IBT Staff Reporter

A former AXA Advisors LLC broker was permanently barred from the U.S. securities industry for running a more than $600,000 Ponzi scheme whose victims included members of his own church, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said.

The cash-for-clunkers program, which kicks off Monday, has created tremendous interest as almost 16,000 auto dealers or 80 percent of the nation's new vehicle sellers have signed up to participate on it, Bloomberg reported today citing Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Starbucks Corp will make discretionary matching contributions to 401 retirement plans for its 2009 plan year but employees will face higher health-care costs, Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a memo to employees on Monday.

A court in Myanmar heard final arguments Monday on trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who would be sentenced to prison for five years if found guilty of breaching a security law.

EBay Inc will slash fees by 20 percent for its top-rated sellers and push their listings higher up in the search queue, part of steps to try to rev up its long-stagnant Marketplaces arm.

In response to the extraordinary number of candidates sending their résumés to the ‘Dear Sam' mailbox, seeking insight into why they are not getting calls for interviews,

The chairman of the House of Representatives financial services committee said on Monday that Congress can complete a regulatory reform overhaul by the end of this year.

Seeking to reduce market manipulation, U.S. securities regulators today made permanent a temporary rule to reduce the potential for abusive “naked short selling.”

Stocks edged lower on Monday as corporate results from companies, including Verizon and Honeywell International , failed to entice investors following two weeks of gains that lifted all major indexes about 11 percent.

Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all U.S. medical spending or an estimated $147 billion a year, researchers said on Monday.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has held talks with Nortel Networks on buying next-generation wireless patents that were not part of Nortel's $1.13 billion wireless asset sale on the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Troubled insurer American International Group Inc rebranded its property-casualty business under the name Chartis on Monday, and took a step toward selling at least part of the business.

The U.S. Treasury will not step in to influence management decisions at General Motors Co and Chrysler LLC after providing the automakers with some $70 billion in financing to restructure in bankruptcy, a White House adviser said on Monday.

John Costas, who helped make UBS AG into one of the world's biggest investment banks, wants to build a lasting Wall Street player -- and put the 2007 demise of hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management behind him.

Telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said on Monday it expected the wireless business set to be acquired from Nortel to produce a double-digit operating margin this year.

On the surface, China presents a fiscal study in contrast with the United States, keeping a remarkably low ceiling on debt even as it spends its way out of the financial crisis.

December Gold- Our charts are showing that the market could and should attempt to take out the 1,000 level in the next few weeks or at least months.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has held talks with Nortel Networks on buying next-generation wireless patents that were not part of Nortel's $1.13 billion wireless asset sale on the weekend, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.

Cost-cuts helped RadioShack Corp beat estimates in the second quarter, but its shares fell 8 percent on fears the electronics retailer might not be able to sustain profits by merely controlling expenses.

Western Digital on Monday has begun shipping its first 1TB Serial ATA hard disk drive for $250 with 333GB per platter technology.

U.S. stocks declined on Monday as disappointing reports from Verizon and Aetna Inc prompted profit taking after the Dow and the S&P 500 touched 8-month closing highs.

Aetna Inc slashed its full-year earnings forecast on Monday because of higher-than- projected medical costs, sending its shares down more than 5 percent as the health insurer also posted a 28 percent drop in second-quarter net income.

Debate over controversial EU laws on hedge funds shifted to the United States on Monday as a key industry body warned of protectionist aspects of the rules which have prompted Washington to lobby for changes. The Alternative Investment Management Association said the planned laws on alternative investment funds create potentially major difficulties and loss of business for funds and investors...

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker is looking into a possible joint venture spin-off of its stainless steel business, worth around $3 billion, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

U.S. based battery maker EnerDel and electric car maker Think Global said today Japan Postal Service is testing an electric drivetrain developed by the companies which can convert gasoline-powered delivery trucks to electric vehicles.

India's Tata Motors Ltd reported an unexpected surge in first-quarter net profit, helped by a change in accounting policy, but concerns remain over its loss-making Jaguar Land Rover unit and how it will strengthen its balance sheet.

Verizon Communications Inc posted a lower quarterly profit and said it would cut 8,000 jobs in its wireline business, as weakness in wholesale and corporate segments overshadowed wireless growth.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, is considering a capital increase as one option among many to finance its takeover of debt-laden sports car maker Porsche, bankers familiar with the situation said.

Honeywell International Inc is counting on the payoff from cost cutting to boost its fourth-quarter results and allow it to hit its lowered 2009 profit target, the diversified U.S. manufacturer's chief financial officer said on Monday.