Los Angeles - Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Studio announced the details of its split from Paramount Pictures Monday, an amicable divorce that allows the most successful US director to start a new studio with 1.5 billion dollars in funding from Indian entertainment conglomerate Reliance ADA Group.

Under the exit agreement, DreamWorks will take the lead on 15 to 20 development projects, with Paramount having the option to co- finance and co-distribute, the studios said in a joint statement.

Washington - A Syrian military intervention into Lebanon following a series of terrorist attacks would be "unacceptable," the US State Department said Monday.

The Syrian government has reportedly amassed thousands of soldiers near the border area in north Lebanon, prompting worries in Beirut that Damascus was preparing for an incursion.

State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said the September bombing attacks in Damascus and the Lebanese city of Tripoli cannot be used as a pretext for military intervention.

New York - In the acquisition scramble for Wachovia bank, Citigroup Monday sued rival Wells Fargo & Co and Wachovia for 60 billion dollars in punitive and compensatory damages, Citigroup said.

The move is the latest in the Wall Street scramble as the US financial system struggles for stability amidst a severe credit crunch. Despite Friday's passage of a 
700-billion-dollar bail-out plan by the US government, US stocks continued to plummet Monday, with the three major indices losing more than 5 per cent in trading at midday.

New York - US banking giant Citigroup Inc. announced Monday it is suing Wachovia Corp. for 60 billion dollars in damages and punitive fees after the latter pulled out of a takeover deal.

Citigroup's announcement was the latest twist after a frenzied weekend of legal developments surrounding the battle for the takeover of Wachovia.

After an apparent agreement with Citigroup last week for a 2.16 billion dollar takeover, Wachovia on October 3 suddenly pulled out of the deal, announcing that instead it would favour a 15-billion-dollar merger offer by Wells Fargo & Co.

Washington - President George W Bush on Monday warned it would take some time for the 700-billion-dollar rescue package to help free up credit availability and restore confidence in the financial system.

As stocks plunged more than 5 per cent Monday morning, Bush said the legislation he signed Friday was a "big step toward solving the problem" but recognized that small businesses and consumers were still reeling from the credit crunch.

San Francisco - Online commerce giant eBay is to fire 10 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,400 workers, the company said Monday.

The Silicon Valley internet pioneer also announced that it was acquiring online payments firm Bill Me Later for 945 million dollars in cash and stock. eBay will combine the company, which processes online payments for companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Continental Airlines, with its rapidly growing PayPal division.