VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Thai Union Frozen Products PCL (TUF.BK), the world's largest canned tuna producer, said on Friday it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of North American tuna company Bumble Bee Foods for $1.51 billion from a private equity firm.

U.S. banks will be able to do more business in Cuba after the United States and the island nation agreed to restore diplomatic ties, but trade groups said their members will be slow to ramp up operations, fearing big penalties for mistakes.

U.S. automaker Chrysler Group LLC said it had changed its name to FCA US LLC effective immediately to follow the naming convention of its parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) NV (FCAU.N).

Brent crude held steady above $61 a barrel on Thursday, bringing a sharp drop in prices to a temporary halt as companies are forced to cut upstream investments around the world.

Air bag maker Takata Corp (7312.T) has sufficient funds to deal with a global recall that has climbed to about 21 million vehicles after five deaths linked to its products, the company executive told the Nikkei newspaper.

The United States on Tuesday confirmed steep import duties on solar products from China and Taiwan, in a decision that could inflame trade tensions between the two countries.

The Philippines aims to buy two frigates, two helicopters and three gunboats for deployment in the South China Sea where a territorial dispute with China has lent urgency to the need to bolster forces, a Philippine navy officer said on Wednesday.

The New York premiere of "The Interview", a Sony Pictures comedy about the assassination of North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, has been canceled and a source said one theater chain had scrapped plans to show it, after threats from a hacking group.

Destined to form models of the Burj Khalifa and Tokyo Tower, 90 million toy bricks will be used in new Legoland Parks in Dubai, Japan and Korea by 2017, building blocks in British operator Merlin's (MERL.L) expanding empire.

The global economy is ending the year in a fragile state with factory activity shrinking in China, euro zone business growth remaining weak, and emerging market giant Russia in a spiraling currency crisis.

Oil fell to just above $59 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 on Tuesday, extending a six-month selloff as slowing Chinese factory activity and weakening emerging-market currencies added to concerns about demand.

Sliding oil prices and a downbeat China factory survey weighed on Asian shares on Tuesday, while the ruble jumped against the dollar after Russia sharply increased its benchmark interest rate in a bid to halt a collapse in its currency.

Volvo Car Corp said it will start selling vehicles online as it rolls out new models to compete with German luxury rivals such as BMW (BMWG.DE).

China is unhappy with the U.S. spending bill passed by the House of Representatives last week, saying it contains discriminatory clauses that violate the rules of fair trade and "send the wrong signal".

Federal Reserve officials will decide this week whether to make a critical change to their policy statement that would widen the door for interest rate hikes next year and effectively bet the United States will continue to shine in a gloomy global economy.