BAYER TO FLOAT PLASTICS BUSINESS

Bayer said it plans to focus entirely on its life sciences operations, subject to approval by the company's supervisory board.

AWE, ORIGIN IN HUGE WESTERN AUSTRALIA GAS FIND

Australian energy company AWE said it may have made the largest onshore natural-gas discovery in Western Australia for 50 years, in partnership with Origin Energy.

ALIBABA IPO GIVES INSIDERS RARE CHANCE TO SELL EARLY

A swath of early investors in Alibaba Group Holding will be able to sell more than $8 billion worth of shares on the day the Chinese e-commerce company goes public, an unusual arrangement that is influencing how bankers price the offering.

SONY SHARES PLUNGE AFTER EARNINGS WARNING

Sony's share price plunged after the company said that it would post a loss of more than $2 billion in the current fiscal year and stop paying dividends.

HYUNDAI SNAPS UP GANGNAM SITE FOR $10.19 BILLION

Hyundai Motor said its $10.19 billion bid for a plot of land in Seoul's posh Gangnam district beat out fellow South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics.

RWE SAYS TECHNICAL PROBLEMS DELAY PLANT COMPLETION

German utility RWE will be unable to complete its coal-fired power plant in Hamm in the German state of North Rhein-Westphalia as planned, due to technical problems in one of the two plant units.

AIR FRANCE-KLM PILOT STRIKE CAUSES NET LOSS

A strike by pilots at the French arm of Air France-KLM that forced the airline to ground 60% of its planes has so far caused a net loss of between 30 million to 45 million euros, the chief executive said Thursday.