VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The European Union slapped new economic sanctions on Russia on Friday, but said they could be suspended if Moscow withdraws its troops from Ukraine and observes a ceasefire.

Premium car maker Audi expects to sell more than 1.7 million cars in 2014 even as sales momentum in some emerging markets slows, Chief Executive Rupert Stadler said.

World markets jumped on Wednesday as Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said a ceasefire had been reached with Russia, raising hopes that a recent escalation in the conflict could be reversed.

Russian food safety watchdog said on Monday it had ordered the temporary closure of one McDonald's (MCD.N) restaurant in the southern Stavropol region over sanitary violations.

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.

Germany's economy ministry will approve the sale of utility RWE's (RWEG.DE) oil and gas unit DEA to a Russian investor despite tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis, two people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. stocks advanced on Monday, with the Dow Industrials up roughly one percent, as the threat of an escalation of tensions in Ukraine appeared to wane and the latest flurry of merger action supported equities.

The euro zone economy ground to a halt in the second quarter of the year, drained of vigour by contraction in Germany and stagnancy in France.

The Kremlin's worst clash with the West since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union has accelerated the outflow of two of Russia's most prized assets: money and brains.

World shares and the dollar tumbled on Friday and oil and gold jumped after U.S. President Barack Obama authorised targeted air strikes in Iraq, stoking fears of another drawn-out conflict in the region.

European stocks fell on Wednesday while nervous investors took refuge in high-rated bonds as Russia amassed troops on its border with Ukraine, raising concerns among western powers that it could invade.

Russia's threatened ban on U.S. poultry imports, the latest move in a sanctions skirmish over Moscow's support of rebels in Ukraine, has agriculture companies alert to the risks of a conflict that's already roiled trading of crops ranging from soy, beef and fruit to California pistachios.

McDonald's burgers and shakes may become the latest victims of worsening ties between Moscow and Washington after a Russian consumer watchdog agency accused the U.S. chain of sanitary violations.

European Union ambassadors reached a preliminary agreement on Friday to push ahead with hard-hitting economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis but details remained to be worked out, diplomats said.