Takeovers seen smashing record

The rumours about a potential takeover of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc these last few days created an enthusiastic buzz on Wall Street that acquisitions this year will smash the $4trillion record set in 2006.

Seven weeks into 2007, the amount of money for takeovers brokered by investment banks and private equity firms is trending above last year.

In the US, market researcher Dealogic said volume has soared 86% to $228.6bn from last year, while global volume rose 36% to $477.4bn.

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'Sex addict' sues IBM for $5m

A man who was fired by IBM for visiting an adult chat room during the workday is suing the computer company for $5m, claiming he is an internet addict who deserves treatment and sympathy rather than dismissal.

James Pacenza, 58, says he visits chat rooms as treatment for traumatic stress incurred in 1969 when he saw his best friend killed during an Army patrol in the Vietnam War.

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Strike while president parties

Zimbabwe's 180 000 civil servants look set to go on strike this week after they turned down a more than 250% pay rise offered by president Robert Mugabe's government, reports said on Sunday.

Civil servants, represented by the Apex Council had given the government until Friday to meet their demands for a minimum wage of Zim$450 000.

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Iran: no further OPEC cut if oil keeps rising

Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said on Saturday he did not expect another OPEC output cut if crude prices continued to rise, although he said that picture might change if prices dipped.

Several OPEC ministers have said there will be no need for more output cuts to add to pledged reductions of 1.7 million barrels per day. The latest cut was implemented in February. OPEC ministers are due to meet on March 15 in Vienna.

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GM in early talks to buy Chrysler

General Motors Corp. is in preliminary talks to buy Chrysler, the struggling U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler AG, or to strike a strategic alliance with the rival automaker, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

There was deep skepticism on Wall Street about whether such a merger made sense for GM and whether it could ever happen.

An outright takeover of the Chrysler Group by GM would risk complicating the turnaround efforts of both companies, analysts said, even as it created an industry giant with a nearly 40 percent share of the U.S. market.

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Africa expects higher coffee output

Producers of African specialty coffee said on Saturday they expect coffee output by countries in the east and south of the continent to jump by at least 30 to 40 percent in the next five years.

After declining due to weak prices and civil strife, coffee production is rising in Africa on higher prices and growing political stability in the region, officials said.

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Citigroup to list on Tokyo Stock Exchange

Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank, plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange later this year, a move that could make it easier to buy Japanese firms through stock swaps, the Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) business daily reported on Sunday.

Quoting an unnamed Citigroup executive in New York, Nikkei said the U.S. lender had already started preparations for the listing it saw as indispensable for carrying out its expansion plans in Japan.

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