View dated 31 January 2008 of the front

View dated 31 January 2008 of the front of one of the buildings of France's top bank BNP Paribas headquarters in Paris. BNP is "thinking" about a possible takeover of its rival Societe Generale, rocked by multi-billion-euro rogue trade losses, a spokeswoman said 31 January 2008. The price of shares in Societe Generale shot up after the remark by 3.36 percent to 84.55 euros, having gained 10.42 percent on Tuesday and 4.27 percent on Wednesday on takeover talk. But the shares are still about 45.0 percent below a record high point of 158.42 euros reached on May 4, 2007. AFP PHOTO ERIC PIERMONT (Photo credit should read ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)