National Express Puts Up Deadline

England's National Express railroad franchise has set up a date by which an offer has to be on the table to sell. The company has decided that all offers must be in place by September 11. Currently there are two bidders looking to buy.

20% Decrease in M&A Activity This Year

Since this time last year M&A activity has decreased by approximately 20% and these deals are worth a lot less that they were. The total value of trades is down 38% from 1.3 trillion last year.

North Pacific Group Selling

The North Pacific Group has just signed a letter of intent to sell it's stocks to a private equity firm that has to this point remained unnamed.

Financial Crisis Takes Toll on India's Religious

Most of us don't stop to think twice about Christianity in India, but with the current financial crisis and the toll it has taken on Western religion, India's Christian population has suffered. The struggling religion has seen a major decrease in mass outsourcing as well as a decrease in funding and revenues. Considering the Christian faith in India is relatively small this could have a severe impact on the ability for the church to continue there.

Arkema to Buy Dow Subsidiary

Arkema announced that it was to purchase an acrylic acid and esters plant from Dow Chemicals for $50 million.

China's Job Crisis

When we think about the instability in the job market many of us recognize the problems facing the United States and Europe, seldom do we think of China as having a similar issue. China and several other Asian countries are supposed to be the solution, picking us up out of the financial crisis. However, China is dealing with its own unemployment crisis. With the decreased demand of Chinese exports many companies are downsizing. Although the Chinese unemployment rate of 4.3% is well below that of the United States and the EU, the rate is still severe for the nation.

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.