Business: Industries

A protester attends a rally at the Tata Motors plant in eastern India on September 3, 2008. Talks were underway in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday in a last-ditch bid to end protests against a nearly-completed plant to produce the world's cheapest car, an official said.(AFP/File/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)

Last-ditch talks to save India's cheap-car plant

AFP - Thu Sep 4, 1:12 PM ET

KOLKATA, India (AFP) - Talks were underway in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata Thursday in a last-ditch bid to end protests against a nearly-completed plant to produce the world's cheapest car, an official said.

  • Honda to Bring Back Insight Hybrid PC Magazine - Thu Sep 4, 7:24 AM ET

    Honda will reveal a concept version of its new small hybrid vehicle, to be named Insight, at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, October 2, the company announced Thursday.

  • A pharmacist in a file photo. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)
    Expensive ads sell few prescription drugs: study Reuters - Mon Sep 1, 7:07 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expensive advertising of prescription drugs directly to consumers may do little to encourage sales, U.S. and Canadian researchers reported on Monday.

  • File photo shows the Tokyo skyline with the famous Mount Fuji in background. Japan's Shionogi & Co. has said it plans to buy Sciele Pharma Inc. of the United States at a cost of 1.42 billion dollars.(AFP/File/Toshifumi Kitamura)
    Japan's Shionogi to buy Sciele Pharma for 1.42 bln dlrs AFP - Mon Sep 1, 4:01 AM ET

    TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Shionogi & Co. said Monday that it plans to buy Sciele Pharma Inc. of the United States at a cost of 1.42 billion dollars, the latest foray by a Japanese drugmaker into foreign territory.

  • IBD's Top 10 - Thursday Investor's Business Daily - Thu Sep 4, 7:13 PM ET

    1 The NYSE composite undercut its July lows, diving 3.2%. The Nasdaq also tumbled 3.2% while the S&P 500 and Dow skidded 3%. Volume rose across the board. Weak labor and retail reports, and Ciena's warning put the market on the defensive, even as oil prices fell. Telecom, metals and machinery stocks led the rout. The 10-year T-yield fell 6 ticks to 3.64%.

  • Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and managing director for Grameen Bank, speaks at the 'Business Innovations That Are Changing The World' panel at the 2008 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California April 29, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)
    Nobel prize winner may sue Norway's Telenor: report Reuters - Thu Sep 4, 6:24 PM ET

    OSLO (Reuters) - 2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus may take legal action against Norwegian telecom group Telenor , in a bid to gain full control over Bangladesh operator Grameenphone, news agency NTB reported on Thursday.

  • Wal-Mart customer checks out at Walmart in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, sales of groceries and back-to-school products helped its August same-store sales rise 3 percent, beating expectations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
    Slow August sales signal more weakness in retail AP - Thu Sep 4, 4:19 PM ET

    NEW YORK - When it came to buying their children new jeans and trendy tops, parents held the line: They focused on basics at discounters and waited for the best deals, resulting in weak August sales at many stores. That's a bad sign for the holiday season as families may be just as cautious with their gift-giving.

  • A spotlight on August same-store sales figures AP - Thu Sep 4, 4:16 PM ET

    WHAT HAPPENED: The nation's retailers, particularly mall-based apparel chains, reported sluggish sales for August as consumers focused on buying basics and delayed making purchases amid economic worries. Among the few bright spots were discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and warehouse club operators such as Costco Wholesale Corp.

  • Bank of America says ready to settle on auction rates Reuters - 7 minutes ago

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp , said it is ready to settle federal and state probes into the marketing of auction-rate securities, joining eight other companies that reached agreements.

  • Columbia Bancorp to close mortgage business, cut jobs Reuters - 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

    (Reuters) - Columbia Bancorp , the holding company for Columbia River Bank, said it plans to close its mortgage banking division, affecting about 39 jobs, as it strives to cut costs amid a difficult mortgage market.

  • U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin takes the stage at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 3, 2008. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)
    Palin draws 37 million viewers, just shy of Obama Reuters - 6 minutes ago

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, unknown to most Americans a week ago, nearly matched Barack Obama's record TV audience with her feisty speech on Wednesday accepting the Republican nomination for vice president, topping 37 million U.S. viewers.

  • Irish band U2's singer Bono gives out an award at MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2008 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, May 31, 2008. Initially expected this fall as a fourth-quarter blockbuster, U2's next album has been pushed to early 2009 while the band continues to write and record material. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
    Next U2 album pushed to early 2009 Reuters - 22 minutes ago

    NEW YORK (Billboard) - Initially expected this fall as a fourth-quarter blockbuster, U2's next album has been pushed to early 2009 while the band continues to write and record material.