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• France On Track for Growth Target - Minister

  

  French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday said the government believed it could reach its 2013 economic growth target of 0.8 percent.

• Hedge Funds Up Bets Against Italy's Monte Paschi

  London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses.

• Hedge funds up bets against Italy's Monte Paschi

  LONDON, Feb 3- Big-name London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses.

• U.S. shale gas revolution throws down the gauntlet to Europe

  MUNICH, Feb 3- The United States is enjoying an energy bonanza thanks to shale gas, making it a magnet for industry, reducing import dependence and challenging Europe as it battles to dig itself out of recession, energy officials say. As Europe continues to debate it, North America is reaping the advantages, "said Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell.

• ANA in Talks With Boeing to Speed Up 777 Jet Deliveries

  Japan's All Nippon Airways is in talks with U.S. aircraft maker Boeing to speed up the delivery of three 777 jetliners as its fleet of 787 Dreamliner airplanes remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.

• ANA in talks with Boeing to speed up 777 jet deliveries-Nikkei

  TOKYO, Feb 3- Japan's All Nippon Airways is in talks with U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co to speed up the delivery of three 777 jetliners as its fleet of 787 Dreamliner airplanes remains grounded with undiagnosed battery problems, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.

• Brazil defense says wants to buy Russian antiaircraft systems

  SAO PAULO, Feb 2- Brazil's Defense Ministry said it will recommend the government buy anti-aircraft defense systems from Russia pending advanced talks with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev this month.

• Declining Car Sales Sink European Upturn Hopes

  

  Car sales extended their declines in France, Spain and Italy last month, data showed on Friday, leaving little hope of a European auto market rebound anytime soon.

• UPDATE 2-Boeing 787 investigation making progress -US NTSB

  WASHINGTON, Feb 1- U.S. officials on Friday said they are making progress in their investigation of a battery fire on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in Boston this month, as the grounding of Boeing's entire fleet Of 787 s stretched into a third week.

• Google to Pay $60 Million Euros into French Media Fund

  

  Google is to pay 60 million euros into a special fund to help French media develop their presence on the Internet.

• Poland charges blue-chip builders' execs with cartel

  The European Commission this week said it was putting on hold transfers of money due to Poland for road projects, which could add up to about 5 billion euros, because it wants assurances the alleged fraud could not be repeated on other projects in Poland, the biggest recipient of European Union funds.

• UPDATE 3-C.Agricole takes $5bln hit as banks struggle to move on

  *Follow similar writedown by Deutsche Bank. PARIS, Feb 1- Credit Agricole, France's No. 3 bank, announced a further 3.8 billion euros in charges on Friday as banks struggle to move on from ill-timed deals before the 2008 financial crisis. They also come a day after Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, announced almost $4 billion of charges.

• UPDATE 1-Google to pay 60 mln euros into French media fund

  PARIS, Feb 1- Google is to pay 60 million euros into a special fund to help French media develop their presence on the Internet under a top-level deal signed on Friday, but will not pay them for posting links to their content.

• UPDATE 1-Declining January car sales sink European upturn hopes

  PARIS, Feb 1- Car sales extended their declines in France, Spain and Italy last month, data showed on Friday, leaving little hope of a European auto market rebound anytime soon. "The French passenger car market started 2013 on as weak a note as it exited 2012," analyst David Arnold at Credit Suisse said in a note.

• Global manufacturing revives in January

  JPMorgan's Global Manufacturing PMI, produced with research and supply management organisations, rose to 51.5 in January from December's 50.1, above the 50- mark that divides growth from contraction for the second straight month.

• UPDATE 2-Autogrill split raises prospect of retail business deal

  MILAN, Feb 1- Autogrill, the world's biggest airport retailer, may split its business in two, a move that could help revive its main food operation and lead to a merger for the retail division. The announcement of the possible split, which has been the subject of market speculation for the last two years, sent Autogrill shares to their highest since May 2011.

• LyondellBasell 4Q earnings meet Street's view

  NEW YORK-- LyondellBasell Industries NV, which refines oil and makes chemicals and plastics used in manufacturing and construction, returned to a profit in its fourth quarter free of charges to refinance and shut down a French refinery.

• GLOBAL ECONOMY-US manufacturing surges, Chinese recovery more modest

  *China's official PMI eases to 50.4, HSBC reading at two-year high. NEW YORK/ LONDON, Feb 1- U.S. manufacturing growth quickened in January and hiring across the economy increased in late 2012, but Chinese factories only managed a slight rebound as the new year began, suggesting that world economic growth remains sluggish.

• UPDATE 2-Beam optimistic on 2013 as bourbon remains strong

  Feb 1- Beam Inc reported a smaller-than-expected decline in fourth-quarter earnings and gave an optimistic 2013 forecast as it benefits from strong demand for bourbon and growth in emerging markets.

• RPT-COLUMN-Saudi Arabia must shoulder blame for high oil prices: Kemp

  LONDON, Feb 1- Spot Brent prices are at their highest level since October and almost $16 above Saudi Arabia's theoretical target of around $100 per barrel. "Current high oil prices are a major challenge... for the global economic recovery," the International Energy Agency's chief economist Fatih Birol warned on Thursday.