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