General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, which each received government-funded bailouts, may award some managers bonuses of as much as 50 percent of their salary, said four people familiar with the plans. GM plans to pay bonuses to most managers equal to 15 percent to 20 percent of their annual salary and as high as 50 percent to less than 1 percent of its 26,000 U.S. salaried employees, said on

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Leaders of the 17-nation eurozone are to hold a special summit in mid-March to draft a plan of action to avoid a replay of the debt crises that shook the single currency last year.The 17 heads of state and government will meet in “mid-March,” the president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, said in a speech to the European parliament.Earlier a source close to the talks told AFP that the eurozone summit had been agreed for Sunday, March 13. But a major member state later i

BHP Billiton Ltd., Vale SA and Rio Tinto Group, the world’s three largest mining companies, are set for record profit totaling $52 billion as they accelerate earnings growth at the expense of their biggest customers.The companies, also the largest iron-ore exporters, may post an average 66 percent jump in the annual earnings they report this year compared with 2007, according to analyst estimates