Bankers cautious on outlook for global equity deals after 2016 slide

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Global equity raising fell by

more than a quarter in 2016, data showed on Friday, hit by

geopolitical shocks and a string of failed initial public

offerings (IPOs), with the outlook for 2017 looking shaky.

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INSIGHT-How JPMorgan could not save Italy's problem bank

MILAN/LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - On the morning of July 29,

former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was travelling

in a high-speed train towards the medieval city of Siena, racing

to meet the directors of the world's oldest bank to present them

with a rescue plan.

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INSIGHT-How JPMorgan could not save Italy's problem bank

MILAN/LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - On the morning of July 29,

former Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera was travelling

in a high-speed train towards the medieval city of Siena, racing

to meet the directors of the world's oldest bank to present them

with a rescue plan.

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Italian family firms take direct route in quest for better returns

MILAN, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Italy's wealthy family businesses,

fed up with a stagnant economy and meagre returns on their cash,

are ditching their extended circle of financial advisers and

striking out on their own.

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Deal-making to drive 2017 Middle Eastern banking fee fest

DUBAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A Middle Eastern investment

banking fee bonanza should extend into 2017, spurred by a

combination of bond and share sales and mergers and acquisitions

as the region adjusts to lower oil prices, bankers say.

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Kuwait's Warba Bank picks nine to arrange $250 mln capital sukuk - sources

DUBAI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Kuwait's Warba Bank has

mandated nine banks to arrange an Islamic bond, or sukuk, of up

to $250 million that will boost its capital reserves, banking

sources aware of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

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RPT-UPDATE 3-Italy seeks to borrow 20 bln euros to prop up banking sector

* Must raise 5 bln euros in capital, sell bad loans this

year

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BRIEF-Old Mutual says raises $291 mln from OM Asset Management share sale

* Says OM Asset Management announced today closed its

underwritten public offering of 14.95 million of its ordinary

shares.

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UPDATE 3-Italy seeks to borrow 20 bln euros to prop up banking sector

* Must raise 5 bln euros in capital, sell bad loans this

year

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UPDATE 1-BP strikes deal for 10 percent stake in Abu Dhabi's ADCO concession

DUBAI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - BP became the second

Western oil major to renew a 40-year onshore concession in Abu

Dhabi on Saturday after almost two years of negotiations to

improve terms to help operate the United Arab Emirates' biggest

oilfields.

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Ireland appoints coordinators for AIB IPO

DUBLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Ireland announced on Friday the

appointment of global coordinators for the planned sale of a

stake in Allied Irish Banks, but said it would not

commit to a fixed timeframe for the transaction.

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UPDATE 1-Actavis UK raised drug prices 12,000 pct, watchdog finds

* Cost of hydrocortisone tablets soared for UK's health

service

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CORRECTED-Actavis UK raised drug prices 12,000 pct, watchdog finds

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Drug maker Actavis UK broke competition

law by raising prices of hydrocortisone tablets by more than

12,000 percent, Britain's competition watchdog said in a

provisional ruling on Friday.

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Thai court approves $1.94 bln debt restructuring for steel maker SSI

BANGKOK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Thailand's Central Bankruptcy

Court has approved a business plan for Sahaviriya Steel

Industries Pcl (SSI), Thailand's biggest steel maker,

to restructure debts worth 69.2 billion baht ($1.94 billion).

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UPDATE 2-Metro consumer electronics division to seek acquisitions

* Shares down 0.5 pct after big jump on results on Wednesday

(Adds details from presentations)

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Metro consumer electronics unit to seek acquisitions

BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - German retailer Metro

said it expects its consumer electronics unit, to be renamed

Ceconomy, to lead consolidation in the sector after it is split

from the wholesale and hypermarket food business next year.

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Rio Tinto to defend itself if BSGR pursues action over Guinea

LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto said

on Monday it would defend itself robustly if rival miner BSG

Resources (BSGR) pursues a threat to file a law suit over mining

rights in Guinea.

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Russian tycoon Lisin sold 1.5 pct stake in steelmaker NLMK

MOSCOW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Vladimir Lisin

has sold a stake of 1.5 percent in the country's largest

steelmaker NLMK, which he controls, Goldman Sachs, the

bookrunner for the deal said on Friday.

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In quiet times, Barclays bets on investment banking in Brexit UK

* Barclays aims to integrate corporate and investment bank

in UK

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Russia's Evraz considers convertible bond issue in 2017-sources

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia's Evraz, one of

the country's largest steelmakers, is considering a convertible

bond issue, and is aiming to conduct the deal next year, two

banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 1-Nigeria names advisers for January start to $1 bln Eurobond sale

LAGOS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Nigeria has appointed Citigroup

, Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank

to manage a planned $1 billion Eurobond sale and hopes

to start the issuance process in January, Finance Minister Kemi

Adeosun said on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 3-Britain fines Pfizer record $107 mln for huge drug price hike

* Drugmakers dispute decision and plan to appeal

(Adds detail on previous largest fine, other pharmaceutical

cases)

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MOVES-Pemberton hires Challis as portfolio manager

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Pemberton, the asset management

group backed by Legal and General, has hired Robin

Challis as a portfolio manager, the company announced.

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Britain fines Pfizer record $107 mln for huge drug price hike

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog

said on Wednesday it had fined Pfizer a record 84.2

million pounds ($106.54 million) for ramping up the cost of an

epilepsy drug by as much as 2,600 percent.

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Glencore raises money for Kurdish oil deal, likely short of target -sources

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Glencore will likely fall

short of its target of raising $550 million to pre-finance the

purchase of Kurdish oil, with investors exercising caution

despite the offer of a 12 percent bond yield, industry sources

told Reuters.

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UPDATE 3-Russia's Rosneft offers $9.4 bln in local bonds and eyes Egyptian investment

* Rosneft says bonds needed for foreign projects,

refinancing

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UPDATE 1-RBS agrees $1 billion payout over 2008 fundraising case

* Shares rise more than 2 percent

(Recasts, adds details, CEO quote)

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RBS settles with majority of claimants over 2008 share issue

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland

said on Monday that it had settled legal claims with the

majority of shareholders who had alleged they were misled when

they took part in the bank's 2008 12 billion pound ($15.23

billion) rights issue.

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AstraZeneca in broad drug deal with Bicycle worth up to $1 bln

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has signed a

wide-ranging deal with private biotech firm Bicycle Therapeutics

to develop a novel class of small molecule medicines for

treating respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

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EQT to enter final talks on bandage maker BSN Medical - sources

FRANKFURT, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Private equity firm BC

Partners as well as Sweden's SCA handed in final

offers for German bandage maker BSN Medical, several people

close to the deal said, easing pressure on owner EQT to seek

listing for the company.

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