Italian Stocks - Factors to watch on May 26

Reuters: [2008-05-26 08:44:00]

    MILAN, May 26 (Reuters) - The following factors could affect 
Italian markets on Monday. 
    Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot 
vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). 
     
    ENI <ENI.MI>, SUEZ <LYOE.PA>, DISTRIGAS <DISTy.BR> 
    Italy's oil and gas group Eni and French utility Suez SA, 
looking to sell its Belgian natural gas trading arm Distrigas, 
are in exclusive talks for a sale by Thursday, Suez said on 
Saturday. 
    For a story, double click on [nL24424043]. 
     
    In exchange for a 57 percent stake in Distrigas, Eni would 
offer Suez a virtual power plant production equal to output of 
two combined-cycle power stations for 15 years, several 
newspapers quoted Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni as 
saying on Sunday. 
    It would also offer options of gas supplies to Italy, 
Germany and Spain for 15 years and stakes in gas deposits in the 
Gulf of Mexico and Britain, on top of a gas distribution network 
in Rome. 
    The likely deal would strengthen Eni's role as the leading 
gas sales operator in Europe, boosting its share of the European 
gas sales market to 26-27 percent from 19 percent, Scaroni said. 
     
    ENIA <EN.MI>, HERA <HRA.MI>, IRIDE <IRD.MI> 
    The boards of regional utilities Enia, Hera and Iride are 
expected to sign a letter of intent for a three-way merger, a 
source has told Reuters. 
    The new entity is likely to become Italy's second-biggest 
regional utility after A2A <A2.MI> with a market capitalisation 
of about 5.3 billion euros and a net debt of about 3.3 billion 
euros, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Sunday. 
    The cities that control the utilities would hold a 48.5 
percent stake in the merged group. 
     
    FIAT <FIA.MI>, CHRYSLER [CBS.UL] 
    The Italian car maker has held talks with U.S. rival 
Chrysler in recent weeks over various forms of cooperation, Alfa 
Romeo brand chief Luca De Meo told German magazine 
WirtschaftsWoche in a story published on Saturday. 
    Such a move would save money for Fiat, as European exporters 
suffer from the strong euro, and mark a return of the Alfa Romeo 
brand to the U.S. market after withdrawing it in 1995. 
    For a story, double click on [nL24346852]. 
     
    FINMECCANICA <SIFI.MI> 
    Finmeccanica and U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co. <BA.N> are 
close to an agreement on joint marketing, sales, training and 
support of military training planes Alenia Aermacchi M-346 made 
by a Finmeccanica unit. The deal would focus on Singapore and is 
likely to involve Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. 
<STEG.SI>, Il Sole 24 Ore and Il Giornale reported on Sunday. 
     
    The government has confirmed Pier Francesco Guarguaglini in 
his current post as chairman of the aerospace and defence 
company. 
    For a story, double click on [nRAT003828]. 
     
    ENEL <ENEI.MI>  
    Italy's Ministry of Economic Development has awarded Enel 
the rights to convert the depleted Romanengo natural gas field 
to a gas storage site, a source familiar with the matter said on 
Friday. 
    For a story, double click on [nL2311150]. 
     
    Italy would be able to cut costly imports of oil and gas by 
20 percent and households' and companies' power bills would drop 
by 20-30 percent if the country relaunched nuclear energy banned 
20 years ago, Enel Chief Executive Officer Fulvio Conti said in 
an interview with Il Messaggero newspaper published on Saturday. 
     
    Dutch power utility Essent is talking to foreign peers, 
including Enel, in a bid to find a buyer to boost its value, 
daily Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday. 
    For a story, double click on [nL2651366]. 
     
    ENI, SNAM RETE GAS <SRG.MI> 
    The head of Italy's antitrust regulator, Antonio Catricala, 
said on Friday he favoured oil and gas group Eni selling its gas 
network Snam Rete Gas, but only if Snam becomes a part of a 
unified Europe-wide network. 
 
    TELECOM ITALIA <TLIT.MI> 
    The head of Italy's communications regulator, Corrado 
Calabro, told La Repubblica on Monday he hoped to reach an 
agreement on the separation of the operator's fixed-line phone 
network by July. 
    He also says 95 percent of the obstacles to laying down 
fibre optic cables is bureaucractic. 
 
    IMPREGILO <IPGI.MI> 
    Italy's biggest listed construction group is expected to see 
revenues rising 4 percent to 2.75 billion euros in 2008 and post 
operating profit of 220 million euros, Il Sole 24 Ore said in 
its "Letter to the Investor" on Sunday. 
     
    * The construction company should finish a trash incinerator 
outside Naples, civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso said. Il 
Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday that Lombardy utility A2A <A2.MI> 
and Naples utility Asia were candidates to run the site, which 
would help ease Naples' trash crisis. 
     
    AS ROMA <ASR.MI> 
    AS Roma's Italian Cup final victory may be the Sensi 
family's last triumph as owners amid renewed speculation that 
billionaire U.S. financier George Soros is close to buying the 
Italian club. 
    For a story, double click on [nL25607551]. 
     
    UBI BANCA <UBI.MI>, BANCO POPOLARE <BAPO.MI> 
    UBI Banca said on Friday the idea it could merge with rival 
Banco Popolare was groundless, in response to a report in 
Italian weekly newsmagazine Il Mondo. 
    For a story, double click on [nMAT008226]. 
     
    ALITALIA <AZPIa.MI> 
    The carrier's board meets. 
     
 ((Milan newsroom, +39 02 6612 9507, fax +39 02 801149, 
milan.newsroom@news.reuters.com)) 
     
    For Italian market data and news, click on codes in 
brackets: 
    20 biggest gainers (in percentage)............<.PG.MI> 
    20 biggest losers (in percentage).............<.PL.MI> 
    Mibtel index.......... <.MIBTEL> 
    S&P/Mib index......... <.SPMIB> 
    Indice Mib-30......... <.MIB30> 
    Midex index........... <.MIDEX> 
    Allstars index........ <.ALLST> 
    Block trades.......... <.BLK.MI> 
    Stories on Italy...... <IT-LEN> 
     
    For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in 
 brackets: 
    European Equities speed guide...................<EUR/EQUITY> 
    FTSEurofirst 300 index..............................<.FTEU3> 
    DJ STOXX index......................................<.STOXX> 
    Top 10 STOXX sectors...........................<.PGL.STOXXS> 
    Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors......................<.PGL.STOXXES> 
    Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors...................<.PGL.FTEU3S> 
    Top 25 European pct gainers.......................<.PG.PEUR> 
    Top 25 European pct losers........................<.PL.PEUR> 
     
    Main stock markets: 
    Dow Jones...............<.DJI>  Wall Street report .....[.N] 
    Nikkei 225.............<.N225>  Tokyo report............[.T] 
    FTSE 100...............<.FTSE>  London report...........[.L] 
    Xetra DAX.............<.GDAXI>  Frankfurt market stories[.F] 
    CAC-40.................<.FCHI>  Paris market stories...[.PA] 
    World Indices.....................................<0#.INDEX> 
    Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.........<EQUITYPOLL1> 
    Western European IPO diary..........................<WEUIPO> 
    European Asset Allocation........................[EUR/ASSET] 
    Reuters News at a Glance: Equities...............[TOP/EQE] 
    Main currency report:...............................[FRX/] 
  Keywords: ITALY MARKETS/FACTORS 
    
      

Swiss stocks - Factors to watch on May 26

Reuters: [2008-05-26 08:19:00]

ZURICH, May 26 (Reuters) - Swiss shares were seen opening lower on Monday, in line with other European markets, after Wall Street stocks posted their worst decline in three months last week and Asian stocks fell as concerns about inflation rose.

The blue-chip SMI index <.SSMI> was seen opening down 10 points at 7,450 points, according to pre-market data from bank Clariden Leu <CLPRE>.

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks on Monday:

NOVARTIS <NOVN.VX>

Novartis said on Monday its drug Extavia had been approved in the European Union for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The Swiss drugmaker also said the launch of Extavia for early and relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis is planned for the U.S. and Europe in first half of 2009.

For related news, click on [NOVN.VX-RTRS-LEN]

UBS <UBSN.VX>, CREDIT SUISSE <CSGN.VX>

The Swiss federal banking regulator EBK is in the process of raising capital reserve requirements for investment banks, its president said in an interview published on Sunday.

For related news, click on [BNK-CH-RTRS-LEN]

IMPLENIA <IMPN.S>

Austrian construction company Strabag is interested in buying Swiss rival Implenia, according to a newspaper report on Sunday.

For related news, click on [IMPN.S-RTRS-LEN]

SWISS RE <RUKN.VX>

Swiss Re, the world's biggest reinsurance company, is in talks with four Asian governments about insurance policies that would pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency funding after a natural disaster, the Financial Times reported.

A government would get immediate funding that could allow it to avoid having rapidly to tap international markets or change budget spending plans.

For related news, click on [RUKN.VX-RTRS-LEN]

COMPANY STATEMENTS [CNR-CH]

* Nestle <NESN.VX> share split to become effective on 30 June 2008 [NESN.VX-CNR]

* Deutsche Bank reports a shareholding in Adecco <ADEN.VX> of 0.70 percent [ADEN.VX-CNR]

* Arpida <ARPN.S> enrols first patients in "intravenous-to-oral" switch trial with oral Iclaprim [ARPN.S-CNR]

* SGS <SGSN.VX> acquires Western Geotechnics Group [SGSN.VX-CNR]

* Swiss Prime Site <SPSN.S> - Quarterly report as of March 31 2008 [SPSN.S-CNR]

EQUITY RESEARCH [CH-RCH]

FOR COMPANIES TRADING EX-DIVIDEND, PLEASE CLICK ON:

<.EX.S> for all Swiss stocks

<.EXSMI.S> for blue chips

<.EXNSMI.S> for other stocks

((Zurich newsroom +41 58 306 7340, fax 41 44 251 0476, zurich.newsroom@news.reuters.com))

Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS

     
    ((Xtra clients: for Top News Pages in multimedia Web format, 
double click on http://topnews.session.rservices.com  
 
 FOR RELATED PRICES, NEWS AND OTHER TOPICS, DOUBLE-CLICK ON: 
     
 Daily Swiss stock market report in German................[.SDE] 
 Daily pan-European stocksdex SMI moves..................<.SSMI> 
 All SMI constituent stocks............................<0#.SSMI> 
 News on major Swiss stock price moves..................[CH-HOT] 
 Table on major world stock market performance........... [.STX] 
 FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ <.FTEU3> 
 DJ STOXX index........................................ <.STOXX> 
 Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. <.PGL.STOXXS> 
 Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ <.PGL.STOXXES> 
 Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... <.PGL.FTEU3S> 
 Top 25 European pct gainers... <.PG.PEUR>, losers... <.PL.PEUR> 
     
 Swiss mid-cap index     <.SSMI>  SMI futures           <0#SMI:> 
 Swiss all-share index   <.SSHI>  Market statistics  <CH/STATS1> 
 Swiss market digest     <.AD.S>  Sector overview   <CH/SECTOR1> 
 All Swiss news             [CH]  Swiss diary         [CH/DIARY] 
 Swiss research news    [CH-RCH]  Virt-x sectors    <VX/SECTOR1> 
 All equity news             [E]  Virt-x price index     <.VMIP> 
     
 INTERNET ADDRESSES:             Virt-x       www.virt-x.com   
 Swiss Exchange  www.swx.ch/     SEGAIntersettle    www.sega.ch/ 
 Eurex   www.eurexchange.com     STOXX Ltd         www.stoxx.com 
 
 SPEED GUIDES: <VX/EQUITY> <EQUITY> <EQUITY/NEWS1> <EUR/EQUITY> 
 <SWITZERLAND> <REUTERS> 
  Keywords: Swiss shares   XREF 
    

DIARY - Egypt/Sudan - May 26

Reuters: [2008-05-26 07:56:00]

This diary is updated daily. New listings or amendments are marked *. All events/times provisional and in GMT (local time is GMT +3 for Egypt, GMT +3 for Sudan).

TODAY'S EVENTS

CAIRO - Euromoney conference on Egyptian real estate, at Semiramis Hotel.

COMING EVENTS

TUESDAY, MAY 27

CAIRO - The third annual private insurance funds conference starts for two days, attended by the minister of investment, insurance companies and funds executives.

THURSDAY, MAY 29

CAIRO - Egypt to choose international consultants for its planned nuclear power station.

TUESDAY, JUNE 3

CAIRO - An Islamic Finance forum at the Conrad Hotel from 0845 local.

SUDAN - U.N. Security Council members tour Sudan, through June 5.

CAIRO - Delta Airlines has a news conference on their new Cairo-NYC flight, 0830 GMT.

SATURDAY, JUNE 7

CAIRO - Court session in private lawsuit against Egyptian academic Saadeddin Ibrahim for damaging Egypt's reputation abroad.

THURSDAY, JUNE 19

CAIRO - Telecommunications Regulatory Authority deadline for bids for Egypt's second fixed-line telephone licence.

TUESDAY, JUNE 24

SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Two-day meeting of African Union experts to prepare for AU summit.

THURSDAY, JUNE 26

CAIRO - Central bank's monetary policy committee meets.

FRIDAY, JUNE 27

CAIRO - Central bank issues statement on monetary policy.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Two-day meeting of African Union Executive Council to prepare for AU summit.

MONDAY, JUNE 30

SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Two-day African Union summit.

THURSDAY, JULY 17

ALEXANDRIA - Wikimania 2008 conference at Alexandria Library, organised by the Wikimedia Foundation, through Saturday.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7

CAIRO - Central bank's monetary policy committee meets.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8

CAIRO - Central bank issues statement on monetary policy.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

CAIRO - Central bank's monetary policy committee meets.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

CAIRO - Central bank issues statement on monetary policy.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

CAIRO - Central bank's monetary policy committee meets.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

CAIRO - Central bank issues statement on monetary policy.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25

CAIRO - Central bank's monetary policy committee meets.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26

CAIRO - Central bank issues statement on monetary policy.

NOTE-Inclusion of diary items does not necessarily mean that Reuters will file a story on the event.

Key world financial events diary [KEY/DIARY]

International political diary [POL/DIARY]

Full index of available diaries [IND/DIARY] ((Cairo newsroom +202 2 578 3290/1, fax +202 577 1133, cairo.newsroom@reuters.com))

Keywords: EGYPT DIARY

Spanish stocks - Factors to watch on Monday

Reuters: [2008-05-26 07:54:00]

MADRID, May 26 (Reuters) - The following Spanish stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy:

ACCIONA <ANA.MC>

Acciona is negotiating with fellow Endesa <ELE.MC> shareholder Enel <ENEI.MI> to absorb 70 percent of Endesa's renewables business into Acciona Energia, Cinco Dias quotes sources close to Endesa as saying. The deal would make Acciona Energia worth 6-8 billion euros, the newspaper said.

FERROVIAL <FER.MC>, CINTRA <CCIT.MC>

The construction firm has raised its stake in toll road operator Cintra by 3 points to 68 percent, a company source said on Friday.

For a story, click on [ID:nL23286603]

IBERDROLA <IBE.MC>

The energy group said on Sunday it had signed a contract to explore investment opportunities with utility and petroleum producer Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) <TAQA.AD>, 75 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

For more, click on [ID:nL25627215]

SACYR VALLEHERMOSO <SVO.MC>

Italy's Infrastructure Ministry said on Friday it has asked the head of the company in charge of a long-delayed project to build a bridge to Sicily over the Strait of Messina to start construction work soon.

Sacyr is part of a consortium led by Italy's Impregilo <IPGI.MI> which won the contract in 2006 in the last government of Silvio Berlusconi.

For a full story, click on [ID:nL23841622]

For today's European market outlook double click on [.EU].

For real-time moves on the Spanish blue-chip index IBEX please double click on <.IBEX>

For IBEX constituent stocks highlight .IBEX in the command box and press the F3 button on your keyboard

For latest news on Spanish stock moves double click [HOT-ES]

For Spanish language market report double click on [.MES]

For latest Eurostocks report please double click on [.EU]

((madrid.newsroom@reuters.com; +34 91 585 2160))

Keywords: MARKETS SPAIN FACTORS/

Spanish stocks - Factors to watch on Monday

Reuters: [2008-05-26 07:37:00]

MADRID, May 26 (Reuters) - The following Spanish stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Monday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy:

ACCIONA <ANA.MC>

Acciona is negotiating with fellow Endesa <ELE.MC> shareholder Enel <ENEI.MI> to absorb 70 percent of Endesa's renewables business into Acciona Energia, Cinco Dias quotes sources close to Endesa as saying. The deal would make Acciona Energia worth 6-8 billion euros, the newspaper said.

FERROVIAL <FER.MC>, CINTRA <CCIT.MC>

The construction firm has raised its stake in toll road operator Cintra by 3 points to 68 percent, a company source said on Friday.

For a story, click on [ID:nL23286603]

IBERDROLA <IBE.MC>

The energy group said on Sunday it had signed a contract to explore investment opportunities with utility and petroleum producer Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) <TAQA.AD>, 75 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

For more, click on [ID:nL25627215]

For today's European market outlook double click on [.EU].

For real-time moves on the Spanish blue-chip index IBEX please double click on <.IBEX>

For IBEX constituent stocks highlight .IBEX in the command box and press the F3 button on your keyboard

For latest news on Spanish stock moves double click [HOT-ES]

For Spanish language market report double click on [.MES]

For latest Eurostocks report please double click on [.EU]

((madrid.newsroom@reuters.com; +34 91 585 2160))

Keywords: MARKETS SPAIN FACTORS/