Empire State Building investors on December 24 filed a class-action lawsuit in a Manhattan state court against the New York skyscraper's managers. The said investors claim they were deprived of $410 million in profit in Empire State Building's initial public offering.

Yasushi Ando, a Liberal Democratic Party adviser on pensions, said that Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund should invest $95 billion in private equity and venture capital over a decade. GPIF is the world's largest pension fund with ¥124 trillion under management.

Juergen Weber, the chairman of Hapag-Lloyd AG, said that Hamburg-Sued should participate in merger talks between his company and smaller Chilean shipper Compania Sud Americana de Vapores SA.

San Francisco, US-based secretive startup Pushd raised $1.04 million in a recent funding round from unidentified investors, according to a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Connecticut, US-based pharmaceutical firm Mederi Therapeutics raised $18.5 million in a Series B funding round for the sales and marketing of its treatment for Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease (GERD) and fecal incontinence.

Japan's Softbank Corp is likely to tap the US bond market to fund the $20 billion acquisition of US wireless carrier T-Mobile, according to a report by the Nikkei business daily.

Minnesota-based developer CSM Corp bought the historical building in downtown Phoenix, Hotel Monroe in a deal valued at $7.85 million, according to a commercial real estate research firm.

The UK government is mulling on rule changes that would make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to obtain funding from alternative financiers and new banks.

China-based construction equipment manufacturer Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co has bought Germany-based dry mortar equipment producer M-Tec, according to a statement on the company's website.

High-profile Chinese multimillionaire Chen Guangbiao said he plans to invest in the green energy industry of Taiwan next year, and to tap into the country's solar energy market.

Toshiba Corp is presently still in talks to buy a 50% stake in Britain-based NuGen nuclear consortium although the involved parties have yet to reach a deal, according to Toshiba Chief Executive Officer Hisao Tanaka.

Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, has sold 3.5 million shares in the troubled company for $26 million, according to documents filed with US regulators.

The Irish Aviation Authority has spent €20 million to buy a 6% stake in Virginia, US-based air traffic surveillance firm Aireon LLC, as part of an agreement with Italy and Denmark to invest in the new service.

BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis has officially dropped his plans to purchase the firm via a joint bid with a fellow co-founder as new management struggles to turn the troubled company around.

Italian spin-off AdEspresso raised $500,000 in seed funding from institutional and angel investors, for its Facebook ad optimization service for small and medium businesses (SMBs).

Brazil-based iron ore miner Vale agreed to sell a stake in logistics company VLI SA to Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management in a deal valued at BRL2 billion ($842.78 million).

Blackstone Group LP-backed hotel chain La Quinta Holdings Inc confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act.

As part of its goal to offload non-core assets, Australia-based food company Goodman Fielder had sold its biscuit business at a loss to Green's Foods in a deal valued at $17 million.

Chicago-based media firm Tribune has entered an agreement to purchase Gracenote, the California-based music data unit of Japanese conglomerate Sony in a deal valued at $170 million, according to a statement by Tribune.

Tech giant Apple Inc have quietly acquired Silicon Valley's note-taking startup Catch and New Hampshire's digital mapping firm BroadMap a few months back, according to 9to5Mac.

Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund, on Monday struck a deal to sell equal-sized stakes in its BTA Bank. Its holding in the country's third-biggest bank will be sold to Kazkommertsbank and businessman Kenes Rakishev for an undisclosed sum.

Rhoen-Klinukum, which had put up for sale its 43 hospitals and 15 outpatient facilities, expects to get the green light from German antitrust regulators on the proposed sale of most of its assets to rival Fresenius SE & Co.

Sigma Alimentos and Shuanghui International Holdings on Monday agreed to share ownership of Spanish canned ham and hotdog processor Campofrio Food Group SA. The co-ownership deal is worth $957 million.

Hedge fund Elliott International, which owns a 25.16% stake in Celesio, said that reports suggesting it will accept McKesson Corporation's $8.3 billion bid for the German drugs wholesaler are incorrect. Elliott had irrevocably rejected McKesson's offer, saying that it undervalues Celesio.

Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the gas-rich, Middle Eastern country, is in talks with Mumbai-based Kotak Realty Fund to invest $200 million in a residential property in India.

Fondazione Monte dei Paschi, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's top shareholder, is reportedly nearing a deal to divest its 20% stake in the Italian bank to three other banking foundations and a group of investment funds.

Tribune Co., which planned to split its newspaper division from its TV-broadcasting division in July, said that it intends to meet with Rep. Henry Waxman to dicuss his concern about the spinoff's impact on the Los Angeles Times.

Members of Boeing Co.'s union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, plan to vote on a contract related to the production of the 777X on January 3. The said contract will ensure that the jetliners will be assembled in unionized facilities in Washington.

Trucking firm YRC Worldwide, which has roughly $1.4 billion in debt, is nearing a financing deal comprised of $250 million in equity and $25 million in debt committed to become equity.

Time Warner Cable's 462% total returns may help convince its shareholders to reject Charter Communications' $62 billion offer or to not press for a sale. Time Warner Cable is seeking a takeover bid of $150 per share.