A group led by KKR & Co made an unsolicited near-$15 billion bid for Ramsay Health Care Ltd on Wednesday, underlining buyout funds' current appetite for healthcare assets and pushing the Australian firm's shares up as much as 30%.

Credit Suisse Group expects a loss in reported first-quarter earnings after increasing legal provisions, the Swiss bank said on Wednesday.

Dutch oil and chemical storage company Vopak's first-quarter earnings beat market expectations on Wednesday, boosted by growth projects and good performance in the Americas.

Home owners in small Chinese cities are battling a rare property market downdraft as buyers keep away, eroding the wealth of millions in a blow to already brittle consumer confidence in the world's second-largest economy.

A hawkish turn by the Federal Reserve is eroding a key support for U.S. stocks, as real yields climb into positive territory for the first time in two years.

(Reuters) -Australia's largest private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care Ltd said on Wednesday it received an unsolicited A$20.05 billion ($14.80 billion) indicative takeover offer from a consortium led by private equity giant KKR & Co, sending Ramsay's shares 30% higher.