AFP - US stocks closed narrowly mixed Friday as falling oil prices tamped down inflation worries and the dollar continued to rally on mounting signs of a slowing global economy.

Reuters - Electronic Arts Inc will drop its hostile $2 billion bid for rival video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc on Monday and instead pursue private talks with the company.

Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as uneasiness about the prospect of more losses from the mortgage crisis bruised shares of banks and the two big U.S. home finance companies.

Reuters - General Motors Corp will offer employee-level pricing on nearly 90 percent of inventory for its main Chevrolet brand as part of a new nationwide sales promotion, a dealer briefed on the plans said on Monday.

Reuters - Home builder sentiment was stuck at a record low in August, as stringent lending and a flood of foreclosed homes dragged on the real estate market, according to data from the National Association of Home Builders released on Monday.

Reuters - Retailer Lowe's Cos reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as U.S. consumers spent tax rebate checks on spring projects, but it forecast third-quarter results below Wall Street estimates.

AFP - Leading shares closed lower Friday as commodity stocks dragged down the FTSE despite better-than-expected US data.

Reuters - U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. has pulled out of its longtime sponsorship of the Academy Awards, one of the biggest annual events on broadcast television, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Reuters - General Motors Corp has had preliminary talks with Hunan Changfeng Motor Co (600991.SS) on a possible sale of its Hummer brand but the Chinese sport utility vehicle (SUV) maker has backed off, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Reuters - Some analysts are girding for a third-quarter loss of $1.8 billion or more from U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , instead of the modest profit they had previously expected, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Reuters - Top miner BHP Billiton , bidding for rival Rio Tinto in what would be the world's second-biggest takeover, posted a 12.4 percent rise in full-year net profit to a record $15.4 billion, as Chinese demand stoked a commodities boom.

Reuters - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) (8306.T), Japan's largest bank, said on Monday it had sweetened its bid for control of U.S. unit UnionBanCal Corp by about 17 percent to $3.5 billion.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets extended gains on Friday after an overnight rally on Wall Street which also helped to lift Japanese share prices, dealers said.

Reuters - Bolstered by falling oil prices and a rising dollar, stocks could extend their modest gains this week, even in the face of still troubling consumer- and housing-related data.