Financial News

This is Money30 December 2009, 5:46pm 17.25: OTHER STORIES How to save safely with banks and building societies How we're still paying for banks' collapse How are your savings protected? Billions taken out of building societies Brief overview of bank and building society strength The FTSE 100 Index pulled back from its landmark pre-Lehman Brothers collapse level today as falls among bank and mining stocks ended a five day winning streak. London's Footsie ...

NUANCE TO PAY $66 MLN IN CASH, $36.5 MLN IN STOCK * Deal to enhance Nuance's voice-to-text business * SpinVox is Nuance's fourth buy this year * Nuance shares down 2 pct (Adds analysts' comments, background, updates share movement) By Manasi Phadke Dec 30 (Reuters) - Speech recognition technology supplier Nuance Communications Inc said it acquired smaller  ...

MADRID, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Spanish anti-corruption prosecutors began legal action on Wednesday against the former head of the Spanish unit of German property lender Eurohypo and another man arising from a takeover in 2006. Court documents name Jose Luis Zanetty, former managing director of the Eurohypo unit and Francisco Garriga, described as a friend of Zanetty. The prosecutors s ...

MADRID, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Two shareholders of NH Hoteles announced a pact in the Spanish hotel chain on Tuesday to strengthen the shareholder base and following a similar move by three savings banks shareholders on Monday. The pacts follows a recent deal with hotel firm Hesperia, a long-time rival stakeholder, which included an easing of voting rights restrictions, making it easier for a ...

BRUSSELS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Belgian radiotherapy implant maker International Brachytherapy (IBt) said on Tuesday it would respond to a takeover offer from two German shareholders early in January. "We were not aware of this," an IBt spokesman told Reuters by telephone, a day after the shareholders launched their offer at a sub-market price. "It is an unsolicited offer.&quot ...

By Charlotte Cooper TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Tuesday, helped by gains in oil and metals and by merger activity, but stock markets elsewhere in Asia lagged as year-end activity dwindled, and the dollar's rally ran out of steam. Oil held below $79 a barrel after setting a five-week high on Monday on expectations that colder weather in the United States and signs o ...

SEOUL, Dec 29 (Reuters) - South Korea's state-run oil company bought Kazakh oil developer Sumbe for $335 million, the South Korean government said, after talks with China's Sinochem for the central Asian oil assets apparently fell through. Under the deal, Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) and its Kazakh partner acquired 85 percent and 15 percent of Sumbe, respectively, the Korean government s ...

BRUSSELS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - German shareholders including Eckert & Ziegler (EZAG) launched on Monday a sub-market price offer for Belgium's IBt after being made to do so by Belgian market regulator CBFA. The CBFA said in a statement that the price to be paid would be 3.64 euros per share, below the 3.75 euros they last traded on Monday before being suspended. IBt, now called I ...

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Harbinger Group Inc: ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL officer and consummation of reincorporation merger SAYS ON DECEMBER 24, 2009, FRANCIS T. MCCARRON WAS APPOINTED AS HARBINGER group's CFO ((Bangalore Equities Newsroom; +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)) (For more news, please click here) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009.  ...

TO PAY $10.22/SHARE IN ALL-STOCK DEAL * First Chester shares to get 0.453 Tower shr apiece * Deal represents 86 pct premium to Thursday's close * Tower says deal to add over 20 pct to EPS in near term * First Chester stock up 80 pct (Adds conference call details, updates stock movement) Dec 28 (Reuters) - Tower Bancorp Inc agreed to buy First Chester Count ...