ABN, Barclays up as Fortis investors back ABN deal

(Reuters) - Shares in ABN were up 1.7 percent at 35.61 euros after the pivotal Fortis shareholder vote. In the first of two votes due on Monday, 94 percent of Fortis shareholders who voted were for its proposed rights issue, well above the 75 percent needed. Click on .




Barclays shares rose 1.4 percent. Shares in Fortis were down 1.7 percent and RBS and Santander shares were down 0.8 percent. Shares in the winning bank or banks are expected to come under pressure in the short term from concerns about the high price of the deal and execution risk.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Barclays, ABN advisers' fees seen at 311 mln stg

(Reuters) - In a filing to U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange
Commission late on Friday, Barclays also said its shareholders
will be asked to vote on the deal on September 14.




The British bank is expected to formally launch its offer
for ABN by a deadline to do so on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Rising Mortgage Payments to Aggravate Subprime Woes, Barclays Capital Says

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. homeowners with adjustable-rate
loans will add about $26 billion in mortgage payments through
the end of next year, exacerbating problems in the subprime-
lending industry, according to Barclays Capital.

Homeowners with about $820 billion of adjustable-rate home
loans will start paying more from next month to the end of 2008,
with the riskiest borrowers accounting for 54 percent of the
debt, New York-based analysts led by Ajay Rajadhyaksha wrote in
a research report yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Increases, Led by Friends Provident on Merger Talks

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rallied, led by Friends
Provident Plc after Resolution Plc said it is in ``advanced''
merger talks with the insurer. Prudential Plc and Legal & General
Group Plc rose after UBS AG recommended investors buy the shares.

Antofagasta Plc and Anglo American Plc paced gains in mining
companies. Barclays Plc rose after the bank increased its offer
for ABN Amro Holding NV.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks May Rise on Mergers; ABN Amro, Friends Provident May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may advance after
Barclays Plc raised its offer for ABN Amro Holding NV to 67.5
billion euros ($93.4 billion) and Friends Provident Plc held talks
with Resolution Plc, according to people familiar with the matter.

Siemens AG might be active after Handelsblatt reported the
region's largest engineering company received bids for its VDO unit.
TomTom NV, the world's largest maker of car navigation devices, said
it intends to buy Tele Atlas NV.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks Advance, Led by ABN Amro, Barclays, BT Group, Glaxo

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for a third day,
led by ABN Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
sweetened its 71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the
Dutch lender, seeking to trump Barclays Plc.

ABN Amro jumped the most in three months. Barclays also
climbed. BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest phone company, and
drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc rose after brokerages lifted their
recommendations on the shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks Advance, Led by ABN Amro, Barclays, RBS, BT Group

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for a third day,
led by ABN Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
sweetened its 71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the
Dutch lender, seeking to trump Barclays Plc.

Barclays also climbed. BT Group Plc advanced after Merrill
Lynch & Co. upgraded the stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bank of America set for Chicago, Michigan touchdown

(Reuters) - The ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court said ABN AMRO Holding NV does not need shareholder approval to sell LaSalle to Bank of America, the second largest U.S. bank. That in turn may make it easier for Britain's Barclays Plc to buy the rest of ABN AMRO and fend off a rival bid led by Royal Bank of Scotland Plc .




LaSalle has about 411 branches, 1,500 automated teller machines and 1.4 million customers. Its addition would give Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America more than 6,100 branches and push it to the 10 percent federal cap on deposits nationwide. The bank would surpass JPMorgan Chase & Co. as Chicago's largest, with about 16 percent of area deposits.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Fannie Mae sells $4 bln 2-year benchmark notes

(Reuters) - The other lead managers on the sale were Barclays and
Goldman Sachs.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Thomson gets 4.8 bln pounds loan for Reuters

(Reuters) - The loan is structured as a 364-day bridge financing and has been arranged by Barclays Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland and Toronto Dominion Bank. J.P. Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup also participated in the financing.



Pricing is 20 basis points over Libor, with a 5 basis points facility fee.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan's Government Bonds Decline for Ninth Day on Slump in U.S. Treasuries

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds fell for a
ninth day, the longest slide in three years, after former Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicted declines in U.S. and
emerging market debt.

``Bond yields are rising globally and Japan is catching up,''
said Masuhisa Kobayashi, chief Japan bond strategist at Barclays
Capital Japan in Tokyo. ``Yields look like they are pricing in an
expectation for a rate increase, which gives a good excuse for the
central bank in Japan to raise rates in coming months.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Fortis chief rules out bid war for ABN: paper

(Reuters) - "As far as Fortis is concerned, we think that this price represents a good price and reflects the value of ABN Amro's assets. Fortis will not get into a bidding race."




Barclays has agreed to an all-share takeover of ABN worth about 65 billion euros .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Deutsche Bank expands MBS research with five hires

(Reuters) - Yan Dong, William Natcher and Jichun Wu also joined
Deutsche as vice presidents in MBS research reporting to Shen,
the company said in a release.




Frank was most recently with Barclays Capital as director
in the mortgage strategy group. Shen joins from JPMorgan
where he was head of credit trading modeling. Dong came
from UBS , Natcher from National City Corp.
and Wu from Freddie Mac .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RBS consortium set for ABN update on Tuesday

(Reuters) - Several analysts said they expected the consortium to make a formal offer on Tuesday. Although the consortium may prefer to get more details on legal issues, stock market authorities are likely to apply pressure for more clarity, one said.




ABN in April agreed an all-share takeover by Barclays .


Read more at Reuters.com Business News