Headlines

Chrysler LLC's creditors have filed a lawsuit against Daimler AG charging that the German automaker unlawfully stripped billions of dollars in assets from the U.S. carmaker before selling it to a private equity firm, The Associated Press reported. In the suit, the creditors claim that in the months leading up to the 2007 sale of most of Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management LP, Daimler undertook a restructuring of Chrysler that removed key parts of the company for little or nothing in return.

Details of a landmark settlement of the U.S. tax case against Swiss bank UBS are expected this week, which should help the bank restore its image and open the way for the Swiss state to sell its UBS stake. The deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday after the first regular meeting of the Swiss cabinet following the summer recess, industry insiders said. The world's second-largest wealth manager will hand over details of about 5,000 client accounts, sources have said, after the signing of a deal agreed last week to end a dispute in which U.S.

Eastern Europe’s severe recession sent retail sales down an outsized 29 percent in Latvia in June compared to a year ago, 20 percent in Lithuania, 17.8 percent in Romania, and 10.5 percent in Bulgaria. The region is getting a cold shower after years of heady growth fueled by cheap bank loans and the euphoria of EU membership in 2004, The Associated Press reported. Latvia, a country of 2.3 million, remains a basket case.

The policy-making board of the Reserve Bank of Australia said for the first time since slashing rates in late 2008 that there could be risks in leaving interest rates too low for too long, and that it is discussing tightening policy. The central bank also said it will look to economic data to determine the timing of interest-rate increases. When discussing the "timing and process" of such a move, it added, the board would weigh the risk of "overstaying a very accommodative setting in a recovering economy" against the risk that an early tightening could choke confidence and demand.

Repros Therapeutics Inc said it does not have enough cash to fund ongoing operations and a failure to raise cash in the immediate short term may result in the filing of bankruptcy and dissolution of the company. The company, which focuses on developing treatments for male and female reproductive disorders, said it has cut the salary of all its employees by 50 percent to reduce expenses, and also posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement to sell its unit Saab Automotive to Sweden's Koenigsegg Group AB, confirming an announcement in June, although government officials warn that more capital is needed before the deal can be closed, BusinessWeek reported. GM said the deal, whose financial details were not disclosed, is subject to a funding commitment for Saab from the European Investment Bank, to be guaranteed by the Swedish government.

World stock markets have fallen despite Japan becoming the latest country to officially come out of recession, the BBC reported. Analysts say that investors are worried that they may have been too quick to predict an economic rebound during recent rallies. Leading Wall Street markets fell about 2% lower after similar losses in the UK, mainland Europe and bigger drops in Asian markets. "There is now a realisation that coming out of a recession is one thing, but building a recovery is another," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

As central bankers keep pumping huge sums into the global financial system, they are also pumping up one of the riskier investment strategies in the currency market, The Wall Street Journal reported. Known as the "carry trade," the strategy involves borrowing money in countries such as Japan where interest rates are low, then investing it where rates are higher and pocketing the difference. After flourishing during the boom years, the trade all but disappeared as big currency swings led to heavy losses amid the financial crisis.

Mexican miner Grupo Mexico SAB de CV said on Monday it would raise its offer for Asarco LLC to $2.2029 billion in cash, as it battles India's Sterlite Industries for control of the bankrupt U.S. copper miner, Reuters reported. In documents filed with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Corpus Christi, Texas, Grupo Mexico said its offer would include full repayment of administrative, priority, secured and asbestos personal injury claims, as well as payment in full on general unsecured claims.

The recession has deflated Russia's oil-fueled construction boom, delaying plans to turn Moscow into a high-rise Dubai of the East, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sudden slump in oil and commodity prices ended eight straight years of economic growth. It also clipped property developers' wings. The $15 billion Moscow-City business district is one of the downturn's most eye-catching victims. Dreamt up as a rival to New York's Manhattan or London's Canary Wharf, the district was a showcase development the Kremlin hoped would reflect Russia's rising clout on the world stage.