See more charts by country, and sector at http://www.imaa-institute.org/statistics-mergers-acquisitions.html#MergersAcquisitions_Worldwide

One trend which has become blatantly apparent since mid-2012 is that M&A is the preferred growth strategy for US & UK companies. Rather than opting for the lengthier and often more costly process of developing their own operations, companies are more and more commonly seeking to acquire other companies operations with the view of integrating them into their own thus saving costs of development of personnel, buildings and infrastructure. What we are hearing first hand is that companies would much rather acquire existing operations in order to save time in order to capitalize on current market conditions as quickly as possible.

Via: http://www.benchmarkcorporate.com/2013/02/21/2013-ma-activity-the-story-so-far%E2%80%A6/

Global mergers and acquisitions rose to the highest level in four years this quarter, as a surge in U.S. deals provided ground for optimism and salvaged what had been the worst year for takeovers since the financial crisis. Companies worldwide have announced $691.9 billion in purchases in the final three months of the year, the most since the third quarter of 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Via: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-27/fourth-quarter-m-a-surge-spurs-optimism-after-2012-deals-decline.html

Banks and real owners are assembling huge conglomerates :-)

Preorder at http://getmyo.com/

The country has seen a huge amount of homeowners default on their rents or mortgage payments, prompting a wave of repossession by government-backed banks.

Following several suicides some locksmiths are no longer willing to carry out banks's orders to evict people from their houses.

The Spanish government authorities and banks have turned to the fire service to step in and break open the doors of those resisting eviction

Last Tuesday, firefighters in Coruna, a town in Northern Spain, were called to help evict an 85-year-old woman who had defaulted on her rent. When the firefighters arrived they refused to open the door and some of them joined in the protest. Since then, firefighters in other regions such as Catalonia and Madrid have followed their example.

Via:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9888042/Spanish-firemen-and-locksmiths-refuse-to-evict-homeowners.html

I am sure, they'll find solution. may be will be using special forces to break into your door, may be will just blast it with explosives.

"Things are quite tough right now," she said after the wedding. "We cut down on many things, from invitations to the reception, on everything."

The number of Greek couples who tied the knot in church tumbled to 28,000 in 2011, two years into Europe's debt crisis, compared to the pre-crisis level of 40,000 in 2008, according to the country's statistic service ELSTAT.

In contrast, the number of low-key civil unions skyrocketed to 26,000 in 2011 from about 8,000 a decade earlier.

Via: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite4_1_21/02/2013_484079

Check how it'll be, especially if you plan to get RED Epic to shoot weddings.

Better save some for your last days.

Some Greeks do not collect their dead loved ones from the hospital to avoid having to pay for the funeral. Others can no longer afford a traditional marble tombstone and so leave plots as simple dirt mounds overgrown by weeds, a cemetery official said.