VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Asian shares steadied near seven-year highs on Thursday, underpinned by hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine, although a cautious mood prevailed for now ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the session.

Factory activity in Europe and Asia cooled in August after a strong July, as new orders dwindled in the face of escalating tensions in Ukraine and a patchy recovery in China, purchasing managers indexes showed.

Factory activity in Europe and Asia cooled in August after a strong July, as new orders dwindled in the face of escalating tensions in Ukraine and a patchy recovery in China, purchasing managers indexes showed.

Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) internet browser and media player are being targeted in a Chinese antitrust probe, raising the prospect of China revisiting the software bundling issue at the heart of past antitrust complaints against the firm in the West.

German venture capital firm Rocket Internet and Zalando, Europe's biggest specialist online fashion retailer, are both on the brink of announcing plans to list on the Frankfurt stock exchange, several sources with knowledge of the matter said.

The euro fell to its lowest in nearly a year against a firmer dollar on Monday after the head of the European Central Bank said he was prepared to take action if inflation dropped further, raising expectations of quantitative easing.

The dollar marched higher against the euro and yen on Monday as investors wagered that interest rates were set on a diverging course in the United States, Europe and Japan, giving a lift to Tokyo stocks in the process.

Egypt plans to build a new Suez Canal alongside the existing 145-year-old historic waterway in a multi-billion dollar project aimed at expanding trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

iZettle, Swedish mobile company, pockets $55.5 million in a series C round led by Zouk Capital with other participants such as Dawn Capital, Intel Capital, Creandum, Greylock, Index, Northzone, and SEB.

Paris-l’hospital, France-based car rental startup Drivy secured $8.3 million (€6 million) in a new funding round with Index Ventures and Alven Capital as lead investors to fuel its expansion in Europe.

Dublin, Ireland-based medical startup Mainstay Medical raised €18M as it completed a listing in the Iris Stock Exchange (ISE) to fund the clinical trials for its product in the US and Europe next year.

DollarPhotoClub announced yesterday their plans to move into 13 new markets like Italy and Poland with over 11,000 subscribers.

London, UK-based venture capital firm Amadeus Capital picked up an undisclosed stake in Sao Paulo, Brazil-based online insurance broker Bidu.com for $4.5 million to take advantage of the growth in emerging markets.

Caving in to public pressure, San Francisco, US-based marketing automation firm RadiumOne terminated its chief executive officer (CEO) Gurbaksh Chahal after he pled guilty to domestic violence and battery charges recently filed against him.

Startup Lifesum has taken in investment from Bauer Media Group and SparkLabs Global Ventures valued USD6.7 million, reported Bloomberg.