Spain’s Telefonica has reached an initial agreement to buy Portugal Telecom’s stake in Brazil’s Vivo Participacoes after raising its bid a third time to €7.5 billion, according to reports.

The agreement was said to be reached late yesterday, with the boards of both companies yet to ratify it. Madrid-based Telefonica holds its monthly board meeting today.

Motorists who buy a hybrid vehicle in the belief that it will save them money are mistaken, according to research carried out by the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA).

Twelve years after Honda introduced the first gas-electric hybrid vehicle into the mass North American market, car buyers have yet to see the kinds of price reductions that were predicted to occur as hybrids gained popularity and market share, according to the BCAA’s annual Hybrid Cost and Savings analysis conducted in July.

African Barrick Gold has reported a half year net profit rise of 217 per cent.

Profits at the miner soared to $99 million (approx. €76 million) on the back of increased production and the rising price of gold.

Revenue rose by 64 per cent to $424 million (approx. €326 million) and production by 23 per cent to 356,208 ounces. Realised gold prices jumped by 28 per cent to $1,155 (approx €888) per ounce.

Harry Winston Diamond Corporation has said it will purchase a nine percent interest in Canada’s Diavik diamond mine from Kinross Gold Corporation for approximately US$220 million.

Kinross acquired the Diavik diamond mine from Toronto-based Harry Winston in March 2009 for $150 million. At the time, the company said: "We've followed the diamond industry in Canada for some time and felt this was a good time to make an investment in both Harry Winston and the partnership."

Shareholders in Dana Petroleum are attempting to force the UK-based oil explorer to open takeover talks with South Korean suitor Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC), according to reports.

The Financial Times has reported that Schroders, Dana's biggest shareholder with a 13 per cent stake, has urged its board to engage with KNOC over its £1.67 billion indicative offer.

Reporting its second quarter 2010 results today, Ford Motor Company announced the company’s best quarterly performance since the first quarter of 2004, with each of its major business operations around the world recording improved profits.

The company posted net income of $2.6 billion (61 cents per share), an improvement of $338 million over the second quarter of 2009.

Johnson Controls, a global technology and industrial leader, has reported a 22 percent increase in revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, with higher sales in each of its three business segments.

Net income in the quarter ended June 30 rose to $418 million (61 cents per share), up from $163 million (26 cents per share), in the same period last year. Revenue rose 22 percent to $8.54 billion. The company also said earnings for fiscal 2010 are expected to be at the high end of its previously disclosed guidance.

De Beers, the name synonymous with diamonds, reported increased earnings for the six months ended June 30, with both sales volumes and prices increasing significantly following an increase in demand for rough diamonds.

In a statement released today, De Beers reported net earnings of $301 million, up from $3 million a year ago. Production increased by 133 percent to 15.4 million carats and sales of rough diamonds were up 84 percent to $2.6 billion.

UK-based snack food manufacturer United Biscuits, whose brands include McVitie's, Jacob’s and KP Nuts, is to be put up for sale by its private equity owners, Blackstone and PAI Partners.

A number of banks, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, are understood to be in competition to handle the sale, which is likely to begin in the autumn.

For an unprecedented third year in a row, Lockheed Martin was named Top-Performing Company in the "Revenues Greater than $20 Billion" category by AVIATION WEEK.

Companies were rated in several categories that relate to operational excellence in program management, budget and schedule discipline, risk management, fair-price acquisitions, scale and common process, supplier innovation and operational excellence.