Patent requests in the Europe reached a record high in 2011, in a telling sign that companies are determined to stay on the cutting edge despite a debt crisis and an uncertain economy. In total 244,437 requests for patents were filed in 2011 at the Munich-based European Patent Office, the body’s annual report showed. That is 3.7% more than 2010. The office, which centralises requests from 38 European... 

German carmaker BMW on Thursday launched its iconic Mini Cooper in India, the latest luxury auto maker to expand in one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets. BMW established a presence in the country in 2006 and has since seen steady growth in sales in India where growing affluence is producing a new upper class with expensive tastes. “With the launch of the Mini, we have brought the world’s... 

Toyota Motor Corp. has increased its 2012 industrywide forecast for U.S. sales of cars and light trucks to the 14 million unit range from 13.6 million, citing rising consumer confidence. “We’re starting to see improvement in consumer confidence, and combined with rising fuel prices and aging vehicles, the market is starting to move,” Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president... 

Russia’s largest automaker, AvtoVAZ, is producing a new passenger vehicle developed with partners Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended a production launch ceremony Wednesday at a factory in Tolyatti in central Russia, autographing the first Lada Largus assembled there. AvtoVAZ has been testing the facility, which was modernized with help from the Renault-Nissan... 

Forbes’ annual report finds the average value of Major League Baseball teams has increased 16% from last year to an all-time high of $605 million. The New York Yankees, worth $1.85 billion, lead the way for the 15th straight year since Forbes began valuing the clubs in 1998. Only two teams’ values didn’t increase: the New York Mets and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Los Angeles Dodgers were second at... 

Household confidence improved last week to a four-year high as more Americans said the economy was improving and decided it was a good time to shop. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 36.7 in the period ended March 4, the highest since April 2008, up from minus 38.8 in the prior period. The gauge on the state of the economy reached a one-year high, while the buying-climate measure climbed... 

The World Trade Organization has ruled that US planemaker Boeing received $US5.3 billion ($A5.04 billion) in illegal government subsidies over a quarter of a century, far less than what arch-rival Airbus received according to an earlier finding. The two companies are locked in a long-running trade dispute over a market believed to be worth more than $US3 trillion over the next decade. Each has complained... 

The US services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in February, helped by a gain in new orders and as the housing market shows signs of stabilizing. The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 57.3 in February last month from 56.8 in January, in sharp contrast to economists’ expectations for a drop to 56.1. It was the index’s highest level since February... 

Nissan Motor Co may bring back the Datsun, the brand symbolic of the Japanese automaker’s roots, according to a newspaper report. Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has often talked about reviving the Datsun brand. The Yokohama-based automaker said Monday that it does not comment on future model plans. The Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business daily, reported that Nissan may revive Datsun as early... 

International Consolidated Airlines Group, the company formed from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, says its profit grew more than five-fold in its first year of combined operations. The company reported a net profit of 555 million euros ($696 million) compared with 100 million euros in 2010. Passenger revenue was up 11 per cent to 13.7 billion euros. Fuel costs rose 30 per cent to 5.1 billion...