DealZone

The Obama administration pledges to stay out of General Motors’ choice of a buyer for its European Opel unit, while union leaders in Germany put more pressure on the U.S. automaker to make a decision. Meanwhile, Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW.N), the No. 2 U.S. home improvement chain, is making its first foray outside North America through a joint venture with Woolworths Ltd (WOW.AX), Australia’s largest retailer.

For more on these stories, and all the other latest deals news from Reuters, click here.

And here’s what’s in the papers (some external links may require subscriptions):

* The sale of Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS.L) retail and commercial assets in China has hit a stumbling block that could derail the talks with the preferred bidder, Standard Chartered (STAN.L), the Financial Times reported.

* Britain’s largest free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) is weeks away from signing a deal with Hulu, the U.S. video-on-demand venture, to syndicate its content in exchange for equity in the company, the Daily Telegraph said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says General Motors “urgently” needs to decide on Opel’s future, while specialty drugmaker Warner Chilcott moves to acquire Procter & Gamble’s $3 billion prescription-drug business.

For these stories, and all the rest of the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.

And here’s what caught our eye in the newspapers (some external links may require subscriptions):

Suntory and Kirin consider joining forces to create one of the world’s biggest beer and soft drinks companies, with annual sales of $41 billion. Meanwhile Friends Provident and Venture Production are both fending off unwanted approaches. For all the latest deals news, click here.

And here’s the latest dose of market chatter:

* McGraw-Hill has hired Evercore Partners Inc, a top U.S. merger advisory boutique to sell BusinessWeek magazine, Bloomberg said, citing a person close to the situation.

* Bank of America Corp is trying to avoid paying billions of dollars in fees to U.S. taxpayers for guarantees against losses at Merrill Lynch, saying the rescue agreement was never signed and the funding never used, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Talks to sell the storied Chicago Cubs baseball team reopen with a rival bidding group; the sale of Bernard Madoff’s former securities-trading unit is finalized; possible hurdles to EMC’s bid for Data Domain — for all the latest deals news from Reuters, click here.

And in the papers (some external links may require subscriptions):

Glencore International AG, the Swiss-based commodities trader founded by Marc Rich to become one of the world’s biggest private companies, is considering a stock market listing, the Financial Times reported. Reuters story here.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Ken Lewis was approached by three former Merrill Lynch executives this year to discuss buying back some or all of their old company, but he politely rebuffed them, the Financial Times reported.

British bank Barclays said it would sell its BGI investment arm to U.S. firm BlackRock for $13.5 billion, creating the world’s biggest asset manager. For today’s headlines, click here.

And in the media:

* Malaysian gaming group Genting is in partnership talks with U.S. casino operator MGM Mirage, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

* British boiler maker Baxi is close to agreeing a 1.7 billion euros ($2.4 billion) merger with smaller Dutch rival De Dietrich Remeha Group, the Financial Times reported. 

Australian miner OZ Minerals said its shareholders approved the sweetened $1.4 billion deal by  Chinese state-owned Minmetals’ to buy most of the indebted miner’s assets. For today’s headlines, click here.

And in the newspapers:

* Turquoise, the European equity system owned by nine investment banks, was forced to close on Wednesday morning because of a technical problem, Financial News said.

* The New York Times Co has hired Goldman Sachs to manage the possible sale of The Boston Globe, and plans to request bids in the next couple of weeks, The Boston Globe reported.

U.S. money manager BlackRock is set to buy Barclays Global Investors (BGI) for between $12 billion and $13 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The deal, which could come today, would create a global asset manager twice the size of its nearest rival. For today’s headlines, click here.

And in the newspapers:

* Australian bank Macquarie may trump a Chinese bid for assets of debt-laden miner OZ Minerals, the Australian Financial Review said, which could stoke further anger in China after its massive deal with Rio Tinto collapsed last week.

* The chief executive of German retailer Metro is already sounding out foreign investors to buy the combined department store group it hopes to create with the Karstadt chain, Handelsblatt paper reported, citing investment bank sources.

Porsche is in talks to sell a stake of up to 25 percent in its holding company to the Gulf state of Qatar and a deal could be announced within weeks, people familiar with the talks told the Financial Times. For more of today’s deals headlines on Reuters, click here.

And more in the newspapers:

* German state-controlled bank WestLB was close to being shut down over the weekend , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Owners of the struggling bank agreed to provide an additional 4 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in guarantees to help support a sweeping reorganisation, WestLB said late on Sunday.

Top deals news today includes LSE boss mulling new acquisitions, BC Partners downing tools on a BGI bid and Fiat signing a big Chinese joint venture. All the latest deals news here.

In the morning papers:

The new chief executive of London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet has told La Tribune newspaper that he is ready to look at acquisitions and alliances but is not treating them as a priority. Reuters story here.

Borders UK, the bookshop chain owned by private equity firm Risk Capital Partners, has appointed restructuring experts RSM Bentley Jennison to advise on closing underperforming stores, The Independent reported.

Top deals news today includes Fiat boss’s confidence about an Opel takeover, Regions Financial planning a $1.25 billion stock offer, Aussie Rio shareholders seeking a new Chinalco deal and Novartis buying cancer drugs unit. All the latest deals news here.

In the morning papers:

Fiat SpA has more than a 50 percent chance of successfully linking up with Opel, La Stampa said, citing chief executive Sergio Marchionne. Reuters story here.

British pub company Mitchells & Butlers is in talks with banks over a possible rights issue, the Financial Times reported.