Libya's National Oil Corporation and Indian mobile phone company Essar are among the bidders for oil giant ShellÔÇÖs UK refinery, according to reports.

Comcast, the countryÔÇÖs biggest cable TV operator, reported a jump in second-quarter profits of 53 percent, it said yesterday.  The Phildelphia-based firm said that profits were boosted by higher prices and increased spending by consumers on internet and video services such as HD packages. The company said it focused its marketing efforts on attracting new cable television customers in the run-up to the digital transition on June 12. Lower capital investment and cost controls also contributed towards the better results,┬áComcast said.

The prime ministers of Turkey and Russia have signed a number of agreements regarding co-operation on major oil and gas projects.

Calgary-based Petrobank Energy has announced it will merge its Canadian business unit with TriStar Oil & Gas to form a new company focused on light oil buried in southeast Saskatchewan. With expected production of 37,000 barrels per day in 2009, the new company, Petrobakken Energy, will become the provinceÔÇÖs second-largest Bakken oil producer when the merger is completed in October. The deal is said to be worth around $2.24 billion. The tie-up will also make PetroBakken the single largest landholder in the region, with over 800,000 net acres in southeast Saskatchew

Deutsche Bank, GemanyÔÇÖs largest lender, is in talks to buy a stake in major European private bank Sal. Oppenheim, GermanyÔÇÖs largest independent wealth manager.

PepsiCo, the worldÔÇÖs second-largest drinks maker, has said it is buying its two top bottling firms for $7.8 billion.  The deal with PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Co will enable PepsiCo, whose brands include Tropicana, Gatorade and Mountain Dew, to cut costs and boost its North American profits as sales of carbonated drinks continue to decline. PepsiCo has said that annual savings from the deal, which is expected to close later this year, are expected to reach $300 million by 2012.

Austrian oil and gas group OMV may buy a $1.2 billion (Ôé¼834 million) stake in Turkish fuel retailer Petrol Ofisi, it was announced today.

Paris-based France Telecom has said it will appeal to Egypt's supreme court after the country's stock market appeals committee once again rejected the group's bid to take full control of ECMS, Egypt's largest mobile operator.

Insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has named Robert Benmosche, a former head of rival insurance firm MetLife, as its new chief executive.  The appointment follows the decision by Ed Liddy, AIGÔÇÖs current chairman and CEO, to leave the firm after less than one year at the helm. Benmosche will not succeed Liddy as chairman. Liddy has received strong criticism for his role at the firm since it received around $80 billion in bailout funds from the Government.

Enel, ItalyÔÇÖs largest energy company, has finalised a deal with Electricit├® de France (EDF) that will seek to develop nuclear power stations in Italy.