The daily business briefing: March 14, 2016

1. Chinese insurance company agrees to $6.5 billion luxury hotel deal

The Chinese owner of the Waldorf Astoria, Angang Insurance Group, has agreed to buy Strategic Hotels and Resorts from the Blackstone Group. The real-estate company owns and invests in high-end properties, including Four Seasons hotels in the Silicon Valley area, Washington, and Jackson Hole, the historic Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, and the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel near Manhattan's Central Park. The deal is valued at $6.5 billion. Anbang bought New York's Waldorf Astoria in 2014 for $1.95 billion.

The New York Times Los Angeles Times

2. Stocks waver ahead of this week's Fed meeting

U.S. stock futures pointed to bumpy trading on Monday as investors await the opening of a two-day meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers on Tuesday. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold despite encouraging economic data, which add to the arguments for another rate hike. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average stock indexes closed at 2016 highs on Friday, but they edged lower ahead of Monday trading along with oil prices.

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MarketWatch

3. Bangladesh central bank in hot water over theft by hackers

Bangladesh's finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, vowed Sunday to take action against the country's central bank for failing to notify him that hackers had stolen at least $100 million from a Bangladesh Bank account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last month. "I will certainly take some action against Bangladesh Bank," Muhith said. "Bangladesh Bank has the audacity not to inform me." The central bank said last Monday that some of the stolen funds had been traced to the Philippines.

Bloomberg

4. European industrial production rises more than expected

Eurozone industrial production was stronger than expected in January due largely to increased output of equipment and machinery, the European Union statistics office said on Monday. Production was 2.1 percent higher than in December, much better than the 1.7 percent gain predicted by economists polled by Reuters. The annual increase was 2.8 percent, blasting past the 1.4 percent economists expected after two months of declines.

Reuters

5. Starwood Hotels gets unsolicited takeover bid

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said Monday that it had received an unsolicited takeover offer. The $76-per-share bid could unravel a deal with Marriott International, which agreed months ago to buy Starwood for $12.2 billion. A Marriott takeover of Starwood, which includes the Sheraton brand, would create the world's largest hotel chain.

Bloomberg