IBT Staff Reporter

Sales of existing U.S. homes likely rose for a second consecutive month in October, reaching their highest since July 2007, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers scrambled to take advantage of greater affordability and a first-time home buyer tax credit.

U.S. billionaire investor Wilbur Ross plans to buy shares of China Longyuan Power Group, Asia's largest wind power generator, which aims to raise up to $2.2 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering, according to a preliminary prospectus.

Private equity firm Middle East & Asia Capital Partners Pte (MEACP) plans to introduce a sharia-compliant investment vehicle to its clean energy fund to attract Islamic capital, a company executive said.

Oil and gas producer Algeria is to build a plant to manufacture solar panels as part of a plan to draw 5 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2015, state media reported.

South African fixed-line phone company Telkom SA Ltd reported close to a 40 percent fall in first-half profit on Monday as both its domestic and Nigerian units struggled, sending its shares tumbling.

South Korea launched an ambitious and costly project this week to overhaul its four major rivers in a way the government says will be a model for green growth but conservationists say will do far more harm than good.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the S&P on track to break a three-day sell-off, after data showed existing home sales rose to their highest level in 2-1/2 years and investors were reassured by a Fed official's comments.

Canadian fertilizer maker Agrium Inc said on Monday it would persist in its hostile bid for U.S. rival CF Industries Holdings, a move that could prolong the already drawn-out three-way merger battle in the sector.

Independent oil and natural gas company Concho Resources Inc said it will acquire interests in certain producing and non-producing assets in the Permian Basin for $225 million in cash, from multiple private sellers .

Iraq's fractious parliament on Monday approved an amended version of a law needed to hold a general election next year, but sidestepped a veto by Sunni Arab Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, lawmakers said.

Gourmet coffee chain Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc increased its cash-and-stock offer to acquire Diedrich Coffee Inc by $53 million to ward off competition from rival Green Mountain Coffee Roaster Inc.

Jennifer Lopez fell on her butt during a boxing-theme performance of her new single Louboutins, at the American Music Awards 2009.

Search engines have always been at war, but now they have entered a new dimension. First, News Corp's Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said he wants to make people pay for access to his news websites like The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post and will take off its content from sites like Google.

The Twilight sequel scored the third-biggest opening weekend of all time at the North American box office on Sunday, as millions of young women swooned over the complex love triangle involving a high school girl, a vampire and a werewolf.

Santa Claus should avoid kissing children and shaking their hands to prevent spreading the flu and should get vaccinated against the illness, Hungary's state health authority said.

As U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans against the pandemic of swine flu, some are looking regretfully at one easy way to instantly double or triple the number of doses available -- by using an immune booster called an adjuvant.

Michael Jackson's famous white glove sold for $350,000 at a memorabilia auction on Saturday, soaring far past pre-sale estimates, while a black jacket he wore during a 1989 world tour fetched $225,000.

British singer Robbie Williams may sell the right to half his future album, touring and sponsorship earnings in a 50 million pound ($83 million) deal, one of his managers was reported to say on Saturday.

The H1N1 flu is moving eastwards across Europe and Asia after appearing to peak in parts of western Europe and the United States, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday after comments by a Fed official reassured investors the government is committed to helping the economy recover from a deep recession.

Michael Jackson's personal physician told investigators he was not the first doctor to give the pop star propofol, the powerful anesthetic that was one of the drugs to cause his death, according to court papers unsealed on Friday.

Morticians who use formaldehyde to embalm bodies have a higher risk of leukemia, researchers reported on Friday.

A French attorney for Roman Polanski who said the film director would not return voluntarily to the United States to face child sex charges is not authorized to speak in the case, Polanski's U.S. attorneys said on Friday.

Past the security man and his pit bull and through a haze of eye-watering smoke, two youths load up a pipe next to a row of shiny glass jars with two dozen varieties of marijuana bud displayed like candy.

The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Campbell Soup Co reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, helped by prices increases, easing costs for ingredients like grains and tomatoes and efforts to cut overhead costs.

Country crossover star Taylor Swift overshadowed the late Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on Sunday, winning five prizes including artist of the year.

- Nokia Oyj's battered shares could get a boost when the firm looks ahead at next week's investor day to an expected upturn in handset margins and a more competitive smartphone offering in 2010.

Shares in Reliance Industries rose nearly 4 percent to a one-month high on a view India's biggest firm would steal a bargain with its bid for bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell, a deal sources say may be worth $12 billion.