Toshiba, Hitachi and Sony to form LCD display company

Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba are planning a joint venture to make small and medium-sized LCD displays for tablet PCs and smartphones.

They will use money from the Japanese government to help them compete with rivals from Taiwan and South Korea.

Land Rover confirms new version of its Defender model

Land Rover will release an all-new version of its Defender model in 2015, it has confirmed.

The carmaker has also released the first images of the concept car upon which the new Defender will be based, the DC100.

Banking reforms 'may not happen until 2015'

Any shake-up of British banks may not come into force for several years, government sources have indicated.

Although legislation could be passed to "split up" leading banks before 2015's scheduled general election, changes may not take effect until after that date.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has said changes will go ahead and denied any splits with the Tories on the issue.

Mobile firm on rural net crusade

Mobile operator Three is giving away 3G broadband to rural areas struggling to get fixed line services.

Initially it plans to give 11 communities in the UK free dongles and access for a year.

It claims the initiative is part of its commitment to government, which wants to ensure isolated communities have decent broadband services.

Google boss 'knew about' unlicensed pharmacy adverts

Google's chief executive Larry Page knew that adverts for unlicensed Canadian pharmacies were running on its US site, according to a government prosecutor.

Rhode Island attorney Peter Neronha told the Wall Street Journal that incriminating emails had been uncovered as part of an official investigation.

RBS agrees to end work for Belarus

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said it will no longer do fundraising work for the Belarus government following a campaign by human rights groups.

Free Belarus Now and Index on Censorship argued that companies such as RBS were helping to support the regime of "Europe's last dictator".

Bank regulation 'risks recovery' says Angela Knight

UK banks need to focus on lending and paying back taxpayers, and should not be distracted by more regulation, the head of the British Bankers' Association has said.

Angela Knight said regulatory change could undermine the recovery.

BT to increase phone call charges by 5%

Telecoms giant BT is to raise call charges for residential customers by up to 5% on 3 December - the second increase this year.

UK landline calls will go up from 7.6p a minute to 7.95p a minute. Line rental prices will also rise, but calls to mobiles will be unchanged.

The changes come after a 10% rise in call charges a year ago, and a 9% increase in April.

JP Morgan pays $88.5m to settle sanction violations

JP Morgan Chase has agreed with the US Treasury Department to pay $88.3m (£54.2m) to avoid liability for "apparent violations" of sanctions against Cuba, Sudan, Liberia and Iran.

The Treasury said such violations, which took place between March 2005 and March 2011, were "egregious".

Diageo boosted by emerging markets

Diageo, the drinks group behind brands such as Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker has reported a 5% rise in annual profits.

Pre-tax profits for the year to the end of June came in at £2.36bn, as growth in emerging markets and North America made up for problems in Europe.

Warren Buffett invests $5bn in Bank of America

Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway has announced it is investing $5bn (£3.1bn) in Bank of America.

News of the world famous investor's decision sent Bank of America's shares more than 25% higher.

Steve Jobs quits as Apple chief

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive of the technology giant and will be replaced by chief operating officer Tim Cook.

Mr Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant following pancreatic cancer, said he could no longer meet his chief executive's duties and expectations.

The Silicon Valley legend will become chairman of the firm.

Acer shares fall after warning of further losses

Shares in Taiwanese PC maker Acer fell after the company posted worse-than-expected losses and said it was "impossible" to break even this year.

The firm posted a net loss of 6.8bn Taiwanese dollars ($234m;£143m) from April to June, compared with a profit of NT$3.6bn a year earlier.

Google pays $500m to settle drug advertising case

Internet giant Google has agreed to forfeit $500m (£306m) for publishing online adverts from Canadian pharmacies selling illegal drugs to US customers.

By reaching a settlement, Google will avoid criminal prosecution in the US for profiting from the adverts.

Euro ban for Samsung Galaxy phone

Samsung has been banned from selling three models of its Galaxy smartphones in a number of European countries.

The preliminary injunction was handed down by a court in the Netherlands after Apple filed a claim for patent infringement.

It claimed that Samsung had copied technology owned by Apple relating to the way photos are displayed on mobile devices.

UBS to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide

Swiss banking group UBS has announced it is to cut 3,500 jobs globally as part of its cost savings programme.

Some 45% of the job losses will fall on its investment bank.

The move was widely anticipated after the banking group announced plans last month to find 2bn Swiss francs ($2.5bn, £1.5bn) of annual savings.

Foster's reports annual loss of $93m

Australian brewer Foster's has reported an annual loss as it tries to fend off a hostile takeover bid by SABMiller.

Foster's reported a loss of 89m Australian dollars ($93m; £56.5m) for the year ending 30 June.

Despite the loss, Foster's said it planned to return A$500m to shareholders.

Toyota and Ford to collaborate on hybrid SUVs

Carmakers Toyota and Ford have agreed to collaborate a new hybrid system for SUVs and light trucks.

The two said they will work as equal partners under a memorandum of understanding they have signed.

They will jointly develop a rear-wheel drive powertrain to be available later this decade, which they will then each install in their own separate vehicles.

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn

Internet giant Google has announced a deal to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn (£7.7bn).

A joint statement said the boards of both companies had unanimously approved the deal, which should be completed by the end of this year, or early in 2012.

Earlier this year, Motorola split into two separate companies.

AIG sues Bank of America for $10bn bad debt losses

Insurance group AIG is suing Bank of America (BoA) for $10bn (£6.1bn), accusing the lender of carrying out a "massive fraud" on bad mortgage debt.

AIG alleges that BoA exaggerated the quality of the $28bn worth of mortgage-backed investment products it bought from the bank prior to the 2008 turmoil in the financial markets.

US man charged over Facebook spam turns himself in

A US man charged with sending more than 27 million spam messages to Facebook users has turned himself in.

Sanford Wallace, who is known as the "Spam King", surrendered to FBI agents in California.

Google hits out at rivals over 'bogus patents'

Google has accused rivals Microsoft and Apple of buying up technology patents in a bid to hold back Android.

In a blog post, one of Google's top lawyers accused the firms of using "bogus patents" to crank up the cost of Android-powered devices.