ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

European stocks extended gains while sterling slipped across the board as the Bank of England cut interest rates, joining other central banks in an attempt to counter the risk of an economic slowdown from the credit crisis.

Top bankers at ABN AMRO NV are threatening a fight with Royal Bank of Scotland over 750 million euros ($1.11 billion) of bonuses they want paid out, a newspaper reported on Monday.

European shares weakened again on Friday, as investors continued to sell down the banking and financial services sector as worries about the extent of exposure to U.S. home loans continued to weigh.

Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have lined up emergency funds of up to $30 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve to bail out American clients caught up in the global credit crunch, a paper said.

Virgin Group, controlled by entrepreneur Richard Branson, is leading a consortium that has submitted a rescue plan for British bank Northern Rock that would inject a substantial cash sum, it said on Friday.

Britain's Barclays has conceded defeat in the seven-month battle for Dutch bank ABN AMRO, as rivals led by Royal Bank of Scotland move in to clinch the world's biggest bank takeover.

A consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland could lower the level of acceptances needed to buy Dutch bank ABN AMRO to a simple majority, it said on Friday.

Barclays won shareholder support today for its €62 billion (£42 billion) bid to acquire ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, but said that it was not committed to a deal at any price.

Heightened investor expectations of a U.S. rate cut next month soothed financial market volatility on Thursday as a Bank of Japan policymaker said some of the turbulence had been overdone.

Asian companies will have a tough time raising funds and face weaker export demand if the global credit squeeze persists and a deteriorating U.S. housing market crimps consumer spending.

European stocks extended their losses on Friday, losing more than 2 percent as a deepening concern surrounding the U.S. subprime mortgage market continued to hit stocks worldwide and pushed U.S. futures in the red.

Shares in Dutch bank ABN AMRO fell as much as 11 pct on Friday as analysts cited a report that Fortis may find it difficult to finance its part of the deal to buy ABN together with Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.

Homeowners who fall behind on mortgage payments say lenders have grown slightly more flexible in scheduling late payments but are less accommodating than they ought to be, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's second biggest bank that is locked in a takeover battle for ABN AMRO, beat expectations with an 11 percent rise in profit and lifted its dividend by 25 percent.

China's central bank on Monday raised the amount that lenders must hold in reserve for the ninth time in 13 months, the latest step in its campaign to keep the world's fourth-largest economy in check.

The highest growth in 11-½ years secured expectations of tighter policy to prevent the economy from overheating.

Barclays is planning to sweeten its offer for ABN AMRO after a consortium of rivals led by Royal Bank of Scotland revised its bid for the Dutch bank, the Financial Times said on Tuesday.

Barclays has drawn up contingency plans for a big cash sweetener to strengthen its all-share offer for Dutch bank ABN AMRO, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Shares of SLM Corp., the largest U.S. student loan provider, (NYSE: SLM) jumped on Friday after a published report said the firm is in talks with private equity groups for a possible sale of the company.

A lawsuit brought by victims of suicide bombings in Israel, alleging that British bank NatWest knowingly provided services to a charity linked to militant Islamic group Hamas

Britain's biggest retailer Tesco said on Wednesday it expected some growth in its personal finance business and could move beyond basic insurance, savings and credit card lending to promote mortgages for UK consumers.