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TOP STORIES
Japan's Takeda clinches $62 bln deal to buy drugmaker Shire
LONDON/TOKYO - Takeda Pharmaceutical agrees to buyLondon-listed Shire for 45.3 billion pounds ($61.50 billion),marking the biggest deal yet in a wave of transactions sweepingthe drugs industry. (SHIRE-M&A/TAKEDA (UPDATE 5, PIX, TV),moving shortly, by Ben Hirschler, Paul Sandle and Sam Nussey,998 words)
Comcast prepares all-cash bid to gate-crash Disney-Fox deal
U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp is asking investment banksto increase a bridge financing facility by as much as $60billion so it can make an all-cash offer for the media assetsthat Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has agreed to sell to WaltDisney Co for $52 billion, three people familiar with the mattersay. (FOX-M&A/COMCAST (EXCLUSIVE, UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, byGreg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker, 552 words)
See also: (SKY-M&A/COMCAST, moving shortly, 508 words)
(FOX-M&A/COMCAST, moved, 262 words)
Memory boost: How chipmakers are weathering slowingsmartphone sales
SEOUL/SINGAPORE - Investors in global chipmakers have had arocky ride in the last few months on worries about a slowingsmartphone market, but a clamor for more video content fromconsumers is underpinning buoyant sales for memory-chip makers.(TECH-CHIPS/ (ANALYSIS, PIX), moved, by Joyce Lee and SayantaniGhosh, 754 words)
Icahn, Deason want bid of at least $40 per share for Xerox
Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, shareholders in Xerox Corp whooppose an agreed deal with Fujifilm Holdings, say they wouldconsider an all-cash bid of at least $40 per share - a 43percent premium to the Japanese firm's offer.(XEROX-M&A/FUJIFILM (UPDATE 6, PIX), moved, by LahareeChatterjee, 617 words)
Hedge funds slash bearish dollar bets, and there's more tocome: McGeever
LONDON - Hedge funds and speculators spent the first fourmonths of the year betting heavily against the dollar. They'renow running for the hills. (GLOBAL-MARKETS/SPECULATORS(COLUMN), moved, by Jamie McGeever, 564 words)
MARKETS
Tech sector gains keep world shares near one-week high
LONDON - Oil prices ease from 3-1/2-year highs they hit onworries the United States may be set to pull out of a keynuclear accord with Iran, but robust tech sector gains in Asiahelp support world stocks near one-week highs. (GLOBAL-MARKETS/(WRAPUP 5), updating throughout the day, by Sujata Rao, 705words)
Widening cracks in euro sends dollar to 2018 highs
LONDON - The dollar surges to a 2018 high against its rivalsas a rout of the euro prompted traders to buy the greenbackdespite some concerns its rally may have been too quick.(GLOBAL-FOREX/ (UPDATE 4), updating throughout the day, bySaikat Chatterjee, 550 words)
Oil backs off 2014 highs ahead of Trump Iran decision
LONDON - Oil retreats from its highest level in 3-1/2 yearsahead of an announcement by President Donald Trump later in theday on whether the United States will reimpose sanctions onIran. (GLOBAL-OIL/ (UPDATE 4), by Amanda Cooper, 455 words)
Gold slips as dollar hits 2018 high, Iran tensions underpin
LONDON - Gold slips as the dollar surged to a new 2018 highagainst its rivals, though losses are limited by worries theUnited States may be set to pull out of a key nuclear accordwith Iran. (GLOBAL-PRECIOUS/ (UPDATE 3), updating throughout theday, by Maytaal Angel, 422 words)
ECONOMY
Italian bond yields hit six-week high on election jitters
LONDON - Italian government bond yield rise sharply, liftingsouthern European peers, as the possibility of an early Italianelection increased with the country's largest anti-establishmentparties polling strongly. (EUROZONE-BONDS/ (UPDATE 1), moved,by Abhinav Ramnarayan, 536 words)
ECB needs to consider fee hike for securities platform - ECBdocument
LONDON - The European Central Bank is being forced toconsider raising the fees for its flagship securities platformafter trading failed to reach its projected volumes, an ECBdocument shows. (ECB-MARKETS/SETTLEMENT (EXCLUSIVE), moved, 197words)
'Upswing remains intact': German data dispels downswingconcerns
BERLIN - A stronger-than-expected rebound in Germanindustrial output in March, and a jump in exports in the samemonth, help ease concerns that growth in Europe's biggesteconomy could have come to a standstill at the start of theyear. (GERMANY-ECONOMY/INDUSTRIALOUTPUT (UPDATE 3), moved, byMichael Nienaber, 670 words)
China April exports bounce back more than expected despiteUS trade brawl
BEIJING - China's exports rebound more strongly thanexpected in April after a surprise drop the previous month,suggesting global demand remains relatively resilient andproviding a cushion to the economy amid a heated trade disputewith the United States. (CHINA-ECONOMY/TRADE (UPDATE 2, PIX,GRAPHIC), moved, by Elias Glenn, 790 words)
+ See also:
USA-TRADE/CHINA-TALKS (UPDATE 1), moved, 360 words
Drab data show Bank of England's Carney a 'sensitiveboyfriend'
LONDON - Signals that Britain's economy is slowing suggest"unreliable boyfriend" Mark Carney -- whose recent commentsup-ended expectations the Bank of England would raise rates thismonth -- may just be in touch with his data-sensitive side.(BRITAIN-ECONOMY/ (GRAPHIC, PIX), moved, by Andy Bruce, 644words)
COMPANIES
Walmart likely to announce Flipkart deal before end of thisweek -sources
MUMBAI/BENGALURU - Walmart is likely to announce itsmuch-anticipated deal to buy a controlling stake in Indiane-commerce player Flipkart before the end of this week, twosources said, in what is likely to be the U.S. retail giant'sbiggest acquisition of a business. (FLIPKART-M&A/WALMART (PIX),moved, by Sankalp Phartiyal and Nivedita Bhattacharjee, 460words)
Beauty products gloss over Zalando earnings squeeze
BERLIN - European online fashion retailer Zalando says thelaunch of beauty products in Germany had made a promising startand it saw a big jump in active customers in the first quarteralthough a late start to spring weighed on profitability.(ZALANDO-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Emma Thomasson, 386words)
UK regulator probes SSE, Npower merger due to price concerns
LONDON - British regulators have launched an in-depthinvestigation into the tie-up between the retail power unit ofSSE Plc and Npower, owned by Germany's Innogy, saying it mayreduce competition and increase prices for some households.(INNOGY-M&A/SSE (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, by Sabina Zawadzki, 511words)
Virgin Money bid sparks consolidation talk
LONDON - British entrepreneur Richard Branson, founder ofthe Virgin business empire, is reviewing a 1.6 billion pounds($2.2 billion) takeover bid that could turn the fledgling lenderhe founded almost 25 years ago into one of Britain's biggestbanks. (VIRGIN MONEY-M&A/CYBG (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, byLawrence White and Sinead Cruise, 524 words)
U.S. fund Apollo walks away from FirstGroup offer
LONDON - U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Managementdrops plans to make a takeover bid for British bus and railoperator FirstGroup, after having two approaches turned down.(FIRSTGROUP-M&A/APOLLO (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved, 336 words)
