Buffett to buy ING’s reinsurance unit ...
ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, agreed to sell its reinsurance unit to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc for about $440 million  (300 million euros), reports Bloomberg from London.
The sale of NRG NV will result in a capital loss after tax of about 100 million euros, Amsterdam-based ING said on Friday in a statement. The company said it expects to complete the transaction in the first half of 2008.

Plans new bond insurer for public works fund
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to launch a bond insurer targeting local governments, seeking to profit from troubled credit markets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The new bond insurer— Hathaway Assurance Corp, is set to start operating on Friday in New York state, and guarantee the bonds that cities, counties and states use to finance public works, the report added, quoting Buffett from an interview, reports reuters from New York.

US, European banks plan to sell biz units
US and European banks, including Citigroup and HSBC are mulling sales of parts of their businesses from branches to entire units in a nod to crunch times ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday, reports Reuters from new York. While Citigroup may shed or shut several of its mid-size units, HSBC could exit all or parts of its $13 billion auto finance business, the Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Merrill Lynch plans to axe 1,600 jobs
Merrill Lynch & Co  plans to announce about 1,600 layoffs after disclosing fourth-quarter write-downs, according to CNBC, reports Reuters from New York.

 The layoffs are likely to be in trading positions and related areas, and will not likely include the investment banking or private client groups, CNBC’s Charlie Gasparino reported.

Merrill Lynch had about 64,000 employees as of the end of September, so 1,600 layoffs would represent less than 3 percent of its work force.