BMW will recall around 150,000 vehicles in North America to fix a possible defect that may keep the front passenger airbag from opening in a crash, Reuters reported. The voluntary recall concerns the front passenger airbag seat sensor mat in certain 2004-2006 model year vehicles, a company spokesman in Munich said. U.S. traffic safety regulators

U.S. online auctioneer eBay Inc is seeking to buy a minority stake in Gmarket Inc, lifting shares of the South Korean online retailer by as much as 16%, Reuters reported. Some on Wall Street saw the move as the first step toward eBay taking over Gmarket and removing it as a competitor in South Korea,

Despite the economy losing some of its momentum, the overall performance of the Sixt Group was satisfactory in the first half of 2008, with consolidated operating revenue from vehicle rental and leasing activities (excluding the sale of used leasing vehicles) rising 13.6% to EUR 737.3 mln (H1 2007: EUR 649.0 mln). Growth rates in vehicle

The first half of the 2008 financial year developed satisfactorily for Austrian Post. The 7.3% increase in revenue is not only related to the initial consolidation of the newly-acquired subsidiaries, but also includes organic growth. This development is even more gratifying in the light of the loss of two important mail order customers in the

Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG continued to report strong growth in the first half of 2008, generated sales of EUR 140.1 mln in the first six months of 2008 (prior-year period: EUR 61.1 mln), while operating earnings (EBIT) reached EUR 18.4 mln compared to EUR 9.0 mln the previous year. In the fist half-year 2008 the German

World stocks rose on Thursday from the previous session's one-month low, helped by firmer commodities, while European currencies slipped as concerns grew that the region's economy might already be in recession. Oil rebounded above $116 a barrel after crude and gasoline stocks data raised supply concerns, lifting other commodities from gold to wheat and boosting

U.S. foreclosure activity in July rose 55% from a year earlier as a slump in once-sizzling housing markets forced yet more borrowers to default on their mortgages, according to a monthly report. Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — rose 8% from June and 55% from July 2007 to 272,171,