shareholder

China is making efforts to grab a $1.2 billion stake in Facebook which would give it a significant role in the largest social networking service in the world. And that may be concerning.

A prominent online payment processor Moneybookers will raise about £200 million by floating on the London Stock Exchange in the next few months. The move comes after its Middle Eastern owner Investcorp last year tried to sell Moneybookers.

The majority stake is owned by the Bahrain-based investment group which acquired the company in 2007 for €105m. According to reports Investcorp hired JPMorgan to manage the sale and was understood to be looking for as much as €400m for the UK-based group but failed to attract a buyer.

Monday, Britain's largest retail lender, Lloyds Banking Group announced it got over 95% take-ups for its record £13.5 billion rights issue, underlining a turbulent few months for the bank.

As Lloyds stated Monday, around 95.3% of new shares offered were taken up by investors.

The rights issue had been priced at £37 per share, with investors being offered 1.34 shares for every existing share held. That compares with Friday's close at £56.2.

 Lloyds Banking Group may struggle to escape participation in the government's asset protection program, and even if it does, the result could be increased risk for shareholders, analysts said Thursday. 

Lloyds has said it's looking at options to reduce or replace the scheme, under which the government would guarantee around 260 billion pounds of its assets.