IBT Staff Reporter

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia agreed early on Monday to the nationalization of its Belgian banking division and secured 90 billion euros ($121 billion) in state guarantees in a rescue that could pressure other euro zone governments to strengthen their banks.

BHP Billiton moved closer to an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine after winning environmental approvals on Monday for the project in the deserts of southern Australia.

Greece's central bank said on Monday it activated a bank rescue fund to save Proton Bank, effectively nationalizing the small lender that is under investigation for possible violation of the country's money-laundering laws.

A unit of China Petrochemical Corp has signed a deal to buy Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy Ltd for C$2.2 billion ($2.1 billion) in cash, underscoring China's quest to secure enough energy to power its booming economy.

LG Electronics Inc, the world's No.3 handset maker, on Monday launched a new smartphone that runs on South Korea's fast, fourth-generation network, in the company's latest attempt to rescue its loss-making handset business.

Global miner BHP Billiton moved a step closer on Monday toward an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine, securing environmental approvals for the project in the deserts of southern Australia.

Starbucks Corp is finalising an equity joint venture with Tata Coffee Ltd for opening coffee shops in Asia's third-largest economy, the Times of India reported on Monday.

The euro rose on Monday after German and French leaders promised to announce fresh steps to tackle the euro zone debt crisis by the end of the month, but the lack of details kept government bonds supported and world stocks gave up brief early gains.

It wasn't exactly a knockout, but DreamWorks' robot-boxing movie Real Steel packed enough punch to win the domestic box office this weekend with $27.3 million.

If you like to watch big, multi-national entertainment companies count gobs of money and boast about who has more, we are fast approaching that time of year.

Zsa Zsa Gabor remained hospitalized in Los Angeles on Sunday and was doing a little better, but stomach surgery to reattach a feeding tube was delayed as she continues to run a high fever, her husband said.

Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday it had delayed the launch of a new smartphone based on Google's latest version of the Android operating system while the world pays tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who died last week.

European index futures rose on Monday, following small gains for Asian shares, and the euro firmed 1 cent after the leaders of France and Germany pledged to unveil a plan to solve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis by the end of the month.

European index futures rose on Monday, following small gains for Asian shares, and the euro firmed 1 cent after the leaders of France and Germany pledged to unveil a plan to solve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis by the end of the month.

Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday it had delayed the launch of a new smartphone based on Google's latest version of Android operating system while the world paid tribute following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

When Paul Friedman met the rag-tag youth camped out near Wall Street to protest inequality in the American economy, he felt he was witnessing the start of a protest movement not seen in America since the 1960s.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wooed evangelical Christian voters on Saturday with promises he would protect families, but found his Mormon religion at center stage at a conference of social conservatives.

Medicare supplemental health plans, popular among politically powerful retirees, could come under the budget knife being wielded by the special deficit-reduction panel of Congress, according to sources keeping close watch on its work.

Republican White House hopeful Michele Bachmann, beset by falling poll numbers, staff departures and reports of fundraising troubles, on Sunday vowed to continue her campaign through the New Hampshire primary, which is likely to be in early January.

Casey Anthony, the young Florida mother acquitted of killing her child, wore a baseball hat and big sunglasses and refused to answer most questions during a video deposition on Saturday in a civil defamation case related to her daughter's 2008 death.

Starbucks Corp is finalizing an equity joint venture with India's Tata Coffee Ltd for opening coffee shops in Asia's third-largest economy, the Times of India reported on Monday.

Mikey Welsh, the former bass player for the alternative rock band Weezer, was found dead in a Chicago hotel, a police spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Paul McCartney married for the third time on Sunday, exchanging vows with American heiress Nancy Shevell at the same London register office where the former Beatle wed his first wife Linda in 1969.

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia agreed early on Monday to the nationalization of its Belgian banking division and secured state guarantees in a rescue that could pressure other euro zone governments to strengthen their banking sectors.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for safeguards to prevent France and other eurozone countries from distorting the EU's single market in an attempt to shift financial services from Britain to the single currency area, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The Detroit Tigers have lost Magglio Ordonez for the remainder of the playoffs after the veteran outfielder re-injured his troublesome right ankle, the team said on Sunday.

Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine will be honored with the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, the group announced on Sunday.

Roger Williams, known as the Pianist to the Presidents, died on Saturday at the age of 87 in his California home after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, his former publicist said.

It's shocking, but movies are of secondary concern in Life Itself, film critic Roger Ebert's new memoir.