VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The head of the panel of economic experts that advises the German government said on Sunday there was no reason for the European Central Bank (ECB) to start buying up sovereign bonds now to bolster euro zone growth.

Government-owned Japan Post Holdings Co Ltd [IPO-JAPP.T] said it plans to list in the second half of the next business year and its bank and insurance units will go public at the same time, in what could be the biggest IPO of Japanese state enterprises in two decades.

Bosnian lender Bobar Banka has been shut after its shareholders failed to come up with a recovery plan, the regional banking agency said, leaving its clients, including major state firms, at risk of losing some of their 250 million Bosnian marka ($156 million) in deposits.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) will buy Citigroup Inc's (C.N) Japanese retail banking operations in October for about 40 billion yen ($330 million), people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Largest Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corp's (MFC.TO) U.S. unit will buy New York Life Insurance Co's retirement services business for an undisclosed amount.

Bankers responsible for floating companies and selling new shares into the market will enjoy a well-earned rest this Christmas after their busiest year since 2007, having notched up business worth almost $865 billion in the last 12 months.

Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) said it would review its strategy in 2015 after a business magazine said it was considering major changes, possibly including the sale of its Postbank-branded (DPBGn.DE) retail unit and a revision of its profit targets.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) has agreed to sell its Hong Kong-based consumer finance business to a consortium that includes Pepper Australia Pty Ltd and a Chinese group, in a deal estimated between $600 million to $700 million, two people with knowledge of the deal said.

U.S. stocks rose at the open on Monday, following the worst week for the benchmark S&P 500 index in more than two years, with investors focused on crude oil prices which earlier hit a fresh 5-1/2-year low.

A private equity consortium of Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) and Warburg Pincus LLC is in advanced talks to acquire privately held credit rating agency DBRS Ltd for more than $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Spain's Santander (SAN.MC) said it was not considering buying out the 28 percent of its U.S. auto finance business that is currently listed on the stock market after Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday the Spanish bank was mulling such a move.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T) will announce as soon as next week that it will buy Citigroup Inc's (C.N) Japanese consumer banking business, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Thailand's Jasmine Broadband Internet Infrastructure Fund has pushed back the listing of an up to $1.2 billion initial public offering to January due to a delay in approvals from stock market regulator, IFR reported on Monday.

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings has agreed to buy a minority stake in Virtu Financial Inc, the New York-based electronic dealing firm said on Monday, in a bet on the growth of automated trading globally.

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) has sold a 1.6-billion-pound ($2.50 billion) portfolio of Irish mortgages to Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and CarVal, a private equity group, the Financial Times newspaper reported.