** EUROPEAN MORNING WRAP **
- EADS may reduce its workforce by 10% by 2010 in order to reduce costs (Focus magazine).
- The European Commission is close to giving regulatory approval for the merger between GDF and Suez (FT).
- DaimlerChrysler’s CEO expects Dieter Zetsche said the group expects that sales in China will rise to 26,000 Mercedes and Chrysler vehicles this year.
- Continental may buy a majority of Matador for about E150m (HAZ).
- Altana won US approval to market the Omnair nasal spray for hay fever.
- Deutsche Telekom denied a report in Bild-Zeitung newspaper that it may cut 23,000 more jobs than the 32,000 already planned.
- E.ON, who is suing Acciona for possibly blocking its E37.1bln bid for Endesa, now knows that Acciona said it plans to triple its stake in Endesa to almost 30% if Spanish securities law is changed to allow such a transaction. In other news, the EU wants Germany to give up its “golden share” in E.ON Ruhrgas (FT).
- MAN and Volkswagen: Scania’s CEO Hakan Samuelsson will head a new company created through the merger of MAN, Scania and Volkswagen (Focus).
- ThyssenKrupp’s company spokesman Erwin Schneider said that the group was not interested in bidding for Corus Group.
- GlaxoSmithKline won US regulatory approval to sell a new version of its medicine Coreg for uses including high-blood pressure and heart failure.
- Anglo American: Future Chairman of OAO Russian Aluminium Brian Gilbertsonafter plans to bid for Anglo American in order to create a company worth GBP50bln (Times).
- Corus Group: Companhia Siderurgica Nacional may be interested in a possible bid for Corus Group and OAO Severstal may no longer be interested (Sunday Times).
- HBOS may bid for Suncorp-Metway and merge it with its Bank of Western Australia in order to expand in the Australian mortgage and insurance industry (the Independent).
- Royal Dutch Shell will see its costs on the Sakhalin-2 joint venture surge to $28bln from the $15bln predicted in 2003 (the Observer).
- Standard Chartered: Dubai’s Istithmar PJSC may increase its stake in the group from 2.7% to 20% for $7bln (the Observer).
- Abengoa intends to invest E1.2bln in order to build the world’s largest solar energy platform by 2013 (El Pais).
- Kuehne & Nagel reported 9mths sales of SF13.3bln, net income of SF314.5m.