IBT Staff Reporter

Russia and Poland may not agree a gas contract by the end of this year, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak said on Monday, contradicting earlier comments by Warsaw and Kremlin officials.

Global semiconductor sales rose 5.1 percent in October sequentially, spurred by strength across all regions as electronic equipment manufacturers boost production for the holiday season, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

The European Commission on Monday approved Swiss company Syngenta's genetically modified (GMO) maize type MIR604, a move that could enable the resumption of imports of soymeal and soybeans for animal feed.

European carbon prices could soar in the next three years, pushing up electricity prices with them, unless electricity companies have greater access to future carbon permits, EU industry body Eurelectric said on Monday.

Brazilian oil and gas company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes said on Monday it had made a promising discovery of hydrocarbons in the Albiano field in the Campos basin off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

A year ago, mobile phones worked just fine in the pomegranate orchards and vineyards along the Arghandab river on the outskirts of Afghanistan's second largest city, Kandahar.

Global semiconductor sales rose 5.1 percent in October sequentially, spurred by strength across all regions as electronic equipment manufacturers boost production for the holiday season, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said.

Sands China's weak debut in Hong Kong on Monday signals fading investor appetite for a casino company with a high valuation and an uncertain outlook, and cooling interest in what has been a red-hot sector.

Brazilian medical services company Fleury and its shareholders said on Monday they plan to raise up to 582.3 million reais ($334 million) through an initial public offering that should be concluded by mid-December.

Orthopedic device maker Stryker Corp said on Monday it would acquire Ascent Healthcare Solutions, a privately held reprocessor of medical devices, for $525 million in cash.

AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ), a mining unit of Russia's state-owned uranium firm Rosatom, said on Monday it would bid for Canadian miner Khan Resources Inc, which has assets in Mongolia.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Monday after the Chicago purchasing managers index, a gauge of regional business activity in the U.S. Midwest, expanded more than expected in November.

U.S. fund managers decreased their heavy exposure to stocks in November while increasing their cash allocations ahead of 2009's close and on signs that economic recovery may be slow, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Glitzy Dubai may face a debt crisis that has sent a shudder through global markets, but you wouldn't know it from officials or local media.

Japan's Nippon Oil Corp plans to refine 1 percent less crude oil in December than a year ago, the same rate of annual decline as in November, as it maintains a pessimistic view of demand even with winter approaching.

Like many U.S. employers, Tish and Snooky Bellomo are asking their workers to take on additional duties, rather than hiring new employees, at their New York cosmetic and hair accessory company.

Thailand's natural gas demand is expected to rise 10.6 percent in 2010 to 3.95 billion cubic feet per day due mainly to growing demand from petrochemical plants, PTT PTT.BK, the country's sole gas supplier, said on Monday. Domestic gas consumption in 2009 should grow by around 3.3 percent to 3.57 billion cubic feet per day, Permsak Shevawattananon, senior executive vice president for PTT's gas business, told reporters.

Dubai's debt woes could further unhinge an already fragile U.S. commercial real estate market, as it illustrates the importance of that tiny emirate to global investors in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon rose to the top of movie box office charts for the second straight week on Sunday with a three-day haul of $42.5 million on a record-breaking holiday weekend in North America, according to studio estimates.

The Treasury Department is expected to meet with lenders on Monday to press them to do more to rework troubled home mortgage loans, a source familiar with the Treasury's thinking said.

The debut album of Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who shot to fame on TV talent show Britain's Got Talent, has become the fastest selling album in Britain this year.

Australia has overtaken the United States, the heartland of the McMansion, to boast the world's largest homes, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The World Health Organization, which has been stressing the safety and importance of H1N1 shots, on Monday had its own staff vaccinated against the pandemic virus.

People who work in detergent factories are at increased risk of developing respiratory problems, including asthma, probably from exposure to chemicals contained in detergent, two new studies hint.

With the help of their doctors, women planning to become pregnant should take an inventory of the medications they take, researchers from Canada advise.

he annual Muslim haj pilgrimage has ended without the major flu outbreak feared by some experts and with only five deaths from the H1N1 flu virus out of 73 recorded cases, the Saudi health minister said.

A lasting rally?; Credit card freeze; AOL a cheap buy, says Barrons

Countries should phase out the use of Stavudine, the most widespread antiretroviral, because of long-term, irreversible side-effects in HIV patients including wasting and a nerve disorder, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Let the arguments begin. The best films of the decade are, in my opinion, as follows.