LONDON (MarketWatch) — Turnout soared in the first round of the French elections Sunday, with nearly 74% of voters having cast their ballot at 5 p.m. CET, according to the French Interior Ministry. The turnout in the last presidential elections, in 2002, was 71.6%.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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Both the UK and US economies have made a relatively slow start to the year and this week’s data releases should illustrate whether this is the start of a weaker trend or a blip.
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — ABN Amro Holding NV, the giant Dutch bank at the center of a developing auction, is close to selling itself to Barclays PLC in a transaction valued at more than $80 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
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LONDON (MarketWatch) — Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy will face Socialist Segolene Royal in the runoff for the French presidency on May 6, allowing for a traditional left-right duel to take place, after the frontrunners saw off a flurry of rivals on Sunday, the first exit polls indicate.
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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Verizon Communications Inc. is among a group of international phone operators to receive initial approval to operate fixed-line networks in Saudi Arabia, according to a published report.
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LONDON (MarketWatch) — Nicolas Sarkozy, of the ruling conservative UMP party, and Segolene Royal, of the Socialist party, will square it off in the second round of the French presidential elections on May 6 after they eclipsed a flurry of rivals in the first round on Sunday, including centrist Francois Bayrou and extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. Sarkozy was the top scorer in the race, with 29.6% of the vote, according to the first exit polls. Royal gathered 25.1%. She was followed by Bayrou at 18.7% and Le Pen at 11.5%, French TV channel France 2 reported, citing the exit polls.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
Original post by FeedZilla
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — ABN Amro Hldg NV, the giant Dutch bank at the center of a developing auction, is close to selling itself to Barclays PLC in a transaction valued at more than $80 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation. The boards of both banks are meeting or have met today to finalize the transaction, the report said. An announcement could come as early as Monday morning, but the situation is still fluid and any announcement could be delayed, the Journal said. In a separate move that could prove critical to ABN’s plans, the Dutch firm plans to sell its Chicago-based bank, LaSalle, to Bank of America , according to the Journal report.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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The Dow Jones industrial average is now perched below the 13,000 mark, lifted last week by surprisingly strong earnings reports. If this week’s reports follow that trend, investors may send the index hurtling past that milestone.
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In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of April 16-20:
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EU finance ministers discussed ways of tackling the growing sales tax fraud that is costing their governments billions each year and also debated whether to place hedge funds under stricter rules.
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