IBT Staff Reporter

Idea Cellular, India's fifth-ranked mobile operator, posted a 53 percent rise in quarterly profit on higher users, but warned a price war in the world's fastest-growing wireless market will continue for some time.

Telecom Italia, Europe's fifth-biggest telecoms operator, denied on Monday an Italian newspaper report that said it was considering a bid for Telekom Austria.

Germany's privately-held N-Vision Energy plans to invest up to 140 million euros ($210.5 million) to build a 100 megawatt wind energy park in Bulgaria, its managing director said on Monday.

French bank Credit Agricole said it had no plans for talks on a merger with rival Societe Generale and insurer Groupama, after Le Monde newspaper reported that Agricole was studying such a deal.

With one week to go until voters head to the polls, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg leads his main rival in the mayoral race by 18 points, a survey found on Monday.

Uncertainty over the future of generous incentive schemes is a major risk factor for the green energy sector in Italy, which has blossomed after rival Spain lost its allure by cutting down on sweeteners for investors.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday as energy shares climbed along with the price of oil, and Microsoft Corp boosted the tech sector after several brokerages raised their price targets on the company.

Public finance could help stimulate private investment in climate change solutions in developing countries, a report commissioned by the United Nations' Environment Program showed on Monday.

Barclays Plc bought the bank arm of British insurer Standard Life Plc for 226 million pounds ($369 million) on Monday, in a move to build up its UK mortgage and savings business.

Poland will soon sign a deal to sell a total 40 million euros ($60 million) of surplus greenhouse gas emission rights to Spain and Ireland, the first such government-to-government deal under the Kyoto Protocol, its environment minister said.

Anglo American, pressured by investors after an abortive merger bid from rival Xstrata, could offload its zinc operations first in a fresh divestment drive that could raise $6 billion.

Cadbury Plc investor Mario Gabelli has given further encouragement to Kraft Foods Inc that a bid for the British confectioner could succeed if pitched around 820 pence.

Finance company Ares Capital Corp said it will buy rival Allied Capital Corp in an all-stock deal valued at $648 million.

Democratic leaders moved on Friday to build support among the elderly for a massive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system, saying the measure would immediately start closing a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage.

Nine-year-old Corey Haas can ride his bike alone now, thanks to an experimental gene therapy that has boosted his fading vision with a single treatment.

Dutch bancassurer ING Group NV will split in two, shrinking itself into a smaller Europe-focused bank, in the most striking example yet of the deep changes the EU wants to force on banks that received state aid.

Specialty glass maker Corning Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on stronger demand for glass for flat screen televisions, and said it expected that market to grow by 15 percent in 2010.

President Barack Obama has declared 2009 H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, the White House said on Saturday.

Former Smiths' front man Morrisey was discharged from hospital in a much improved condition after staying overnight due to a collapse on stage in a concert in the U.K., medical officials said Sunday, according to CNN.com.

Barclays Plc bought the bank arm of British insurer Standard Life Plc for 226 million pounds ($369 million) on Monday, in a move to build up its UK mortgage and savings business.

Cadbury Plc investor Mario Gabelli has given further encouragement to Kraft Foods Inc that a bid for the British confectioner could succeed if pitched around 820 pence.

Having suffered more than 15 years of false starts, failures and musical disappointments, singer-songwriter Harper Simon admits he has hardly charted the ideal path to pop stardom like his father, Paul Simon.

Low-budget fright film Paranormal Activity scored a kill over the sixth picture in the perennial Saw franchise, with a pre-Halloween weekend box office draw of $22 million.

A group of Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) investors has appealed the dismissal of their class-action lawsuit seeking to hold the private equity firm responsible for their losses on its stock.

By now, most anybody who has read of the upcoming Michael Jackson movie, This Is It which debuts globally October 28, knows it was directed by Jackson's friend and dance choreographer Kenny Ortega.

British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the BBC reported on Sunday.

Morrissey, the former singer in the British band The Smiths, left hospital Sunday after spending the night there as a precautionary measure after collapsing on stage, a hospital spokeswoman said.

New York theater insiders have been wondering for months exactly how Chicago director David Cromer -- currently hotter than hot thanks to the transfers of his acclaimed productions of Adding Machine and Our Town -- would handle the high-profile assignment of staging the Broadway revivals of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, which will run in repertory under the heading The Neil S...

Australian investment bank Macquarie Group (MQG.AX) said on Monday it plans to acquire Blackmont Capital from CI Financial (CIX.TO) for $C93.3 million ($88.6 million), in a bid to expand its wealth management business and product portfolio in Canada.