The board of Anglo American would surely consider a merger proposal from Xstrata at a price that recognized Anglo's top-tier assets, major Anglo shareholder Old Mutual said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy reignites France's long-running battle over Sunday shopping this week as lawmakers begin debate on a bill that would allow more French stores to open on the day of rest.

Foot Locker Inc's shares could rise up to 50 percent in the next year as a reorganization of the athletic shoe retailer positioned it to sprint when the U.S. economy starts to recover.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, whose shares have lagged this year in the retail industry, could bring hefty gains for options traders betting on back-to-school sales and the beginning of the holiday season.

Aeon Co Ltd, Japan's second-largest retailer, will likely post a 2 billion yen ($21 million) net loss for the March-May first quarter due to sluggish sales.

JJB Sports shares dropped 17 percent to 25.5 pence after the British sports retailer says it is looking at an equity fundraising

The Lafuma group (Lafuma, Eider, Oxbow...) has produced its first carbon report, which will address the entirety of its activities across the sixty countries where it is present, aiming to measure the global impact of its undertakings on the environment.

For more than forty years Havaïanas have made only flip-flops. With millions of pairs sold each year the brand can afford the luxury of only producing one type of shoe, but that is about to change; from 2010 the brand will be releasing three new lines.

For the fourth consecutive year the NPD Group, a market research firm, published its study on the global sport market, which showed that world sales of equipment, clothing and sports shoes stayed relatively stable in 2008 at €219 billion, decreasing 4% year on year.

Gold has long had a special attraction for Indians. Loaded with cultural and religious significance, it is considered an auspicious metal and a visible sign of wealth and prosperity.

Zimbabwe will re-evaluate all mining contracts and introduce a "use it or lose it" policy for its mining industry under a proposed law, the country's Finance Minister Tendai Bit said.

Mining exploration company Jubilee Platinum Plc said it had made an offer to acquire platinum and nickel producer Braemore Resources Plc in a share offer.

Global miner Rio Tinto wrapped up one of the world's biggest rights issues, saying its Australian shareholders had taken up 94.76 percent of their entitlements to the new shares.

The recession is forcing many U.S. retailers to focus on their key brands and pull the plug on secondary lines - a move that could have the added benefit of helping them return to their more successful roots.

Goodbye "fashionista" brands, where neither the price nor the planet counts. The recession has made recycled "recessionista chic" a hit at Berlin Fashion Week -- some of it even organic and free trade.