IBT Staff Reporter

India's third-largest steel maker JSW Steel has raised flat steel prices, but lowered prices of long products, a senior company official said on Monday.

A roadside bomb attack claimed by the Taliban killed at least 12 people in a key commercial city in western Afghanistan Monday, officials said, amid worsening security before a presidential poll this month.

Some of the workers at the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in Canada, run by Brazilian mining company Vale, began planned strike action on Saturday over work conditions, the company said on Monday.

The Obama administration was optimistic on Sunday that the U.S. Senate would extend the federal cash for clunkers auto sales program, but warned the incentive would be suspended at midweek without new funding.

Nigeria's top fuel retailer and gas distributor Oando Plc plans to raise 200 billion naira ($1.3 billion) through debt and equity over the next two years to expand its business, a senior executive said on Monday.

Shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc fell 36 percent on Monday, a day after U.S. regulators declined to approve its experimental gout drug Krystexxa.

Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said Israel should be wiped off the map and described the Jewish state as a crime against Muslims.

Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said an offer the militant group made to the previous U.S. administration of a conditional truce is still on the table for President Barack Obama.

Asian corporate earnings have shown signs of improvement, stock markets have rallied hard and fund raising activity has picked up, but the tone from company executives remains cautious.

China has sealed off a remote western town of 10,000 people after two people died of pneumonic plague.

U.S. stocks extended gains on Monday, pushing major indexes up 1 percent as investors snapped up shares of natural resource companies and banks after fresh data pointed to signs of economic stabilization.

Guo Yonggang from Xian in western China suffered serious spinal injuries last year in an accident while driving an agricultural vehicle.

India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN Group extended talks to combine their operations to create the world's third-largest mobile operator and analysts said Bharti might need to sweeten its offer to clinch the deal.

Suncor Energy Inc, which completed its C$22.5 billion ($20.8 billion) acquisition of Petro-Canada on Saturday said on Monday the deal was expected to reduce annual capital expenditures by C$1 billion.

Iran's Supreme Leader endorsed the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a ceremony boycotted by leading moderates in protest at a disputed poll that plunged Iran into its worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Hicks Acquisition Co will buy Resolute Natural Resources Co and take the oil and natural gas producer public in a deal worth about $582 million, the companies said on Monday.

Health insurer Humana Inc posted a 34 percent rise in second-quarter profit on Monday, topping estimates, as an improved performance in its Medicare plans for the elderly offset a decline in earnings from its commercial business serving employers.

Merck & Co's vaccines chief, Margie McGlynn, who oversaw the launch of its Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine among other products, will step down on November 1, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

Oil rose more than $2 to hit a one-month high near $72 on Monday as positive Chinese economic data and firmer equities bolstered hopes of economic recovery and higher energy demand.

The punishing four-year decline in U.S. auto sales may have reached a turning point this week -- just as Michael Papa handed over the keys to his 1996 Ford Explorer for a government-sponsored trade-in.

U.S. venture capital heavyweight IDG Capital Partners (IDGVC) is considering setting up a 4 billion yuan ($586 million) fund denominated in yuan, a top executive said on Monday.

'Clunkers' boosts sales, UBS Soars, HSBC slips

Oil rose more than $2 to hit a one-month high above $71 on Monday as positive Chinese economic data and firmer equities bolstered hopes of economic recovery and higher energy demand .

Clunkers boost sales, Lowes hurt by investments, Opel positives

Japanese opposition lawmaker Seiji Ohsaka was disappointed, if not surprised, when he found he was supposed to stop posting microblogs on social networking service Twitter once the formal campaign begins for an August 30 election.

Auto sales for July which will be announced on Monday are expected to be boosted by the government's cash-for-clunkers program. The program boosted industry wide deliveries of new vehicles to the highest levels of this year.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, announced his resignation from Apple's Board of Directors due to potential conflicts as the two tech giants compete in similar markets.

Somali pirates holding a German ship with five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos on board have received a $2.7 million ransom and are counting it before releasing the ship, a pirate told Reuters.

U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.