LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

European stockbrokers may find it hard to escape unscathed as sweeping regulatory changes lead to a boom in the use of high-tech systems designed to remove the human element from trading and radically reshape markets.

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.

The LSE is confident in its $2.2 billion bid for Borsa Italiana, despite some objections.

The London Stock Exchange is to buy its Italian counterpart for 1.6 billion euros ($2.15 billion), the two exchanges confirmed in a statement on Saturday, the latest step in a global consolidation of exchanges.

NYSE Euronext Inc. has entered the competition for the Borsa Italiana by submitting a preliminary bid to rival the London Stock Exchange Group's offer, according to the online edition of the Wall Street Journal.

The London Stock Exchange's offer for Borsa Italiana is worth about 1.6 billion euros ($2.14 billion), sources close to the situation said on Friday, a shade above a reported rival bid from NYSE Euronext and giving Borsa heavy board representation.

Japan still lacks a culture of shareholder activism but that may change as it tries to keep up with rapid shifts in the global financial environment, European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said on Wednesday.

Author J.K. Rowling said the last of 7 books is due on July 21.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) board unanimously rejected a $5.1 billion buyout bid by the Nasdaq (NADQ) exchange on Monday. LSE rejected the offer, saying it fails to recognise the value of the exchange. Nasdaq failed in an earlier attempt this year to take over the company.

The FTSE opened higher on Thursday, supported by mining and oil stocks, as traders reacted positively to renewed U.S. confidence following a near record breaking high on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Aerospace firm Smiths posted a 22 percent rise in annual underlying profit before tax on Wednesday, slightly topping brokerage forecasts

A group of nine of the world's biggest investment banks said on Tuesday they planned to set up a new system for reporting share trades, bypassing the major European stock exchanges and ahead of new European securities regulations due to come into force later this year.

Today it was announced that the British Government will be introducing legislation to ensure that the London Stock Exchange will continue to be governed by what Treasury Secretary Ed Balls described as a “light touch risk based regulatory regime.”

Shares fell on Wednesday, led by Drax Group, amid new fears that the Bank of England may, contrary to expectations, raise interest rates on Thursday after its two day meeting.

Leading UK shares closed higher on Friday but finished the week with a moderate loss as the market's recent choppy trading pattern, sparked by inflation and interest rate jitters, persisted.

Euronext's $10 billion tie-up with NYSE Group Inc. puts pressure on other exchanges to seek partnerships to catch up with what will be the world's largest financial marketplace, analysts said on Friday.

The London Stock Exchange and Euronext have held secret talks about a all-shares merger of equals to create a European super exchange valued at about 6 billion pounds ($10.5 billion), the Observer newspaper said on Sunday.