RBS-led consortium makes 38.4 euro/shr ABN offer

(Reuters) - The consortium kept its offer for ABN at 38.4 euros per share, but raised the cash component of the offer to 93 percent from about 70 percent before. It said the remaining 5 billion euros of the offer will comprise new RBS shares.



The new offer from the consortium, which also includes Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch Fortis , is for ABN without its U.S. unit LaSalle, after a Dutch court on Friday allowed the disputed sale of that business to Bank of America .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Total sees Shtokman investment at $4-5 bln -report

(Reuters) - Under the deal, Total will receive a 25 percent stake in the
company that will build and own the pipes rigs and other
infrastructure for the first phase of development of the
Shtokman field.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

China's Cotton Imports Rise 24 Percent in June, Customs Bureau Reports

(Bloomberg) -- China, the world's biggest cotton
consumer, increased purchases of the fiber 24 percent in June
from May as lower domestic supply boosted demand for imports.

Purchases from overseas were 250,000 metric tons last month,
the Beijing-based customs office said in a statement today,
citing preliminary data. This compares with 201,139 tons in May,
and 380,633 tons in June 2006, according to Bloomberg data.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CoolBrands, Data Group Income, Research In Motion: Canadian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets.
This preview includes news that broke after markets closed.
Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are
from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 140.50, or 1
percent, to 14,496.50.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PetroChina's Production Climbs 3.7 Percent, Outpacing Exxon Mobil, Shell

(Bloomberg) -- PetroChina Co.'s first-half
production increased 3.7 percent as the nation's largest oil and
gas producer intensified efforts to meet rising energy demand.

Crude oil and gas output rose to the equivalent of 3.05
million barrels of oil a day, the Beijing-based company said
today. Oil production gained 0.1 percent from a year earlier,
while gas jumped 16.5 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Dow Jones board member moves to block News Corp-WSJ

(Reuters) - News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New York Post and a
sprawling media empire, has offered $5 billion, or $60 a share,
for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.




Bancroft is trying to buy more "supervoting" shares from
other Bancroft heirs who may be ready to sell their stakes but
share his distaste for handing the family legacy to Murdoch,
the Journal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Asian shares rise after strong Wall Street

(Reuters) - In Hong Kong, conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. is set to make its market debut after raising about $1.5 billion earlier this month in an initial public offering.




"Global markets continue to perform strongly, setting up the stage for more gains," said Kim Hak-kyun, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

BHP, Brandrill, National Leisure, Woodside: Australian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes
news announced after markets closed June 13. Prices are from the
July 13 close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September rose
0.1 percent to 6401 at 9:15 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York
Australia ADR Index dropped 0.5 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China Coal May Raise $2.9 Billion in Shanghai Initial Offer to Fund Growth

(Bloomberg) -- China Coal Energy Co., the nation's
second-largest coal producer by sales, may raise about $2.9
billion in a share offering in Shanghai to fund expansion as the
country's demand for energy surges.

China Coal will sell as many as 1.53 billion yuan-
denominated Class A shares in Shanghai, the Beijing-based company
said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. The
sale would be worth 22.2 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) based on the
closing price of HK$14.58 in Hong Kong on July 13.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

It's no secret: Facebook's allure is its privacy

(Reuters) - Chris Kelly, Facebook's chief privacy officer, said users
want greater control over who sees their personal information,
rather than expecting total privacy, or anonymity, the concept
underlying much of the legal thinking on privacy for more than
a century.




"Privacy is beginning to transform from the classic 'right
to be left alone' to this notion that 'I want control over my
information,'" Kelly said in an interview on the sidelines of
a Fortune Magazine technology conference held here last week.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Qatar bank offers up to $6.1 bln for Ahli United

(Reuters) - International Bank of Qatar has offered to buy Ahli United Bank, Bahrain's largest lender by market value, for up to $6.1 billion in cash and stock, an Ahli United shareholder said on Sunday.

International Bank of Qatar, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait, is offering between $2.05 and $2.25 per share in cash for a 55 percent stake and the rest in stock, Kuwait's Tamdeen Investment Co. said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

France hopes to get EADS deal

(Reuters) - "We have not finished yet," an official at the Elysee
presidential palace said on Sunday. "But we are rather
optimistic about the outcome of our discussions with Daimler,
Lagardere and the German state," he added.




Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy will
meet at the Toulouse headquarters of civil plane maker Airbus.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Egypt's Alcotexa sells 2,546 T of cotton in week

(Reuters) - The Alexandria Cotton Exporters' Association (Alcotexa) said on Sunday it had committed to sell 2,546 tonnes of cotton in the week ended July 14.

An Alcotexa official gave a breakdown of the sales as 196 tonne of Giza 70, 50 tonnes of Giza 88, 1,800 tonnes of Giza 86, 450 tonnes of Giza 80 and 50 tonnes of export type.


Read more at Reuters Africa