Anheuser-Busch InBev’s chief executive says a study of SABMiller’s African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival.

Amazon has notched up a Prime fourth quarter, surprising investors with a profit that soundly beat expectations, despite a continued increase in spending and a slight sales miss, partly linked to the strong dollar.

AstraZeneca’s stock has been rising for two weeks on growing expectations the British pharmaceutical firm will re-engage in merger negotiations with Pfizer after the partial expiration of a cooling-off period.

General Motors recalled another 8.45 million more vehicles yesterday — surpassing the record for US safety fixes by an carmaker in a calendar year, as chief executive Mary Barra steps up efforts to shed GM’s reputation for foot-dragging on defective parts.

Pfizer has reported quarterly revenue well below Wall Street expectations on falling sales of generic medicines, underscoring its interest in pursuing a $106bn (€76bn) bid for rival AstraZeneca to promote new business growth.

Manchester United have kicked off their stock market flotation in a move which values the club at around £1.5bn (€1.9bn) .

Manchester United will kick off their stock market flotation today in a move which could value the club at more than £2bn (€2.54bn).

Depending on who you ask, Facebook is either the best company to go public since Google or the hallmark of another tech bubble.

Online retailer Amazon disappointed investors last night after its forecast for profits in the current quarter came in short of expectations.

Burger King Corp’s franchisees took aim at the fast-food chain’s management, complaining to the restaurant’s board about a series of decisions they say are “ill-conceived” and put the burger joint’s business in “deep trouble”.

SHOW jumper Denis Lynch won the grand prix at the Samsung Super League Show in La Baule, France, yesterday, bringing the curtain down on a great weekend for the Irish.