IBT Staff Reporter

Covidien plans to buy brain monitor maker Aspect Medical Systems Inc for about $210 million, giving the medical products company an expanded presence in the operating room.

Norwegian browser maker Opera urged European Union antitrust regulators on Monday not to rush to close its antitrust case against Microsoft before ensuring a level playing field among browsers.

Six out of 10 U.S. Hispanic illegal immigrants lack health insurance, more than twice the rate for legal Latino residents and citizens and three times the average for the population as a whole, a study released on Friday showed.

Apple announced Monday that over 2 billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store since the e-commerce site's launch in July 2008, and the pace continues to accelerate, according to chief executive Steve Jobs.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset Monday will mark the end of the Jewish High Holy Days after it began with Rosh Hashana 10 days ago.

Alcohol abuse, obesity and depression seem to go hand in hand for many women, according to the first study to look at how the three relate to one another over time in young adults.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after three straight days of losses as several mergers lifted investor confidence.

A top U.S. health official says the first weeks of October are going to be a little bumpy as the government distributes the supply theswine flu vaccine ready next week -- knowing it will not be enough.

Screening all men for prostate cancer using a currently available common blood test is not worthwhile, according to a new study.

U.S. healthcare companies Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson announced deals worth almost 5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) with European rivals on Monday, aimed at securing vaccines and other products key to future growth.

The European Union and the United States are holding talks on agreeing a pact with OECD countries and China to eliminate duties on green goods as part of incentives to Beijing in a potential global climate deal.

World leaders pledged last week to step up efforts to reach a U.N. deal to fight climate change, but they will have to match rhetoric with rapid action to break a crippling deadlock before a December deadline.

The head of the World Bank on Monday sounded a cautionary note about granting greater regulatory power to the U.S. Federal Reserve and said the dollar's future will depend heavily on U.S. choices.

Thailand is moving closer to a long-awaited auction for third-generation mobile phone licences, now expected in the second week of December, but the issue of foreign shareholders in telecom firms may derail the process.

Skate and snow-boarding inspired retailer Zumiez Inc lifted its third-quarter earnings outlook, citing better-than-planned sales and product margins, sending its shares up as much as 8 percent.

Tickets for Michael Jackson's This is It movie began selling on Sunday and can be purchased at any major movie ticketing Web site as well as at the flick's Web site www.thisisit-movie.com.

Nokia said on Monday it has acquired Dopplr, a social network for travelers, to strengthen its push into offering internet services.

Kuwait has revived talks with British firm BP as a potential partner in a $9 billion joint venture refinery it plans to build with China's Sinopec Corp 60028.SS, a Kuwaiti oil executive said on Monday.

British insurer Aviva's Dutch unit Delta Lloyd plans to list in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year.

GenTek Inc, a U.S. maker of specialty chemicals and engine components, said on Monday it has agreed to a takeover by a unit of private equity firm American Securities for $411 million.

U.S. agribusiness giant Bunge Ltd heads a list of potential joint venture partners for Australia's AWB Ltd, because of ties fostered by some Australian staff once employed by AWB, industry sources said.

Pope Benedict, ending a trip to this highly secular nation, said on Monday the fall of communists who tried to erase religion was proof that God cannot be excluded from public life.

Myer, Australia's largest department store chain, plans to raise up to $2 billion in a share offering that will test investor appetite for retail stocks and may encourage other IPOs in the sector.

Chinese state-owned Sinochem bid $2.5 billion for Australian farm chemicals group Nufarm Ltd on Monday, looking to gain a global footprint in a deal that could again test investment ties between China and Australia.

Oil edged above $66 a barrel on Monday, rebounding after an earlier decline which extended last week's 8.4 percent slide, as the dollar lost ground and stock markets moved higher.

After his efforts at diplomacy on the international stage last week, President Barack Obama faces some particularly daunting foreign policy decisions about the Afghan war, a nuclear Iran and an elusive Middle East peace.

MILAN - Italian renewable energy company TerniEnergia is set to exceed its 2009 target for new solar installations and may review 2010 and 2011 goals aiming to expand in the rapidly growing market, its chairman told Reuters.

U.S. stocks jumped on Monday as more merger and acquisition activity in the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors following three sessions of losses.

China's prime minister will visit reclusive North Korea early next week for a trip that could help revive talks with global powers stalled for nearly a year on ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.