VW BECOMES WORLD'S BIGGEST FIRM - MOMENTARILY

Volkswagen briefly became the world's biggest company due to some bizarre stock market activity on Tuesday. During that time the carmaker's shares peaked at 1,005 euros which valued the company at 296bn euros. The panic buying was caused by traders who had short-sold VW shares desperately trying to buy them back so they could close their positions.
Porsche bought VW shares at the weekend and announced that it owned 74.1% of Volkswagen's shares. The aim is to increase to 75 percent in 2009, paving the way to a domination agreement. VW's home state of Lower Saxony controls 20% of the shares, leaving just over 5% available on the market.