AMSTERDAM, July 25 (Reuters) – Dutch publisher Wolters
Kluwer NV said the strong performance in its North
American business drove better-than-expected first-half results,
putting it on track to meet its full-year targets.

The Dutch publisher of information for lawyers, tax
specialists, doctors and scientists, which competes with Reed
Elsevier and Thomson Reuters, has
benefited from a steady shift of its business from print to
higher-margin online versions.

AMSTERDAM, July 17 (Reuters) – ASML’s earnings
attract attention because the world’s leading chip equipment
maker is considered a barometer for the health of Europe’s tech
sector and the strength of demand for smartphones and other hot
consumer gadgets.

But when the Dutch firm reports its second-quarter results on
Wednesday morning, investors and analysts will also want an
update on the longer-term outlook, in particular for news on its
research funding plans.

AMSTERDAM, July 13 (Reuters) – Dutch financial services
group SNS Reaal, struggling with a loss-making property
arm and facing the repayment of state aid by the end of next
year, said it was considering the sale of its insurance
business, one of its main cash generators.

SNS Reaal has been hit by a weak property market and low
interest rates. It is looking at options including the sale of
its insurance unit Reaal and its pension operation Zwitserleven
to strengthen its capital position, and will continue to wind
down its property finance loans, a spokesman told Reuters.

SAN FRANCISCO/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – ASML, the world’s top chip equipment maker, signed up Intel Corp to bankroll its research into costly next-generation chipmaking technology, and aims to reach similar deals with TSMC and Samsung Electronics.

ASML’s chief executive said on Tuesday the Dutch firm had asked its three biggest customers – Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics – to help fund its R&D in exchange for up to 25 percent of its shares. Following Intel’s decision, it expects to announce more customer investments in the coming weeks.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – In the Netherlands, two people matter when it comes to the euro zone crisis: Henk and Ingrid. And they’re not happy.

The mythical Mr and Mrs Average, conjured up by populist politician Geert Wilders, have taken on a life of their own. Married with two children, they live in a typical suburban house, and take one or two holidays a year.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim on Thursday looked well placed to succeed in a bid for a major stake in Royal KPN NV (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) after the Dutch telecoms group failed to find a buyer or partner for its coveted German unit E-Plus.

KPN’s talks with cash-strapped Spanish peer Telefonica SA (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) over a German deal – intended to unlock value, push up KPN’s shares and ward off the unsolicited approach by Slim’s America Movil (AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) – fell through just days before the Mexican company’s offer closes on June 27.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim looked well placed on Thursday to pull off his goal of acquiring a substantial stake in Royal KPN NV (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), after the Dutch telecoms group failed to find a buyer or partner for its coveted German unit E-Plus.

KPN’s talks with cash-strapped Spanish peer Telefonica SA (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) over a German deal – intended to unlock value, push up KPN’s shares and ward off the unsolicited approach by Slim’s America Movil (AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) – fell through just days before the Mexican company’s offer closes on June 27.

AMSTERDAM, June 20 (Reuters) – Dutch telecom KPN’s
attempt to sell its German unit E-Plus to Spain’s Telefonica
– a move intended to ward off an unsolicited approach
by Carlos Slim – has fallen through, just days before the
Mexican tycoon’s tender offer closes.

KPN’s failure to find a buyer or merger partner for E-Plus,
which some analysts had valued at between 8 billion and 10
billion euros, now leaves the Dutch telecoms operator with few
other options to keep the Mexican billionaire at bay.

AMSTERDAM, June 20 (Reuters) – Dutch telecom KPN’s
attempt to sell its German unit E-Plus to Spain’s Telefonica
– a move intended to ward off an unsolicited approach
by Carlos Slim – has fallen through, just days before the
Mexican tycoon’s tender offer closes.

Slim’s mobile phone giant America Movil has little
left to snap up in Latin America and has turned its sights on
Europe in search of undervalued assets.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has rejected a call by Dutch telecoms group KPN (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to waive some voting rights if the Mexican group succeeds in building up a big stake in the struggling European firm, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Carlos Garcia Moreno, chief financial officer at America Movil, told Dutch daily newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad that KPN’s request to forfeit some voting rights was “unacceptable”.