AFP Business

European Union competition regulators approved on Monday the $12.5-billion takeover of Motorola Mobility by Google, judging the move unlikely to impact on the market for smartphone operating systems. "We have approved the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google because, upon careful examination, this transaction does not itself raise competition issues," said Joaquin Almunia , the EU's anti-trust commissioner. An investigation centred on whether Google might make it harder for big-selling...Read Full Story

Scandal-hit Olympus on Monday reported a net loss of 33.08 billion yen ($426 million) for the nine months to December amid a massive accounting cover-up that has tarnished the image of corporate Japan. For the full-year to March, the camera maker also said it expects a net loss of 32.0 billion yen, owing to one-off costs unrelated to the loss scandal. The forecast is the first since the scandal broke last year, with the company previously saying it could not make a full-year projection...Read Full Story

French nuclear power group Areva's purchase of Canadian uranium producer UraMin in 2007 for a high price was preceded by suspicious stock trades indicative of insider trading, a report said Saturday. The controversial deal valued UraMin at more than $2.5 billion (1.89 billion euros) and was struck during peak demand for enriched uranium as nuclear energy was making a comeback amid concern over global warming and high oil prices. Research conducted by La Presse de Montreal newspaper, however...Read Full Story

Austria's coalition government announced on Friday a five-year austerity plan to claw back 26.7 billion euros ($35.2 billion) in savings and increased tax revenue. The target would primarily be reached through spending cuts but one third would be achieved through increased taxes, the government said. Austria's regions will be asked to slash spending by 5.2 billion euros. The austerity package is intended to put the country in line with European Union rules on public deficits and make Austria...Read Full Story

Greek unions Friday unleashed a 48-hour strike against new austerity measures to go before parliament and required by the European Union and the IMF in exchange for badly needed aid. The measures, dubbed "the grave of Greek society," sparked a strike call by the CSEE and Adedy unions that together claim more than a million members. The Greek population totals a little more than 10.7 million. Protestors were called again to Syntagma Square , the scene of often violent demonstrations against...Read Full Story