Business Today: Exclusive: Bayer, Novartis, others eye Merck's consumer health unit - sources

	Click to View in Browser 02/19/2014 Exclusive: Bayer, Novartis, others eye Merck's consumer health unit - sources NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - A handful of consumer and healthcare companies including Bayer AG and Novartis are exploring a deal for Merck & Co Inc's consumer healthcare business, as they seek to gain scale in a fragmented industry, according to several people familiar with the matter. Tesla results beat expectations, stock soars 16 percent (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc , led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Wednesday and said deliveries of its Model S electric sedan would surge more than 55 percent this year. Wall St. ends lower after late selloff on Fed view NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday in a late selloff as minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting indicated that stimulus will continue to be trimmed unless there is a big economic surprise. Cold weather sinks U.S. home building in January WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts recorded their biggest drop in almost three years in January as harsh weather disrupted activity, but the third month of declines in permits hinted at some weakness in the housing market. Carlos Slim to exercise New York Times warrants: report (Reuters) - Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim plans to increase his stake in The New York Times Co by exercising at the end of this year warrants he received when he made a major loan to the newspaper company, according to a report in Bloomberg. BofA $8.5 billion deal to go forward; AIG loses bid to delay NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state judge declined to delay court approval of Bank of America Corp's $8.5 billion settlement with investors in mortgage-backed securities, rejecting a move by American International Group Inc . Google prepares 34-city push for ultra-fast Fiber service SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is exploring a major expansion of its super-fast "Fiber" TV and Internet service, which could extend the nascent network to 34 more U.S. cities and pose a competitive threat to home broadband providers. Lululemon rejects allegation it misled shareholders NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lululemon Athletica Inc says its nearly year-long struggle with bad publicity linked to slowing growth and a messy product recall did not reflect any corporate intent to defraud shareholders, and that an expanded lawsuit suggesting otherwise should be thrown out of court. Nespresso takes aim at Green Mountain's Keurig with big-cup brewer BOCA RATON, Florida (Reuters) - Nespresso is launching a new single-serve coffee brewer that makes larger American-sized portions, putting its Swiss parent Nestle in direct competition with U.S. market leader Green Mountain Coffee Roasters . Spain to discuss change in Panama Canal project guarantee-sources MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish government working group will discuss changing the status of a state-backed guarantee given to builder Sacyr to secure a contract to widen the Panama Canal on Thursday, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. Related Video Ukraine faces sanctions after deaths Breakingviews: Sparkling M&A Economic News Cold weather sinks U.S. home building in January Atlanta Fed's Lockhart cites pent-up demand for housing A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend