July 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

*Bayer raises bid for Monsanto to $64 bln (http://on.ft.com/29U8JCC)

*BlackRock's chief warns of Brexit recession in UK (http://on.ft.com/29U8SpE)

*Elliott reports 13.2% stake in Poundland ahead of Steinhoff deal (http://on.ft.com/29U8QOs)

*Court rules in Microsoft's favour in a data privacy case(http://on.ft.com/29U9eMQ)

Overview

*German drug and crop chemical group Bayer AG raised its takeover bid for U.S. seed company Monsanto to $64 billion on Thursday.

*Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, warned that Britain's vote to leave the European Union will trigger a recession in the country's economy.

*Activist investor Elliott Advisors reported a 13.2 percent stake in British discount chain Poundland Group Plc on Thursday. A day earlier, South African retailer Steinhoff International Holdings NV agreed a 450 million pound ($601.29 million) deal to buy Poundland.

*A US appeals court ruled on Thursday that the U.S. Government cannot force Microsoft to hand over a customer's email, stored in Ireland.

($1 = 0.7484 pounds) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)