IBT Staff Reporter

Belgian drugs, chemicals and plastics maker Solvay said on Monday it would sell its drugs unit to U.S. partner Abbott Laboratories for 4.5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in cash and reinvest in chemicals and plastics.

The yen surged to an eight-month high against the dollar on Monday as Japanese officials waved off any plans to stem the currency's rise, driving the Nikkei down more than 2 percent and sparking a broad retreat in risky assets.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the United States should not take the dollar's status as the world's key reserve currency for granted because other options are emerging.

Equities' Exam; Tax Evaders Pressured; Kraft's Hostile Bid

German voters gave Chancellor Angela Merkel a second term on Sunday and a mandate to partner with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) in a government that will rein in the role of the state in Europe's largest economy.

China Unicom Ltd said on Sunday it would buy back a 3.8 percent stake held by SK Telecom Co Ltd , South Korea's biggest mobile carrier, for about HK$10 billion (US$1.29 billion).

U.S. drugmaker Abbott Laboratories plans to buy Solvay SA's pharmaceuticals unit for $6.6 billion (4.5 billion euros), two sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday, with an announcement expected on Monday.

Why does Google have two Ls today? If you happen to be also one of the many internet users that are wondering why Google decided to have their logo, or as they call it, “doodle” spelt with 2 l's, then you've come to the right place.

The French President will appoint Veolia Chief Executive Henri Proglio as the new head of state-controlled power group EDF , the world's biggest nuclear operator, the Prime Minister's office said on Sunday.

Epic swindler Bernard Madoff's two sons, his brother and a niece will be sued this week for $198 million, the trustee winding down the Madoff firm told CBS News' 60 Minutes broadcast on Sunday.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with other leaders representing the region say additional federal funds are needed to improve the city's security against nuclear devices and “dirty” bombs.

U.S. drugmaker Abbott Laboratories is planning to buy Solvay SA's pharmaceuticals unit for $6.6 billion (4.5 billion euros) in cash, with an announcement expected in the next 24 hours, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

The Australian Dollar opens marginally higher on Monday at 0.8675. The Aussie hit a high of 0.8713 during European trade on Friday night but moved lower after weak U.S. economic data raised concerns over the strength of the global recovery.

From Fred Dryer to Merlin Olsen, the small screen always has loved former pro football players. So it's no surprise that charismatic, gap-toothed former New York Giants star Michael Strahan is looking to score with a sitcom vehicle. What is surprising, though, is just how watchable and amusing Brothers is, even if it doesn't break new ground.

ABC has picked up Friends With Benefits, a single-camera project that will be written by (500) Days of Summer screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber.

Jerry Bruckheimer is expanding his presence at ABC with a new crime procedural.

fter a five-year run, Sean Diddy Combs confirmed to Billboard that he is exiting his exclusive deal with Warner Music Group/Atlantic Records at the end of September.

Miranda Lambert's set opens by proclamation: A warning siren roars from the loudspeakers as the house lights fall. A hip-hop track booms, its billowing bass and percussive clicks rattling the 20,000 or so fans who fill the Raleigh, North Carolina, Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion for Kenny Chesney's annual tour.

In the wee hours of the morning on Monday, September 14, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne was signing autographs after his band performed at upstate New York's All Tomorrow's Parties festival when a burly young fan approached him with a length of industrial strap. Coyne recognized it as one of his own, used for tying down equipment like the large cannons that shoot confetti into the crowd through...

A consummate Renaissance woman, Rosanne Cash has eschewed genre conventions throughout her long career. Of course, she had an excellent role model, being the eldest daughter of the late Johnny Cash. She scored a string of country hits in the '80s and continues to record, as well as write books and contribute fiction and essays to such publications as the New York Times and Rolling Stone.

Like all animals, Wolfmother faced two choices: evolve or die.

ARTIST: TOBY KEITH ALBUM: AMERICAN RIDE

To Gloria Gaynor, it seems like only yesterday that she recorded the iconic disco/pop hit I Will Survive. Now she's celebrating the anthem's 30th anniversary.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the United States should not take the dollar's status as the world's key reserve currency for granted because other options are emerging.

A riveting Argentine thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant love stories, The Secret in Their Eyes interweaves the personal lives of a team of state prosecutors with a manhunt spanning 25 years. Director Juan Jose Campanella (Same Love, Same Rain, Son of the Bride) is one of Argentina's most communicative storytellers, and this entry qualifies as a high point in his career.

The family cartoon Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs led the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday while another slew of newcomers bombed amid crippling reviews and moviegoer apathy.

She hit the silver screen as a sultry temptress in Et Dieu crea la femme (And God created woman) in 1956, instantly making Brigitte Bardot the face that symbolized France -- and French women.

Mos Def is in a Tokyo hotel room, wearing a bathrobe and smoking a cigarette. He's holding forth on the differences between Japanese and American culture, revealing how impressed he is by the intensity of the local hip-hop fans who have been filling clubs for a week to see him perform.

Michael Jackson lost the will to live in recent years, a former close confidante said on Friday, as scores of fans camped out to be the first to see the singer's final appearance in the This is It movie.