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GENEVA — British bank HSBC says information on 15,000 customers with accounts in Switzerland has been stolen. HSBC says a former...

A U.S. MILITARY BASE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he regrets that a major defense...

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Attorneys in the dispute over the estate of billionaire shopping mall magnate Melvin Simon have asked a judge to set strict...

A U.S. MILITARY BASE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he regrets that a major defense contractor has pulled out of the contest to build a badly needed new Air Force plane. And he warned that the lone surviving bidder shouldn't expect to be able to pad the check. Gates told a...

FRANKFURT - Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG says its 2009 net income declined 80 percent to euro960 million ($1.3...

Patni Computer Systems, a leading global IT and BPO services provider, on Thursday announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art IT...

The Reserve Bank of India cannot buy back government bonds through open market operations to help...

* Russia director says investing "very strongly" * Says consumer spending should pick up in mid-2010 * Says open to further acquisitions By Maria Plis TULA, Russia, March 11 - Consumer goods giant Unilever is committed to investing in Russia and expects an improvement in market conditions from mid-year, the head of its Russian business told Reuters. "We continue to invest very strongly in Russia because we believe in the long-term potential of the country. It has 140 million consumers with a very high level of per capita income and high levels of per capita consumption," Sanjive Kakkar told Reuters in an interview. He said Unilever, the maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Dove soap...

March 11 - Daihatsu Motor Co, a unit of Toyota Motor Corp, said on Thursday it would recall more than 274,000 Hijet and Atrai wagon models in Japan to fix a loose knuckle joint in the front wheels. Daihatsu said an additional 449 units have been exported. Here are details of some previous major auto recalls: 1981 - GM recalled 5.8 million vehicles due to loose suspension bolts that affected steering. 1996 - Ford Motor Co recalled more than 8 million vehicles to replace defective ignition switches. July 1998 - GM recalled close to 1 million Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet cars over fears air bags might go off by accident. Aug. 2000 - Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone Corp recalled...

* What: OPEC meets to discuss output policy March 17 * Oil price where Saudis want it, even as OPEC pumps more * OPEC may boost supply later this year, if demand warrants * Competition stiffens to supply growing Asian demand By Simon Webb DUBAI, March 11 - OPEC is expected to leave oil output targets unchanged when it meets in Vienna next week, as a price around $80 and hope that a rebounding world economy will burn more fuel override concern about oversupply. U.S. crude futures traded above $81 a barrel on Wednesday, down a couple of dollars from a 15-month high touched in January. The price has averaged $78 this year, well above the $62 of 2009 and enough to meet the budget needs...

* Return to pre-crisis trade levels from 2013 at earliest * Stable euro exchange rate important for export firms BERLIN, March 11 - German exports are likely to rise by 9 percent in 2010, boosted by demand from emerging economies such as China and Brazil but also the United States, the BGA exporters' group said on Thursday. "Despite this optimistic estimate, we are still in the process of overcoming the crisis," BGA President Anton Boerner said in a statement. "A return to pre-crisis levels will only be possible from 2013." The weaker euro is bolstering the competitiveness of German products, but is also making imports more expensive, the BGA said, adding that a...

By Paul Day MADRID, March 11 - The number of houses sold in Spain rose in annual terms for the first time in two years in January, a positive sign although economists warned fully-fledged recovery would take time. House sales rose 2.1 percent in January year-on-year, the National Statistics Institute said, compared to an annual fall of 0.3 percent in December 2009 and a record slide of 47.6 percent in April last year. The figures follow a Housing Ministry report earlier this week showing sales rose 4.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the last three months of 2009. But analysts say there is still a way to go for a property market whose collapse has kept the...

LONDON, March 11 - European shares turned positive in morning trade on Thursday as gains in utilities and automobiles overshadowed falls in banks and commodity stocks. By 0945 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.2 percent at 1,060.63 points after being down as low as 1,054.43 earlier. Utilities stocks added the most points to the index. Italy gas transmission operator Snam Rete Gas SpA rose 1.6 percent after it left its capital spending for the period 2010-2013 unchanged as it seeks to create a gas hub for Southern Europe. Carmarkers were in favour, with Volkswagen 1.5 percent higher after the company said sales revenue and operating profit are to rise in 2010....

* Swiss National Bank policy assessment at 1300 GMT * Seen holding rate target, sticking to FX interventions * Seen raising growth, may also raise inflation forecast ZURICH, March 11 - The Swiss National Bank will likely leave interest rates ultra-low and stick with its threat of intervention at a policy review on Thursday, as it tries to balance optimism over growth with risks from a strong currency. The central bank is expected to raise its growth forecast for the Alpine economy -- currently at 0.5 to 1.0 percent -- after a series of upbeat economic news and may also warn against rising risks of inflation in the medium-term. All 45 economists in a Reuters poll said the SNB would...

* To ask shareholder permission for convertible bond issue * Wants further flexibility to finance acquisitions * Reaffirms 2010 guidance for higher revenue, oper profit * Pref shares rise 3.6 percent, top German blue-chip gainer By Christiaan Hetzner WOLFSBURG, Germany, March 11 - Volkswagen may use a convertible bond issue rather than a chunk of new shares to help finance its acquisition spree. Europe's biggest carmaker said on Thursday it would ask shareholders at the annual general meeting on April 22 to approve a possible bond issue with an option or right to convert the bond into 40 million preferred shares. "Such an authorisation would give us a further...

 

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