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The world's largest hotelier, class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), has rejected a 6 billion pound ($10.1 billion) takeover offer from a U.S. bidder, Sky News reported, citing unidentified sources. _0"> Sky said IHG's board met a few weeks ago to consider the offer, but turned it down on the grounds it was too low. A spokeswoman for IHG, which runs 4,700 class="mandelbrot_refrag"> hotels with brands such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental, declined to comment on the report. Sky said the identity of the bidder was unclear, but cited analysts as saying it might have been Starwood class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Hotels & Resorts or a specialist investment fund such as Starwood Capital.   true       Sky said IHG was braced for the bidder to return with a new offer, or for a rival suitor to come forward. ($1 = 0.5938 British Pounds) (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; Editing by Mark Potte

Far be it from us to offer tips to class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Warren Buffett , the most celebrated stock picker of his age, but here goes: The Oracle of Omaha has suggested he will hunt for his next "elephant" - his favorite word for big acquisitions -- among energy companies. That could dovetail with the bet he made in 2009 when he bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, which has turned into an indirect play on the U.S. oil production renaissance: BNSF moves about a third of oil-by-rail, a surging segment of freight rail.   true       So, we have some ideas. Reuters screened for U.S. and Canadian companies with relatively low debt and market capitalizations above $5 billion, among other criteria. First, because Buffett's class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Berkshire Hathaway has about $49 billion to spend, he's said he's looking at capital intensive companies, which offer plenty of chances to put that money to work. He might like a

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> AOL Inc said on Sunday it is starting a programme in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Israel to assist start-ups, and that it will invest at least $100,000 in as many as 10 projects at a time. _0"> The Internet giant already has a development centre in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Israel , and its new project, called Nautilus, is meant to give "maximum freedom to entrepreneurs" and "grant them access to all the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> tools and connections of a global company", said Hanan Laschover, chief executive of class="mandelbrot_refrag"> AOL Israel. AOL will escort each start-up, which will be chosen from a variety of fields that are connected to its global activities, for a period of a year, the company said. The first investment will be in Take&Make, AOL said in a statement, a start-up that has developed a platform for "do-it-yourself"

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Business aircraft are taking to the skies again as many economies around the world improve, but a surplus of jets delivered just before the recession means the equivalent of 2,750 jets remain parked in hangars. An excess of jets is depressing prices for planes, particularly older ones, and clouding the outlook for manufacturers of new jets, such as Bombardier Inc, Gulfstream and Cessna. Some companies are cutting back on corporate jet travel and reducing executives' use of corporate jets for personal trips.   true       With so many jets not being flown, businesses are finding it more difficult to justify new purchases, said Rolland Vincent, president of Rolland Vincent Associates, a jet consulting firm that works with Utica, New York-based JetNet. "It's like having a lot of cars in your driveway," Vincent said. "If you don't use them that much, you're not going to be out shopping for another one." The

Some of the leading U.S. producers of electronic cigarettes are moving their manufacturing to the United States from class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China in response to growing concern about quality and the prospect of tighter federal regulations. In recent weeks, some of the best-selling U.S. e-cigarette companies, including closely held Mistic and White Cloud, announced that they would move production to new, highly automated U.S. factories that would enable them to track ingredients and quality more closely. As a fringe benefit, they even expect costs to be lower than in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China , the country that invented the battery-powered cartridges that produce a nicotine-laced inhalable vapor. "People are concerned about quality," said Bonnie Herzog, a senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, who expects more manufacturing to shift to the United States.   true       "There is varying quality among all these different brands

Albany, New York Sheriff Craig Apple assured a room of concerned citizens that county emergency crews were prepared to handle an oil-train accident involving three or four tank cars. Firefighters have been training to combat railcar fires with foam, and evacuation plans are detailed in a 500-page emergency response plan, Apple told residents in a May 12 address. But he was blunt about the potential impact of a larger derailment: "Look, let's face it, there's going to be mayhem."   true       Albany's tracks handle as much as a fourth of the oil pumped from North Dakota's booming Bakken Shale, or up to several 100-car trains per day, each carrying 70,000 barrels. It is one of several spots along North America's new oil-by-rail corridors where residents and officials are restless, following six fiery derailments in the past 10 months. Some want to limit or halt the traffic, fearful that existing precautions will not prevent deadly blasts, air and water

The "X-Men" mutant superheroes smashed into U.S. and Canadian theaters and collected $90.7 million in ticket sales through Sunday, keeping monster hit "Godzilla" at bay and heading toward a decisive win over a long holiday weekend. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" was expected to bring in $110 million by the end of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday, distributor 20th Century Fox said. The movie has already earned a global total of $261.8 million after opening at No. 1 in all 119 countries around the world. Last week's winner, monster movie remake "Godzilla", dropped to second place with $31.4 million through Sunday, according to estimates from box office tracking firm Rentrak. Its sales were projected to reach $39 million by Monday.   true       Romantic comedy "Blended" claimed the No. 3 spot, taking in $14.2 million and on pace for about $17 million through Monday. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is the seventh movi