TOKYO/BASEL (Reuters) - China and Japan, the biggest buyers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds, praised Washington for its rescue of the ailing mortgage giants, but investors had no illusions the bailout would end the global credit market misery.
(Reuters) - Cigarette maker Altria Group Inc has agreed to buy Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco maker UST Inc for about $10.3 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
EVERETT, Washington/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co's 27,000 machinists prepared for a third day of strike action, halting production at the plane maker's Seattle-area plants in protest at Boeing's contract offer and what they see as plans to shift more jobs to non-union and foreign companies.
PERTH/LONDON (Reuters) - Origin Energy Ltd , fending off an $11 billion hostile bid from Britain's BG Group Plc , is to spin off its coalbed methane assets into a joint venture with U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips .
ROME (Reuters) - Russia aims to corner energy markets, a senior U.S. official said on Monday as Vice-President Dick Cheney arrived in Italy during a tour that has taken in eastern European states which are important transit routes.
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