Britain’s Conservative Party considering bank privatization plans in case of election victory

LONDON — Britain’s Conservative Party, which holds a hefty lead over the governing Labour Party in the opinion polls, is looking at ways of selling off the British government’s equity stakes in Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to ordinary shareholders should it win the next general election, a spokesman for Conservatives said Monday.

Cadbury chairman says Kraft bid undervalues company, opposes being absorbed by US food giant

DALLAS — The chairman of candy maker Cadbury PLC said Saturday that Kraft Foods Inc. undervalued his company in a takeover offer this week, and he dismissed the suitor as a “low growth conglomerate.”

Wells Fargo downgrades AIG, says ‘no tangible book value’; 2nd cut this week after Aug rally

NEW YORK — Wells Fargo Securities downgraded American International Group. Inc. to its lowest rating Friday, saying the insurer has “virtually no tangible book value at the moment” and the recent volatility in its shares, including a huge rally in August, is a mystery.

Sterlite Industries makes higher $2.57B bid for Asarco, topping rival Grupo Mexico’s offer

DENVER — Sterlite Industries Ltd. raised its bid Friday for Asarco LLC by 20 percent to $2.57 billion in cash, topping rival Grupo Mexico’s offer to regain control of the mining company that has been operating under bankruptcy protection.

Road ahead for new Opel won’t be easy; labor concessions, plant closings expected

BERLIN — GM’s decision to sell Opel to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and a Russian bank was a political victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but the carmaker’s future success is far from guaranteed.

New Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to inherit bank still facing questions about direction

NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley’s incoming CEO will be facing a drastically different landscape on Wall Street from when John Mack took over in 2005.

PepsiCo says TRC bids for 2M shares at discount, and says shareholders should turn down offer

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Food and drink maker PepsiCo Inc. said Thursday it was notified of a mini-tender offer made by TRC Capital Corp., and said its shareholders should not tender their stock because the bid is below market value.

Ohio company seeks $8.7B in stimulus money to make passenger trains for Obama’s rail plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio — State transportation officials agreed Thursday to support a private company’s bid to make passenger trains that would run on President Barack Obama’s proposed high-speed rail network.

Procter & Gamble cuts prices, boosts promotions to pave way for sales rebound this year

CINCINNATI — The world’s largest consumer products maker is finding that “new and improved” is still good, but “lower price” is working better.

GM offers refund to car buyers as part of new marketing campaign to win back consumers

MILWAUKEE — Looking to regain consumers’ trust, General Motors Co. said Thursday new car buyers will be able to return their vehicles within two months of purchase for a full refund, part of a long-awaited new marketing campaign for the biggest American automaker.

Former managers says ArmorGroup lowballed bid, cut corners on embassy security in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Former managers for the security contractor protecting the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan said Thursday the company lowballed its bid for the work and then outfitted a badly understaffed guard corps with second-rate gear.

Opel Trust approves sale of majority stake of GM European unit opel to Magna, Sberbank

BERLIN — The Opel Trust has given its approval for the sale of General Motors Co’s European unit Opel to a consortium of Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.

GM European unit Opel to go to Magna, Sberbank consortium

BERLIN — General Motors Co. will sell European unit Opel to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and Russia’s Sberbank in a deal that preserves GM’s ability to develop new cars with its longtime subsidiary.

Former manager says ArmorGroup lowballed bid, cut corners on embassy security in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — A former manager for the security contractor protecting the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan says the company lowballed its bid for the work and then failed to hire enough guards or fix faulty equipment.

Sources: GM to pick Magna for Opel investment, press conference scheduled this afternoon

BERLIN — Two German officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that General Motors Co. will recommend selling its Opel unit to Canada’s Magna International Inc.

AP sources: GM to recommend Magna for Opel investment

BERLIN — Two German officials have told The Associated Press that General Motors Co. will recommend selling its Opel unit to Canada’s Magna International Inc.

GM weighs options for Opel including keeping it, bankruptcy, sale to 2 possible investors

DETROIT — The new General Motors Co. board apparently has decided what to do with its troubled German-based Opel unit, but nothing will be made public until German government officials and Opel’s board are notified early Thursday, a person familiar with the situation said.

Boston Globe workers told by Times Co. that newspaper’s finances improving, sale not certain

BOSTON — Executives at the parent company of The Boston Globe say that the newspaper’s finances have improved significantly and that a sale is not a certainty.

Analyst downgrades DreamWorks Animation, poking hole in acquisition speculation

LOS ANGELES — An analyst downgraded the shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. on Wednesday, saying speculation it would be bought by a media giant was unfounded.

Bankruptcy judge faults both Philly newspapers, creditors in dispute over ‘Keep It Local’ ads

PHILADELPHIA — Local investors hoping to win Philadelphia Newspapers at a bankruptcy auction should pay for the newspapers’ “Keep It Local!” publicity campaign, a judge suggested Wednesday.

GM considers Opel outcomes including retention, bankruptcy; 2 investors also considered

FRANKFURT — A person familiar with General Motors Co.’s talks on Opel said Wednesday that the company’s board of directors is reviewing four outcomes as it debates the future of its German-based unit, including the possibility of keeping Opel or letting it slide into bankruptcy protection.

CEO Irene Rosenfeld pushes for Cadbury acquisition, hopes to boost productivity in Europe

NEW YORK — Kraft Foods Inc. CEO Irene Rosenfeld said Wednesday that she will keep pushing to buy candy maker Cadbury PLC as part of Kraft’s focus on higher-margin brands and international markets, but ratings agencies were wary of the deal.

Vivendi plans €2 billion offer for Brazilian Internet and telecommunications company GVT

PARIS — Vivendi SA will offer euro2 billion ($2.9 billion) to acquire Brazilian Internet and telecommunications company GVT SA, the French media and entertainment company said Wednesday.

Chicago investment banker’s group submits $5 million cash bid for Sun-Times Media Group

CHICAGO — Struggling newspaper publisher Sun-Times Media Group said Tuesday that a private investor group led by Chicago banker James Tyree will bid $5 million in cash for its assets in a bankruptcy court auction.

Canada’s Barrick Gold to eliminate gold hedges, plans $3 billion equity offering

TORONTO — Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s biggest gold producer, said Tuesday it plans to eliminate all of its gold hedges and raise $3 billion in a share offering to help pay for the move.

NHL owner sentenced to 8 plus years in prison for bilking banks to finance lavish lifestyle

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Silicon Valley financier William “Boots” Del Biaggio III to more than eight years in prison for bilking investors and banks — including one he helped launch — out of millions of dollars in a desperate attempt to buy a pro hockey team.

Balsillie offers Glendale $50 million to help clear way in Coyotes bid

PHOENIX — Canadian billionaire James Balsillie has offered the city of Glendale $50 million to quiet its objections to his bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario.

Cash may be key in offer for candy maker Cadbury after rejection of Kraft’s $16.7B bid

PORTLAND, Ore. — British candy maker Cadbury PLC is awaiting a sweeter offer than Kraft Foods Inc.’s $16.7 billion stock-and-cash proposal. But it is unclear if Kraft or other potential suitors — like Hershey Co. and Nestle SA — will put more cash on the line, which could prove key to a deal.

First Solar CEO says planned 2-gigawatt plant would be ‘impossible’ to build in US

NEW YORK — First Solar Inc. said Tuesday it has received initial approval from the Chinese government to build what may become the largest solar field in the world.

Barrick Gold sells stake in silver production at mines to Silver Wheaton for $625 million

DENVER — Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s biggest gold producer, on Tuesday agreed to sell silver reserves from four of its mines to Silver Wheaton Corp. in a deal worth $625 million.