CNBC Europe Top News and Analysis

Portugal Passes Bill that Will Increase Deficit - Fri, 05 Feb 2010
Portugal's parliament passed on Friday a controversial bill on regional finances, defeating the minority Socialist government and warning it will raise the budget gap.

Policymakers Try to Calm Markets Amid Euro Selloff - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

Europe Testing How Much Tax Is Too Much - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

D. Telekom Preps IPO for T-Mobile USA: Report - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

Don't Bet on a UK Debt Downgrade: Fitch - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

UBS to Reorganize Struggling US Wealth Management - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

Neapolitan Pizza Gets Protection: Report - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

German Industrial Production Falls in December - Fri, 05 Feb 2010

Reuters Business News and Analysis

Bets on economy lift Wall Street; banks, tech lead - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank and technology shares lifted Wall Street on Wednesday on hopes a revival in business demand will boost corporate profits.

Lawsuits, poker and the death of a boutique bank - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - In September 2008, as Lehman Brothers was breaking into a million pieces, a young investment bank was pushing up through the rubble.

BofA under regulatory pressure to shrink: report - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Regulators have told Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan and other executives that the largest U.S. bank by assets must become "much smaller," Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino reported on Wednesday.

Geithner urges reform on housing finance market - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that "fundamental reform" of the government's role in the housing finance market is needed and it will be next year before proposals are ready for Congress.

Senate passes $149 bln for jobless aid, tax breaks - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Wednesday passed a $149 billion package of jobless aid and tax breaks, as Democrats continued efforts to lower the 9.7 percent unemployment rate before congressional elections in November.

GM CEO says on track for pre-June loan repayment - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - General Motors Co will pay back roughly $8 billion in debt to the United States and Canada before June, its chief executive said on Wednesday, more quickly than the automaker had promised.

Walmart returns items to shelves after lost sales - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has put roughly 300 items back on its U.S. store shelves after the retailer said it "disappointed" customers by not stocking certain products.

Wholesale inventories fall, restocking expected - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. wholesale inventories fell unexpectedly in January and sales hit their highest in more than a year, suggesting businesses will soon need to begin restocking, which would support economic growth.

Reuters Business Deals

Terra says CF's buyout bid is superior to Yara's - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fertilizer producer Terra Industries Inc said on Wednesday it plans to accept a "superior" $4.68-billion takeover bid from rival CF Industries Holdings Inc unless Yara International boosts its competing offer.

BP bidding on a package of Devon's assets: sources - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc is bidding on a package of Devon Energy Inc assets that the U.S. energy company put up for sale late last year, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Fairholme offers $2.8 billion for General Growth exit - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fund manager Fairholme Capital Management said on Wednesday it offered to buy about $2.8 billion worth of shares from General Growth Properties Inc , giving further details of a plan to help the No. 2 U.S. mall owner emerge from bankruptcy.

Barclays seen on lookout for U.S. bank deal - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays is on the lookout to buy a retail bank in the United States, according to reports, to build on its successful investment bank build-up there and create a buffer against regulatory reform.

China Mobile to pay $5.8 bln for Pudong Bank stake - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Mobile will pay $5.8 billion for 20 percent of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank the company said on Wednesday, a move it hopes will help it dominate the country's nascent mobile e-commerce market.

Illinois blocks Anheuser bid for distributor - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Illinois Liquor Control Commission blocked a bid by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV's U.S. business to take over Chicago-area distributor City Beverage.

Heir Merckle in tussle with banks over Phoenix - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Ratiopharm owner Ludwig Merckle has turned down offers for drugs distributor Phoenix, as he struggles to retain control over his late father's diminished business empire, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

Britain ready to compromise on hedge funds: sources - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is preparing concessions to Germany and France that will pave the way for European finance ministers to agree draft regulations on hedge funds as soon as next week, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Reuters Private Equity News

UPDATE 2-Psychiatric Solutions weighs sale of company - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
* Stock closed at $29, up 21 percent (Adds details in paragraphs 3,5-6,8)

UPDATE 3-Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
(Adds CF Industries, General Growth Properties and InBev; Updates Barclays, Barratt and Tullett Prebon)

UPDATE 1-Houlihan starts fintech advisory practice - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - Investment bank Houlihan Lokey said on Wednesday veteran dealmaker Robert Hyer joined the firm from Greenhill & Co to head a new practice focusing on companies in the financial technology industry.

Extended Stay examiner completes investigation - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - A court-appointed examiner in the bankruptcy of U.S. hotel chain Extended Stay America Inc has completed his investigation into the company's 2007 leveraged buyout and will seek to make his report public, according to court documents filed late Tuesday.

RLPC-Dubai's Istithmar kicks off ISS auction -bankers - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Information memoranda have been issued for the sale of Istithmar's port and shipping agent Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) as the auction gets underway, bankers close to the deal said on Wednesday.

Ex-ITV boss takes over at EMI Music as CEO goes - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - EMI Music, which is seeking new funds to avoid breaching debt covenants, said Chief Executive Elio Leoni-Sceti would step down shortly, just a month after he was tasked with finding a new business plan.

UPDATE 2-Top Goldman partner Hu to launch China fund -sources - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
* Hu plans to launch new China private equity fund - sources

UPDATE 2-Kabel Deutschland sets price on $1 billion IPO - Wed, 10 Mar 2010
* To offer up to 30 mln shares, 4.5 mln greenshoe option