Shell Bids for Cove Energy, Americans to Save Tax Refunds: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet Wednesday include Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A) after the oil company made a 992.4 million pound ($1.6 billion) bid for African explorer Cove Energy.

Cove's board has said it expects to recommend the acquisition to its shareholders. Cove put itself up for sale last month after making one of the world's largest gas discoveries in Mozambique.

Shell hasn't had success in East Africa and is reportedly interested in the acquisition in order to gain a foothold in Mozambique. Shell plans to increase exploration spending by 35% this year to about $5 billion.

Tax refund is trending as a new survey by the National Retail Federation found Americans are planning on saving their tax refunds this year instead of spending them.

According to the survey, nearly 44% of those expecting refunds will allot some of the refunds to savings, the most in the survey's nine-year history. Nearly 40% said they will use the money to pay off debt, while nearly 29% will spend it on everyday expenses.