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LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swiss banking group UBS said Tuesday that it’s introduced new corporate governance rules to more clearly separate the responsibilities of its board and executive management and to strengthen the oversight of the board. The bank also named Sergio Marchionne as its senior independent director and called an extraordinary general meeting […]

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Belgian brewing group InBev said Tuesday that it remains committed to its $65 a share offer for U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch , even after its offer was rejected. “Given the seriousness of our firm proposal, we were surprised that we did not hear from Anheuser-Busch’s board of directors, management or advisors prior […]

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. house prices fell 0.9% in June compared to 2.5%in May, the Nationwide Building Society said on Tuesday. Prices are now 6.3% lower than at the same point a year ago. “With house purchase transactions so far below their long term trend it seems unlikely that there will be any rapid turnaround […]

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. CD and DVD retailer HMV Group said Tuesday that its net profit for the year ended April 26 jumped to 89 million pounds ($177 million) from 16.1 million pounds as total sales for the year rose 2.2% to 1.94 billion pounds. Excluding gains from the sale of its Japanese business […]

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Barratt Developments is near to agreeing a refinancing deal with its lenders, the Telegraph newspaper reported Tuesday. The homebuilder’s lending syndicate includes HBSC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds TBS and they have given tentative approval for a deal, the paper reported.
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TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Qiagen NV, the Venlo, Netherlands, provider of biological sampling and assay technologies, said on Tuesday that it acquired closely held Corbett Life Science Pty. of Sydney. For Corbett, which develops and produces life-sciences instrumentation, Qiagen said it would pay US$66 million cash, $4 million in restricted common stock and […]

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Smithfield Foods Inc., the Smithfield, Va., pork-processing giant, said late on Monday that it agreed to sell 7 million, or just under 5%, of its common shares to Cofco Ltd., which it called China’s largest national agricultural-trading and -processing company. Smithfield also said it would offer $350 million of senior […]

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Barry Callebaut AG, the Zurich cocoa- and chocolate-producing major, reported fiscal nine-month revenue rose 19% and said that because the dollar and British pound had weakened against the euro and Swiss franc, it would introduce locally produced gourmet chocolate in the U.S. and Asia. For the nine months ended May […]

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Australia’s central bank kept its short-term interest rate target at a decade-high 7.25% Tuesday, as expected. In an accompanying statement Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens said past interest-rate hikes and tighter lending standards have led to substantial tightening in financial conditions since the middle of last year. “The evidence […]

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Bangladesh on Tuesday said it would raise the price of gasoline and othe fuels, becoming the latest Asian nation seeking to offset soaring crude-oil prices by passing along higher costs to consumers. Newswire reports cited government officials as saying the government would lift prices for diesel and kerosene by 37.5%, gasoline […]