New York  - The global economic crisis has scrambled the pecking order among US firms, with Exxon Mobil ousting Wal-Mart as the top revenue-earning company.

The energy company vaulted to the top of the business magazine Fortune 500 list, pushing the world's largest retailer to second place.

Profits among Fortune 500 companies saw the worst declines in the list's 55-year history, falling 85 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007, for total losses of 99 billion dollars.

Washington  - PepsiCo Inc, the chief rival to Coca-Cola for world domination of the drinks market, Monday offered 6 billion dollars in cash and stock to buy out other shareholders of its two biggest bottlers in North America.

The move represents an about-face from the 1990s, when Coca-Cola and then PepsiCo spun off their capital-intensive bottling operations.

The offers of 29.50 dollars per share for stock it doesnt already own in Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and 23.27 dollars for PepsiAmericas Inc. shares reprsent a 17 per cent premium over closing priceirs on Friday.

Washington  - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments against Israel at a racism conference Monday were "unacceptable" and only serve to fuel racial hatred, the US State Department said.

"Unfortunately, we've heard all of this before from President Ahmadinejad. The comments that he made, frankly, were unacceptable and, frankly feed racial hatred," spokesman Robert Wood said. "Iran needs to end this type of inflammatory rhetoric. It's not helpful."

Havana  - Traditional Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Monday complained that the weekend Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago was held in "secret."

But at the same time, amid a dawning - though as yet far from complete - thaw in US-Cuban relations, Castro had some praise for US President Barack Obama.

"His predecessor (George W Bush) went to sleep early and slept many hours. It seems that Obama works a lot and sleeps little," he quipped in an article published on the website Cubadebate.

Geneva  - US attorney Alan Dershowitz said Monday on the sidelines of the Durban Review Conference on racism in Geneva that Switzerland's president was supportive of "hate mongering" and that the anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu was a "racist and bigot."

He said he would urge the administration of US President Barack Obama to cease using Switzerland's services as its representative in Iran.

The US and Tehran have not had diplomatic relations since the Islamic revolution in Iran and the subsequent hostage taking at the embassy there.

Washington - In the first cabinet meeting of his administration Monday, US President Barack Obama called for 100 million dollars to be shaved off department budgets in the next three months.

Obama has struggled to get his full cabinet in place since taking office in January amid a number of high-profile withdrawals, including two previous picks for commerce secretary and his original choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department.