IBT Staff Reporter

Demi Moore, Adam Brody and Eric Roberts have joined the cast of Lovelace, a biopic about porn actress Linda Lovelace, the producers announced on Monday.

Police arrested a Hollywood man believed to be a German citizen on Monday in connection with a wave of 53 arson fires across Los Angeles that terrorized neighborhoods over the holiday weekend.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has rung in the New Year with a new Twitter account that includes praise for Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and opinions on President Barack Obama's policies and the Steve Jobs biography.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has downgraded Indian utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra and Mahindra to 'underperform' from 'neutral', saying it expects slower earnings growth.

The International Monetary Fund will release as early as this summer the results of health checks on Japanese banks, including their ability to withstand the European debt crisis and weak economic growth, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

The first of Vale's giant dry bulk vessels to arrive in China has completed delivery of its iron ore cargo, shipping data showed on Tuesday, a key step forward in the Brazilian miner's plan to cut shipping costs to its biggest market.

With time running out, rivals of surging Republican Rick Santorum raised doubts about his conservative record on Monday in hopes of heading off a last-minute victory by the former senator a day before Iowa kicks off the 2012 presidential election season.

If hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert wants to save one of the oldest retail empires in the United States, he should consider shutting down Sears Holdings Corp's Kmart discount chain and focus on revamping its Sears department stores.

Economists trimmed forecasts for Brazil's inflation rate for 2012 for a fifth week, after estimating that consumer prices last year topped the official target for the first time since 2003, a central bank weekly survey showed on Monday.

Sprint Nextel Corp extended a December 31 deadline for LightSquared Inc, with which it may share infrastructure, to get a regulatory clearance for operating a planned telecommunications network.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile's state copper giant Codelco said on Monday it exercised a disputed option to buy a stake in Anglo American's south Chile mining assets, but is willing to consider taking a smaller stake if Anglo proposes a formula that safeguards its full value.

Caterpillar Inc's Electro-Motive unit has decided to lock out locomotive manufacturing workers in London, Ontario, after finding out the Canadian Auto Workers told members not to strike following the breakdown of contract negotiations.

Germany's Lufthansa told passengers on Monday to brace for higher ticket prices as it refuses to shoulder the costs of a carbon trading scheme at the centre of a brewing trade spat.

Shaky Europe. Political gridlock. Volatile markets.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile state copper giant Codelco on Monday said it had exercised a $6 billion option to buy mining assets in southern Chile, but global miner Anglo American defied the move, setting the stage for a lengthy legal battle.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.

Will Wright, the designer behind successful video game simulations including SimCity, The Sims and Spore, is at it again. Only this time, rather than controlling virtual people or creating space creatures, the protagonist of HiveMind is the actual player.

Global miner Anglo American said on Monday it was not obliged to sell any of its shares in its southern Chilean properties to state copper giant Codelco, as a battle over a disputed option contract deepened.

American shareholders are suing Britain's Lloyds Banking Group and the bank's former executives, saying they were misled over its rescue of fellow lender HBOS in the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he would clamp down on excess pay in London's financial sector as part of what he said should be bold measures to boost the country's fortunes.

After the holiday party comes the hangover for retailers: handling millions of returns this week.

European stocks ended higher in their first trading session of the year on Monday, led by defensive utilities such as E.ON and GDF Suez , while volumes were anaemic as UK and U.S. markets remained closed for the New Year holiday.

European shares made a positive start to the New Year as they extended a two-week rebound in thin trade on Monday, with automotive stocks and euro zone banks leading the charge.

Global manufacturing activity was subdued going into 2012, with the euro zone's industrial sector suffering its fifth straight month of declines in December and Asian factories mostly stuck in a rut.

The roller-coaster ride for Asian currencies, which saw only the yen and yuan post significant gains for the year against the U.S. dollar, is set to continue in 2012.

Asian factory output remained weak in December, with Chinese manufacturers narrowly avoiding contraction and South Korea's industrial production shrinking the most in almost three years, while Europe data this week is expected to point to a recession.

British police have found evidence that private investigators working for newspapers hacked into the email account of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown while he was finance minister, The Independent newspaper reported on Monday.