RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: Our business news starts with the merger of major European banks.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, Host: The merger would create a bank with nearly 50 billion customers worldwide. Its headquarters will be in Amsterdam and will employ as many as 200,000 people. Layoffs are expected. Shareholders first have to approve the takeover. Final details of the plan are expected to be worked out by the end of the year.
Britain's Barclays plans to buy the Dutch lending firm ABN Amro in a deal valued at more than $91 billion. The merger would create a bank with nearly 50 million customers, headquartered in Amsterdam.