STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 10 July 2014

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12. MORE 'HEADLINE-GRABBING' CORPORATE DEALS EXPECTED

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GLOBAL_CORPORATE_DEALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-07-10-05-24-42

LONDON (AP) -- More "headline-grabbing" acquisitions are likely over the coming year as businesses take advantage of a period of improving economic growth and cheap financing.

That's the conclusion of a survey by business consulting firm EY, which says the value of takeover deals announced in the first half of 2014 struck its highest level since the end of the boom years in 2007.

In its half-yearly update of corporate activity, EY said Thursday that the value of deals rose by 50 percent from the same period the year before to $1.7 trillion. Not since the global financial crisis first erupted, prompting companies to batten down the hatches, has the value of deals been that high.

For years, big mergers and acquisitions have been notable for their absence as companies stocked up on cash reserves to weather the global economic storms. Pursuing M&A was very much a secondary consideration for boards round the world.