You've got to wonder about the new bid by the Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium for ABN Amro. It said all along that LaSalle was the main prize in its efforts to buy the Dutch giant; it intended to use the purchase to grow in the United States. But then the courts ruled that ABN could go ahead with its plans to sell LaSalle to Bank of America. But the RBS Group has decided to sweeten its bid for the bank by boosting significantly the cash portion (to more than 90 percent from around 80 percent before) of its near $100 billion bid. RBS execs said the bank never considered giving up. So the court decision effectively boosted the value of all non-LaSalle assets it seems. You have to think that the assets are favorably valued right now. Barclays may have to go higher itself or give up the game. 

For more:
- here's an article from The Times