BA profit rise beats forecasts, warns on revenues

(Reuters) - LONDON, Aug 3 - British Airways posted a 28 percent rise in quarterly operating profit on Friday to beat analysts' forecasts, but warned a weak dollar and soaring fuel prices would slow full-year revenue growth and raise costs.



Earnings before interest and taxes for the three months to end-June rose to 263 million pounds , BA said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.


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LSE CEO expects shareholder backing for Milan deal

(Reuters) - BRUSSELS, June 27 - Shareholders in the London Stock Exchange are expected to support the bourse's decision to buy Milan-based Borsa Italiana, LSE Chief Executive Clara Furse said on Wednesday.



"We expect shareholders to support this transaction," Furse told Reuters.


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Borsa Italiana does not want to sell MTS -CEO

(Reuters) - "We do not want to sell MTS," Chief Executive Massimo Capuano told a news conference after agreeing to a 1.6 billion euro takeover by the London Stock Exchange .



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LSE Credit Rating Is Placed on Review for Possible Downgrade by Moody's

(Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Plc, which
agreed to buy Borsa Italiana SpA on June 23 for 1.63 billion
euros ($2.2 billion), has been put on review by Moody's Investors
Services for possible downgrade of its debt rating.

The decision to review the LSE's rating follows the
announcement that the exchange had reached agreement with the
board of Borsa Italiana on the terms of the recommended offer,
Moody's said today in an e-mailed statement.


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London Stock Exchange, Italian Bourse to Hold Merger Talks, Two People Say

(Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Plc, Europe's
third-largest trading platform, reached agreement with Borsa
Italiana SpA on a takeover as the two exchanges respond to
increased competition, two people familiar with the plan said.

The London bourse will offer about 1.6 billion euros ($2.2
billion) for Borsa Italiana, news agency Ansa reported. Borsa
Italiana's board authorized Chief Executive Officer Massimo
Capuano to negotiate the merger with the LSE after a two-hour
board meeting in Milan, said the people, who declined to be
identified before the companies release a statement.


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CHRONOLOGY-Recent consolidation moves by stock exchanges

(Reuters) - April 11, 2006 - Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. buys a 15
percent stake in the London Stock Exchange . Nasdaq
subsequently raises its stake to just below 30 percent in a
failed takeover bid.




June 2 - NYSE Group Inc. reaches agreement to buy
Paris-based European exchange operator Euronext in a
pioneering transatlantic deal. The merged exchange NYSE Euronext
makes its market debut on April 4, 2007.


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