VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Asian shares bounced back and the dollar fell on Thursday after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed policymakers have some concerns about downside risks to the global economy and the dollar's strength.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) said three members of its executive committee would leave the company following the completion of transactions with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Eli Lilly (LLY.N) to divest three units.

Grappling with an ailing euro zone economy and stagnant prices, the European Central Bank is hoping that help will come from something it cannot control: the value of the euro.

Actavis Plc (ACT.N) plans to approach Allergan Inc (AGN.N) again about a potential merger, as the Botox maker warms up to the possibility of a sale, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Asian stocks slid on Wednesday as worries about waning global growth lifted safe-haven bonds and the yen, while shoving oil prices to their lowest in more than two years.

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with major indexes falling 1 percent in heavy trading, as weak data out of Germany raised concerns about the strength of global growth ahead of the start of earnings season.

A second day of weak German data sent European markets into retreat on Tuesday with stocks, the euro and periphery euro zone government debt all knocked by the mounting evidence of an abrupt slowdown in the bloc's economic engine room.

Billionaire Patrick Drahi's cable and telecoms company Altice SA is looking to acquire the Portuguese assets of Brazilian carrier Oi SA, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is heading for its first annual earnings drop since 2011 after it revealed its July-September profit would be the lowest in more than three years and said short-term prospects for smartphones were uncertain.

Panasonic Corp's (6752.T) initial investment in Tesla Motors Inc's (TSLA.O) battery factory will amount to "tens of billions" of yen, the Japanese company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's benchmark index posted its biggest daily gain in more than a month on Monday, as pro-democracy activists scaled down protests and upbeat U.S. jobs data provided some relief over the outlook for the global economy.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) closed its acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Monday, with the final price tag rising an additional $3 billion to roughly $22 billion because of the increased value of Facebook's stock in recent months.

Asian shares tentatively rose in early trade on Tuesday, while the dollar steadied after investors locked in some gains overnight on its recent rally.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to invest $14.7 billion to construct a new chip production plant in South Korea, a major bet on its semiconductor business amid a smartphone earnings slump.

Daimler has struck a cooperation deal with Nissan Motor Co. on transporter vans, deepening a strategic alliance between the German and Japanese automakers.