Japan Tobacco damns tax plans

Japan Tobacco Inc said a proposal to triple cigarette prices through higher taxes would devastate the nation's tobacco industry and could hurt the share price of the world's third-largest publicly traded cigarette maker.

High-stakes tanker fight could end up decided in court

Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman Corp, locked in a three-month dispute over a $35 billion US Air Force refueling-tanker contract, may wind up in court before the fight is done.

Lee says sorry as trial starts in Seoul

The former head of South Korea's biggest business group Samsung went on trial yesterday for tax evasion and breach of trust, less than two months after stepping down in the wake of a corruption probe.

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Icahn says Yahoo policy is 'obscene'

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, seeking control of Yahoo Inc, said an employee-severance policy that would make a takeover of the company more costly was "obscene" and shouldn't be legal.

Kerkorian finds favor with Ford shareholders

Ford Motor Co investors, reflecting pessimism over its near term prospects, responded to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's offer to buy their shares at a large premium by tendering nearly half of the automaker's stock.

Nardelli expects Chrysler to remain independent

Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Robert Nardelli said that he expects the automaker will be an independent company three years from now, and that Chrysler's private-equity owners were not second guessing their acquisition.

Daiichi gets key stake in Ranbaxy

Daiichi Sankyo Co, Japan's third-largest drugmaker, agreed to buy control of India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for as much as 495 billion yen ($4.6 billion).

Slowdown takes toll on Inditex

Inditex SA, Europe's largest clothes retailer, reported its smallest profit increase in four years after sales growth slowed at the Zara chain.

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