First-quarter net profits for Irish airline Ryanair have leapt a massive 550 per cent on the back of lower fuel prices, it announced yesterday.

US and Canadian courts are expected on Tuesday to approve Ericsson's $1.1 billion bid for most of the core wireless assets of Canadian telecoms equipment company Nortel Networks.  The deal, which includes NortelÔÇÖs profitable CDMA wireless equipment operations and its next-generation long-term evolution (LTE) assets, will gain Swedish firm Ericsson important CDMA contracts with network operators Verizon, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Bell Canada and Leap Wireless.

US and Canadian courts are expected on Tuesday to approve Swedish firm Ericsson's $1.1 billion (Ôé¼770 million) bid for most of the core wireless assets of Canadian telecoms equipment company Nortel Networks.

US and Canadian courts are expected on Tuesday to approve Swedish firm Ericsson's $1.1 billion (Ôé¼770 million) bid for most of the core wireless assets of Canadian telecoms equipment company Nortel Networks.

The worldÔÇÖs largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, is reportedly exploring a joint venture spinoff of its stainless steel business worth an estimated ┬ú1.82 billion.

US refiner Valero Energy may be seeking to make a bid for New Zealand Refining, which owns the Australasian countryÔÇÖs only oil refinery, according to reports.  NZ Refining also makes 70 percent of all New ZealandÔÇÖs fuel. ┬áSan Antonio, Texas-based Valero is said to be interested in either a majority stake or full ownership of the company.  Seventeen percent of NZ refining has been up for grabs since Royal Dutch Shell, EuropeÔÇÖs largest oil company, revealed it was looking to sell its stake.

Spain's Cosmen family has teamed up with private equity group CVC to make a joint takeover bid for UK transport group National Express, in a deal that could be worth over £500 million.

Spain's Cosmen family has teamed up with private equity group CVC to make a joint takeover bid for UK transport group National Express, in a deal that could be worth over £500 million.

Online retailing giant Amazon has agreed to buy online shoe retailer Zappos for around $928 million, the biggest acquisition in its fourteen-year history.

The UK government has announced a £1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.