Oils lift Europe shares, InBev gains on Bud deal

LONDON: European stocks rose early on Thursday, driven by a rise in oil shares, while Belgian brewer InBev jumped after unveiling a bid for US rival Anheuser-Busch. By 0719 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index added 0.3 per cent to 1,253.08 points, snapping a six-day losing streak. Heavyweight oil stocks BP, Shell and Total rose 0.8-1.1 per cent as oil traded around the $135-a-barrel mark. InBev rose 3.4 per cent after it offered $46.3 billion to buy Anheuser-Busch. Other brewers also moved on the deal, with SABMiller down 3 per cent and Heineken up 1.4 per cent. Shares in Carphone Warehouse fell over 15 per cent after Europe's biggest independent mobile phone retailer said it had seen falling broadband demand due to a slowdown in the housing market and was cautious about the year ahead. Later in the session, the release of retail sales data in the United States will be in the spotlight. Shakti