VENTURE CAPITAL POST

China CNR Corp Ltd (601299.SS) (6199.HK) and CSR Corp (601766.SS) (1766.HK), China's two top trainmakers, recently signed deals worth 45.41 billion yuan ($7.26 billion) with Chinese and foreign firms.

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (AXS.N) and PartnerRe Ltd (PRE.N) have agreed to an $11 billion merger to create one of the world's largest reinsurers, PartnerRe said on Sunday.

Russian shoppers caught in a currency crunch are staying away from the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) this year, but visitors from elsewhere look set to make up the numbers at the annual retail bonanza.

Cablevision System Corp said on Monday it would launch in February a wireless Internet phone service to give users an alternative to pricier data plans from cellular companies such as AT&T and Verizon.

There is no fixed end to the European Central Bank's government bond-buying program, governing council member Ignazio Visco told a German paper.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) will be the main supplier of processors powering Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) next iPhone, Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources in the semiconductor industry.

Japan's exports grew the most in a year in December, helped by a weak yen and a pick-up in overseas demand led by the United States, an encouraging sign for the recession-hit economy even as doubts persist about the strength of global consumption.

The euro skidded to an 11-year low and stock prices fell on Monday as Greece's Syriza party promised to roll back austerity measures after sweeping to victory in a snap election, putting Athens on a collision course with international lenders.

U.S. President Barack Obama will call on Congress to expand protection of Alaska's Arctic refuge where oil and gas drilling is prohibited to 12 million acres (5 million hectares), an area that includes 1.4 million oil-rich acres along the coast.

After the surprises from central banks which rocked markets at the start of the year, the U.S. Federal Reserve will be watched as closely as ever this week to see that it doesn't stray from its own policy path.

India is betting that mobile phone vendors, fuel stations and corner stores can help it put basic banking within the grasp of hundreds of millions of its poor people living beyond the reach of traditional bank branches.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Greece, where an anti-bailout party looks set to win a snap election, would continue to need aid and would only get this by sticking to agreements, adding he hoped the new government would not make promises the country could not afford.

Li Ka-shing's hectic start to 2015 has meant record Asia M&A, loan and equity deals so far this month - good news for investment bankers close to the 86-year-old Hong Kong tycoon's empire.

Europe's oil majors will strike a sober note in their fourth-quarter results and investors will focus on companies' plans to maintain cherished dividends and their strategies to cope with the oil prices collapse that caught many unawares.

Internet services that allow people to freely access blocked websites and apps from within China have seen more severe disruptions this week, said three providers, moves that Chinese state media said were justified.

Morgan Stanley's (MS.N) board of directors awarded Chairman and Chief Executive James Gorman $4.4 million in restricted stock as part of his 2014 bonus, the Wall Street bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday.