Banking giant Barclays has announced a big rise in its pre-tax profits for the first quarter of this year.

Pennsylvania-based PPL has agreed to buy the US electricity and natural gas unit of Germany's E.ON, the world's largest utility by sales, for $6.7 billion (Ôé¼5 billion) in cash.

Germany's E.ON, the world's largest utility by sales, has agreed to sell its US electricity and natural gas unit to the US company PPL for Ôé¼5 billion in cash.

General Motors has confirmed plans to invest more than $890 million in five North American plants to produce a new generation of fuel-efficient truck and car engines.  The company estimates that the investment will create or retain more than 1,600 jobs at the plants. Two plants will support the engine productionÔÇöTonawanda in New York, which will receive an investment of $400 million, resulting in more than 710 jobs; and St.

Royal Dutch Shell has achieved a quarterly profits rise of nearly 50 per cent on the back of higher oil prices.

Emerson Electric Co. plans to seek meetings with shareholders of the UKÔÇÖs Chloride Group to press the case for a takeover after Chloride rejected EmersonÔÇÖs recent bid.  London-based Chloride dismissed a $1.12 billion offer from Ferguson, Missouri-based Emerson, saying it was too low. ChlorideÔÇÖs shareholders rejected a $1 billion bid from Emerson back in 2008 for the same reason.

Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., a Kazakh metal producer, has purchased 12 per cent of South AfricaÔÇÖs Northam Platinum for around R2.2 billion (Ôé¼223 million), it has been announced.

Charles River Laboratories, a Wilmington, Massachusetts-based drug research company, has signed an agreement to acquire a Chinese pharmaceutical contractor for about $1.6 billion.  Charles River is acquiring WuXi AppTec, a Chinese pharmaceutical outsourcing services provider.

The UKÔÇÖs last remaining ports company, Edinburgh-based Forth Ports, will this week ask the UK Takeover Panel to issue a bid deadline to its suitor, the Northstream consortium, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

Telecoms companies CenturyLink and Qwest have agreed to merge their businesses in a deal which values Qwest at $22.4 billion.  The merger will create the third largest fixed-line carrier in the US after AT&T and VerizonÔÇöboth of whom are focusing on their wireless services for growth. The combined company will serve local markets in 37 states with about five million broadband customers, 17 million wirelines and 850,000 wireless consumers.