IBT Staff Reporter

Merrill Lynch has built a 5.1 percent voting stake in Munich Re, making it one of the two largest shareholders in the German reinsurer.

German lender IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, whose near failure amid the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves through Europe's financial sector, reiterated its full-year loss could reach almost $1 billion.

Shares of Italy's biggest insurer Generali fell on Friday after its updated business plan failed to shore up the already highly valued stock.

Stricken British mortgage lender Northern Rock may have borrowed a further 5 billion pounds ($10.1 billion) from the Bank of England in the past week, an economist said after analyzing Bank of England data.

A consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland could lower the level of acceptances needed to buy Dutch bank ABN AMRO to a simple majority, it said on Friday.

The chief executive of investment bank Carnegie resigned on Friday after regulators called for sweeping management changes following a trading scandal and fined the bank 50 million Swedish crowns ($7.7 million).

Shares in British reinsurance broker Benfield rose up to 13 percent on Friday after a report it had received an unsuccessful 700 million pound ($1.42 billion) bid approach from Goldman Sachs revived takeover speculation.

Digital camera and office equipment maker Canon Inc said on Friday it may buy back more of its own shares, adding to the $3.9 billion worth already repurchased so far this year, sending its shares higher.

State-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd said on Friday it would split off and list its high-growth mobile business, separating it from the slower-growing fixed line and broadband businesses.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said on Friday that market turmoil could hit the U.S. economy and a moderation in inflation gave the Fed room to cut interest rates last week.

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp, which leads a multi-billion dollar energy project in Myanmar, will not alter its investments there following a violent government crackdown on protests, the company said on Friday.

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch have bought 5 percent stakes in India's top commodities exchange, valuing it at up to $1.1 billion, or more than the Bombay Stock Exchange which sold stakes earlier this year.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.

Prices for luxury goods rose twice as fast as consumer prices this year, a study showed, showing the jet set needs even more to fund its lavish lifestyle.

When it comes to what pays on U.S. television, talk doesn't come cheap when ranking the highest paid TV stars.

IRobot Corp, a maker of vacuums and bomb defusers, said on Thursday it has developed a device for cleaning gutters on homes and a Web-controlled robot with a video phone.

European and U.S. antitrust regulators tried to calm a transatlantic storm on Thursday over a European Court ruling that Microsoft used monopoly power to muscle rivals, but did not back down over policy differences.

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it plans to keep selling its Windows XP operating system until the end of June 2008, delaying a scheduled transition to its newer Windows Vista software by five months.

Google Inc, the world's Web search leader, told U.S. Senate lawmakers on Thursday the company is pursuing new technologies to protect the privacy of Internet users as it seeks to acquire advertising company DoubleClick Inc.

General Motors Corp would be able to buy out as many as 24,000 UAW workers and replace them with lower-paid hires under a tentative contract agreement, according to a report.

The world's major powers will try to narrow their differences on tougher sanctions against Iran when they meet on Friday in New York, seeking to keep up pressure on Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

Communications equipment maker 3Com Corp has struck a deal to be bought by China's Huawei Technologies and private equity firm Bain Capital for more than $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

U.S. consumers boosted their spending at the strongest rate in four months during August and core consumer prices posted their smallest year-on-year rise in 3-1/2 years, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations voiced "revulsion" on Thursday at the killings in Yangon demanding a stop to violence against demonstrators.

Stock futures dropped on Friday as oil prices hovered near record highs and investors turned cautious before economic reports that could provide clues about the outlook for interest rates and profits.

Oil handed back early gains to stand below $83 a barrel on Friday, but stayed within sight of an all-time high as fund buying spurred by a weak dollar provided support.

The probability of a recession in the United States has increased but is still less than 50/50, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in comments broadcast on Friday.

The dollar sank to new depths against the Euro on Thursday, the sixth straight trading session of new lows against the currency.

Oil prices surged on Thursday, posting their biggest dollar increase in nearly eight months on concerns that a storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico could impact oil production sites