Germany’s Siemens AG has signed multi-billion euro deals to supply railway technologies and wind power to Russia.

Under the agreements, Siemens will modernise 22 railway switching yards by 2026 and supply Russian Railways (RZD) with 240 regional trains (a total of 1,200 coaches)over the next 10 years.

The trains will be a specialised version of the Desiro, which will be produced in Russia starting in 2012. Siemens is planning a joint venture with RZD subsidiary Aeroexpress to manufacture the trains.

10. Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman, a business unit of Marsh & McLennan, is an international management consulting firm. Founded in 1984, the firm adopted its current form in May 2007 through the combination of three global consulting businesses.

Calgary-based SMART Technologies Inc., a global producer of interactive whiteboards used in schools and businesses, has raised $660 million in the second-biggest initial public offering in the US this year. It is the biggest IPO by a Canadian technology company in at least a decade.

The European Commission has given the go-ahead for British Airways to enter a joint business agreement with American Airlines after the companies agreed to competition safeguards.

The approval gives the airlines immunity from anti-trust laws that would have prevented them from combining their transatlantic wings. The airlines will now pool revenues, work together on ticketing and co-ordinate schedules.

The strengthening of their Oneworld Alliance on European to North American routes allows them to better compete with rival groups, BA has argued.

Miami International Airport passengers and South Florida rental car customers now have a convenient, one-stop shop for all their rental car needs just east of MIA in the middle of Miami-Dade County.

Second-quarter figures from Intel, the world's largest microchip maker, kicked off the technology results season with a bang.

With quarterly results expected from Google and chip maker AMD Thursday, IBM and Microsoft next week and Cisco in August, the next few weeks should reveal a great deal about the state of the economic recovery.

Mining group African Minerals has signed a deal with a Chinese steelmaker for a $1.5 billion (£989 million) investment that will help it develop what could be the biggest iron ore mine in the world.

The memorandum of understanding which has been signed with Shandong Iron & Steel—one of the world's largest mill operators—is subject to due diligence and the two parties agreeing a discount for the iron ore produced.

Chicago based insurance conglomerate Aon Corp. has agreed to buy human resources specialist Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that will almost triple the size of its consulting arm.

Assuming it is approved by regulators, the deal, which values Hewitt at $50 per share, will be Aon’s biggest ever merger. Although it is the world’s largest insurance broker, Aon’s consulting business lags behind rival Marsh & McLennan Co.

BP has announced it has fitted a larger, tighter containment cap on the ruptured Gulf of Mexico wellhead that has been leaking oil since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April.

The company will test the new cap's internal pressure shortly by closing its valves. If successful, the company hopes the new cap will stem the flow until more permanent measures can be taken.