Bankruptcies and defaults gather pace

The number of companies defaulting on their junk-rated debt and filing for bankruptcy in North America is running at its fastest pace in five years amid the slowing economy and contraction in credit markets

• AIG plunges to record loss
• In depth: Credit squeeze

Two groups to sell iPhone in Italy

Apple has struck deals with Vodafone and Telecom Italia under which both mobile phone operators will sell the US computer company’s phone

Slim pickings may favour O’Reilly

Carlos Slim, the Mexican industrialist, has taken a stake of just over 1 per cent in Independent News & Media, the Irish newspaper group controlled by Sir Anthony O’Reilly

Lex: Call off the search

Investors can expect another round in the saga of Microsoft and Yahoo at some point. In the meantime, the longer it can help to delay any tie-up between its competitors, the better Google will do

ENRC takes Brazilian iron ore mine stake

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, the Kazakh­stan metals and mining group listed in London, has taken a first step outside the CIS with the acquisition of Bahia Mineracao Limitada, a mining company in Brazil

Venezuela nationalises top steelmaker

President Hugo Chavez said the government will take control of the country’s top steelmaker, Argentine-controlled Ternium Sidor, even as negotiations with the company continue

Petrobras confident over deep water well

Brazil’s national oil company says reserves from wells being drilled in the offshore Carioca field could be ‘huge’, but it could face ‘challenges’ in production

Petrobras rules out Mexican service role

Petrobras would not be willing to work in Mexico as a service company, being paid a set rate rather than taking a share of oil production, according to Sergio Gabrielli, its chief executive