(Reuters) - A unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which filed the largest U.S. bankruptcy, has sued Bank of America Corp and a Barclays Plc affiliate to stop the liquidation of $150 million of collateral that Lehman says belongs to creditors. Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc said in the lawsuit it is a party to swap agreements related to a collateralized debt obligation for which Bank of America serves as trustee and Long Island International Ltd, the Barclays affiliate, is a "controlling" investor.

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(Reuters) - Swiss engineering group ABB (ABBN.VX) is to buy U.S. industrial motors firm Baldor Electric Co (BEZ.N) for $3.1 billion to capitalize on a global push for energy efficiency and boost its North American presence. ABB agreed to pay $63.50 a share, a 41 percent premium to Baldor's closing price on November 29 and an offer analysts regarded as pricey. The deal also included $1.1 billion in net debt.

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(Reuters) - December is the season of giving, but quirks in the estate tax may prompt some wealthy seniors to be especially generous this year. Without action by Congress, estate taxes are set to spike on January 1 from zero to 55 percent, the highest in a decade. Most observers expect lawmakers to reduce the tax as part of negotiations over extending Bush-era income tax cuts, but no one can be sure that will happen, or when. Thus, giving away some wealth to reduce the size of estates may be wise, planners say.

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(Reuters) - Stocks fell more than 1 percent on Monday on lingering worries about Europe's ability to contain a credit crisis despite a weekend bailout agreement for Ireland. The euro fell to more than two-month lows against the U.S. dollar, hurting commodity prices and shares in the materials and energy sectors.

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(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) internet analyst Mary Meeker, once dubbed "Queen of the Net," has left the bank and joined venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. After 20 years at Morgan Stanley, Meeker joins Kleiner Perkins as a partner based in Silicon Valley, the venture capital firm said in a statement.

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(Reuters) - Germany and France said on Monday Europe had acted decisively to save the euro by rescuing Ireland and agreeing the basis of a permanent debt resolution system, but underwhelmed markets drove debt costs higher. The euro traded near two-month lows against the dollar, Italian bond yields jumped and default insurance for Portuguese and Spanish debt hit record highs as investors continued to ask "who's next" in the euro debt crisis.

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(Reuters) - Five companies, including LG Display (034220.KS) and Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp are set to be fined by EU antitrust regulators next week for fixing prices of display panels used in consumer devices, four sources said on Tuesday. The European Commission, which handles EU regulatory affairs, charged the companies in July last year with breaching EU laws on restrictive business practices. Several other regulators around the world also investigated the sector.

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(Reuters) - Early discounts may have taken some of the shine off Cyber Monday but the key online holiday shopping day is still expected to attract bargain hunters who may not have had their fill over the weekend. Cyber Monday -- a term coined five years ago for the day many people return to work after Thanksgiving and make online gift purchases on their computers -- remains a prime shopping day online. But its novelty has now been partially eclipsed by e-commerce promotions earlier in the season, including on Thanksgiving itself.

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(Reuters) - Wal-Mart (WMT.N) is to pay $2.3 billion for control of Massmart (MSMJ.J), giving the world's largest retailer a substantial presence in South Africa and paving the way for further expansion across the continent. The Wal-Mart tie-up will help discount retailer Massmart speed up expansion in sub-Saharan Africa and increase its food retailing business, the South African company's chief executive said on Monday.

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(Reuters) - Retailers are poised to report November sales above forecasts, helped by an increase in shopper visits over the Black Friday weekend, promotions that were spread throughout the month and more consumers shopping for themselves. Retailers hope to continue that momentum on Cyber Monday, a term referring to the day many people make online gift purchases after the long Thanksgiving weekend. Online sales got off to a strong start on Black Friday, rising 9 percent from last year, according to comScore.

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