New York  - Ford Motor Company and union leaders reached an agreement Monday designed to lower health care costs in the ailing US car industry.

The deal would allow the carmaker to make contributions to the United Auto Workers (UAW) health care plan for retirees with up to 50 per cent stock instead of cash, a move the manufacturer said would help it meet its obligations. Ford owes 13.6 billion dollars to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, as the health care trust is known.

Tokyo - There have been no serious buyers for the Honda Formula One team, the company's CEO told a press conference in Tokyo Monday.

"There are various offers for the team but we have not seen any serious buyer yet," Takeo Fukui said. "We find the sale process difficult."

The second-largest Japanese carmaker announced its withdrawal from the sport last December because of the global economic crisis, sending shockwaves through the sport.

Tokyo - Honda Motor Co announced Monday that it would appoint a new president in June to deal with a sales slowdown caused by the yen's surge against other major currencies and the dwindling consumer appetite amid the global economic downturn.

Japan's second-largest carmaker plans to promote Senior Managing Director Takanobu Ito to president. The decision was expected to be approved at a shareholders' meeting in June, Honda said.

The competitors have yet again been surprised by the State Bank of India (SBI), which earlier created hype in the home loan market and this time it has slashed interest rates on loans for new cars. Furthermore, SBI, the country's biggest bank has also reduced its lending rate against warehouse receipts for farmers.

Tata Motors has appointed the country's largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI) as an exclusive booking agent for Nano. The ambitious small car due to launch by Tata group soon, is expected to record decent sales.

The Chief Manager of SBI, Jayanta Kumar Sinha, said on Friday, "SBI has been selected as the sole booking agent for Nano."

However, Mr. Sinha refused to disclose details of deal between SBI and Tata and said that official announcement is likely to come in few days.