China's second-biggest life insurer Ping An Insurance said Thursday it had bought a 4.18 percent stake in Fortis NV for ?1.81 billion (US$2.67 billion), becoming the Dutch-Belgian company's single biggest shareholder.

  A government soft loan to rescue Malaysia's main port authority mired in debts of US$1 billion (?700 million) is not tantamount to a bailout as it will be repaid in full, a Cabinet minister said Thursday.

  U.S. foreclosure filings nearly doubled in October from the same month last year, the latest sign many homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and increasingly losing their homes, according to a mortgage research company.

  ZMP of Japan began selling a two-legged walking robot Thursday that runs on Microsoft's new robotics software ?a product the companies said will make it easier to transfer technology from one robot to another.

  Toyota began recalling 264,000 luxury passenger vehicles over faulty fuel pipes Thursday, including 49,000 flagship Lexus cars sold overseas, the company said.

  More than 10,000 workers have walked off the job at a South Korean-owned plant that makes sneakers for Nike Inc., demanding higher pay to keep pace with rising prices in booming Vietnam, officials said Thursday.

  National Australia Bank Ltd. said Thursday it agreed to buy privately-held U.S. regional lender Great Western Bank for US$798 million (?541 million) as it expands its agribusiness banking model into the Midwest farming region.

  The U.S. dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies in European trading Thursday. Gold was mixed.

  Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) said Thursday that third-quarter net profit fell 31 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, which was lifted by an exceptional gain.

  Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) said Thursday that third-quarter net profit fell 31 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, which was lifted by an exceptional gain.

  The 13-nation euro fell against the U.S. dollar Thursday as consumer confidence slipped in France, one of Europe's largest economies.

  Bank of England Governor Mervyn King warned that there is a risk of a more substantial credit squeeze in the coming months as the bank revealed Thursday that it will offer extra funds in an auction next month to ease an anticipated dry up in funding at the end of the year.

  Oil prices were up around US$2 a barrel on Thursday but moving lower after news that two of the four pipelines carrying crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Midwest were back online after being shut down due to an explosion and fire.

  U.S. stock futures fell Thursday as investors digested a mix of corporate and economic news, including weaker-than-expected earnings from Sears Holdings Corp. and a strong reading on U.S. economic growth in the third quarter.