THE NEWS WRAP: Packer set to bet on a return to Las Vegas

James Packer’s Crown Resorts is set to make a bid for a $US2 billion casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

The investment marks a return to Vegas for the gaming tycoon, who was burnt by two Las Vegas Casino investments made on the eve of the global financial crisis.

Packer is believed to be interested in investing in The Cosmopolitan, which was taken over by Deutsche Bank in 2008 after gaming tycoon Ian Bruce Eichner defaulted on a loan, and is located next to MGM Resorts International’s Bellagio.

Nokia deal with Microsoft to close this week

Smartphone maker Nokia has told investors it expects the $US7.2 billion sale of its devices and services business to Microsoft to be finalised this week.

The company says it has now cleared all major regulatory hurdles required for the deal to go ahead.

The deal will see Nokia sell its mobile phone division to Microsoft, including its Lumia smartphone line, with the Finnish company retaining its network equipment manufacturing business.

US fibre optic rollout continues

One of the largest telecommunications carriers in the US has announced plans to deploy fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the premises (FTTP) services across 21 US cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta.

The AT&T U-verse deployment comes as Google continues its fibre optic network rollout in selected US cities.

The company claims it already has 10.7 million internet and pay television subscribers using its fibre optic services.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up to 16449.2. The Aussie dollar is at US93.27 cents.