Latest News on private equities market

Saudi Arabian Airlines is close to placing a multi-billion-dollar order for aircraft at least partly involving Airbus jets, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Global deliveries for Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen group, dropped by 6.6% to 104,900 vehicles in May, pulled down by a weaker overall market in China, its biggest sales destination, the company said on Wednesday.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it opened a research center in Tel Aviv, becoming one of several global automakers beefing up operations in Israel to take advantage of the country's vibrant technology sector.

U.S. private equity investor KKR said on Wednesday its investment agreement with the main shareholders in German publisher Axel Springer, under which it is making an offer to buy out minorities, was valid for five years.

By Thyagaraju Adinarayan, Emma Thomasson and Philip Blenkinsop

Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser has picked PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan as its next chief executive, becoming the latest industry heavyweight to turn to a company outsider to tackle faltering growth and new media-savvy rivals.

Hong Kong's financial markets came under pressure on Wednesday, with stocks falling and demand for cash surging, as protesters clashed with police during a mass demonstration against legislation that would allow citizens to be extradited to China.

Hong Kong's government has indefinitely delayed the second round of debate on an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial for the first time, after chaotic protests by tens of thousands of people.

China's central government firmly supports the Hong Kong government in passing an extradition law allowing people to be sent to mainland China for trial, the foreign ministry reiterated on Wednesday.

Hong Kong retailer Alan Li shut up shop on Wednesday, joining about 100 businesses and numerous workers in a rare strike to protest against an extradition bill that many fear will undermine freedom and confidence in the commercial hub.

Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators who threw plastic bottles on Wednesday as protests against an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial turned to violent chaos.

World share markets snapped a seven-day winning streak on Wednesday as the White House took a tough line on trade talks with China, while an impending reading on U.S. inflation was set to refine the odds of an early cut in interest rates there.

British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's No. 2 tobacco company, warned on Wednesday of steeper declines in cigarette sales globally mainly due to waning demand in its main U.S. market, sending its shares down more than 4%.

Creditors will decide the fate of Philip Green's Arcadia group and its 18,000 workers at a vote on Wednesday on a sweetened restructuring plan to save the British fashion retailer.

ABN AMRO's Digital Impact Fund said on Wednesday it has taken a stake in ThetaRay, an Israeli provider of big data analytics to combat financial cybercrime and operational failures.