IBT Staff Reporter

Bank of America Corp is trying to avoid paying billions of dollars in fees to U.S. taxpayers for guarantees against losses at Merrill Lynch, saying the rescue agreement was never signed and the funding never used, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

CIT Group Inc officials are scrambling to come up with a plan to convince customers and investors the commercial U.S. lender can work its way out of a deepening liquidity crunch, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Monday, extending last week's losses to languish at a seven-week low, as lingering concerns about the pace of a global economic recovery encouraged a further sell-off.

Japanese brewer Suntory Holdings Ltd said on Monday it was considering a merger with larger rival Kirin Holdings Co , a deal that would create one of the world's largest beverage and food firms.

Who will take care of the Michael Jackson's three children is just one of many unanswered questions that have arisen after the singer's death.

Japan's Nikkei fell for a ninth straight day on Monday as concerns about company earnings outlooks weighed on Asian stocks, while oil languished near a six-week low as faith in a rapid economic recovery faded.

Microsoft Corp is pitching to five of the world's biggest advertising companies a deal to buy Razorfish, its digital ad agency, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing executives familiar with the situation.

LG Electronics Inc, the world's No. 3 handset maker, is launching an online store for mobile phone applications Tuesday with an initial focus on Asia and aspirations for a more global reach by year-end.

Lance Armstrong is leaving open the possibility of riding again at the Tour de France.

If there's one group of executives at this week's Sun Valley media and technology conference who ought to be in good spirits, it's the handful steering the fleet of Internet social networks.

Thunderstorms have forced NASA to delay Sunday evening's launch of space shuttle Endeavour, making it the fourth time the shuttle is delayed.

Delay in UBS tax case; CIT Scrambles; Too early for new stimulus talk

U.S. lawmakers on Sunday criticized a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for a $1 trillion healthcare overhaul and warned Congress was unlikely to meet President Barack Obama's goal of passing the measure by August.

Oil prices steadied at just above $60 a barrel on Monday, pausing from last week's losses, amid growing concerns about the pace of a global economic recovery and its impact on world energy demand.

Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings Co and smaller unlisted rival Suntory Holdings Ltd are in talks to merge and create one of the world's largest beverage and food firms, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Heavy clouds near the Kennedy Space Center forced NASA to call off Sunday's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on a mission to deliver a Japanese-built porch to the International Space Station.

Bruno, British satirist Sacha Baron Cohen's latest subversive outing, narrowly claimed the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office in North America, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

The United States will spend another $1 billion on ingredients for an H1N1 vaccine, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday.

Silicon Valley startups, increasingly dropping Microsof and turning to Web-based software, may be the crucial opening Google needs for its Chrome operating system.

The British government will set out a route map on Wednesday showing how it plans to meet its 2020 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent compared to 1990 levels, a minister said on Sunday.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke visit their ancestral homeland this week to press China to join with the United States in stepped-up efforts to fight global warming.

The chief executive of North Sea gas producer Venture Production said its shareholders were looking for significantly in excess of the 845 pence a share takeover offer made by Centrica Friday.

For President Barack Obama, failure on healthcare is not an option.

A television advert for an Israeli cellphone firm showing soldiers playing soccer over the West Bank barrier has sparked cries of bad taste and prompted Arab lawmakers on Sunday to demand it be taken off air.

The U.S. government and UBS AG asked a federal judge on Sunday to delay the start of a closely-watched trial, as they seek to resolve their dispute over U.S. demands for the identities of thousands of wealthy Americans suspected of using the Swiss bank to dodge taxes.

An opposition blogger in Azerbaijan has been remanded in custody pending trial on hooliganism charges, prompting protests from his employer, oil major BP Plc, a media rights group said on its website.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is considering whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation practices involving the CIA, and is expected to make a decision in a few weeks, a Justice Department official said on Sunday.

Sonia Sotomayor looks almost certain to emerge from Senate hearings this week poised to become the first Hispanic member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

An uneasy calm returned on Sunday to China's riot-hit Urumqi where 184 people died in ethnic violence a week ago, though the official tally of dead could rise, a regional official indicated.