1.     Sanofi-Aventis offers $69 per share in cash for Genzyme in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $18.5B.

2.     The Bank of Japan expanded a program of providing loans to banks by 10 trillion yen ($116 billion), to a total of 30 trillion yen today.

3.     European economic confidence reading was the highest since March 2008 and exceeded economists’ estimates.(101.8 vs. 101.6)

4.     AXA, which had been Goldman Sach’s largest shareholder, sold more than 14 million shares between January and June, reducing its stake to 2.8 percent from 4.8 percent

5.     Current and former central bankers from around the world said an uneven global economic recovery was likely to stay on track despite worries about the vitality of the U.S. economy. -WSJ