Shanghai Works for a Two Child Policy

In their dream to become a financial capital Shanghai is pushing to create a two-child policy. Shanghai has realized that as the Chinese population is getting older, putting pressure on China's youth and social security system, that it is time to change if they want to become dominant.

Sharp Decline in European M&A

During this weak economy Europe has probably suffered the most. The number of cross border M&A transactions has plummeted recently, dropping over 80% from this time last year. Domestic and European targeted M&A has also decreased considerably in the past year.

Life for Christian Lacroix?

An Italian family owned group recently put an offer on the table to acquire Christian Lacroix. This is the first serious bid the company has received since announcing bankruptcy. The struggling fashion house filed suit this year for protection against creditors.

Canadian Hydro Rejects TransAlta

Canadian Hydro has asked its shareholders to reject a bid it received from TransAlta. Canadian Hydro found the bid much to low as it does not reflect the company's intrinsic value.

Aetna Trying to Sell Its PBM Business

Aetna is reportedly shopping around its pharmacy-benefit management business. Although Aetna has been contacted by several companies it will be awhile before it reaches a deal or even announces negotiations. Aetna expects to earn approximately $2billion from the sale.

CIT Group Inc Considers Selling Assets

CIT Groups is reportedly considering selling off more of its assets. It is believed that they will be selling its aviation and rail-financed operations. The Group has already been approached by buyers, but has rejected all bids.

BYD Acquires Bus Manufacturer

The Chinese battery and electric car manufacturer BYD in which Warren Buffett's Bershire Hathaway has invested will acquire bus manufacturer Hunan Midea Coach for RMB 60 million. It also plans to build a new plant with a capacity of 400,000 units annually.

US Dollar Will Maintain Dominance

Despite China's efforts to create a new international trade currency so as to no longer rely on the weakening US dollar, Zhang XiaoMing of the Bank of Communications Co. has stated that the Chinese Yuan will not be able to overtake the US Dollar in the marketplace for at least another decade. Zhang notes that the Chinese will have to increase the ability to use the Yuan outside of China if the Yuan is to become dominant, which will take quite some time.

BRIC Nation's Growing Power

The BRIC nations' (Brazil, Russia, India, China) have shown tremendous IPO growth over the past year. The four countries currently have the best performing stock market values and trends show that the nations will continue to grow.

SinoChem May Overtake Nufarm

Australia's Nufarm announced on July 24th that it was recently approached by SinoChem. SinoChem hopes to take over Nufarm so as to increase the company's market share as they attempt to expand into North and South America.

Why Beijing Failed to Acquire GM

Beijing Auto's Opel bid was recently rejected and sources now believe that this is due in part to fear that by selling to Beijing, GM would instead strengthen a rival and further harm themselves.

Global Stock Improvement

Stocks improved globally on the 22nd, reaching new highs for 2009. The Dow increased to over 9000 for the first time since January. This is due in part to the stabilization of the United States housing market and greater than expected corporate earnings. This gives signs of hope that consumers are developing more faith in the market.

Decline in Venture Capital Investing

During the second quarter we saw that International Venture Capital Investments took a sharp decline in comparison with last quarter and last year. This quarter fewer deals have been made, with a lower average investment. Europe seems to be getting the worst of it, with the lowest investment rates it has had in decades. There were some improvements from last quarter though as invested capital increased but it is still far from where it was in 2008.

Acquisition Limitations

According to a new European Union rule, some European banks that have been hit hard by the recession will have to limit the number of acquisitions they make each year.

Be Wary of China's Market

Many of us want to or do believe that China is going to be able to support us out of the recession, but the country’s growth is surely unable to continue at an 8% per year rate when it relies so heavily on exports. Maybe it is time to stop putting such an emphasis on China’s ability to save us. China can’t continue to succeed if the western powers continue to fail.

VW and Porsche to Possibly Merge

As the car industry continues to struggle it appears that Porsche is about to be sold to Volkswagen. VW has announced that it will continue its attempts to purchase the luxury car maker despite plans falling through the first time around.

The American Economy Will Never Be the Same

By now we all realize that it will take awhile for the American economy to recover but according to Robert Reich the economy will never be the same again and it may take a lot longer than previously expected. We are going to have to completely rebuild it.

Solar Panels Making a Comeback?

Despite the limited demand for solar panels of late, Chinese solar panel company Yingli Green Energy Holding Co has announced that prospects for the industry have been improving leading them to consider the opening of a new plant in the States.

LDK Acquires 70% of Solar Green Technology

Chinese solar wafer manufacturer LDK (NYSE:LDK) has acquired a 70% equity interest in the Italian systems integrator Solar Green Technology SpA. Solar wafers are the principal raw material used to produce solar cells, devices capable of converting sunlight into electricity. LDK's headquarters are located in Xinju, Jiangxi province, China.

Global M&A Volume Down 47.4% in 2009

Mergermarket reports that global M&A volume (number of transactions) fell by 47.4% in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008 and that the value of transactions declined by 43.6%. European deal volume was the most affacted, falling by 66.1%, while Asia-Pacific M&A was less hit.

Man Group to Acquire 25% of China's Sinotruk

German truck manufacturer Man Group plans to acquire a 25% equity stake in leading Chinese truck manufacturer Sinotruk for Euro 560 million.

AGNC shares to Deutsche Bank

Yesterday it was announced that American Capital Agency Corp would sell 2,500,000 shares of AGNC to Deutsche Bank.

New M&As

The following article outlines some of the newest mergers and acquisitions that have occurred this month within the European Union and what should be expected to happen.

Singapore's Moving Out of the Recession

Singapore’s economy has started growing again despite the recession. The country’s second quarter growth proves what many of us have suspected, that Asian countries will be among the first to overcome the current economic turmoil.

M&A Strategies

This publication by PriceWaterhouseCoopers illustrates our view that it is time for foreign strategic buyers to start exploring the US market. The graphs display that the number of bankruptcies is higher than ever. This may be opportunities for acquisitions. The US labor and bankruptcy laws are less stringent than in Europe for instance. Also, the indication that distress funds are building up financial resources indicates that when the time will come for them to act it will be too late for strategic buyers.

Trouble for Hummer Sale?

In early June we first learnt about the possible acquisition of Hummer by the Chinese based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company. However there is currently some speculation that the deal is in trouble, despite efforts on both sides, due to the possibility that China’s economic planning agency is likely to strike the deal down.