Staples may turn hostile on Corporate Express

Staples, the US office supplies company, raised its indicative offer for Dutch rival Corporate Express by 10% and said that it was prepared to launch a hostile bid

• Boise sells paper assets for $3.7bn
• Staples to pay dividends again

Fortis profit falls on further writedowns

Fortis, the financial services group, unveiled a bigger-than-expected fall in first quarter profits following further writedowns related to the credit market

• Lex: Crédit Agricole
• Crédit Agricole plans €5.9bn rights issue

Fresh delays for A380 deliveries

Airbus has told airlines waiting for first deliveries of the A380 superjumbo that there will be yet more delays, as it faces renewed difficulties in bringing the world’s biggest commercial jet into series production

Further delays likely at Kazakh oil field

The start of production at one of the world’s biggest oil fields faces further delays as oil companies developing it battle with the Kazakh government over timing and budget

Hiscox shift helps first quarter figure

Hiscox said a shift from underwriting “big ticket” insurance, such as terrorism or risks in the energy sector,towards less complex retail protection had helped it avoid a damaging first quarter in the insurance sector

Lycos Europe searching for US buyer

The company, a vestige of one of the first internet search engines, is touting itself as a possible acquisition target for a US media or telecoms group seeking scale in Europe’s fragmented online markets

Carphone off Tiscali buyer list

Carphone Warehouse, the UK’s third largest broadband provider, on Monday suffered a significant setback when it was excluded from a shortlist of would-be buyers of Tiscali, the Milan-listed internet company

Renault and Nissan to launch low-cost car

Renault, Nissan and Bajaj Motors are to jointly build a $2,500 car to compete with Tata Motors’ Nano cut-price family model