Vedanta awaits ruling on Asarco

The Indian mining group expects a court-ordered resolution this month of its $2.56bn bid for Asarco, the bankrupt US copper miner, that executives give a ‘50-50’ chance of success

• Tata Steel hit by sharp decline in prices

Huawei of China picked for Telenor 4G upgrade

The loss of a big contract in their Nordic stronghold underscores the challenge facing Ericsson and NSN as competition from China increases and capital expenditure by mobile operators remains weak

Sanyo sell-off startles traders

Sanyo Electric’s shares plunge 20% after Panasonic started its tender offer for the company – in spite of the price having been public for nearly a year

Toyota posts first profit in four quarters

The Japanese carmaker says its full-year loss would be less than half what it had previously forecast, owing to cost cuts and government incentives that have reversed a fall in demand

Bullish debut for Chinese property IPO

Evergrande Real Estate staged a strong debut in Hong Kong on Thursday, shrugging off the cool investor response to a flood of recent Chinese property offerings

Transurban spurns A$6.8bn Canadian bid

Transurban, owner of toll roads in Australia and the US, said it had rejected a A$6.8bn takeover proposal from two Canadian pension schemes because it undervalued the group

Crisis hits banks’ ship loans in Asia

Half the institutions that provide shipping finance in the region have pulled out because of the global financial turmoil, highlighting the dramatic slowdown in credit availability for the sector

Japan’s retail investors lose faith in rally

Japanese retail investors are the least optimistic about the outlook for the country’s stock market since April, a monthly Nomura survey shows