UNITED KINGDOM

Stocks rose on Monday, boosted by AIG's deal to sell its Asian life insurance unit and prospects for solving Greece's debt problems, which have increased fears about the outlook for global recovery.

Britain's Prudential will buy AIG's Asian arm for $35.5 billion in the insurance sector's biggest deal ever, helping the bailed-out U.S. group repay a big chunk of its taxpayer debt.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday, boosted by several mergers, including a deal by AIG to sell its Asian life insurance unit, and as a possible resolution appeared for debt-troubled Greece in the form of European Union aid.

The tech and capital goods sectors are leading a stock market rally on Monday on bullish industry reports and economic data that points to recovery.

The U.S. stock market rallied on speculation of a Greece bailout and a report that showed the seventh consecutive monthly expansion of manufacturing actives.

Non-OPEC crude oil supply is set to surge in 2010 and 2011by 51.8 mn barrels per day and 52.3 mn barrels per day respectively and susbequently face consecutive decline from 2012, according to an analysis by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofAML). The optimism comes from expected production in news fields in Brazil, FSU, Norway, West Africa and Gulf of Mexico. If Iraq and Nigeria supplies increase as announced then crude oil would find it difficult to rise above $100 over the next decade, BofAML ...

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5 to 0.7 percent, pointing to a higher start to Wall Street on Monday.

British defence company Ultra Electronics (ULE.L) posted a 24 percent increase in full-year adjusted pretax profit, beating market forecasts, helped by contribution from acquisitions.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Monday after AIG said it would sell its life insurance unit in Asia and deal looked near for a European Union bailout of Greece.

Britain's Allergy Therapeutics (AGY.L) swung to a first-half pretax profit, helped by cost cuts, and said it was comfortable with the full-year market view, sending its shares up nearly 10 percent.

Global markets are recovering as various media reports surfaced that Germany and France are planning a 30 billion euro Greece bailout.

Factories around the world enjoyed a bumper February with business surveys showing the manufacturing sector in major economies continued to lead an economic recovery, despite a slowdown in some growth rates.

Britain's Prudential said it would buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion, making it the undisputed foreign leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets.

Britain's Prudential said it would buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm for $35.5 billion, in a deal set to make the insurer the undisputed leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets.

Britain's Prudential confirmed it is in advanced talks to buy the Asian arm of AIG in a deal that would make the insurer the undisputed leader in one of the world's fastest-growing financial services markets.

American International Group Inc agreed to sell its Asian life insurance unit to Britain's Prudential Plc for about $35.5 billion, in a deal that would help the U.S. government get back billions of its bailout money, sources familiar with the matter said.

The United States and Japan are expected to see the biggest rise in distressed property sales in the first quarter, as the fallout from the global property downturn intensifies, the results of a survey showed on Monday.

Britain's Prudential Plc plans to do a rights offering of about $20 billion to finance a $35.5 billion purchase of American International Group's Asian life insurance unit, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

American International Group Inc's board approved the sale of its Asian life insurance business to Britain's Prudential Plc for $35.5 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The chief executives of HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, and Asia-focused rival Standard Chartered are set to give their bonuses to charity, newspapers reported on Sunday, following a high-profile row over the sums paid to bankers.

Friday's private sector credit data out of Australia gave the Aussie dollar a boost from 0.8880 to send it above the 89 cent level heading into the European session.