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• Nikkei set to fall sharply as Italy election spooks investors Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 6:14 PM ET

  TOKYO, Feb 26- Japan's Nikkei share average is set to fall sharply on Tuesday, retreating from a 53- month high marked the previous day, as the yen strengthens on uncertainty following the Italian elections with some big exporters to Europe set to be hit hard.

• Bank of Japan Headed for Split Leadership Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 6:12 PM ET

  

  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to put at the top of the Bank of Japan two officials with different views on how to beat deflation, which could complicate decision-making in an already split board.

• UPDATE 1-CNOOC closes $15.1 billion acquisition of Canada's Nexen Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 6:08 PM ET

  TORONTO, Feb 25- The contentious $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc by Chinese state-owned entity CNOOC Ltd closed on Monday, more than seven months after China's largest-ever foreign takeover was announced.

• India to put investors before voters in election-year budget Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 6:00 PM ET

  NEW DELHI, Feb 26- India's finance minister had a bruising battle with cabinet colleagues in the run-up to the budget he unveils this week, rebuffing demands for pre-election spending and insisting on austerity to shore up investors' faith in a troubled economy.

• REFILE-ANALYSIS-Abe's BOJ nominees suggest split views for split board Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:58 PM ET

  TOKYO, Feb 26- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to put at the top of the Bank of Japan two officials with different views on how to beat deflation, which could complicate decision-making in an already split board as it eyes a drastic make-over of monetary policy.

• ANALYSIS-U.S. shale boom forces change in Canadian oil patch Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:58 PM ET

  CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 25- The U.S. shale oil revolution is forcing Canada's oil sands industry to question whether there is a future in processing its crude into lighter oil, a tried-and-true way of wringing the most money out of a resource considered crucial to the country's prosperity.

• UPDATE 1-Goldman ex-director Gupta must repay bank $6.22 million Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:51 PM ET

  Feb 25- A federal judge on Monday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta to reimburse $6.22 million to the bank to help cover its legal expenses related to his criminal insider trading case. District Judge Jed Rakoff said the bank had proved it was entitled to 90 percent of what it requested.

• COMMODITIES-Gold up on Italy election worries; oil reverses rally Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:50 PM ET

  *Oil reverses rally after close on fears over Italy polls. NEW YORK, Feb 25- Gold gained its most in nearly five months on Monday, with safe-haven buying lifting the precious metal in post-session electronic trade as U.S. stocks slid and as oil reversed an early rally.

• UPDATE 1-Wells role in Heinz deal highlights risk -Moody's Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:45 PM ET

  Feb 25- Wells Fargo's role in a blockba4900reuff. Moody's stopped short of saying it might cut Wells Fargo's ratings, or change the outlook for its ratings, but skier capital markets businesses, Allen Tischler, an analyst at Moody's Investor Services, wrote in a report on Monday.

• UPDATE 5-Barnes & Noble chairman plans offer for bookstore business Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:26 PM ET

  Feb 25- Barnes& Noble Inc said its chairman, Leonard Riggio, plans to make an offer for the company's bookstores, a deal that would result in splitting them off from the company's Nook device and e-book business, which has been losing ground to Amazon.com.

• Cotton closes at 1-mth low as mills deterred by falling market Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:23 PM ET

  NEW YORK, Feb 25- Cotton fell for a third straight session to its lowest closing price in four weeks on Monday as consolidation and weaker outside markets pressured prices and deterred mills from buying into a falling market.

• Xx UPDATE 3-US execs united on oil drilling, divided on gas exports Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:17 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, Feb 25- Chief executives from some of the largest U.S. companies offered an energy blueprint on Monday that would expand drilling but they dodged thorny questions such as whether the nation's oil and gas wealth should be exported.

• FOREX-Euro slumps on Italy fears; yen surges broadly Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:15 PM ET

  NEW YORK, Feb 25- The euro fell to a more than six-week low against the dollar on Monday, while the yen soared broadly as worries about political gridlock in Italy spurred investors to seek refuge in the U.S. and Japanese currencies. But no party or likely coalition appeared to be able to form a majority in the upper house or Senate.

• UPDATE 8-Brent up as China imports rise, Italian elections weigh Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:14 PM ET

  *China crude imports up in January, imports from Iran drop. We started off on the bullish foot this morning with China and we also had optimism that the Italian election would have a happy outcome, but it doesn't look like we have a happy outcome. It looks like we have a confusing outcome, "said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

• ANALYSIS-As mobile bills tumble, Europe's telcos aim to make data pay Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:07 PM ET

  *Shared data plans like in US may hit Europe next year. BRUSSELS/ BARCELONA, Feb 25- European telecoms companies who have watched with dismay while phone bills shrink are hoping new price plans that emphasise data will win back revenue from smartphone and tablet users making fewer calls but spending more time online.

• Wells role in Heinz deal highlights capital markets risk -Moody's Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 5:04 PM ET

  Feb 25- Wells Fargo's role in a blockbuster investment banking deal is raising concerns at a major ratings agency. Moody's stopped short of saying it might cut Wells Fargo's ratings, or change the outlook for its ratings, but did note that the bank appears to be dialing up risk.

• UPDATE 2-International Herald Tribune renamed International New York Times Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 4:54 PM ET

  Feb 25- The New York Times Co said on Monday that it was changing the name of the International Herald Tribune to the International New York Times, putting an end to a 40- year-old brand that served as the hometown paper for Americans living abroad.

• PRECIOUS-Gold rises nearly 1 pct on Wall St losses, euro zone worry Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 4:52 PM ET

  NEW YORK, Feb 25- Gold rose about 1 percent on Monday as a sharp pullback in U.S. equities and uncertainty over the outcome of Italy's parliamentary election led to resurgent safe-haven buying, extending bullion's rally to a third day.

• US STOCKS-Wall St trips and falls on cloudy Italian election Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 4:46 PM ET

  *VIX, Wall St's fear gauge, scores biggest jump since Aug. 18, 2011. NEW YORK, Feb 25- U.S. stocks on Monday suffered their biggest drop since November after a strong showing in Italian elections by groups opposed to the country's economic reforms triggered worry that Europe's debt problems could once again destabilize the global economy.

• UPDATE 3-Honeywell to test some F-35 parts after smoke incident Monday, 25 Feb 2013 | 4:41 PM ET

  *Lockheed, Pentagon say lithium-ion battery not involved. WASHINGTON, Feb 25- The Pentagon said on Monday an F-35 test plane was involved in an incident on Feb. 14 that caused smoke in the cockpit, and it was sending the affected parts back to their manufacturer, Honeywell International Inc, for a detailed inspection.