IBT Staff Reporter

Tamiflu resistance in some H1N1 patients with badly weakened immune systems does not seem to reflect a major change in the virus' susceptibility to the frontline drug, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Ltd received approval from the listing committee of Hong Kong's stock exchange for its $3.4 billion Hong Kong IPO, said a source close to the deal on Friday.

The costs to insure the debt of some big U.S. banks against potential default rose between 10 and 20 basis points on Friday amid a selloff in riskier assets on investors' concerns about Dubai's debt difficulties.

U.S. stocks pared losses on Friday as the U.S. dollar gave up earlier gains and global commodity prices regained ground, tempering concerns about a possible debt default at a Dubai state-owned conglomerate.

People in China living with HIV and AIDS face widespread discrimination and stigma, with even medical workers sometimes refusing to touch them, according to a U.N. survey released on Friday.

Banco do Brasil, Latin America's largest bank by assets, may seek acquisitions in the United States, looking to benefit from devalued prices among regional lenders, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said in an interview.

French oil major Total is still hopeful of winning a $40 billion nuclear deal in Abu Dhabi, Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said on Friday.

By 2034, nearly twice as many Americans will have diabetes and spending on the disease will triple, further straining the U.S. health system and testing the viability of Medicare and other government health insurance programs, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

Softbank Corp, Japan's third-largest mobile phone operator, is among the bidders for struggling telecoms firm Willcom Inc, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday.

China's Lenovo, the world's No.4 PC seller, said on Friday that it will pay $200 million to reaquire the cellphone business it sold off 1-½ years ago, as the lines blur between mobuile phones and PCs.

Tata Motors, India's biggest vehicle maker, reported a return to operating profit for its British Jaguar Land Rover unit on Friday, as cost cuts begin to bear fruit and new models attract buyers.

U.S. auto giant GM's Saab Automobile said on Friday it was talking to possible buyers, days after tiny Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg pulled out of a deal to take over the closure-threatened unit.

Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries continues to charge ahead in the key U.S. market with sales seen jumping by a fifth this month, but it faces a lot of work to boost its earnings power, its CEO said on Friday.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has agreed with Ford Motor on intellectual property rights issues in its bid for Volvo, clearing a major barrier to acquire the Swedish luxury car brand, state media reported.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, plans to invest up to 6.2 billion reais ($3.5 billion) in Brazil from 2010 through 2014 as it aims to become the country's biggest carmaker, the company's Brazilian head said on Thursday.

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, the world's No. 5 automaker, aims to grow at twice the market rate next year in China, as consumers in the world's largest auto market snap up its affordable, quality cars.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai reached out to the Taliban on Friday, part of a call for reconciliation that the palace says will be the main focus of his second term that began last week.

Australia's parliament delayed a final vote on a government carbon trade plan on Friday, missing a key deadline, throwing Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's climate change policy into doubt and raising the possibility of a snap election.

A top Chinese climate envoy said on Friday only emissions curbs carried out under its newly announced carbon intensity targets that have international financial support will be open to outside scrutiny.

The United States risks souring relations with much of Latin America if it recognizes upcoming elections in Honduras, the foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview on Wednesday.

Three little letters could spell big trouble for global climate change negotiations even after China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced its first firm goals to curb emissions.

Japan and China agreed on Friday to conduct their first joint military training exercise, in the latest sign of warming ties between the Asian neighbors, long marked by mutual suspicion and spats over a range of issues.

Prices for benchmark European Union carbon emission permits fell 2 percent on Friday, as traders viewed the previous session's gains as short-lived.

Most big U.S. banks may be forced to make public offerings soon if the Treasury demands payback of the funds it issued under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, veteran banking analyst Richard Bove said.

China will step up construction of major projects related to energy conservation and environmental protection next year, the ruling Communist Party agreed on Friday.

Foreign utilities and investors such as CEZ or Macquarie face another setback in the lucrative German power market, this time beaten by an eastern German city.

Top Philippine refiner Petron Corp plans to raise up to 10 billion pesos ($212 million) by selling 100 million preferred shares, the company said in a filing to the securities regulator on Friday.

Another 2,140 workers at First Quench Retailing, the group behind British off-license chains Threshers and Wine Rack, are losing their jobs after the administrator said it would close 391 more stores by Dec. 20.

U.S. stock dropped on Friday as a possible debt default at a Dubai state-owned conglomerate sparked fears of renewed financial turmoil.