IBT Staff Reporter

Japan's Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) said it would raise up to $1.1 billion in a share sale and invest most of the funds to develop hybrid and other technologies in what analysts said was a long-overdue bid to close the gap with rivals.

Beyonce may be the hardest-working woman in showbiz.

Norway's Telenor and Russian partner Alfa Group have agreed to merge their Russian and Ukrainian holdings into a New-York listed mobile operator worth over $23 billion, ending one of the longest ever Russian corporate wars.

As the lead singer of the multimillion-selling band Linkin Park, Chester Bennington helped define the rap-metal sound of the early '90s. But as his career was ascending, his life was falling apart: Bennington was heavily involved in drugs and spent some nights wondering whether he would make it to the next day.

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said on Monday he was prepared to discuss support for Vauxhall with parent Opel's new owners, Magna (MGa.TO), noting that representatives from the Canadian auto parts supplier were due in Britain this week.

MC Wale seems poised to make the leap to mainstream success.

Finisar Corp, which makes high-speed network gear, said it has agreed to establish a new $70 million credit facility with Wells Fargo Foothill.

Five years after the release of Social Distortion's last studio effort, the veteran punk band is road-testing new material for an album it hopes will come out in 2010.

A U.S.-led group has entered the race to buy Ford Motor Co's (F.N) Volvo cars unit, the Financial Times reported, in a challenge to China's Geely Automotive (0175.HK) which last month confirmed its interest in the loss-making Swedish carmaker.

Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, who fought South America's dictators with her voice and became a giant of contemporary Latin American music, died on Sunday at age 74, her family said in a statement.

South African-born J.M. Coetzee could become the first writer to claim the coveted Man Booker Prize three times when the winner is announced on Tuesday, but bookmakers are predicting a different outcome.

Director Trevor Nunn brings vividly to life a famous courtroom clash between two idealistic heavyweights in the Old Vic production of Inherit the Wind, with unforgettable performances by Kevin Spacey and David Troughton as the legal titans.

Woody Harrelson scored the biggest opening of his career at the North American box office, as Zombieland stormed theaters with weekend ticket sales of $25 million, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

Lady Gaga said both she and Kanye West decided to cancel their upcoming Fame Kills tour of North American arenas, and that she will embark on her own headlining trek soon while West drops out of the spotlight.

Microsoft Corp does not expect to make acquisitions to help the company challenge Google Inc's dominance in the Internet search market, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Reuters on Monday.

Vonage Holdings Corp plans to offer discounted international phone calls to iPhone and BlackBerry users, as the Internet telephony company aims to expand beyond the residential market.

Stock index futures rose on Monday, with investors poised to scoop up shares beaten down in last week's sell-off, while a report that Brocade Communications Systems Inc put itself up for sale may fan deal optimism.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Vanguard Group Inc are among U.S. companies opposed to rules proposed by U.S. regulators to limit short selling, according to letters filed by the companies.

The following are comments on Monday from finance officials in Istanbul for the Group of Seven, IMF and World Bank meetings.

Stock index futures rose on Monday, with investors poised to scoop up shares beaten down in last week's sell-off, while a report that Brocade Communications Systems Inc put itself up for sale may fan deal optimism.

Gold stayed above $1,000 an ounce on Monday as the dollar remained pressured after last week's jobs data pushed the currency down broadly on concerns the U.S. economic recovery may not be as robust as previously thought.

Japanese government bonds dipped on Monday and 10-year futures pulled back from a six-month high as market players sold to hedge and make room for a 2.1 trillion yen ($23 billion) 10-year auction the next day.

he interbank cost of borrowing euros for three-months fell to a record low on Monday, pushed lower by expectations that interest rates will stay low and the markets remain flush with liquidity for some time.

World stocks flirted with gains after two sessions of losses on Monday with Japan's Nikkei hitting an 11-week closing low but Europe climbing and Wall Street looking set for a positive start.

Oil fell toward $69 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's drop, pressured by jitters over the pace of U.S. economic recovery and easing concerns about Iran and Nigeria.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a newspaper that weekend warnings by bankers that overly restrictive capital rules could squeeze lending abilities was pure lobbying, and urged reforms to proceed unabated.

Stock futures pointed to a higher start on Monday to snap a four-day losing streak. The futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.5-0.6 percent at 4.22 a.m. ET.

Hong Kong stocks erased earlier losses to close up 0.26 percent on Monday, as investors hunted for bargains after shares fell to three-week lows, but concerns about the state of the U.S. economy capped gains.

European shares rose in early trade on Monday, having hit a four-week closing low on Friday, as the euro zone's services sector returned to growth, and with miners and banks gaining on positive broker comment.