The daily business briefing: May 23, 2016

1. Bayer makes $62 billion bid to take over Monsanto

Germany's Bayer AG said Monday that it had made a $62 billion takeover offer to U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto. The bid amounted to $122 a share, a 37 percent premium over Monsanto's closing price of $89.03 on the day before Bayer gave Monsanto the offer in writing earlier this month. If completed, the deal would be the largest foreign acquisition by a German firm. Bayer is a pharmaceuticals giant but it also makes pesticides. Buying Monsanto would produce $1.5 billion in synergies over three years, Bayer said.

The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch

2. Greek lawmakers approve new financial reforms

The Greek parliament on Sunday approved fresh financial reforms in a bid to satisfy its lenders and secure debt relief and another round of bailout funds. Lawmakers signed off on tax increases, a privatization superfund, and new austerity measures. The move came two days before a crucial meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' left-led coalition pushed through the reforms. Opposition politicians accused Tsipras' coalition of ruining the country, and hundreds of people protested the reforms outside parliament.

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The Associated Press Bloomberg

3. Boeing wins $11.3 billion order from VietJet

Boeing has won an order of 100 737 MAX 200 airplanes from VietJet. The $11.3 billion deal marks the largest single commercial airplane purchase ever for Vietnam. The planes will be delivered between 2019 and 2023, and will double VietJet's fleet. The news came as President Obama begins a three-day visit on Monday, aiming to strengthen ties with the former Cold War rival more than 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War. Obama announced Monday that the U.S. was lifting a ban on arms sales to Vietnam.

Barron's Bloomberg

4. Iranian leaders head into OPEC meeting saying they won't freeze oil output

Iran has no plan to freeze its oil output, the country's deputy oil minister said, according to Sunday reports. The news nudged oil prices down on Monday. Iran is due to meet June 2 with OPEC partners, who are pushing for production limits to help push up prices. Iran is resisting because it wants to return oil exports to pre-sanction levels. Iran's national oil company expects exports to surpass 2.2 million barrels a day by mid-summer, a level last seen before now-lifted sanctions were imposed four years ago.

Bloomberg Reuters

5. Stocks start the week wobbly around the world

Global stocks got off to a weak start on Monday after a Group of 7 finance meeting ended with no agreement on how to boost economic growth, and data showing a sharper than expected decline in Japanese exports. The G7 finance leaders agreed not to competitively devalue currencies, but balked at Japan's call for fiscal moves to stimulate economies. The Nikkei 225 index fell by about 1 percent. U.S. futures pointed to a slightly lower open as investors continue to factor in rising expectations of a looming interest rate hike.

The Associated Press Reuters