News from Reuters

CA-BUSINESS Summary

06/10/08

Fed moves to broker deal for Wachovia: sources

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is brokering discussions between Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc over which of the banks will buy Wachovia Corp's assets, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The Fed is pushing the two banks to compromise by potentially carving up Wachovia between them, the Wall Street Journal reported. Wachovia, the sixth-largest U.S. bank, has been hobbled by the credit crisis but has an attractive branch network.

Eli Lilly set to buy ImClone for $6.1 billion: sources

BOSTON (Reuters) - ImClone Systems Inc has agreed to be acquired by Eli Lilly and Co for about $6.1 billion after rebuffing a sweetened takeover offer from Bristol-Myers Squibb , sources familiar with the situation said on Monday. The agreement, which values ImClone at $70 per share, has been approved by the boards of both ImClone and Eli Lilly, sources said. ImClone shares closed on Friday at $64.96.

German bank rescued, S.Korea reassures lenders

BEIJING (Reuters) - Germany offered a blanket bank deposit guarantee as it clinched a deal to rescue lender Hypo Real Estate, while regulators from Washington to Seoul took their own steps to ensure the stability of financial firms. Officials across the globe are scrambling to contain the fallout from the deepest financial crisis since the 1930s amid continued debate about whether a fragmented European response could keep pace with a fear-driven market.

BNP clinches Fortis' Belgian bank arm

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas took control of the Belgian and Luxembourg businesses of troubled financial group Fortis on Sunday in a complex rescue that will make Belgium the French bank's biggest shareholder. The deal was the most spectacular cross-border rescue since the U.S.-born credit crisis swept into Europe last month, upending banks and rattling savers' confidence.

UBS chairman to earn less than $8.8 million: report

ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS AG's chairman, Peter Kurer, will earn less than 10 million Swiss francs ($8.83 million) this year, he told Swiss newspaper Sonntag on Sunday. That would compare to a reported salary of 26 million francs for Kurer's predecessor, Marcel Ospel, who announced his departure this year as UBS's subprime-related asset writedowns built.

Junior mining sector to be trimmed, analysts say

TORONTO (Reuters) - The number of publicly-traded junior mining companies should fall as tight credit conditions and plunging commodity prices force explorers to either find deep-pocketed partners or disappear, a Canadian mining conference was told on Saturday. Speaking at the Toronto Resource Investment Conference, equity analyst and "Bottom Fish Report" publisher John Kaiser said smaller mining players with proven resources or production have the best chance to survive the recent shift in market conditions.

Vietnam casino developer eyes $1 bln HK IPO: paper

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Canadian firm developing an ocean-front casino complex in Vietnam hopes to raise $1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO in the next two years, a local newspaper reported, despite signs of weakening Asian gambling revenue. Asian Coast Development and investor Harbinger Capital began work on their $4.2 billion Ho Tram Strip project in May, hoping to open in two years and target mainly Chinese gamblers.

Honeywell sees '09 bizjet sales up, but peak looms

BOSTON (Reuters) - Worldwide business jet deliveries will rise 8 to 17 percent next year to what may be a peak as high fuel costs and global economic worries depress demand, according to a forecast by Honeywell International Inc released on Saturday. The world's largest maker of cockpit electronics said a survey of 1,866 corporate jet users showed early signs of slackening demand in the form of fewer flying hours and more used jets going on the market, said T.K. Kallenbach, vice president of marketing and product management at Honeywell.

Ain't nowhere to hide, baby

TORONTO (Reuters) - "Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide," Martha and the Vandellas sang in their 1965 Motown megahit. It's a tune that Bay Street investors can probably relate to, faced with a market that seems to be sliding across the board. Almost everyone in global equity markets has felt the pain, led by a teetering financial sector and cooling commodities. But even the so-called defensive issues are nowhere to hide these days.

Oil falls 2 percent to $92, demand loss feared

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slumped 2 percent on Monday, falling for a fourth day as traders feared efforts to contain an intensifying credit crisis would fail to stave off a deeper decline in oil demand. Amid a relatively quiet weekend in the U.S. financial sector after Friday's passage of a landmark $700 billion bailout bill, in Europe officials scrambled to save three banks while differing on whether to pursue a common bank bailout fund.

© Reuters Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or redistribution of Reuters content, including framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.