IBT Staff Reporter

Japanese imports of U.S. beef totaled only 105 tonnes in August, the first full month of shipments since Tokyo reopened the market to meat from the United States, government data showed on Thursday.

General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said he was open to an alliance with Renault-Nissan and made clear that talks could be extended beyond a mid-October deadline set by the carmakers.

Internet media giant Yahoo Inc. said on Wednesday it had acquired Jumpcut, a site that provides simple to use online video editing tools

The FTSE opened higher on Thursday, supported by mining and oil stocks, as traders reacted positively to renewed U.S. confidence following a near record breaking high on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Accenture Ltd., one of the world's largest consulting firms, is poised to pull out of a major computer system project for the NHS as early as Thursday

House prices jumped in September, the Nationwide Building Society said on Thursday, evidence that August's interest rate rise had done little to cool the property market.

HMV Group, which sells music, DVDs and books, said on Thursday its total like for like sales were down 3.7 percent, once the benefit of its recent acquisition of Ottakar's was taken out.

Don't waste too much time mulling over those retirement rules of thumb that seem to pop up everywhere. They've never been very useful, but changes in the way people live and work make them even less so.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest lender in China Mainland, started a preparation for acquiring a small Indonesia bank......

Internet media giant Yahoo Inc. said on Wednesday it had acquired Jumpcut, a site that provides simple-to-use online video-editing tools......

Hong Kong tycoon with exploiting spirit Richard Li seems interested in doing some extraordinary matters.

Hong Kong shares yestoday rebounded to 17,500, backed by China Mobile after the day before's plunge of 237 pcts; Hang Seng Index yestoday jumped 213 pcts......

The international rating agency Moody's yestoday upgraded Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency rating from A1 to Aa3 - the level same with civil currency, with a positive outlook......

Nissan Motor Co, Renault SA and General Motors Corp agreed to continue their talks on a possible tripartite alliance until October 15 as initially planned, Nissan said.

Australia's Tap Oil Ltd has taken an 85 per cent stake in an oil exploration project in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, local partners in the consortium said on Wednesday.

Newmont Mining Corp said its gold sales would drop this year and next but would recover in 2008 and 2009 when projects in the United States, Ghana and Australia reach full production.

Nearly half of all city workers believe they do not have the right balance between their work and personal lives, a survey reveals.

The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has welcomed a Productivity Commission report which shows trucking companies may be paying too much to use the nation's roads.

Australian property investors are sending huge amounts of investment offshore in search of higher returns and diversified portfolios.

Australia's chief financial officers (CFOs) are pressing for shorter corporate annual reports, and they want them distributed over the internet instead of posted.

An interstate bidding war for workers has left state governments battling to meet soaring wage costs, with pay demands from public servants adding nearly $4 billion to employee-related costs this year.

A former AWB manager was accused by one of his colleagues of collecting $US16 million ($A21.3 million) in kickbacks from wheat shipments to Saddam Hussein's regime, the Cole inquiry has been told.

Telstra boss Sol Trujillo received a $1.5 million bonus for a strategy plan he paid a US company $54 million to develop, a report says.

AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller said on Wednesday that he expects Internet video-sharing Web site YouTube.com to overcome its business and piracy issues, and be acquired by a larger media company.

The world's largest software maker is suing the developer of a program that allows users to circumvent digital rights protection from Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) song format.

TAAG Angola Airlines joined Boeing's Component Services Programs on Wednesday, becoming the world's 22nd airline to join the leading aerospace company.

Japan will update its Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, the Ministry of Economy and Industry said on evening Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled the pricing of its anticipated external Hi-Definition DVD (HD-DVD) player to be released for its Xbox 360 gaming console.

The United Nations announced on Wednesday it will expand the access of its agricultural information to reach 37 of the world's poorest countries. This marks the second phase of a joint United Nations-private sector initiative to fight poverty and under-development.