IBT Staff Reporter

When Michael Woodford began his short tenure as Olympus president, he described the man who hired him, Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, as an umbrella, a protective cover to deflect anyone out to stop the Briton's western-style tough cost-cutting.

Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS> and affiliate Kia Motors Corp <000270.KS> aim to sell about 7 million vehicles globally next year, versus more than 6.5 million this year, the president of Hyundai Motor said on Tuesday.

Zynga Inc is currently planning to price its initial public offering and have its shares begin trading the week before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on November 24, two sources briefed on the offering said on Monday.

Italy's divided government kept Europe waiting on Tuesday for long delayed reforms on the eve of a summit to devise a strategy to confront the euro zone's worsening debt crisis.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, supported by strong earnings from blue chip companies.

Chelsea skipper John Terry has come under fire for his alleged racial insult to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during the Blues 1-0 loss at Loftus Road.

Swiss bank UBS AG overcame a 1.8 billion Swiss franc ($2 billion) rogue trading loss to post a smaller than forecast fall in third quarter net profit on Tuesday, salvaged by a one-off accounting gain.

Maersk Drilling, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk , has struck a four-year $780 million deal with BP for a deepwater rig, and aims to increase its fleet by 6-8 rigs within five years.

Fans of Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber looking for more than their 140-character tweets may soon be able to follow and hear their idols chatter over a new online service.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.03 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 0925 GMT (5:25 a.m. EDT).

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.03 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 0925 GMT (5:25 a.m. EDT).

Chemical maker DuPont reported a 23 percent jump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by price hikes and strong demand for a key paint pigment.

Deutsche Bank's third-quarter pretax profit beat forecasts as retail banking and asset management offset a drop in investment banking which it warned was facing the toughest conditions since 2008 that could lead to more job cuts.

Canon Inc on Tuesday became the first major Japanese firm to cut its annual outlook due to Thai flooding and the strong yen, two problems that are clouding the outlook for many of its rivals ahead of the lucrative year-end shopping season.

Swiss bank UBS AG posted a better-than-expected third-quarter net profit Tuesday, with its core wealth management business performing well despite last month's trading scandal, although it warned of tough times ahead.

Uncertainty about just how close European Union leaders will come to solving the euro zone debt crisis kept many markets trading in a tight range on Tuesday.

Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp, the world's No.4 LCD maker, posted a worse-than-expected loss in the third quarter, citing falling panel prices, and said it does not see a speedy recovery in the industry in the coming one to two quarters.

Britain's ARM Holdings reported strong licensing of its chip designs in the third quarter, helping it beat market expectations and offset current weak demand in consumer electronic markets ahead of the holiday season.

Canon Inc posted an operating profit of 122.5 billion yen for the July-September quarter, compared with 104.4 billion yen in the same period the previous year, and it cut its annual forecast.

BP has turned a corner after the Gulf of Mexico disaster, its chief executive said on Tuesday, predicting the British oil firm would now return to output and cashflow growth and rejecting calls for a fundamental restructuring of the group.

Kelsey Grammer's new Starz series Boss premiered over the weekend to unremarkable numbers, Starz announced Monday.

ABC's new fairytale drama Once Upon a Time got off to a strong start Sunday night, scoring the top ratings of any drama debut this fall, while Fox won the night overall thanks to the NFL and the World Series, according to preliminary numbers.

Nara Bancorp Inc , which posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, said it had commenced an underwritten public offering of about $55 million of its common stock, nearly a fifth of its current market value.

Ridley Scott is about to space out with a new series for Discovery's Science Channel.

Deutsche Bank posted forecast-beating third-quarter pretax profit as retail banking and asset management offset a drop in investment banking which it warned was facing its toughest conditions since 2008 and could lead to more job cuts.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are returning to their Boston roots to make a movie about New England's most notorious mobster, TheWrap has confirmed.

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to 360, a drama starring Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins and Jude Law, the company announced Monday.

Scientologists investigated South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone after an episode of the Comedy Central series made fun of the group, a former member contends.

When California lawmakers reached a deal to close a $10 billion budget gap in June, critics warned the agreement relied too heavily on $4 billion in additional tax revenue projected to materialize with a rapidly rebounding economy.