GM Corp reports larger loss
New York: Embattled automaker General Motors Corp's shares dived on news of accounting problems and losses reported by the company.

Shares of GM were down on Dow were down $0.65 to $21.57, a fall of 3 per cent in midday trading Friday. This is after the company announced late Thursday that it was raising estimates of its net loss by $2 billion to $10.6 billion for the year.

While the company's operating loss remained unchanged in the restatement, the widening net loss was due to increasing special charges related to its financial problems.
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Softbank buys Vodafone's Japan unit
Tokyo: Softbank will acquire Vodafone's Japan business for 1.8 trillion Yen (8.8 billion pounds). The development will culminate in the conglomerate becoming a communications powerhouse with a strong foothold in Japan's $78 billion (44 billion pounds) mobile market.

The deal also marks the first real retreat from an expansionist strategy that Vodafone has followed for years, as it faces pressure to focus on its slowing core European operations and return cash to investors.

Vodafone's shares were 0.6 per cent higher at 130-3/4 pence by 1:25 p.m., having gained over 16 percent since it first announced talks to sell the business earlier this month.

Softbank shares closed 4 per cent up at 3,020 yen in Tokyo.

Softbank, which has eyed Japan's mobile market for years, said it would borrow 1.1 trillion-1.2 trillion yen via a bridge loan to fund the acquisition. The deal, according to data provider Dealogic is the sixth largest in Japan's history.
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