Unilever's $1.3 billion proposal to acquire Sara Lee's household and body products operation ran into a snag Monday when European antitrust regulators announced they are opening a deeper investigation into the proposed transaction.
In the last two days, oil has fallen below $70 after trading at $89.77 just weeks ago. The reverse comes just weeks after several brokerage houses said it would go over $95 in 2010.
Monday's relief rally in global stock markets is almost certainly overdone, but make no mistake: The EU's surprise trillion-dollar rescue package is a move that just exploded a large chunk of bears' case.
As the bond vigilantes attack Greece's economy, and set their sights on other debt-plagued nations, European Union officials are preparing an emergency stabilization package to resolve the sovereign debt crisis. But unless the world's central banks get involved too, the EU moves won't be enough.
The fund probably doesn't have the resources to bail out Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain. Which begs the question: Who rescues the IMF if it needs more stabilization funds to put out another fire? You guessed it. The U.S. is at the top of that list.
The financial crisis that started with overly indebted Greece is spreading rapidly to engulf Spain, Portugal, and European Union banks. The world may need a TARP-like rescue effort to contain Europe's contagion.
Bowing to pressure from the E.U., Greece has announced new austerity measures. The country is gambling that the new cuts will encourage nations in the eurozone to back loans to Greece from their state-owned backs.
Microsoft criticized Google for failing to adequately respond to a recent European Commission investigation into its market share and practices. In a blog post, Microsoft's deputy general counsel wrote that Google is trying to place the blame on Microsoft, rather than take responsibility for its own actions.
An Italian judge convicted three Google executives of privacy violations over a 2006 video depicting a child with Down Syndrome being bullied. What's more, the search giant was also facing antitrust scrutiny from European Union regulators over complaints leveled by three European Internet companies.
Antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe have approved Microsoft's search advertising partnership with Yahoo, giving the two companies a much needed boost in their quest to chip away at market leader Google. The regulatory victories are a major boost for Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who made the search partnership a key component in her still-young tenure leading the one-time Internet pioneer.
It seemed last week that EU leaders were prepared to come to the rescue of Greece with financial aid -- or at least guarantees for some of its national bond obligation. But those pledges have begun to evaporate.
The European Union will give debt-plagued Greece a helping hand. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said that "euro area members will take determined and coordinated action if needed to safeguard stability in the euro zone as a whole." But details are still up in the air.
Struggling with a worsening sovereign debt crisis, Greece appears closer to a bailout by the E.U. The plan may be led by Germany due to the size of its economy and relatively strong financial position.
After a year-long search, General Motors finally found a buyer in the Dutch sports-car maker. The $400 million offer comprises $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred shares. Saab workers and customers finally have a good reason to be hopeful.
Microsoft has sealed a deal to end a decade of litigation with the European Union over charges that it unfairly used its dominant operating system to promote its Web browser, Internet Explorer. The computer giant agreed to give European users a choice of up to 12 browsers in future editions of Windows.