Default rates fall on ample liquidity - report

(Reuters) - The volume of debt affected by the defaults in the first quarter was $1.1 billion, less than the $5.5 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2006, Standard & Poor's said. "Global credit quality continues to appear buoyant," Standard & Poor's said in its report.

The United States was home to four of the six companies that defaulted in the first quarter, including Pacific Lumber Co., a forest products and building materials company. The remaining two are based in Bermuda and in the UK.


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RBS group unveils $98 bln rival ABN AMRO bid plan

(Reuters) - The RBS group, which also includes Spain's Santander and Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis, said on Wednesday it planned to offer 39 euros a share for ABN AMRO, made up of 70 percent in cash and 30 percent in RBS shares.

The group said this was 13 percent higher than the value of the Barclays all-share offer at Tuesday's close, and included ABN AMRO's final dividend for 2006 of 60 euros cents a share.


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European shares up as RBS launches ABN bid

(Reuters) - ABN AMRO was up 4.3 percent, Barclays was up 1.9 percent. RBS lost 1.14 percent and Belgium's Fortis , part of the consortium was down 2 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.2 percent, with banking stocks making the biggest contribution to the rise. Around Europe, Britain's FTSE gained 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX was up 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 put on 0.5 percent.


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EU clears GE's buy of two Abbott diagnostics units

(Reuters) - GE said it would buy Abbott's primary in-vitro diagnostics, which involve routine laboratory tests, and its Point-of-Care diagnostics business -- tests done typically at a patient's bedside such as blood chemistry work.

Abbott's more profitable molecular diagnostics business, including sophisticated tests for bladder cancer and susceptibility to breast cancer, and its lucrative diabetes-care businesses, are not part of the transaction.


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Business Objects Q1 diluted EPS $0.06 after charge

(Reuters) - For the second quarter, it forecast diluted earnings per share of between $0.21 and $0.24 and full year EPS of between $0.91 and $1.01.




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U.K. Pound Advances Amid Expectations Interest Rate Premium Will Widen

(Bloomberg) -- The pound rose against the dollar on speculation the U.K.'s interest rate premium over other countries will widen as accelerating inflation forces the Bank of England to increase borrowing costs further.

The pound rose yesterday, snapping a three-day losing streak that followed a rally to a 25-year high last week, after central bank policy makers said they were concerned by price pressures and BOE Governor Mervyn King said he is ``determined'' to bring inflation down to target. Interest rate futures show investors are betting on two more rate rises this year from 5.25 percent currently.


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European Stocks Including ABN, Alcatel May Gain; STM, Merck, BP Might Fall

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks including ABN Amro Holding NV may gain. A group led by Royal Bank of Scotland Plc offered 39 euros a share to buy the Dutch bank, in the biggest takeover battle in the financial-services industry.

STMicroelectronics NV may fall after the region's largest semiconductor maker reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates. Siemens AG might pace advancing shares after posting a jump in profit that beat expectations.


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