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Germany's Bayer is to buy US vitamins maker Schiff Nutrition International for an agreed $1.2 billion as it seeks stable sources of growth to complement its more volatile prescription drugs business. Bayer is offering $34 per share in cash to Schiff shareholders, a 47% premium over Friday's closing price of $23.19. The deal values Schiff at about 3.1 times its forecast annual sales.

UK retail sales jump, forecast improves

British retail sales picked up much more than forecast in October, increasing the chances that the UK’s economic recovery will continue. At the same time, the unexpectedly upbeat survey among retailers added to views that the Bank of England will not increase its monetary stimulus further next week. The Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey showed that the sales balance jumped to +30 from +6 in September. Analysts had forecast a reading of +7.

German joblessness continues to be on rise

German joblessness rose for the seventh month in a row in October, highlighting the vulnerability of Europe's biggest economy to the euro zone crisis. Economists expect the trend to reverse, however, as growth revives in the new year. The number of Germans out of a job rose to 2.937 million in October, up 20,000 from the previous month. The consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of 31 economists was for unemployment to rise by 10,000.

BoJ boosts stimulus to avoid recession

The Bank of Japan boosted its monetary stimulus for the second month in

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