IBM pays huge price for probe

IBM is under investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency over an $80 million bid it made in 2006 to modernize EPA financial systems and has been suspended from seeking new contracts with all US agencies, the company said.

IPO gives Philip Morris a fillip

The shares of Philip Morris International Inc, the world's largest non-state-owned cigarette maker, increased by as much as 6 percent on Monday (local time), but later gave up those gains in their first day of trading after the company was spun off from Altria Group Inc.

Purchase to help engineer cash in on deep drilling

WorleyParsons Ltd, Australia's biggest engineering company, agreed yesterday to buy Intec Engineering BV for $108.5 million to benefit from increased investment in deepwater and arctic oil and gas project development.

Schering-Plough's all-too-spectacular fall from grace

It's hard to believe that Schering-Plough Corp paid the equivalent of $16.1 billion less than four months ago to buy Akzo Nobel NV's Organon drug unit. The rest of the drugmaker is now valued at less than half that price.

IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Business International

Fed gets greater powers

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson yesterday revealed sweeping new plans for streamlining a hodgepodge of regulation faulted for permitting the US mortgage crisis to balloon into a full-blown economic threat.

Can the Paulson plan stop risky investments?

While Wall Street faces the biggest overhaul of its regulatory structure since the Great Depression, analysts are already wondering if the plan announced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would help prevent the kind of risky investments that led to the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos.

Citigroup separates credit card business

Citigroup Inc, battling to restore profit after a record loss, will set up an independent credit card unit and overhaul consumer banking along geographical lines.

UK lenders expect 'prolonged' slump

UK banks forecast that credit market turmoil will last at least until the end of the year, twice as long as they predicted three months ago, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry.

Stocks drop in Europe, Asia; US futures decline

Stocks fell in Europe and Asia, capping the worst quarter for the MSCI World Index since 2002, as concern deepened that losses in the credit markets will hurt economic and profit growth. US index futures retreated.

IN BRIEF (Page 16)