21 Dec 2004 06:46 PM

Clara Furse, LSE chief executive, will hold negotiations with Deutsche Börse and Euronext concerning potential takeover by one of Europe’s two leading stock exchanges. She will meet Euronext’s boss Jean-François Theodore and Werner Seifert, chief executive of Deutsche Börse. London

21 Dec 2004 04:21 PM

FITCH RATINGS TO CUT DOW JONES'S RATING TO "A" FROM "A+" AFTER THE MEDIA COMPANY ACQUIRES MARKETWATCH.

21 Dec 2004 04:12 PM

Wall Street rallied on tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97.83 points, or 0.9%, to 10,759.43, this is the best level since June 2001. The S&P 500 added 10.78 points, or 0.9%, to 1,205.43. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 23.06 points, or 1.1%, to 2,150.91.

21 Dec 2004 03:07 PM

S&P DOWNGRADED ITS CREDIT RATING FOR DELPHI TO "BB+" FROM "BBB-". THE SHORT-TERM RATING WAS LOWERED TO "B" FROM "A-3."

21 Dec 2004 10:29 AM

U.S. stocks opened higher on the rise in financial and technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 41 points, or near 0.4%, to 10,702, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,140.

21 Dec 2004 09:41 AM

MORGAN STANLEY DOWNGRADED TIME WARNER TO "EQUAL WEIGHT" FROM "OVERWEIGHT", THE PRICE TARGET WAS REMAINED AT $21.

21 Dec 2004 09:34 AM

LEHMAN BROS. UPGRADED INTEL TO "OVERWEIGHT" FROM "EQUAL WEIGHT".

21 Dec 2004 09:25 AM

Bank of America raised its price target for McDonald’s to $37 from $34. Rating for shares was reaffirmed at "buy". Fourth-quarter and full-year earnings estimates remained at 44 cents and $1.92, respectively.

21 Dec 2004 09:22 AM

Morgan Stanley said today fourth-quarter profit rose 18%, on trading and M&A activity. Net income rose to $1.2 billion, or $1.09 per share, from $1.01 billion, or 92 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting $1.01 a share.

21 Dec 2004 09:13 AM

Bear Stearns said today fourth-quarter profit rose 22%, on the sale of a stake in a women’s clothing chain. The security firm earned $352.6 million, or $2.61 per share, compared to $288.3 million, or $2.19 per share a year

21 Dec 2004 07:44 AM

European shares were mixed by midday. The Dax was flat at 4,210.87, the CAC fell 0.15%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.21%. FTSE Eurofirst 300 slipped 0.2%.

21 Dec 2004 07:29 AM

Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating for Alliance & Leicester to "equal-weight" from "overweight". "Without a cost plan, revenue weakness in 2005 could be the dominant feature," the broker said, according to CBSMarketWatch.

21 Dec 2004 07:24 AM

UBS downgraded its rating for Monsanto to "neutral" from "buy". "Our action occurs despite our expectation of more good news on top of the recent stream of cheer", the broker said.

21 Dec 2004 02:59 AM

The Goldman Sachs Group will rename its broker-dealer, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg L.P. to Goldman Sachs Execution

21 Dec 2004 02:57 AM

Japanese stock market closed higher for a third straight session, on financial sector. The Nikkei 225 added 22.5 points, or 0.2%, to 11,125.92, the highest level since Nov. 17. The TOPIX index rose 0.6%, to 1,116.34. Today CSFB upgraded Japanese financial sector. Mizuho was upgraded to "outperform" from "underperform". "Banks