• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Citigroup (NYSE: C) plans to sell a stake of around $2 billion to China Development Bank, in an effort to raise capital may be in jeopardy due to opposition from the Chinese government.
• Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), which is seeking close to $4 billion in capital, may receive an investment from the Kuwait Investment Authority, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal could be announced as soon as mid-week, according to the Financial Times (subscription required).

• There is speculation that BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) may raise its offer for Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to 3.6 shares for one from three for one and add a cash sweetener "sooner rather than later," the Australian reported.
• According to CNBC, Citigroup could write down as much as $24 billion from subprime and credit-related losses and there could be twenty-thousand layoffs as part of a plan to cut costs and raise capital.

Newspaper wrap-up: Citigroup to sell $2 billion stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.