IBT Staff Reporter

Martin Marietta Materials Inc launched a hostile $4.8 billion all-stock offer to buy larger rival Vulcan Materials Co in a bid to build the world's largest producer of sand, gravel and other construction materials.

AT&T Inc has another month to decide whether it wants to continue to pursue its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA after a U.S. Judge agreed to delay the court battle over the deal until January 18.

Epam Systems Inc, an IT services provider with operations in Russia, is aiming to move ahead with its planned U.S. initial public offering in the first quarter of next year, two sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Decisions reached by the European Union summit last week are radical and will lead to harmonization of policies which has not been possible so far, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Marko Kranjec said on Monday in a TV interview.

Decisions reached by the European Union summit last week are radical and will lead to harmonization of policies which has not been possible so far, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Marko Kranjec said on Monday in a TV interview.

The European Commission presented legislation on Monday to open up access to public sector data, in a move that could prove valuable to developers of smartphone applications such as maps or restaurant finders.

Netherlands-based Sensata Technologies Holding NV cut its fourth-quarter outlook hurt by weakness at its sensors business.

Pfizer Inc , the world's biggest drugmaker, named Chief Executive Ian Read to the additional post of chairman and authorized buying back company stock for up to $10 billion.

Investors were bracing for a possible mass downgrade of euro zone countries as soon as this week after EU leaders failed to come up with decisive measures to tackle the region's debt crisis.

Stocks tumbled on Monday, as concerns about Europe returned to the forefront after major credit ratings agencies warned that European leaders had not done enough to tackle the region's debt crisis.

Olympus Corp's former president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa personally dismissed the auditing firm that raised objections about the acquisitions used to cover up loss-making investments, the Nikkei business daily reported, citing sources familiar with the ongoing investigations.

Intel Corp warned that hard-disk drive supply shortages would hurt its current-quarter revenue, the latest heavyweight in the PC industry to caution about the effects of flooding that has crippled factories in Thailand.

Target Corp's impending arrival in Canada, paired with Wal-Mart Stores Inc's expanding grocery business in the country, will help slow food inflation next year and keep established grocers under pressure, researchers said on Monday.

Here we go again: Donald Trump is ridiculously inflating his influence on the Republican presidential campaign. Trump, whose Dec. 27 debate was snubbed by five out of seven candidates last week, is now claiming that he has changed the entire direction of the race.

In a move likely to increase tension with Canada's Muslim minority, the government said on Monday it would bar all women wearing face coverings from taking part in citizenship ceremonies.

PepsiCo Inc's beverage business should show improvement next year, its new head of beverages for the Americas said, as the company invests in its core drink brands and new products.

Stocks tumbled on Monday, as concerns about Europe returned to the forefront after major credit ratings agencies warned that European leaders had not done enough to tackle the region's debt crisis.

Canadian National Railway Co and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) have reached a tentative agreement on labor contracts before the expiry of the current contract.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms and there is no timetable for his return, the National Hockey League's (NHL) biggest drawing card said on Monday.

Canada's budget watchdog sees the federal government's structural balance as at least C$10 billion ($9.71 billion) lower per year than Ottawa estimates, and called for more disclosure of assumptions and methodology used in drafting forecasts.

Orson Welles' Oscar for writing Citizen Kane -- regarded as one of the best films ever made -- is going up for auction again later this month in a hot market for Hollywood memorabilia.

NBC's Sunday Night Football received a considerable boost over last week's performance to further solidify its dominance on Sunday night, according to preliminary numbers.

German lender Commerzbank and the government have been in talks for several days over possible state aid, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Prime Minister David Cameron tried to limit the political damage from an historic break with his European partners, insisting on Monday that remaining a member of the 27-nation EU was in Britain's national interest, despite his veto on a new treaty.

Wealthy jewelry collectors, movie fans and the just plain curious are training their eyes on this week's auctions of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor's collection of jewelry, haute couture and memorabilia.

The Imitation Game, Graham Moore's story of a British World War II cryptographer who poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being gay, tops this year's Hollywood Black List of best unproduced scripts of 2011.

Even experienced Wall Street contrarians are eyeing the beaten-down U.S. financial sector warily.

Pfizer Inc , the world's biggest drugmaker, on Monday authorized up to $10 billion worth of additional stock repurchases and raised its quarterly dividend by 10 percent.

The Japan Business Federation has decided to punish scandal-tainted Olympus Corp and Daio Paper Corp on December 21, the Nikkei business daily said.