VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Some of the biggest investors in Vodafone say they are open to a European tie-up with Liberty Global, as the British company is now in a stronger position to negotiate a deal with John Malone's cable group.

France sees plenty of scope for Britain to meet its demands for EU reform without changing its treaties, and is ready to discuss the question sooner rather than later, the French European affairs minister told Reuters.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE has signed a deal to use shale gas from the United States at its Teesside petrochemical plant in Britain, acting chief executive Yousef Abdullah al-Benyan told Reuters on Sunday.

Investors will cast a wary eye on the latest gauges of the United States' economic health this week, while troubled Europe shows early signs of turning the corner.

William Shakespeare's Globe theaters is taking on a new role as a financial trail-blazer by seeking to tap into a form of funding dominated to date by social enterprises and charities.

The United States ranks near the bottom among major economies in terms of policies to allow hiring highly skilled immigrant workers, according to a study by a business lobbying group that supports relaxing immigration controls.

Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) said it had finalised a deal to sell its British mobile business O2 to Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) for 10.25 billion pounds ($15.2 billion), confirming details announced earlier this year.

Japan is split over joining a China-led development bank, concerned about missing out on the rapidly coalescing global movement for the institution while also worried about alienating ally United States and helping bolster rival China, officials said.

Spain's Banco Sabadell (SABE.MC) could look to expand further in Britain after agreeing a 1.7 billion pound ($2.5 billion) takeover of TSB (TSB.L), one of the biggest cross-border banking deals since the financial crisis of 2007-09.

Britain is ready to force the sale of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman's recently acquired North Sea energy assets unless it receives unspecified assurances within the next week, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said on Thursday.

More than one in 10 people picked for the top jobs in British finance pull out during a regulatory vetting process which has got tougher since the financial crisis.

BT (BT.L) finalised a deal on Thursday to buy mobile operator EE for 12.5 billion pounds ($19 billion) and now faces a contested approval process to seal its status as Britain's dominant communications company.

After a year of landmark deals which are opening new markets for Islamic finance, the industry is under fresh pressure to address some of its shortcomings and prove that it is not just an imitation of conventional finance.

EU finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to loan Ukraine 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion) to help save it from bankruptcy, leaving open the option of increasing aid at a later stage.

Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK), owner of Britain's fourth-largest mobile operator Three, is in talks with Telefonica (TEF.MC) about buying its O2 network, the Sunday Times reported, citing unnamed city sources.