UPDATE 1-India's Pantaloon to add stores, sees group rev $2bln

(Reuters) - MUMBAI, Aug 6 - Pantaloon Retail India Ltd., the
country's top listed retailer, is launching small and large
stores and the group is exploring deals with foreign partners
to take on growing competition, its chief executive said on
Monday.




The group is looking at joint venture opportunities with
foreign firms in the business-to-business segment, similar to
the one it has with U.S. office supplies retailer Staples Inc.
, Kishore Biyani told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Arrow Energy Signs Agreements to Develop Coal Seam Gas Ventures in China

(Bloomberg) -- Arrow Energy NL, an Australian
producer of gas from coal seams, signed two venture agreements
with companies in China's Liaoning province as it seeks to start
production of the fuel in the Asian nation.

The accords with Shenyang Gas Co. and Liaohe Petroleum
Development Co., a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., follow
similar agreements signed over the past weeks, Brisbane-based
Arrow said today in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Arrow now has seven projects in three geographic regions in the
Asian nation, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

IFC Plans Record India Lending as Rising Rates Lure Power, Oil Companies

(Bloomberg) -- The World Bank arm that invests in
companies said funding for India, its biggest recipient, will
surpass last fiscal year's record $1 billion as interest rates
at a five-year high deter companies from borrowing at home.

The International Finance Corp. will commit $500 million of
the funds in the year ended June 30 to infrastructure, focusing
on oil, transportation, power and gas projects, said Anita
George, chief investment officer of the World Bank division that
lends to companies in emerging markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

U.K. Pound May Fall as Traders Trim Bets on Further Interest-Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound may fall as investors
lower expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates
again this year.

Interest-rate futures trading shows investors have scaled
back their forecasts for how high the U.K. central bank will lift
rates on concern borrowing costs at a six-year high of 5.75
percent will begin to slow economic expansion. A report today may
show industrial production growth slowed in June.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Barclays launches $89 bln ABN takeover offer

(Reuters) - The offer period will run from Aug. 7 until Oct. 4,
Barclays said in an offer memorandum published in Dutch
newspapers on Monday.




At current share prices and foreign exchange rates, the
Barclays offer is worth about 34.54 euros per share of ABN.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold Little Changed in Asia as Dollar Weakness Boosts Appeal; Silver Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Gold in Asia was little changed near a
one-week high, supported by investors demand for the precious
metal as an alternative asset after the dollar weakened on signs
the U.S. economy might slow. Silver rose.

Gold usually moves in the opposite direction to the dollar,
which fell to a four-month low against the Japanese yen and also
traded near a record low against the euro today. Speculation that
a slowing U.S. economy may keep the Federal Reserve from raising
interest rates also weakened the dollar and boosted the appeal of
the precious metal as alternative investment.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 3-Bear president resigns; casualty of credit crisis

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 5 - Bear Stearns Cos
co-President and co-Chief Operating Officer Warren Spector
resigned on Sunday, a casualty of the credit risk crisis at the
investment bank.




Bear Stearns said effective immediately, Alan Schwartz was
the company's sole president.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Markets drop as worries grow

(Reuters) - "The outlook for today does not look good. On top of the worries about the exposure of funds to credit markets, now we've worries about weak U.S. economic data," said Choo Hee-yeop, deputy general manager of asset management strategy at Korea Investment and Securities.




At 0025 GMT, Tokyo's Nikkei average had slid 1.6 percent with exporters such as Canon Inc., electronics components maker Kyocera and chip-tester maker Advantest Corp. further hit by a firmer yen.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

South Korea's Shares Fall, Led by Posco, Kookmin, Samsung; Hynix Advances

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell, led by
Posco, and Kookmin Bank, on concern losses in the U.S. mortgage
market may slow the world's biggest economy.

Samsung Electronics Co. also declined after a power outage
at some production lines of the world's second-largest chipmaker.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Bear president resigns; casualty of credit crisis

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 5 - Bear Stearns Cos
President and co-Chief Operating Officer Warren Spector
resigned on Sunday, becoming a casualty of a credit risk crisis
at the investment bank.




Spector's departure follows Bear Stearns' assertion on
Friday that it is weathering the worst storm in financial
markets in more than 20 years after a major rating company
warned mortgage credit problems could hurt the investment
bank's profits.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FEATURE-Takeovers spell end of soccer's Premiership Plc

(Reuters) - But if fans, politicians and newspapers take moral umbrage
at the foreign-led takeovers, few are mourning the end of the
publicly listed club.




Going public became something of a craze for Premier League
clubs in the mid-1990s. At its peak, fans and investors could
buy shares in 10 of the 20 current Premier League clubs.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

ICI tentatively agrees to sweetened Akzo offer--WSJ

(Reuters) - If all goes well, a formal takeover agreement would be
announced by Aug. 9, the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel,
the paper said.




ICI last week rejected an improved 7.8 billion pound , 650 pence-a-share cash takeover proposal by Akzo and
refused to open its books for due diligence check, saying the
offer undervalued the company. It had also previously rejected
a 600 pence-a-share offer from Akzo in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Netflix shares poised to rally - Barron's

(Reuters) - "At some point, Blockbuster will cry uncle and raise
prices, and Netflix shares will almost certainly rally," said
Barron's in its technology column.




Netflix might also be an acquisition target, notably by
Amazon.com , said Barron's.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RPT-Wall St Week Ahead: Mortgage stress to spur more volatility

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 5 - More signs of weakness in the
mortgage market, another surge in oil prices and a Federal
Reserve rate decision could create more turbulence for Wall
Street this week.




Widening fallout from the U.S. housing slump has rattled
credit markets, putting investors on edge about the outlook
for corporate takeovers and share buybacks -- two catalysts of
the market's recent rally to record highs.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Dubai matches Fast Retailing's $900 mln Barneys bid

(Reuters) - DUBAI, Aug 5 - Dubai-based private equity firm
Istithmar raised its offer to acquire Barneys New York Inc.
from Jones Apparel Group Inc. to $900 million on
Sunday, matching a bid by Japan's Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.
.




Istithmar, owned by the government of Dubai, had agreed to
buy the luxury retailer for $825 million before Fast Retailing
entered the fray with a $900 million offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News