 |  | Halliburton gains from surge in North America drilling |  | (Reuters) - Halliburton Co reported quarterly profit and revenue that edged past analysts' estimates as a surge in drilling activity in North America pushed up demand for its pressure pumping and well-construction services. | |  |  |  | Supreme Court rejects GM bid to block ignition switch suits |  | (Reuters) - General Motors Co's bid to block hundreds of lawsuits, potentially worth billions of dollars, over a deadly ignition-switch defect broke down on Monday when the Supreme Court refused to hear its appeal claiming the suits were barred by the No. 1 U.S. automaker's 2009 bankruptcy. | |  |  |  | PPG raises offer for Akzo Nobel to $29 billion |  | AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - U.S. paint maker PPG Industries raised its proposed offer for Akzo Nobel by about 8 percent to 26.9 billion euros ($28.8 billion) on Monday, increasing the pressure on its Dutch rival to enter into talks. | |  | |  |  | |  |  | Related Video | |  | |  | |  |  |  |  |  | Counterparties is a curated snapshot of the best finance news and commentary around the web. Register Today |  | |  |  |  | News you can use with actionable, timely advice for managing your financial life, including retirement, taxes, real estate, education and more. Register Today |  | |  | » » MORE NEWSLETTERS |  | |