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TOP STORIES
Franco-German rift threatens plan for banking union
BRUSSELS - Germany and France publicly clash over plans to put the European Central Bank in charge of supervising banks, deepening a dispute over the scope of the ECB's powers that threatens to undermine one of Europe's boldest reforms. (EU-BANKING/UNION (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved, by John O'Donnell and Robin Emmott, 850 words)
Hedge funds hold out for more from Greece
LONDON - Greece's offer to buy back some of its debts will not tempt all hedge fund owners to sell, with some prepared to hold out for bigger gains further down the line. (GREECE-HEDGEFUNDS/, moving shortly, by Laurence Fletcher and Tommy Wilkes, 800 words)
UK data paints gloomy picture before budget statement
LONDON - Britain's economic recovery remains precarious, data shows, with construction activity falling and retail sales weaker than expected - a blow to the government the day before a budget statement. (BRITAIN-ECONOMY/(WRAPUP 1), moved, by Jonathan Cable, 800 words)
Euro hits 6-week high, shares up on euro zone progress
LONDON - The euro hit a six-month high and shares add to recent gains on optimism over Greece's plan to buy back debt and encouraging news from Spain and Portugal. (MARKETS-GLOBAL/(WRAPUP 7, GRAPHIC), moved, by Steven C. Johnson and Marc Jones, 680 words)
ECONOMY
U.S. State governors to meet with Obama, Boehner on 'cliff'
WASHINGTON - With a few weeks remaining before the onset of "fiscal cliff," a bipartisan delegation of governors is set to meet with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in search of some answers about the impact of deficit reduction measures on their state budgets, which rely heavily on federal aid. (USA-FISCAL/GOVERNORS, moved, by Fred Barbash, 640 words)
+ See also:
- USA-FISCAL/ (WRAPUP 2), moved, by Richard Cowan, 830 words
- USA-FISCAL/LIBERALPLAN, moved, 350 words
Merkel launches re-election bid with show of party unity
HANOVER, Germany - Germany's ruling conservatives put on an impressive show of unity at a party congress strengthening Angela Merkel's undisputed leadership ahead of her 2013 bid for a third term as chancellor. (GERMANY-MERKEL (UPDATE 2), expect by 1500 GMT/10 AM ET, pix, tv, by Stephen Brown and Noah Barkin, 800 words)
London Mayor demands pared back EU links for Britain
LONDON - London Mayor Boris Johnson heaps pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron by calling for a referendum on a deeply pared back British membership of the European Union. (BRITAIN MAYOR/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge, 600 words)
ECB to hold rates, guidance for 2013 eyed
FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank may give a guide to next year's policy path when it delivers fresh forecasts for the euro zone economy on Thursday at a meeting where it is expected to leave interest rates at a record low. (ECB/RATES (PREVIEW), moved, by Eva Kuehnen, 775 words)
Bank of England wants more curbs on bankers' pay
LONDON - Bankers' pay needs to be curbed further to reflect the risk of a bank failure many years after a bonus has been awarded, the Bank of England (BoE) said before the annual bonus season begins next month. (BOE-BANKS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Huw Jones and David Milliken, 580 words)
US SEC charges China affiliates of top accounting firms
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE - U.S. regulators charge the Chinese arms of the world's five top accounting firms with securities violations, raising tensions in a regulatory standoff which experts say could kill off U.S. listings for Chinese firms if not resolved. (SEC-CHINA/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Aruna Viswanatha and Rachel Armstrong, 900 words)
Nigeria minister urges oil majors to accept higher tax
ABUJA - Nigeria's oil minister urges foreign majors to accept higher government revenues from crude production outlined in a draft oil bill, but ExxonMobil says that the new terms risked stifling investment. (NIGERIA-OIL/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Tim Cocks, 600 words)
COMPANIES
Shareholders haggle over final details of EADS shake up
LONDON - Bankers, civil servants and industrialists are squeezing out final concessions in talks to shake up aerospace group EADS, people familiar with the discussions says. (EADS/, moved, by Tim Hepher, 750 words)
Inside Ford's latest revival of Lincoln
DETROIT - Ford this week announced the latest in a long -- and largely unsuccessful -- series of campaigns to resuscitate its flagging Lincoln brand. But some analysts and dealers aren't convinced that Lincoln can be saved. (AUTOS-FORD/LINCOLN, graphics, expect by 2000 GMT/3 pm ET, by Deepa Seetharaman and Paul Lienert, 1000 words)
Olive Garden parent warns on profit as promotions miss mark
Darden Restaurants warns that earnings for the latest quarter would miss expectations after unsuccessful promotions lead to a decline in sales at its Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse chains. (DARDEN-OUTLOOK, (UPDATE 1), expect by 1600 GMT/11 a.m., by Lisa Baertlein, 600 words)
Dexia closer to becoming empty shell as sale talks start
BRUSSELS - Franco-Belgian group Dexia SA is in talks on a disposal which will mark the near completion of its dismemberment following its virtual collapse in the wake of the financial crisis. (DEXIA-DISPOSAL/ (UPDATE 2) moved, by Robert-Jan Bartunek 450 words)
Baxter to buy Sweden's Gambro for about $4 billion
Baxter International says that it will buy privately held Swedish dialysis product company Gambro AB for about $4 billion to complement its kidney therapy portfolio. (BAXTER-ACQUISITION/ (UPDATE 3), moving shortly, 650 words)
Norilsk billionaires end feud with Abramovich as enforcer
MOSCOW/HONG KONG - Two Russian billionaires end a four-year battle over the world's biggest nickel and palladium mine by giving the biggest voting stake in their $30 billion company to Kremlin-favoured tycoon Roman Abramovich.(RUSAL-NORILSK/ABRAMOVICH (UPDATE 2), moved, by Polina Devitt and Donny Kwok, 600 words)
Fugitive Kazakh oligarch appeals to UK Supreme Court
LONDON - Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive Kazakh oligarch accused of masterminding one of the largest frauds ever heard by British judges, has appealed to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch attempt to prevent his assets being seized (BTA-ABLYAZOV/APPEAL, moved, by Kirstin Ridley, 650 words)
E.ON sees growth in Turkey after Enerjisa deal
FRANKFURT/ISTANBUL - German utility E.ON aims to more than double Enerjisa's share of Turkey's power generation capacity, expanding its presence in one of the world's fastest-growing energy markets.(E.ON-VERBUND/TURKEY (UPDATE 3), moved, by Christoph Steitz and Seda Sezer, 420 words)
Package holiday revival boosts TUI Travel
LONDON - TUI Travel, the world's biggest tour operator, reports higher profits and bookings, saying cash-strapped Europeans are increasingly turning to fixed-price holidays to escape the economic gloom. (TUITRAVEL/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Rhys Jones, 500 words)
Student group to go to court over Facebook privacy policy
VIENNA - An Austrian student group plans to go to court in a bid to make Facebook Inc, the world's biggest social network, do more to protect the privacy of its hundreds of millions of members. (FACEBOOK-IRELAND/ (UPDATE 3), moved, by Georgina Prodhan, 700 words)
FEATURE
India sets up "village" to nurture software start-ups
KOCHI, India - Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Indian information technology giant Infosys stares out from a wall-to-wall poster in a modern office building near Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala. His message is directed at aspiring entrepreneurs at Startup Village, who dream of creating the next billion-dollar tech giant. (INDIA-TECHVILLAGE/ (FEATURE, PIX), moved, by Diksha Madhok, 1,250 words)