UNITED KINGDOM

U.S. buyout firm JC Flowers submitted an offer for Northern Rock, according to a person familiar with the situation, as shares in the stricken British bank tumbled on fears that any offers will be low. JC Flowers' proposal includes an offer to Northern Rock shareholders at a nominal value, the person told Reuters.

Three major Chinese banks revealed have unofficially looked into acquiring a stake in UK-based Standard Chartered Bank, approaching Singapore's state investment agency for discussions about acquiring its 17 percent stake in the bank, according to a report.

Forget Paris, New York and Rome. The real home of gourmet dining is Tokyo, according to the new Michelin restaurant guide unveiled on Monday.

Temasek, the Singapore state investment agency, has rebuffed an approach from China's three leading banks for its 17 percent stake in UK-based Standard Chartered, a report said on Monday, sending shares in Standard Chartered more than 5 percent higher.

Britain said it may offer financial help to potential rescuers of Northern Rock, even though this would need to be approved by the European Union, as it emerged proposals put forward so far were pitched low. Northern Rock shares tumbled over 20 percent to a new low on Monday after the bank said interest from potential suitors valued it at materially below Friday's share price.

Saudi Arabia could order 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets from BAE Systems for about 1.5 billion pounds ($3.06 billion), the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) reported on Friday.

Mining giant BHP Billiton, whose multi-million-dollar takeover plan has been rejected by Rio Tinto's management, may consider taking an offer directly to Rio's shareholders in the future, BHP's chief said on Saturday.

British computer experts acknowledged defeat on Friday after a German amateur radio enthusiast won a challenge to crack secret messages encoded by a World War Two cipher.

Flush with cash and swaggering with world-beating valuations, firms are likely to settle for small stakes in big rivals.

Saudi Arabia is building up a special 35,000-strong rapid reaction force to protect its energy installations from attacks by militants targeting the world's largest oil exporter.

At least four bidders are set to submit plans for stricken bank Northern Rock on Friday but its future could remain uncertain for months as the British government gauges the political fallout of its options.

Rio Tinto is reportedly considering a counter-bid for BHP Billiton as a defense against a $140 billion takeover proposal from its bigger mining rival, but analysts said such a move was unlikely. Rio was considering a broad array of potential options to fight off BHP, including a so-called Pac-Man defense, selling assets and other moves that could raise shareholder value, according to reports

World stocks fell on Thursday while the dollar edged lower as a better-than-expected trading update by Barclays failed to wipe away broader credit concerns.

Oil drifted lower on Thursday ahead of U.S. government data expected to show a further fall in crude oil supplies in the world's biggest oil consumer.

Barclays Plc, Britain's third-biggest bank, unveiled a 1.3 billion pound ($2.7 billion) writedown for losses on securities linked to the U.S. subprime housing crisis, less than was feared. In a surprise trading update on Thursday, the Barclays Capital investment bank unit said it would write down 500 million pounds for the July-September quarter and 800 million pounds for October.

Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto hopes to forge an alliance with Islamists and other opposition parties to launch a campaign to force military president Pervez Musharraf from power.

Tom Cruise's Lambs got slaughtered at the worldwide box office.

Sanctions are not the way to resolve the deepening international confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions, China said on Tuesday, while also urging Tehran to be more compromising.

Nervous investors sold stocks and generally deserted the dollar on Tuesday, still gripped by lingering worries over the global financial impact of the slumping U.S. housing market.

Detained Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto called on Tuesday for military leader Pervez Musharraf to step down as president, isolating him in the run-up to a general election.

Last Monday morning, production on Fox's multigenerational family drama pilot The Oaks began in Pasadena.