BASF on Wednesday sealed a €3.1bn ($3.8bn) deal to take over smaller rival Cognis, in one of the largest acquisitions the chemicals sector has seen this year.The world’s largest chemicals group by revenues said it had reached an agreement with Cognis’s owners – US investment bank Goldman Sachs and British private equity group Permira – to buy the company for an equity purchasing price of €700m.
US stocks fell at the opening of trade on Wednesday as new homes sales came in at a record low, adding to the mounting concerns about the strength of the domestic economic recovery.Investors awaited the US interest rate decision, due in the second half of the session, but no change to the current rate was expected.
Asia’s markets suffered a sharp sell-off on Monday as concerns about the global recovery resurfaced.Disappointing US home sales data and worries about the eurozone banking sector were the chief concerns among investors, traders said.
Given that it swept to national power less than a year ago on a raft of generous spending promises, it is a bold decision by Japan's ruling Democratic party to make tax rises and budget curbs central themes of its latest election campaign.But Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's new finance minister, says that nine months in government have taught the DPJ that it must be straight with voters – even with an im
France’s disastrous World Cup campaign has become an affair of state after President Nicolas Sarkozy summoned Prime Minister François Fillon to the Elysee Palace on Wednesday to review the events that led to a humiliating strike by players at the weekend that has sparked national outrage.The president will also on Thursday meet France’s top international scorer, Thierry Henry.Mr Henry has promise
The funding of Portuguese banks from the European Central Bank more than doubled last month, as financial institutions struggled to access international capital markets.Portuguese banks borrowed €35.8bn from the ECB in May compared with €17.7bn in April, according to the Bank of Portugal.
Markets across Europe were hit for a second straight session on Wednesday, as fears over the strength of the global recovery were exacerbated by a surprise drop in May house sales figures from the US.Hardest hit were banks and metals companies.In Athens, the metal production group Viohalco dropped 4.9 per cent to €3.73, while rival Elval sunk 3.9 per cent to €1.32.Banks in Greece were also hit.Ba
Sterling built on its gains from the previous session on Wednesday after the minutes of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meeting this month revealed one member had voted to raise interest rates.The minutes surprised investors by showing that Andrew Sentance had voted to raise rates by 25 basis points from a record low of 0.5 per cent, the first call by an MPC member for monetary ti