In European equities markets on Friday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 ended the day and the week higher, gaining 0.6 percent on the day and the same amount on the week to close at 1,213.86.

However, with elections scheduled for Sunday in Germany, the Xetra Dax was down 0.4 percent for the week to 4,986.50 as uncertainty over the outcome remained a concern for many.

Takeover rumors provided most of the non-election interest during the week. Danone, the French food group, saw sharp gains in its shares Friday on the announcement that the French government would discontinue its efforts to protect the company from takeover attempts.

Earlier in the year when rumors that Pepsico would bid for Danone, the French president said that the government would protect the company, but the French industry minister has now said that the company must defend itself. While Danone lost 0.2 percent for the week, it gained 2.3 percent on Friday to €92.60 at the close.

In the defence sector, defence electronics group Thales and aerospace group EADS both benefited from rumors that EADS would bid for Thales. Thales gained 2.2 percent to €38.44, while EADS was up 0.4 percent to €28.30.

Meanwhile, in the telecommunications sector, Nokia added 3.2 percent to €13.49 after it adjusted its third-quarter sales and profit estimates upward.

In Europe on Thursday Germany’s Xetra Dax index was down by 0.1 percent to 4,906.0, again affected by investors’ worries over the outcome of parliamentary elections to be held on Sunday.

However, the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 did a bit better, gaining 0.1 percent to 1,206.45 although election nerves affected it as well.

In the oil sector, an upgrade by UBS still resulted in mixed results. Norsk Hydro and OMV both were upgraded from “neutral” to “buy”, and Norsk Hydro gained 1.4 percent to NKr726.

OMV, however, fell by 1.3 percent to €47.0. In the banking sector, ABM Amro offered €26.50 per share for the 29.5 percent of Banca Antonveneta presently owned by Banca Popolare Italiana.

If the deal goes through, ABM will become the first foreign bank to own a major Italian bank. On this development, ABM gained 1.4 percent to €19.84, Antonveneta fell by 0.9 percent to €26.19, and BPI lost 1.4 percent to €8.555.

In the telecommunications sector, TDC added 6.8 percent to DKr328.0 on rumors that two separate groups were ready to tender bids for the company. Elsewhere in the sector, Swisscom, which has also been mentioned as a possible bidder for TDC, was up 1.8 percent to SFr426.75, while Portugal Telecom gained 2.5 percent to €7.75 even though it reported that net profits in the first half were off from the same period last year.

European oil stocks were up on Wednesday as oil prices stayed high, while telecommunications stocks saw losses on the day. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.9 percent on the day to 1,177.19.

France Telecom was down 0.8 percent to €24.41 as it offered a rights issue worth €3 billion in order to aid in funding Spanish mobile phone operator Amena, a purchase worth €6.4 billion. OTE, the Greek telecommunications company, was up early but then ended the day down by 2.2 percent to €16.76 although it had beat forecasts for profits in the second quarter.

In the oil and gas sector, Neste Oil of Finland gained 9 percent to €27.25, the highest rise of the day. Repsol YFP and Total each gained 2.6 percent on the day, as Repsol closed at €23.98 and Total ended the session at €213.10. Eni added 2.3 percent to close the day at €23.97. Oil services company Saipem was up 2.7 percent to €13.63.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Sanofi-Aventis lost 1 percent to €69.20, losing gains from its earnings goal for the full year when Deutsche Bank said that the company’s testing of new drugs has come up with mixed results due to a key depression drug it is developing was successful in one test, but did not make it through the testing process on another trial.

London equities markets were up on Wednesday in spite of worries about short and long-term repercussions for the oil infrastructure on the US Gulf Coast due to damages incurred by Hurricane Katrina. The FTSE 100 was up 0.8 percent to 5,296.9 and the FTSE 250 gained 7,749.2 on a volume of 3.1 billion shares traded.

With the rise in oil prices, oil stocks were up despite damage to facilities in the storm zone. Royal Dutch Shell “B” shares gained 2.1 percent to £18.81 despite reports that two of their drilling rigs were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, ripped loose from their moorings by Katrina.

The mining sector saw gains after Morgan Stanley said that demand from China will mean the peak of the current commodities cycle will not come until into 2006 and predicted that iron ore prices will go up by 5 percent next year. In the sector, Vedanta Resources gained 2.2 percent to 564p, while Anglo American gained 1.8 percent to £14.02.

In the telecommunications sector, mobile phone operator O2 gained 2.3 percent to 153¼p after Morgan Stanley increased the company’s target price to 175p per share, saying that a takeover of the company was still a possibility.

Brazilian equities markets and its currency both saw losses on Friday as
investors engaged in profit-taking and as they braced for the possibility of more revelations in the country’s current political scandal. The real lost 0.96 percent to 2.422 to the US dollar, after a 1.68 percent gain on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Bovespa index in Sao Paulo was down 0.52 percent to 27,258 on the heels of a 2.58 percent gain on Thursday. Almost all stocks fell on Friday, with mobile phone company TIM Participacoes falling an especially steep 3.91 percent to 4.42 reais. One of the few exceptions was Telemar, which gained 0.28 percent to 35.60 reais.

Thursday’s gains came after the ex-aide who had accused Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci of accepting bribes when he was a mayor said that he had no proof of his accusations. Investors had been worried that if proof of wrongdoing on the finance minister’s part has been produced,
Mr. Palocci might have been forced to resign, bringing on a period of
uncertainty concerning economic policy.

But some analysts were not convinced that Mr. Palocci is completely in the clear, and urged caution until it is seen whether the weekend brought any new revelations or proof of the ex-aide’s allegations.

Equity markets in London finished the day higher on Friday, but were down for the week as a whole. The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.8 percent at 5,312.6, but was down by 0.6 percent for the week. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 gained 0.6 percent on the day to close at 7,665.0 but saw an over all loss of 0.5 percent on the week.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Cable & Wireless, which was the focal point of takeover moves and countermoves, dropped 4.1 percent for the week to 154 ¼p although it began the week at its highest level since July of 2002. Vodafone, on the other hand, was up 4 percent on the week to 154 ¾p, and O2 gained 3 percent on the week to hit an all-time high of 154p. Oil producers and explorers saw gains on the week.

Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares were up 1.4 percent on the week to £18.66, while BP also added 1.4 percent to 632p. Paladin Resources was up 3.6 percent to 281 ½p, Tullow Oil gained 2.8 percent to 205 ½p, while Cairn Energy added 1.8 percent to £17.11.

In European equity markets, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw a 1 percent rise on
Friday to end the week up by 0.1 percent to 1,194.47.

The energy sector was a big loser on the week amid indications that high crude oil prices were starting to affect consumer prices. This raised concerns that economic growth could be harmed if prices continued to remain high.

Austrian company OMV dropped 4.8 percent on the week to €38.80, Neste Oil of Sweden lost 3.4 percent to €24.20, and oilfield services company Saipem dropped 2.1 percent to €12.87.

The telecommunications sector was mixed. Two Greek companies both saw advances on the week. OTE was up 5.4 percent to €17.84, while Cosmote Mobile added 4.5 percent to €16.76. On the other hand, Deutsche Telekom lost 1.9 percent to €15.69 around issue of its interest in bidding for UK company O2.

The biggest loser on the week on the Eurofirst was Adecco, the Swiss recruitment agency, which fell 7 percent to SFr61.

London equities markets were down on the day Thursday, the sixth straight session of losses, in what one analyst called a correction phase.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent on the day to 4,269.3 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.5 percent to 7,619.8 on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.

The oil sector was down and the telecommunications sector was mixed on the day. In the oil sector, BP was down by 2 percent to 624p, Royal Dutch Shell’s B shares fell 2.3 percent to £18.40, and BG Group declined by 2.6 percent to 494 ¼p.

Telecommunications firms also fell substantially, with Cable & Wireless down by 1.3 percent to 154 ¼p on a downgrade to “underweight” by Lehman Brothers. Mobile phone group O2, however, gained 1.5 percent to 149p on the continued perception that it is a target for takeover.

On the side of the gainers, Shire Pharmaceuticals was up 6.5 percent to 681p on talk that it might make some sort of arrangement with Barr Pharmaceuticals of the US, which wants to make its own version of the drug Adderall. Barr was scheduled to take the case to court in the US next year, but speculation is that the two companies have reached some kind of licensing agreement.

Elsewhere in the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline was up 1.5 percent to £13.38 on an upgrade from JP Morgan.

In London on Wednesday, the equities markets saw their fifth day in a row of negative figures at the close of trade as the Bank of England released the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.

The banking and insurance sectors took the implication of the report, that there would not be another interest rate cut soon, especially badly. Overall, the FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent to close at 5,292.7, while the FTSE 250 declined by 0.6 percent as well, to 7,654.5 at the close. In banking and insurance, Royal Sun Alliance was down 2.3 percent to 94 ¼p, Barclays lost 2.1 percent to 563p, Aviva declined by 2.4 percent to 621 ½p, and Prudential fell 1.7 percent to 514 ½p.

The telecommunications sector did somewhat better as Vodafone gained 0.7 percent to 151 p, BT added 1.8 percent to 220 ¾p, O2 added 2.8 percent to 146 ¾p, and Colt-Telecom gained 3.7 percent to 62 ½p.

The airline sector was mixed. British Airways fell 2 percent to 385 ¾p as its labor dispute continued. EasyJet, however, was up 1.3 percent to 299p after it announced it would save £10 million for the year as a result of a 10-year maintenance deal with Swiss firm SR Technics worth $1 billion.

Mining companies were down for the second day in a row as copper prices continued to fall. BHP Billiton lost 2.9 percent to 813p, Anglo American declined by 2.8 percent to £14.11, Rio Tinto fell 2.6 percent to £19.85, while Antofagasta dropped 1.8 percent to £14.04.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to 1,188.70 on Tuesday as the telecommunications sector was mostly down and oil sector had a negative day.

French media group Vivendi Universal gained 1 percent to €26.12 on the news that its Cegatel telecommunications unit has been given provisional permission to merge with its rival Neuf Telecom by the French finance ministry.

Elsewhere in the sector, Deutsche Telekom lost 1.4 percent to €15.77 and KPN was down 1.3 percent to €7.34 on the announcement that they are no longer talking about a merger with UK mobile company O2. France Telecom declined by 0.5 percent to €25.15 even though it kept its “outperform” rating from CSFB.

In the oil sector, losses were primarily due to slight declines in crude oil prices. Royal Dutch Shell was down 1.1 percent to €26.80, Eni lost 1.4 percent to €23.86, and Total declined by 1.6 percent to €208.80. Neste Oil was down 3.3 percent to €23.80, Statoil lost 2.3 percent to NKr49.50, and Norsk Hydro fell 1.8 percent to NKr646.

Despite these losses, the oil and gas sector as a while is still 30 percent higher than it was a the beginning of the year. Despite climbing oil prices, Finair gained 8.5 percent on the day to €8.08. Finair is up more than 40 percent since January.

In London on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 lost 0.4 percent to 5,322.3 and the FTSE 250 was down 0.1 percent to 7,697.0 on a volume of 2.8 billion shares traded.

The biggest loser of the day on the FTSE 100 was Cable and Wireless, on concerns that it is paying too much for Energis, its smaller rival.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the telecommunications sector, O2 lost 2.6 percent to 142 ¾p after it was confirmed that Deutsche Telekom and KPN would not bid for the mobile phone group. It was a surprise to some analysts that O2 was up after the announcement, as speculation on a possible merger had been driving its gains since the beginning of the year.

Logistics group Exel gained 0.9 percent to 995 ½p on rumors that a bid for the company would come soon. Gains had been higher earlier in the day, but slipped back as the talk diminished during the session UPS and Deutsche Post have both been mentioned as being interested in Exel.

Insurer Royal & Sun Alliance also benefited from rumors of a bid on the company, gaining 4 percent to 96 ½p, the best performance on the FTSE 100 on the day.

In London on Monday, the FTSE 100 was down by 1.6 points to 5,344.2 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.8 points to 7,706. Volume was low at 2.1 billion shares as many investors were paying as much attention to cricket as they were to business.

Mergers and acquisitions gained a good bit of attention as well. Mining group Xstrata was up by 6.2 percent to reach an all-time high of £13.52 on the announcement that it has purchased 19.5 percent of Falconbridge, which is the third-largest nickel and zinc company in the world, for $1.7 billion. Also in the mining sector, copper miner Antofagasta gained 2.5 percent to £14.73.

In the telecommunications sector, Cable and Wireless was up 1.2 percent to 163p as it battled the smaller Thus to take control of the privately owned Energis. However, C&W said that it would not increase its bid package under any circumstances.

Also in the telecommunications sector, Vodaphone gained 1.2 percent to 150 ½p after JP Morgan said it was trading at too low a price in comparison to its competitors.

In Europe on Thursday, profit-taking send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down a bit from earlier three-year highs. The Eurofirst lost 0.3 percent to 1,195.9.

The technology sector fell on the news that US telecommunications equipment manufacturer Cisco lost value on a negative growth forecast and by reports of weaker sales of semiconductors in Germany.

German chipmaker Infineon lost 4.2 percent to €7.78. In addition, Finnish mobile phone operator Nokia was down 2.4 percent to €13.15 and STMicroelectronics declined by 2.1 percent to €13.76. The insurance sector was mostly down.

The exception was Dutch insurer Aegon, which announced second quarter profits that were up 71 percent and ended the day having gained 0.7 percent to €12.07.

Elsewhere, ING lost 2.2 percent to €24.56 on a drop of 6.7 in second quarter profits although they exceeded market expectations. CNP lost 2.5 percent to €56.15 and Sampo was down to €13.02, a loss of 2.3 percent.

Crude oil prices at record high levels sent the oil sector higher. Neste Oil added 3.9 percent to €24.50, Statoil gained 1.5 percent to NKr151.50, and Norsk Hydro was up 1.4 percent to NKr662.

The London equities markets were down on Thursday as insurance companies fell on warnings weak margins. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent to 5,358.6, while the FTSE 250 lost 0.5 percent to 7,695.3 on a volume of 2.7 billion shares traded.

Aviva, the UK’s biggest insurance company, was down by 2 percent to 644p even though it reported results at the high end of expectations, as it issued a warning that margins in the UK life insurance sector were weak and as analysts said that the company was feeling some pressure to increase volume.

Royal & Sun Alliance fell even more, by 2.1 percent, to 92p as profit taking followed interim earnings results that met expectations. Elsewhere in the sector, Prudential lost 2.2 percent to 525p and Legal & General declined by 1.1 percent to 110 ½p.

In other sectors, British Airways was down 1.3 percent to 292 ¼p after it had to suspend check-ins at Heathrow in a dispute between the air carrier and a caterer.

Defense group BAE Systems gained 1 percent to 332p on an upgrade to “buy” from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. More than 81 million shares in BAE were traded when Morgan Stanley placed over 30 million shares at 325 per share.

The mobile phone sector was higher after Morgan Stanley advised investors to put their money in Vodafone and O2 rather than in fixed-line company BT Group. O2 gained 0.9 percent to 145 ½p and Vodafone was up 0.5 percent to 147 ¾p.

The London equities markets closed in positive territory on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 gained 0.3 percent to 5,377.5 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.4 percent to 7,734.6 on a volume of 2.8 billion shares traded.

Life assurers saw advances in share value. South Africa-based life assurers Old Mutual gained 2.5 percent to 134p on better-than expected first half results and a forecast that its strong performance will last through the year.

Aviv was up as well, by 2.2 percent to 657p, ahead of its first-half report and on confirmation that Lord Sharman was coming aboard as its new chairman.

Mobile phone company Vodafone gained 0.3 percent on the day to 147p on an assessment by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein that investors were not taking note of rising valuations of Japanese companies and the improvement in Vodafone’s operations in Japan.

Banks didn’t do as well, as Lloyds TSB lost 1.8 percent to 474p, Royal Bank of Scotland dropped 0.9 percent to £16.05, and HBOS was down 0.7 percent to 903 ½p.

Other FTSE 100 decliners included oil company BP, which lost 0.8 percent to 653 ½p, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which was down by 0.7 percent to £25.90, and mining company Rio Tinto, which dropped 0.8 percent to £20.32.

Record label EMI, however, gained 3 percent to 254 ¼p on the news that it is in discussions to purchase New York-based independent label Wind-Up Records, which records Creed and Evanescence. The proposed purchase prices is said to be $125 million.

The equities markets in Australia saw new record highs on Wednesday, but New Zealand stocks were down on the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia closed up by 0.18 percent to 4.425.6 to set a new high for the third straight day on the strength of strong quarterly earnings reports from Stockland Group, a property trust, and Coca-Cola Amatil.

Stockland gained 1.7 percent to A$6.03 as it reported a 13.5 percent gain in annual its operating profits. Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. Was up 3.2 percent to A$8.13. It reported that first-half earnings were up by 16.8 percent on strong sales in Australia. However, Commonwealth Bank lost 2.7 percent on the day after reporting second-half earnings that were below expectations.

Woodside Petroleum was also down on the day on profit-taking after advancing nearly 10 percent in the previous two trading sessions. Meanwhile in New Zealand, the top-50 index there fell 0.5 percent to 3,324.3.

Among the blue-chips, Fletcher Building held flat at NZ$7.18 despite reporting an earnings jump of 31 percent in the second half. Telecom lost 1 percent to NZ$6.16 as investors anticipated the launch of rival company Vodafone’s 3G mobile network.

The FTSE 100 gained 29.6 points to 5,344.3 and the FTSE 250 lost 6.6 points to 7,673.9 in a mixed day on the London equities markets. Volume was 2.9 billion shares, helped by share placings by several mid-cap companies.

The oil sector was higher on crude oil price gains. BP was up 1.9 percent to 649 ½p. BHP Billiton also gained 1.9 percent to close at 840p.

In the banking sector, Standard Chartered added 7.6 percent to £12.11, an all-time high based on better than predicted interim results, an acquisition of Korea First, a South Korean bank, as well as on speculation that US banking group Citigroup might be interested in bidding for Standard Chartered.

Barclays gained 1 percent to 582p on an upgrade to “buy” and a raised target price of 640p per share from Deutsche Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland, however, lost 1.6 percent to £16.22 on a lowered earnings estimate for 2006 and 2007 by ABN Amro.

Life assurance company Prudential gained 0.5 percent to 524 ¼p after Credit Suisse First Boston increased its price target to 560p.

Meanwhile, telecommunications equipment manufacturer Marconi gained 14.7 percent to 306 ¼p when it said it was involved in talks with Huawei Technologies of China, a privately owned company, on a number of issues.

In Tokyo on Monday, equities markets reached their highest closing levels in four and a half months.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent to 11,946.92, while the Topix index was up 0.55 percent to 1,211.61.

The gains came primarily on positive economic data and more better-than-predicted quarterly profits reports. Several reports were released on Friday and again on Monday showing Japan’s economy on the upswing.

Friday saw the release of good news on employment and industrial output, while on Monday figures were published that show both wages and the number of permanent jobs up in June.

The retail sector as a whole was up by 0.8 percent, echoed by a gain of 0.8 percent by supermarket chain Ito-Yokado, to ¥3,770.

The telecommunications sector also did well, with Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, showing a rise of 4.6 percent to ¥182,000 on a report that quarterly profits had risen even though revenues had fallen, with the credit going to cost-cutting measures. Another mobile phone operator, KDDI, was also up, by 6.3 percent to ¥576,000. Merrill Lynch upgraded KDDI to “buy”.

Not all stocks were up, however. Seasoning maker Ajinomoto was down 4.95 percent to ¥1,133 on a quarterly report that showed a 73 percent drop in group net profit at least partly due to higher prices for raw materials.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent to 1,179.08 on Thursday. Daimler Chrysler was up, initially gaining on speculation that its chief executive, Jurgen Schremmp would step down.

Confirmation of those rumors, coupled with better-than-expected profits, had shares up 9 percent at the close to €39.59.

Shares had traded as high as €40.40 earlier in the day, their highest level in almost three years. Fiat was up 4.1 percent to €7.165 on a much better than anticipated quarterly report, in which the Italian carmaker said it had cut losses to €88 million, down from €238 in the same quarter last year.

Alcatel, the telecommunications equipment maker, gained 4.3 percent to €10.09 on the report that its second quarter profits had more than doubled to €196 million and that it was getting ready to pay its first dividend. Despite all of this, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein did not remove its recommendation to sell shares in Fiat.

Syngenta, the Swiss chemicals group that is second in the world in agricultural chemicals, gained 5.4 percent to SF4135.20 after it reported a net profit of 17 percent in the first half of the year. It up most of that gain to demand for its new crop protection products.

Positive earnings reports failed to produce much movement on Wall Street Tuesday as investors chose to wait for several key economic reports due to be released later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent to 10,579.77, but the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4 percent to 2,175.99 and the S&P 500 was up 0.4 percent to 1,231.16.

Texas Instruments reported greater than expected second quarter earnings, up 32 cents per share as opposed to a forecast of a 29 cent per share charge advance. TI also raised its quarterly dividend by 20 percent to 3 cents per share and announced that it would buy back $2 billion more in shares. That sent shares in TI up by 5.6 percent on the day.

Advanced technology and phone service provider Avaya also reported positive quarterly results, saying that earnings had more than tripled to 40 cents per share, much better than the 13 cents per share it had achieved last year at the same time. Shares in Avaya gained 16.4 percent on the day to $10.74.

McGraw Hill reported that second quarter earnings were up 18 percent to 51 cents per share, mostly on the success of its financial services component, which provided over 80 percent of operating profits. Shares gained 4.7 percent on the day to $46.53.

DuPont, a division of Dow, announced that net income in the second quarter had more than doubled compared to last year at the same time, but the news did not prevent DuPont’s shares from losing 6.6 percent to $41.15.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained 0.5 percent on Monday to 1,170.62, chiefly on gains in the oil and telecommunications sectors.

The oil sector saw gains after losses had been seen due to concerns that recent terrorist activity, on top of high oil prices, might decrease demand.

Repsol gained 1.5 percent to €23.15, Neste Oil was up 0.6 percent to €21.80, Eni added 2.1 percent to €23.36, Total gained 2.2 percent to €208.50, and Statoil advanced by 2.4 percent to NKr141.00.

In the telecommunications sector, Telenor was up 1.4 percent to NKr55.25 after JPMorgan raised its rating to “overweight”.

Elsewhere in the sector, France Telecom gained 0.3 percent to €23.90 and Telecom Italia added 0.9 percent to €2.618.

In the motor vehicle manufacturing sector, Volvo lost 8.1 percent to SKr325.50 even though its pre-tax profit in the second quarter was its highest ever and it raised its outlook for market growth in North America to 20 percent as demand was down in the European market. Fiat, however, gained 4.3 percent to €7.11.

The banking sector was generally lower. German bank Commerzbank lost 1.2 percent to €18.44 after the news that it is cooperating with an investigation into money-laundering linked to a Russian telecommunications company.

In Italy, meanwhile, Mediobanca lost 2.4 percent to €16.164, while Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena lost 3.2 percent to €*3.3090.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 gained just less than 0.1 percent to close at 1,164.53 on Friday to end a week that saw more attacks on London’s transport system and the revaluation, albeit slight, of China’s currency.

In reporting its second quarter results on Thursday, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia said that its market share had increased from 32 percent to 33 percent, but that profit margins had shrunk due to the higher cost of manufacturing and lower average selling prices.

Following a series of downgrades, including a change to “underweight” by JPMorgan and a cut in target price from €17 to €16 by UBS, the value of Nokia’s shares lost 12.7 percent on the week to €12.90, to be the index’s largest decliner for the week.

On the other hand, Swedish company Ericsson reported strong results, but managed to gain only 0.6 percent for the week to close at SKr26.60 on Friday.

French food group Danone remained one of the weeks best performers on the strength of speculation that US company PepsiCo was ready to make a bid for the company, even though by the end of the week Danone’s chief executive had said he would oppose the bid.

Despite this negative news, Danone kept much of the 16 percent gain it had achieved at the beginning of the week to close at €3.42 on Friday, a gain of 10.7 for the week.

European equity markets were down slightly on Wednesday as the telecommunications and oil sectors ran into some trouble.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.3 percent to 1,163.02. Oil stocks fell, largely on the move of Royal Dutch Shell to a single listing and a larger index weighting.

Also a factor were the US oil inventories report that were released in time to affect afternoon trade. Royal Dutch “A” shares in Amsterdam fell 1.2 percent to €25.40 and “B” shares in London lost 1.7 percent to £18.08. Cespa was down 2.9 percent to €39.90, while Norway’s Statoil lost 1.6 percent to NKr136.50.

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker lost 2.2 percent to €14.70 and Ericsson was down by 1.5 percent to SKr26.30 on the report that US mobile maker Motorola only met but did not exceed quarterly expectations.

In other parts of the technology sector, news that Intel and Yahoo both had reported disappointed quarterly results sent stocks down for most of the day.

Some stocks managed to recoup losses by the end of the day, however, as Infineon and STMicroelectronics both closed 0.1 percent higher.

Infineon closed at €8.54, while STMicroelectronics finished the day at €14.92. Dutch chip making equipment manufacturer ASML gained 3.5 percent to €14.70 on the possibility of increased orders after Intel increased its 2005 capital expenditure budget once more.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Roche gained 3.8 percent to SFr171.60 on its report that first half net profits were up 4 percent, beating expectations, and on reports that 25 nations have ordered Roche’s Tamiflu influenza drug on the recommendation of the World Health Organization.

In Europe on Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.3 percent to 1,160.62. The electronics sector had a bad day as Infineon was down 1 percent to €8.33 on news that one of its executives had been forced to resign amid accusations of corruption.

STMicroelectronics fell 1.6 percent to *14.53. Dutch firm Philips declined by 2.6 percent to €22.07 on a report that its second quarter profits were down by over one-half.

The automobile sector saw gains, however, as Fiat gained 1.1 percent to €6.50, while Porsche advanced by 2.4 percent to €673.50 as it announced its best first-half results ever. The Greek Athens General Index had a much better day, rising 1.7 percent to 3,171.55.

Gaming group Opap was up 4.8 percent to €22.50 after the government announced a sale of 52.45 million shares, 16.44 percent of the company, at €24.14 each.

Meanwhile, telecommunications company OTE gained 2.5 percent to €16.26 on news that the company, which is mostly owned by the Greek government, is getting ready to sell 13 percent of its shares, 9 percent of which will be publicly offered, with the remaining 4 percent being placed with OTE’s pension fund.

Weakness in the insurance and oil sectors in the eurozone overcame advances in the technology and personal care sectors to send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.4 percent to 1,152.84 on Tuesday.

In France, telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel released second-quarter earnings figures two weeks ahead of schedule. It said that its second-quarter revenues were 8 percent higher than the same period last year at €3.15 billion. The company also predicted double digit earnings growth for the full year as well as an operating margin of 10 percent for the year. Some analysts, however, were skeptical of that prediction.

Meanwhile, cosmetics maker L’Oreal gained 3.6 percent to €62.30 after the announcement that its first half sales rose 4.1 percent to €7.163 billion.

On this report, UBS upgraded L’Oreal from “neutral” to “buy” and raised its price target per share to €70, up from €62.

Shares in oil companies were down even though crude oil prices were up above $60 per barrel again. Norsk Hydro fell 0.9 percent to NKr630, Royal Dutch was down 1.1 percent to €53.40, and Finland’s Neste Oil also lost 1.1 percent to €23.05.

Four bombs were detonated at four different points in London’s transportation system during the morning rush hour on Thursday, leaving a reported 37 dead and more than 700 wounded. The attacks are being investigated as terrorist acts. A group claiming links to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned Italy and Denmark to withdraw their military forces from the Middle East. The claim, which one police official said had not been determined to be real, appeared on an Islamist website. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who left the G8 meeting in Scotland to deal with attacks, declared the intent of the British people to preserve their way of life and their values in the wake of the attacks.

The repercussions of the attacks on equities markets ranged far and wide. In London the FTSE 100 ended the day down 1.4 percent at 5,158.3 after a 4 percent drop earlier in the day. The FTSE 250 closed down 1.4 percent at 7,387.9. The volume of shares traded on the day was much higher than average at 4.6 billion shares. The news of the attacks in London prompted a broad-based sell-off, but by afternoon more limited losses in New York and the expectation that the attacks might prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates helped the equities markets to recover somewhat from what had been a traumatic day. Analysts praised the resilience of the London markets and predicted that within a week they would be higher than current levels.

Almost all stocks on the FTSE 100 were lower on the day. Among those feeling the most effect from the bombings were travel-related sectors. Air carriers and cruise lines were down, as were hotel groups. British Airways lost 4.2 percent to 260 ¾p and EasyJet fell 3.8 percent to 254 ¼p, while airport operator BAA declined by 3.2 percent to 599p. Cruise operator Carnival fell 2.2 percent to £31.59. Hilton lost 3.3 percent to 288 ¼p, while InterContinental Hotels was down 2.8 percent to 701 ½p. Shares in companies touching on bus and train transport were down as well.

National Express, which bought the London bus division of Tellings Golden Miller just last month, lost 3.3 percent to 880p, while bus and train operator Go-Ahead Group was down 2.4 percent to £12.48. First Choice Holidays initially fell by 8.2 percent but recovered by the end of the day to a loss of 2.9 percent at 187 ¼p. Leisure companies with significant holdings in London also fell sharply. Ubrium, the nightclub operator, lost 4.3 percent to 770p, while Caffe Nero, the coffee shop operator, was down 2.9 percent to 187 ¼p.

Another sector seeing significant losses in the London markets was the insurance sector. Those firms had recovered much of their losses by the end of the day, however. Aviva closed down 2.2 percent at 611p after having fallen to 585p earlier. Prudential fell to 482½p before recovering to 502 ¼p at the close of trade, a decline of 1.9 percent. Gainers were few in London, and included pharmaceutical group Shine, which rose 0.2 percent to 620p, and Quadnetics Group, which supplies CCTV and video systems to London Transport. Shares in Quadnetics rose 1 percent to 242 ½p.

In the eurozone, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw an up and down day much like that in the London markets. The Eurofirst was down by 1.9 percent to 1,135.6 late in the trading day, but it had fallen as far as 1,107.49 earlier, down 4.3 percent. Again, the leisure and insurance sectors were the hardest hit, especially airline and travel stocks.

Tui, the world’s biggest travel agency, lost 2.3 percent to €20.59 even though a company officials said that it does not believe Thursday’s terrorist attacks in London will have a long-term effect on travel bookings. In the air travel sector, Lufthansa lost 2.3 percent to €9.95, Air France-KLM was down 1.3 percent to *12.42, Sweden’s SAS fell 1.5 percent to SKr64.25, and RyanAir lost 2.3 percent to *6.32.

European insurers were also down, with life insurers Aegon dropping 1.8 percent to €10.76 and Alleanza falling 2.7 percent to €8.77. Reinsurers did even worse, with Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, lost 2.4 percent to €87, even though it said it was not affected by the attacks in London. Other reinsures were down between 1.9 percent and 4.1 percent.

Energy stocks in the eurozone were down after the price of crude oil initially hit record highs after the attacks but subsequently fell by more than $5 per barrel on concerns about the impact of the attacks on air travel and economic growth. Royal Dutch was down 2.7 percent to €54.90, Norsk Hydro lost 2.9 percent to NKr619.50, and Statoil fell 2.1 percent to NKr140.50. Crude oil prices recovered most of those losses later in the day but still ended the day down.

US stocks initially dropped on the news of the London bombings, but then recovered as European stocks recovered some of their early losses as the day progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all ended the trading day in positive territory. The DIJA gained 0.3 percent to close at 10,302.29, the S&P 500 was up fractionally to 1,197.86, while the Nasdaq composite also gained 0.3 percent to close at 2,075.66. Early declines on the New York exchanges were about half of those experienced after the March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid.

Another factor in the late recovery in New York involved the weekly report on first-time jobless claims in the US, which came in at just about the level expected. Still, as in London and in Europe, airlines and other travel-related stocks fell on the day. Delta Air Lines closed down 2.9 percent at $3.38, after recovering from a 10 percent drop in pre-opening trade. Meanwhile, Marriott International was off by 0.4 percent to $68.59.

The price of government bonds around the world surged, and yields fell, as investors looked for safe places to put their money after the events in London on Thursday morning.

In the UK, the 10-year gilt lost 8.3 basis points to yield 4.199percent at the close of trade. Earlier, yields on the 10-year gilt had fallen to a two-year low of 4.12 percent.

In the US, the 10-year Treasury bond was down, although not as much, losing 2.5 basis points to yield 4.049 percent, after falling to a yield of 3.96 percent earlier in the day. In the eurozone, the 10-year German Bund registered a loss of 3.6 basis points to yield 3.175 percent after bouncing back from an all-time low of 3.08 percent.

Trade was heaving at 1.4 million contracts in the eurozone. Some analysts said that as long as confidence remains high in Europe, the London attacks will not have an effect on the overall economic outlook for Europe.

In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent to 11,630.13, while the Topix advanced by 0.39 percent to 1,181.80, aided by better-than-expected corporate sentiment.

Export-dependent companies gained value on the weakness of the yen.

In other equities markets, results were either positive or neutral for the day and mostly up for the quarter and the first half of the year.

The one exception was the S&P 500 in New York, which finished the day up 0.3 percent at 1,194.44 and up 0.2 percent for the week, but down 0.9 percent for the second quarter.

In other New York indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent for the day to close at 10,303.44, but it’s weekly gain just 0.1 percent, while it was up 2.2 percent in the second quarter.

The Nasdaq was unchanged at 2,057.37 on Friday, but gained 0.2 percent for the week and 2.9 percent in the second quarter.

In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 advanced 0.7 percent on Friday to close at 1,149.75 while gaining 4 percent in the second quarter and 9.6 percent in the first half of the year.

The telecommunications sector was up, but technology stocks were mixed. Meanwhile in London, the FTSE 100 gained 1.6 percent this week to 5,161.0, it’s highest level since May of 2002. It was up 6.2 for the first half of the year.

The FTSE 250, meanwhile, closed at an all-time high of 7,446.2 on Friday, a gain of 1.6 percent for the week. The week’s advances in London were driven by the telecommunications and oil sectors.

In Europe on Thursday, the telecommunications sector found itself mostly up at the end of the day, but steelmakers had lost ground.

Arcelor, Europe’s biggest steel maker, was down 1.4 percent to €16.22, Corus fell 1.6 percent, and ThyssenKrupp lost 1 percent to close at €14.39.

In the telecommunications sector, KPN, the Netherlands’ biggest telecommunications company, rose by 1.5 percent to €6.94 on the announcement that it has proposed a *1.12 billion takeover of its domestic rival, Telfort.

France Telecom was up 1.5 percent to €24.16 after it had advanced by 5.3 percent on Wednesday. Deutsche Telecom rose 1.4 percent to €15.30, Telecom Italia was up 1.5 percent to €2.5875, and Telia Sonera added 3 percent to SKr37.30.

In equities markets around Europe, CAC 40 was down 0.06 percent to 4,229.35 in Paris. Xetra Dax was up by 0.06 percent to close at 4,586.28. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.2 percent to 1,141.39.

This close, however, put the eurozone-wide index up 9.6 percent for the first half of the year. Meanwhile in London, the FTSE 100 gained 4.1 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 5,113.4.

However, it had been up 30 points only 90 minutes before the close. The FTSE 250 closed at 7,368.7. Both London indexes have grown 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year. Volume was heavy in London on Thursday at 3.5 billion shares traded.