WORLD

WORLD
7-Eleven owner to buydepartment store operator
TOKYO -- Seven & amp; I Holdings Co., owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan and the United States, said Monday it will pay 131.1 billion yen ($1.13 billion) to buy department store operator Millennium Retailing Inc. in a deal creating Japan's biggest retailer.
Tokyo-based Seven & amp; I will complete the transaction in two steps, first buying a 65 percent stake in Millennium currently held by Nomura Principal Finance for 131.1 billion yen in cash by the end of March, Seven & amp; I said in a statement.
It will then buy the remaining 35 percent directly from Millennium in a stock swap by June. Millennium is an unlisted company.
Aside from 7-Eleven, Seven & amp; I also owns the Ito-Yokado supermarket chain. Millennium owns Japanese retailers Sogo Co. and Seibu Department Stores Ltd.
Their combined revenue would come to around 4.5 trillion yen ($38.8 billion) for the year ended Feb. 28, making Seven & amp; I the biggest in Japan's retail industry followed by Aeon Co.
Shell: 4 oil explorationareas off Brazil are viable
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Four offshore oil exploration areas owned jointly by Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, and Exxon Mobil Corp. are commercially viable, Shell's Brazilian unit said in a statement Monday.
The four areas are within the BC-10 offshore block located about 74 miles off the coast of Brazil's southeastern state of Espirito Santo.
Shell and Petrobras each have a 35 percent stake in the block, while Texas-based Exxon Mobil has 30 percent.
The block which has reserves estimated at 400 million barrels of oil, could produce between 60,000 and 100,000 barrels a day of crude as of 2009, according to Shell.
Shares in Tokyo, Seoulhit highest level in years
HONG KONG -- Tokyo and Seoul shares rose to new highs Monday, but many Asian markets remained closed for the Christmas holiday. Canadian, U.S. and most European markets also were closed.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged to its highest level in more than five years as investors bought into technology issues, retailers and textiles. The Nikkei rose 166.30 points, or 1 percent, to finish at 16,107.67 -- its highest close since October 2000.
Gainers included Internet service providers Softbank Corp., Yahoo Japan Corp., textile company Toray Industries Inc. and Seven & amp; I Holdings Co. Ltd.
From Vindicator wire reports