Nasdaq intensifies takeover bid on London Exchange
London: The Nasdaq Stock Market has intensified the takeover battle for the London Stock Exchange. Earlier on Monday the London Stock Exchange, the largest in Europe, rejected Nasdaq's $5 billion cash offer on Monday and said it would not meet with Nasdaq executives.

Nasdaq officials said that while they still hoped to reach a friendly deal, they planned to go ahead A combination of the LSE and Nasdaq would create a company with 6,400 listings and a total market capitalization of $11.3 trillion - to make it the world's biggest stock market, Nasdaq said. Also reaching a deal with London could help Nasdaq overtake its rival, the New York Stock Exchange's parent NYSE Group, in Europe. The New York Stock Exchange and Euronext, a network of four European stock markets and a London derivatives market, are expected to ask shareholders for final approval of their planned merger in December.
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Chinese form alliance to assemble Airbus A320 jets
Beijing: Three Chinese companies have formed a joint venture named Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Company, with European aviation giant Airbus Industrie assemble A320 jets by 2008.

The three partners in the newly forged alliance are Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Company, China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry Corp II (AVIC II).

The Chinese assembly line project will consist of four parts: assembly workshops, paint shops, testing areas and a flight test facility.

Preparatory work for the project - including infrastructure planning, recruitment and equipment procurement has started.
The construction of the assembly line project is expected to begin before the end of the year. The first aircraft from the Tianjin assembly line will be delivered in 2008 and the plant will be able to produce four jets a month by 2011.
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Ogilvy & Mather splits into two
Mumbai: Well-known advertising agency brand Ogilvy & Mather, owned by WPP is splitting its brand into two - in select markets. After the split Ogilvy Advertising and Mather Communications will function as two distinct brands.

Officials at O&M say that Mather Communications will be either the second agency or a sub-brand of O&M. The brand has been around for two years now in Prague and Warsaw, and it will officially launch in the UK in February '07, the first time it will roll out in a really major ad market.

Mather Communications was set up in answer to client demands. Besides the UK, Mather Communications will spread to Moscow and a few other European countries.

Officials said Mather was a natural choice for an off-shoot agency, considering the equity the name enjoys, especially in the UK.
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