The Traderszone Network

AT&T Inc. (T), joining the ranks of U.S. TV, Internet and wireless providers racing to consolidate, is in advanced talks to acquire DirecTV for about $50 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the plan being discussed, management of DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, will continue to run the company as a unit of AT&T, said the people, asking not to be named because the information is private. DirecTV Chief Executive Officer Mike White plans to retire after 2015, the people said.

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FXStreet.com (Barcelona) For more information, read our latest forex news.

For more information, read our latest forex news.

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer suggested it could raise its proposed $106 billion (62.9 billion pounds) offer if AstraZeneca engaged in talks, as its boss was grilled by MPs on his commitment to British research spending and jobs. The New York-based group said it was disappointed by AstraZeneca’s refusal to discuss its proposed merger. Chief Executive Ian Read did not rule out a hostile bid, telling a parliamentary committee he had various \”options\” for his next move.

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The U.S. treasury secretary pressed China on Tuesday to ease exchange rate controls and lower barriers to trade and investment. Beijing in March widened the narrow band in which it allows its yuan to fluctuate …

World stock markets rose Tuesday after Wall Street indexes hit record highs, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading gains as the yen weakened. The Nikkei rose 2 percent, closing at 14,425.44 after a smaller-than-expected …

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer suggested it could raise its proposed $106 billion offer if AstraZeneca engaged in talks, as its boss was grilled by UK lawmakers on his commitment to British research spending and jobs. The New York-based group said it was disappointed by AstraZeneca’s refusal to discuss its proposed merger. Chief Executive Ian Read did not rule out a hostile bid, telling a parliamentary committee he had various \”options\” for his next move. Having pledged to keep a fifth of research jobs in Britain, Scottish-born Read said he could not commit to maintaining a specific R&D budget there.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a sharp rally in the previous session that took the Dow and S&P 500 to record closes. Shares of DirecTV rose 4.9 percent to $91.44 in premarket trading.