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Statoil has found extra oil at its Volve field in the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Monday. _0"> The firm has found an additional 3.8 million and 4.4 million barrels of recoverable oil, said the agency. Earlier this month Statoil said new drilling proved the Volve field to hold additional oil reserves in a range from 8.8 million to 9.4 million barrels, almost doubling the estimated remaining reserves at the North Sea field.   Statoil holds 59.6 percent in Volve, ExxonMobil 30.4 percent and Bayerngas Norge 10 percent of the license.

A bumper takeover in the telecoms sector helped European shares bounce on Monday after three days of losses, although concern over the impact of stimulus withdrawal in the United States and the health of China's banks weighed. _0"> Vodafone struck its biggest deal since 2007 after it agreed to buy Germany's largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland for 7.7 billion euros, a deal which Kabel said it intended to recommend to share holders.   Kabel's shares rose 2 percent, while heavyweight Vodafone was up 0.6 percent higher. By 0706 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 was flat at 1.39 points at 1,132.85, having spiraled down from the year's high of 1,132.73 on May 23 exacerbated by concerns over U.S. stimulus and China's banking system. "The widespread complacency about the adjustment to the tapering environment, which suggested that equities would remain immune to the winding down of central bank support, must now have been dispelled," Ian Williams, equi

The Euro STOXX 50 Volatility index, known as the VSTOXX, hit a four-month high early on Monday, signalling a sharp rise in risk aversion as mounting worries over China's banking sector kept investors on edge. _0"> The VSTOXX, Europe's widely-used gauge of investor sentiment which is based on put and call options on Euro STOXX 50 stocks , rose 3.4 percent to 24.86, a level not seen since late February.  

The Spanish government is studying all options for the sale of nationalised banks Catalunya Banc and NCG Banco, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told COPE radio on Monday. The government will seek to ensure the sales secure the greatest benefits to taxpayers. "There is no need to rush," said de Guindos.

The U.S. central bank's plans to scale back its stimulus and fears Chinese policy may be tightening sent the dollar sharply higher on Monday, while world shares extended last week's dismal performance.   The sell-off in stocks, bonds and commodities since the Federal Reserve signalled an end to the era of cheap money that has fuelled record rises in asset prices is seen having further to run. "The prospect for a disorderly transition is there," said Josh Raymond, market strategist for City Index. Fears of further market turmoil have been exacerbated by worries over China's growth outlook and the health of its banks after the country's central bank said liquidity in its financial system is "reasonable", despite high short term rates. Amid the selling, yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes , a benchmark for global rates, hit a two-year high of 2.57 percent on Monday, supporting the dollar which added 0.4 percent against a basket major currencies t

Vodafone has agreed to buy Germany's largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland for 7.7 billion euros ($10 billion), betting on TV and fixed-line services in its biggest deal since 2007.   Announcing its second major acquisition for a European fixed-line network in 12 months, Vodafone said it would pay 87 euros ($110) per share for the group to enable it to offer more competitive packages with TV, fixed-line and broadband services to its mobile customers. The world's second-largest mobile operator, following up its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, is however paying a rich price for the German firm and its 8.5 million homes, which it considered buying before it went public in March 2010 at 22 euros per share. One trader who asked not to be named said the offer, Vodafone's biggest since a 2007 Indian acquisition, valued Kabel Deutschland at 12 times enterprise value against 2013 core earnings , a 35 percent premium to the sector. However, this falls to 8.5 t

Erste Group Bank will raise about 660 million euros ($867 million) in equity and repay state aid in the third quarter, it said on Monday, forecasting operating profit would fall as much as 5 percent in 2013 rather than holding steady.   Central and eastern Europe's No. 3 lender said it would repay 1.76 billion euros in non-voting participation capital it got when the financial crisis began. Two-thirds came from Austria and the rest from private investors. Erste had said in April that not diluting shareholders with a rights issue was a high priority for the bank. The stock fell as much as 7.1 percent to 20.40 euros by 0730 GMT. The Stoxx European banking sector index was flat. Analyst Dirk Becker at Kepler Cheuvreux said it was disappointing that Erste gone back on its promise not to issue shares, but that Austrian regulators wanted the bank to replace at least a third of the capital being repaid. "The short-term performance of the stock could now be negative because of