David B Espey

Worries over Spain and Greece pushed European stocks sharply lower on Monday, led by steep declines for banks.

Hutchison Telecommunications Australia Ltd. (HTA.AU), the half owner of Australia's third largest telecommunications carrier Vodafone Hutchison Australia, said Monday it booked a 131.3 million Australian dollar (US$135.5 million) loss for the first half of 2012.

Thai Beverage PCL (Y92.SG) has appointed three banks to arrange bridging finance for its 2.78 billion Singapore dollar (US$2.2 billion) acquisition of a 22% stake in Singapore beverage company Fraser & Neave Ltd. (F99.SG), people familiar with the transaction said Monday.

MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) announced Monday the spud of its exploration well Gulak-1 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. MAIN FACTS: -- Gulak-1 is the fourth exploration well in the Akri-Bijeel Block in Kurdistan, with a planned depth of 3.66 kilometers. -- MOL holds a 80% share in the block through its local

Airline easyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) said Monday that it has been informed by its non-executive chairman Sir Mike Rake that he has formally informed the Chairman of Barclays that he does not wish to be a candidate for the chairmanship of Barclays.

Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (HM-B.SK) won't raise prices in Spain to compensate for a planned value-added tax increase, a company spokesman tells Swedish business daily Dagens Industri Monday.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AU) is growing its lending to home buyers and small businesses in Indonesia by an annual rate of about 30%, highlighting the pace of economic growth in the developing nation, said the bank's Executive General Manager of Indonesia, Geoff Coates.

German car parts and tire maker Continental AG (CON.XE) said Monday it will sign a cooperation agreement to jointly develop and deliver battery technology for electric cars with South Korea's SK Innovation Ltd. (096770.SE), underscoring a broad trend in the auto industry to team up and share costs

French alcoholic beverage group Remy Cointreau SA (RCO.FR) has agreed to buy Scotch single-malt whisky distiller Bruichladdich in a transaction worth 58 million pounds ($90 million) as a first move into the fast-growing premium whisky market, it said Monday.

Dutch electronics major Royal Philips Electronics (PHIA.AE) posted a profit Monday as sales of all units picked up and a swingeing round of cost-cutting late last year started to take effect.