Hutchison to buy Telefonica UK unit for $15.4 billion
MADRID/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd has agreed to buy Telefonica’s British mobile unit O2 for up to 10.25 billion pounds ($15.4 billion), hastening the consolidation of Britain’s telecoms industry.
Shares, bonds lifted by QE; oil up after Saudi king dies
LONDON (Reuters) – Stocks and bonds surged worldwide and the euro sank to an 11- year-low on Friday, the day after the European Central Bank announced a quantitative easing plan. Oil rose following the death of the king of Saudi Arabia.
U.S. banks resign themselves to lower yields for longer
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. banks, after spending much of the last year bracing themselves for higher bond yields, are now resigning themselves to at least another few quarters of low rates, executives and analysts said.
Oil jumps after Saudi king’s death amid huge market shifts
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices jumped in early Asian trading on Friday as news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah added to uncertainty in energy markets already facing some of the biggest shifts in decades.
China says Microsoft Outlook hacking allegations ‘groundless’
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Allegations that Chinese authorities hacked into Microsoft Corp’s Outlook email service are “groundless slander”, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Beijing’s cyberspace regulator as saying late on Thursday.
Wall St. gains after ECB stimulus move; banks lead
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose to session highs ahead of the close on Thursday after the European Central Bank announced larger than expected measures to stimulate the region’s sagging economy.
U.S. airlines expect big fuel savings, steady fares
(Reuters) – U.S. airlines on Thursday forecast enormous fuel savings in 2015 but hinted that ample consumer demand would allow them to avoid fare discounts and pass savings on to shareholders.
U.S. jobless claims off seven-month high; oil layoffs watched
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week from a seven-month high, pointing to continued improvement in labor market conditions.
RadioShack gets another delisting warning from the NYSE
(Reuters) – RadioShack Corp said the New York Stock Exchange had issued a fresh warning that it could delist the struggling electronics retailer as its average market capitalization had stayed below $50 million for more than 30 consecutive days.
Telefonica to sell British unit to Hutchison for $15 billion: source
MADRID (Reuters) – Telefonica has agreed to sell its British unit O2 to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd in a deal valued at more than 10 billion pounds ($15 billion), a source with direct knowledge of the operation said on Thursday.
