VENTURE CAPITAL POST

U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) said on Saturday it had offered $47 billion in cash and stock for smaller rival Cigna Corp (CI.N), signaling a pick-up in the industry's long-awaited consolidation.

Shares in Europe and Asia fell on Tuesday as speculation intensified that the Federal Reserve could raise U.S. interest rates sooner than many expect, although this failed to give the dollar a significant boost.

More sales of German government bonds weighed on European stock markets on Monday, while the dollar retreated after a report - later denied - that President Barack Obama had expressed concern over its strength after a year-long rally.

A group of 18 mostly Democratic U.S. senators on Friday urged the Obama administration to stop Royal Dutch Shell's preparations for oil exploration in the Arctic, saying the region has a severely limited capacity to respond to accidents.

Brent crude oil steadied below $67 a barrel on Friday after reports that a growing supply glut is boosting inventories worldwide.

A 12-nation Pacific trade agreement cleared a crucial test in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, giving a resounding thumbs-up to legislation that holds the key to President Barack Obama's diplomatic pivot to Asia.

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States must respond aggressively when rivals such as China and Iran take actions that threaten U.S. economic interests.

Sports shoe maker Nike Inc put its weight behind President Barack Obama's push for a trade deal with Asian countries on Friday with a promise to create up to 10,000 U.S.-based manufacturing jobs if the pact is approved.

In the 1980s when Sony and Toshiba were setting the agenda in the global TV and memory chip markets Japan was bristling with confidence as a hub of technological innovation.

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari played down the prospect of substantial progress in trade talks being announced after a summit meeting between Japan and the United States on Tuesday.

Legislation to give the White House "fast track" authority to nail down a Pacific trade pact cleared its first hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday as a committee backed the bill and sent it to the full Senate for consideration.

The European Union accused Google Inc on Wednesday of cheating consumers and competitors by distorting Web search results to favor its own shopping service, after a five-year investigation that could change the rules for business online.

U.S. companies can expect the same treatment as those from the rest of the world, receiving neither special benefits nor punishment, if there is a further commercial opening between Cuba and the United States, Cuba's foreign trade minister said.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Monday he would discuss with the Chinese government recent technology policy moves that Washington has complained constitute unfair regulatory pressure on foreign firms.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is launching a cloud computing hub in Silicon Valley on Wednesday, the e-commerce giant's first outside of China, underscoring its global ambitions in the face of stiff and entrenched competition.