VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Japan's auto recall enforcement division, whose 16 members work from a cramped office on the eighth floor of the transport ministry building in Tokyo, only found out about safety issues with Takata Corp air bags in late-2008 - more than three years after the company says it first learned of problems.

Iranian hackers have infiltrated some of the world's top energy, transport and infrastructure companies over the past two years in a campaign that could allow them to eventually cause physical damage, according to U.S. cyber security firm Cylance.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. businesses that hackers have used malicious software to launch a destructive cyberattack in the United States, following a devastating breach last week at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Azul SA, Brazil's third-biggest airline, revived plans for an initial public offering in Sao Paulo and New York as it prepared to add the first of 75 Airbus jets and to begin flights to the United States.

The United Auto Workers union said on Monday it will press managers of the Daimler AG's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Alabama to respect the right of workers to discuss organizing a local union while on the factory floor.

Security researchers say they have uncovered a cyber espionage ring focused on stealing corporate secrets for the purpose of gaming the stock market, in an operation that has compromised sensitive data about dozens of publicly held companies.

General Motors Co (GM.N) will recall 316,357 SUVs and sedans, mainly in North America, because the low-beam headlights can stop working, the company said on Monday.

The Federal Reserve is welcoming the sharp drop in global energy prices, with two influential policymakers on Monday cheering the boost it should provide American pocketbooks and shrugging off any pressure on already low inflation.

Russia on Monday scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe without crossing Ukraine, citing EU objections, and instead named Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline, with a promise of hefty discounts.

The ECB's monthly rate meeting will focus minds this week on the debate over quantitative easing in the euro zone, as a series of data releases on both sides of the Atlantic sheds more light on European woes and U.S. strength.

U.S. shoppers spent slightly less money at brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday than across the same two days in 2013, while online sales surged to record highs, data showed on Saturday.

ECB Executive Board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger said on Saturday she saw little room for further easing of monetary policy despite a further fall in euro zone inflation.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister told fellow OPEC members they must combat the U.S. shale oil boom, arguing against cutting crude output in order to depress prices and undermine the profitability of North American producers.

Mall crowds were relatively thin on Black Friday in a sign of what has become the new normal in U.S. holiday shopping: the mad rush is happening the night of Thanksgiving and more consumers are picking up deals online.

Shale stocks have been hard-hit as investors see margins all but evaporating following the slide in crude oil prices, but the U.S. shale energy boom is not over.