IBT Staff Reporter

Coffee and meat company Sara Lee Corp will this week weigh an offer from a group of private equity firms which values the company at up to $20 a share or nearly $13 billion, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

British services company Serco has pulled out of a $2 billion bid for U.S. defense consulting firm SRA International Inc , the Daily Telegraph said on Monday.

A bid for Sara Lee Corp submitted by an Apollo-led group values the company higher than its current $18.70 share price, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

European governments must urgently decide on common measures to protect the stability of the euro zone, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told a German newspaper Monday.

The board of Africa-focused coal miner Riversdale, including a representative from top shareholder Tata Steel, unanimously backed a $3.9 billion takeover offer from Rio Tinto, Riversdale said on Monday.

The euro zone inflation rate, excluding volatile energy and food prices, does not gauge future price pressures well, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Philips Electronics is set to post a doubling of quarterly profit on Monday, setting it up for the challenges of weak consumer spending, sluggish construction markets and upcoming management changes.

Research In Motion aims to keep its dominance of the corporate smartphone market by enabling the BlackBerry to segregate a user's personal data from work-related emails and other applications sponsored by employers.

- Plaintiffs in one of the biggest U.S. investor lawsuits stemming from the financial crisis got a boost from a judge, who said a case against fallen investment bank Bear Stearns and its outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche, can go forward.

Google Inc is set to give Eric Schmidt a $100 million equity award as he hands over the chief executive officer job to co-founder Larry Page.

President Nicolas Sarkozy will spell out his plans for reforming the international monetary system and curbing volatility in food and fuel prices on Monday in a keynote speech on France's year-long G20 presidency.

Israel's Holocaust museum launched a YouTube channel in Farsi on Sunday with the aim of countering Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's public denials that acts of genocide ever happened in World War Two.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may have to muffle his applause for the sturdier U.S. economic recovery.

Ohio's unemployment rate in December to 9.6 percent from 9.8 percent a month earlier.

Google Inc is preparing to test a new prepaid coupon and offer service in a bid to better compete in the fast-growing market for local online advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The much anticipated pullback is finally under way, some investors say, after a mid-week wobble. But the market is showing it still has some juice left -- if earnings can meet towering expectations.

Italian capital city Rome has given up on its plans of hosting a Formula 1 race, the city's Mayor Gianni Alemanno announced.

Consumers in most countries globally look set to keep a tight grip on spending in coming months as they worry about job security and rising inflation, a survey by the Nielsen Company showed on Sunday.

Germany's conservative coalition government wants to deliver a comprehensive package soon to strengthen the European rescue fund, the country's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Start-up Iway Mobile and Cellcom, Israel's largest mobile phone operator, launched on Sunday a communications, Internet and entertainment system for the automobile.

Based on average median household income estimates from 2005 to 2009, Westlake in Texas emerges as the most affluent neighborhood in America in a study by Forbes.

Tony Hayward, the former head of BP who was reviled in the United States for his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is in talks to join the board of commodities group Glencore, the Sunday Times reported.

A lawyer for one of the three Renault executives fired on suspicion of industrial espionage called on Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn to make public on Sunday what proof he has against his client.

Japan launched a rocket carrying a cargo transfer vehicle to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, January 22, at 2:30 p.m from the Tanegashima Space Center.

As the economy recovers, companies across industries indicate a cautious but definite return to attractive packages for its top bosses.

German luxury auto major BMW on Saturday announced that it will give away 2-year 2011 X3 lease in Facebook contest. The contest, dubbed The X3 Matchup, will give viewers the opportunity to guess the configuration of the BMW X3 featured in the advertisement for a chance to win a Grand Prize two-year lease on the vehicle. In addition, the winner will receive a trip for two to BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant to pick up their vehicle, see where it is built and to take a two-day pe...

Auto industry executives are expected to see a rise in investment in new powertrain technology, new plants, alternative fuel technologies and high growth markets, merger and acquisition activity over the next five years, according to the 12th annual global automotive survey conducted by KPMG LLP.

Fans of Hollywood actor Heath Ledger light up the internet with humble tributes on his third death anniversary. 'The Dark Knight' with Ledger playing his penultimate role of Joker is the favorite to watch.

Sacha Baron Cohen is set to play a fictional dictator in a movie inspired by a novel written by Saddam Hussein. 'The Dictator' will release in May 2012.