Deals

Wells Fargo & Co Chairman Dick Kovacevich is not against the No. 5 U.S. bank making a major acquisition, but he said on Tuesday the prospect of that happening is unlikely even as large rivals become vulnerable due to shaky subprime lending.

The holiday shopping season kicked off on Thursday even before the turkey was carved, as retailers, worried that gift buying may slow this year, posted special deals on their Web sites on Thanksgiving day. Numerous retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Best Buy Co Inc and Circuit City Stores Inc, are offering special deals online.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to visit Bolivia on Thursday, the first time an Iranian leader has visited the impoverished South American country, to solidify diplomatic ties and sign aid agreements.

Upcoming deals such as Sirius Satellite Radio's planned takeover of XM Satellite Radio could be helped by a court decision in favor of a takeover deal between two organic food retailers.

The tightening of the credit markets and fears of a global liquidity crunch have turned a normal summer slowdown in mergers and acquisitions into a deep freeze.

The 47th Paris air show opens on Monday with France-based planemaker Airbus expected to announce major deals from Middle East-based airlines as it seeks to make up ground on sales by U.S. rival Boeing Co.