Toyota is building a $192 million plant in Japan to produce batteries for gas-electric hybrid vehicles, as it seeks to keep its lead in an intensifying race for green cars among the world’s automakers. Toyota’s joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, is building the plant in Shizuoka prefecture, in central Japan, Toyota spokesman Paul... 

Microsoft Corp., the world’s biggest software maker, revived the possibility of a deal with Yahoo! Inc. to challenge Google Inc. after failing to agree on a merger. Microsoft said yesterday it’s exploring an agreement with Yahoo that stops short of a full takeover. Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft didn’t elaborate on the proposal and said it “reserves the right” to... 

Yahoo faces a proxy fight for control of the company by a billionaire activist with a history of closing controversial corporate deals. Carl Icahn has announced he will file a slate of alternate directors to replace the present board when it gets together for its shareholder meeting on 3 July. Mr Icahn purchased 50 million shares in Yahoo after Microsoft walked away from talks in May to buy the net... 

European automobile company Renault-Nissan has joined hands with India’s Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) on Monday to launch a small car in India by 2011 that will compete with Tata Motors’ Nano on price point US$2500. “Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj and Mr Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Renault and Nissan, on Monday announced they would form a joint-venture company to develop,... 

Apple’s revenue grew 43 per cent for its fiscal second quarter ended March 29. Apple said its gross margin, a raw measure of the company’s profitability, declined to 32.9 per cent from 35.1 per cent a year ago. APPLE’s iPhone and iPod indeed gets most of the limelight, but it is company’s old Macintosh computer business that defied a broad slowdown in consumer spending to deliver... 

There’s been a lot of buzz about Microsoft’s Live Mesh. The live mesh team shares their thoughts and experiences - “We started by asking ourselves a series of questions about our own digital lifestyle experiences, and examining the role of the web in our lives. We examined many of the ways the web is becoming more central to us – both work style and lifestyle. We’re friending, twittering,... 

Yahoo Inc. moved closer to outsourcing its search advertising to Google Inc. after an initial test of the system yielded what the two firms deemed positive results, people familiar with the matter said. A partnership could give Yahoo some needed leverage as it tries to ward off an unwelcome $42 billion bid from Microsoft Corp. Some view the potential pact as mere gamesmanship, particularly in light... 

April 9 - Honeywell International Inc. won its biggest business jet engine order, beating two rivals for a $23 billion contract from Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA. Honeywell will build engines for two new Embraer planes over the next decade, the companies said after the close of U.S. stock markets yesterday. The contract is the Brazilian company’s first engine order with Morris Township,... 

Microsoft issued a three-week ultimatum Saturday for Yahoo to accept its 44.6-billion-dollar takeover offer or face a hostile battle for the support of the Internet giant’s shareholders. In an open letter to the Yahoo board of directors, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer accused the company of avoiding serious negotiations over its February 1 offer and warned that any further delays could... 

GENEVA - Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis on Monday laid the ground for a near 40 billion dollar (25.5 billion euros) takeover of the world’s biggest eye care company Alcon from food giant Nestle in a bid to boost its healthcare portfolio. Nestle, also based in Switzerland, said it would use the funds from the sale to support opportunities for growth as it seeks to expand in the nutrition,...