Business International

Delta to acquire Northwest for $3.63b

Delta Air Lines Inc, one year removed from bankruptcy, agreed to buy Northwest Airlines Corp in a $3.63 billion stock deal that would create the world's largest carrier and may unleash more industry consolidation.

Tesco profit beats estimates

Tesco Plc, the UK's biggest supermarket company, said annual profit rose 12 percent, beating analysts' estimates, as higher revenue in Asia and eastern Europe offset slowing UK sales of clothes and appliances.

Toyota, VW sales drop in Europe

Toyota Motor Corp, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Volkswagen AG led the biggest drop in European car sales in more than four years as economic concerns held back buying and an early Easter cut the number of selling days.

Business International

Delta, Northwest may unveil merger

Delta Air Lines Inc and Northwest Airlines Corp may announce a merger to create the world's largest carrier as early as today, following a meeting of Northwest's board yesterday, people familiar with the talks said.

Drop in TV prices drags down Philips Q1 profit

Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's largest consumer electronics maker, reported a bigger decline in first-quarter profit than analysts estimated as flat-panel television sales and prices fell.

Machine maker sold for $1.9b

Manitowoc Co, the biggest ice-machine maker in the US, agreed to buy Enodis Plc for 948 million pounds ($1.87 billion) to become the world's largest supplier of catering equipment.

Special supplement: Chinaplas 2008 kicks off Thursday in Shanghai

Chinaplas 2008, the 22nd International Exhibition of the Plastics and Rubber Industries, will return to China's commercial hub when it opens at the Shanghai New International Expo Center from April 17 to 20.

Business International

Yahoo near pact to thwart Microsoft

Yahoo! Inc is close to an agreement to combine operations with Time Warner Inc's AOL unit in a bid to fend off Microsoft Corp's $44.6 billion takeover offer, a source said.

GE may report Q1 profit despite US slowdown

General Electric Co Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt's strategy to sell power plant equipment overseas and shift more resources to commercial finance is helping the company weather a slowdown in the US economy and likely led to higher first-quarter profit.