Financial News

Even a combination of Europe’s two biggest bourses would not create a stock exchange capable of competing on the global stage, John Thain, the New York Stock Exchange’s chief executive, said in a Financial Times interview. // “I don’t think that a European champion – which is the term that is used a lot – is going to be globally competitive,” he said in response to a question about whether the NY ...

By Marie Maitre and Megan Davies PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Political opposition to the New York Stock Exchange's (NYX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) proposed takeover of pan-European rival Euronext (ENXT.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) is raising Deutsche Boerse's (DB1Gn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) chances to succeed in its own bid. French President Jacques Chirac, Italian Prime Minister Roman ...

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is pushing for state-owned Gaz de France to be privatised and bought by services firm Suez. Mr Villepin, whose stand faces strong political opposition, said he was "determined to move forward." If the firms merge they would create the world's fourth biggest energy firm. Mr de Villepin's comments came after newspaper Le Monde reported that plans to privatize GDF, a requisite before merging with Suez, had been dropped. Industry consolidation Presid ...

European equities failed to mount a recovery this week. // Renewed weakness on Friday dragged the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.6 per cent to 1,260.8. Over the week, the Eurofirst declined 1.2 per cent. “Current fundamentals in Europe are strong, balance sheets are undergeared and profits continue to be upgraded,” said Darren Brooks, strategist at Citigroup. “However, investors don’t seem to care.”  ...

Marks and Spencer powered up the FTSE 100 leader-board yesterday after a leading broker advised clients to take advantage of recent weakness and “buy”. // As of Friday morning, M&S shares had fallen 13 per cent in the past month and underperformed the wider market by 4%. The poor performance reflected fears that its recovery had petered out. However, Deutsche Bank believes that view is wrong ...

Robert Lea, Evening Standard16 June 2006 A £2.6BN counter-bid aiming to scupper Goldman Sachs's agreed takeover of Associated British Ports (ABP) could come as early as next week after Australian raider Macquarie won approval from ABP to look at its books. OTHER STORIES Centrica power station plan Gates to step down at Microsoft Market Report: Friday 13.15 Tullow celebrates new  ...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, on Friday named Rhydian Cox as its head of corporate, investment banking and markets (CIBM) for Asia Pacific, after he headed a similar group for HSBC in Mexico. Cox, who was posted in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2003, had been running CIBM for Mexico for the past three years and his new role is effective July 17. "The appointment of a head of CIBM,  ...

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- Aeroports de Paris, Europe's second-largest airport operator, saw its shares climb as much as 6% Friday after its 1.4 billion-euro ( $1.8 billion) initial public offering, the second-largest privatization this year behind the Bank of China. The offer, which was also the biggest IPO in France for six months, priced at 44 euros a share for retail buyers and 45 euros a share  ...

Ruth Sunderland, Daily Mail16 June 2006 THE turbulence in the market has exacted a toll from Standard Life. To the surprise of no one, the Edinburgh giant has cut the price range for its July float by around 9pc to 210p-270p, in line with the recent falls in the Footsie and the European insurance sector. OTHER STORIES Centrica power station plan Gates to step down at Microsoft Market R ...

Robert Lea, Evening Standard16 June 2006 BRITISH Gas group Centrica is to build the UK's first major power station for five years, in the latest attempt to alleviate the country's looming energy crisis. GAS CRISIS: Britain is facing an energy crisis WANT TO KNOW MORE? SWITCH & SAVE: Cut your energy bills CHAT: British Gas' customer care POLL: Who is your gas provider OTHER STORIES Gates to step down at Microsoft Market Report: Friday 10.30 Tullow celebrates  ...