional monetary easing even if steady growth and acceptable inflation make it harder to justify fresh action, a top Fed official said on Monday.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, China's largest maker of telecommunications gear, unveiled a new smartphone on Monday it is touting as the slimmest on the market as it moves to boost its share on the global consumer market.

General Motors Co will focus on maintaining profits, not defending U.S. market share gains made at the expense of Japanese rivals, the automaker's top executive said on Monday.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, China's largest maker of telecommunications gear, unveiled a new smartphone on Monday it is touting as the slimmest on the market as it moves to boost its share on the global consumer market.

The application would allow FiOS subscribers to steam live television and certain video-on-demand programs through LG products.

General Motors Co expects to have U.S. federal safety officials resolve their investigation of delayed fires in the Chevrolet Volt electric car sooner rather than later, a top executive said on Monday.

BMW posted record car sales for 2011 and forecast that a boom in luxury cars would keep it ahead of rivals this year as the world's biggest maker of premium cars enjoys strong demand from China and the United States.

GameStop Corp said holiday sales increased slightly as sales of new video game software from PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titles such as Call of Duty 3 and Elder Scrolls V offset a 20 percent drop in hardware sales.

A spoof advertisement on one of Germany's leading real estate websites put the Berlin residence of embattled president Christian Wulff up for rent on Sunday -- at a bargain price of one euro per month.

Oil, gold and base metals are Goldman Sachs' top commodity picks this year, with big upside risk in oil due to tight fundamentals and a potential Iranian conflict, the investment bank said on Monday.

Take a trip down Chicago's Michigan Avenue - known as the Magnificent Mile for its shopping attractions - and you won't find a lot of activity a few days into the new year.

Take a trip down Chicago's Michigan Avenue - known as the Magnificent Mile for its shopping attractions - and you won't find a lot of activity a few days into the new year.

DETROIT, Jan 9 - General Motors Co expects to have federal safety officials resolve their investigation of delayed fires in the Chevrolet Volt electric car sooner rather than later, a top executive said on Monday.

Canadian firms plan to recruit more employees over the coming year even though they expect that sales growth will not improve, the Bank of Canada's winter business survey showed on Monday.

China is due to overtake the United States to become the world's biggest oil importer within a year and a half, Goldman Sachs said on Monday.

Philipp Hildebrand has quit as Swiss National Bank chief, the bank said, in the wake of a scandal over a controversial currency trade made by his wife just weeks before he set a cap on the soaring Swiss franc.

The value of Canadian building permits declined by 3.6 percent in November, largely as expected, after an 11.6 percent rise in October, Statistics Canada said on Monday.

Netflix launched in Britain and Ireland on Monday, taking on BSkyB's premium drama and movies offerings and prompting Amazon-owned rival Lovefilm to offer a new cut-price service.

Philipp Hildebrand has quit as Swiss National Bank chief, the bank said, in the wake of a scandal over a controversial currency trade made by his wife just weeks before he set a cap on the soaring Swiss franc.

Stocks edged higher on Monday led by technology and bank shares as investors prepared for the start of the U.S. corporate earnings season.

Lions Gate Entertainment is near a deal to purchase rival Summit Entertainment forapproximately $400 million in cash and stock and would assume $300 million of Summit's debt.

Following are highlights of a news conference by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday following their talks in Berlin to discuss how to boost growth and jobs in euro zone states hit by the debt crisis.

Germany and France warned Greece on Monday it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the Eurozone's most debt-stricken nation.

Following are highlights of a news conference by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday following their talks in Berlin to discuss how to boost growth and jobs in euro zone states hit by the debt crisis.

Volkswagen is itching to combine Porsche SE's sportscar business with its own and is looking at the possibility of using put-call options to achieve that, VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said.

The world's biggest technology trade show will feature razor-thin laptops, powerful new smartphones and fancy flat-screen TVs, but talk in the cavernous halls of the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off on Monday night, may focus on whether the show itself has a long-term future.

Home prices fell for a fourth straight month in November as distressed sales continued to weigh on prices, data analysis firm CoreLogic said on Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Greece on Monday it would not be possible to give further aid without rapid progress on its second rescue package, including a voluntary write-down on Greek debt held by private creditors.

Stocks were set to tick up at the open on Monday as investors focused on a European meeting intended to find ways to boost the region's economies and tackle a debt crisis and prepared for the start of U.S. corporate earnings.