Property lender Aareal Bank this weekend announced that it would takeover German rival Corealcredit Bank for €342 million. Corealcredit will be bought from American private equity firm Lone Star Funds.

Oracle has agreed to purchase Responsys for $1.5 billion but not including debt or a 38% premium on the the company's closing price on Thursday, December 20, The New York Times The Dealbook reported.

Nine West, Anne Klein and Easy Spirit owner Jones Group have accepted the buyout offer from private equity company Sycamore Partners, The Dealbook reported.

For hedge funds that made money this year there was only one strategy that really mattered - latching onto the stockmarket rally.

Apple and China Mobile have finally signed a distribution deal which could be worth billions of dollars in extra iPhone revenues, the Financial Times reported.

US food startups like Goldbely and Mouth have made gourmet and speciality food available to consumers across the country this Christmas, the Financial Times reported.

Australia's systemically important "Big Four" banks will be required to set aside an extra 1 percent of equity capital to protect against the kind of turmoil seen during the global financial crisis under new regulations announced on Monday.

Investors have received billions of euros from European companies so cautious about the economic outlook they could find nothing better to do with spare cash, but many now want boards to snap up rivals instead - and are rewarding them when they do.

Two foreign investments in Chinese financial institutions this month suggest China will not turn away cash from countries it has taken diplomatic or trade measures against after blaming them for interference in its domestic affairs.

International hedge funds are increasingly targetting troubled firms in Australia, from cotton or macadamia farms to cattle stations and vineyards, expecting a nascent distressed debt market to generate double-digit returns.