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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Futures signal weak start on liquidity worry

(Reuters) - In takeover news, Rupert Murdoch told Reuters on Wednesday he had no plan to raise his News Corp.'s bid for Dow Jones & Co. Inc. and said he is waiting for final approval of the proposed acquisition from the Bancroft family, which controls the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.




A weak Japanese currency has allowed investors to borrow cheaply in yen to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere, a practice known as carry trade. The yen rose on Wednesday against the dollar and euro.


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European Emission Permits Rise for First Day in Three on Expected Demand

(Bloomberg) -- European Union emission permits rose
for the first time in three days on speculation power utilities
may buy more allowances as governments cut free allocations.

EU carbon dioxide emission permits for December 2008 rose
13 cents, or 0.6 of a percent, to 21.20 euros ($28.47) a metric
ton on the European Climate Exchange in Amsterdam at 11 a.m.
local time. They had traded today as high as 21.33 euros a ton.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Aeroflot Drops Alitalia Bid, Says It Was Denied `Critical' Information

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Aeroflot, eastern Europe's
largest airline, abandoned a bid for the Italian government's
stake in Alitalia SpA, saying it was denied ``critical
information'' about the company.

``Aeroflot and its advisers have not had access to critical
information with respect to the commercial and operational
aspects of Alitalia's business to confidently formulate a well
supported business proposal to successfully restructure
Alitalia,'' the Moscow-based company said in a statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Global mobile phone use to pass record 3 billion

(Reuters) - Global mobile phone use will pass the 3 billion mark -- equivalent to half the world's population -- for the first time in 2007 as cell phone demand booms in China, India and Africa, a survey said on Wednesday.

From African farmers to Chinese factory workers, mobile operators will have notched up more than 3.25 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide by the end of the year, according to a report by UK-based telecoms analysis company The Mobile World.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US mortgage applications fell in last week-MBA

(Reuters) - Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding
fees, averaged 6.60 percent, unchanged from the previous week,
but near their highest since mid-2006.




The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 4.9
percent to 428.9. The index is considered a timely gauge of
U.S. home sales.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Iraqi Outhouse Is a Sign of Progress to Marines Seeking to Secure Country

(Bloomberg) -- After a tense drive in an armored
convoy, on constant lookout for roadside bombs and other
potential hazards, U.S. Marine Captain Jeffrey McCormack directed
a giant forklift to set down the wooden outhouse.

``It may be an outhouse to you,'' said McCormack. ``It's
progress for us.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News