Ping An set to vote against sale of Fortis to BNP

Market Recap

DJIA +2.70%, Nasdaq +2.94% and S&P +2.69%

Nikkei -1.33%

WTI Crude Oil USD 40.19

USD/EUR 1.2901

U.S. stocks again ignore the bad news and instead pin their hopes on a Senate vote and the final details of TARP.

U.S. News

Biogen reported Q4 EPS in line at 94c and guided 2009 above estimation.

Bank of America said will not need additional funding from the government.

Boeing won a USD 2.95bn contract to build 15 C-17 aircraft.

European News

Renault and Peugeot could receive up to EUR 6bn from the French government.

BG Group will launch 440m bid on Pure Energy.

Hammerson need to raise USD 887m in share sales

Barclays reports FY 2008 net profit reached £ 6.1bn. Do not need more capital.

GlaxoSmithkline is interested in buying Piramal Healthcare, a Mumbai-based maker of generic drugs.

Fortis: Ping An set to vote against sale of Fortis to BNP.

Alstom won with its partners a USD 1.8bn railway contract in Saudi Arabia

Chinatrust might be interested in Aegon as takeover candidate.

The Norwegian government announced a USD 15bn bank support package.

Ericsson and Sprint Nextel could sign a major outsourcing contract.

Credit Suisse could report a FY 2008 loss of CHF 8bn (Press)

UBS will keep its US wealth Management unit after examine strategic options.

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