With all the New on LSE I think its time to get in to the London Stock exchange the Ex Div date is Monday and as part of a five million return to investors LSE is offering 200p per share plus and additional 8p per share and they are pulling the dates forward. So with Nasdaq and NYSE as well as the OMX looking to aquire the LSE I think it is perfect time to boost your holdings Good luck!

Reuters - London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) said its proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1Gn.DE) was unlikely to be approved by the European Commission, leaving the stock market operators' third attempt at combining on the brink of failure.

The LSE said in a statement late on Sunday that the commission had asked it to sell its 60 percent stake in fixed-income trading platform MTS to satisfy antitrust concerns over the merger of Europe's two largest market operators.

Calling the request "disproportionate," the British exchange said it believed that it would struggle to sell MTS and that such a sale would be detrimental to its ongoing business.

"Based on the commission's current position, LSE believes that the commission is unlikely to provide clearance for the merger," it said.

The exchange added that it would still work to make the merger with Deutsche Boerse succeed, but that would be impossible unless the commission changed its position.

In a separate statement, Deutsche Boerse attributed the decision to LSE alone. LSE "resolved tonight to not commit to the required divestment of LSEG's majority stake in MTS," Deutsche Boerse said, adding that it expected a final decision from the commission by the end of March.

The commission declined to comment.

StockMarketWire.com
London Stock Exchange Group's total income rose 17% to £1,657.1m in the year to the end of December while total revenue was up 14% at £1,515.6m.

The group said adjusted operating expenses continued to be well controlled, at £791.6m- up 4% on an organic and constant currency basis as the group invested in growth and efficiency projects.

FTSE Russell delivered strong growth and integration synergies of US$78m p.a. were ahead of schedule; on track to reach £40m of annual cost savings at LCH by end of 2017.

Other highlights:

- Adjusted operating profit was up 17% at £685.8 million (2015: £584.7 million); operating profit of £426.8 million (2015: £404.4 million); adjusted profit before tax up 21% at £623.1 million (2015: £516.4 million)

- Adjusted EPS up 21% at 124.7 pence (2015: 103.4 pence); basic EPS of 63.8 pence (2015: 74.8 pence)

- Proposed final dividend increased to 31.2 pence per share - a 20% increase in the full year dividend to 43.2 pence per share - reflecting the strong outlook for the group 44

Group chief executive Xavier Rolet said: "The Group continues to execute against its strategic objectives, driving both short and longer term growth through organic investment and selective inorganic opportunities.

"This has resulted in another year of strong financial performance, with continued revenue growth, control of underlying expenses and a 21% increase in adjusted earnings per share.

"Each of our business areas delivered year-on-year growth, highlighting the strength in the diversity of our business, launching new products such as LCH Spider, new services in partnership with customers such as CurveGlobal and Turquoise Plato, and expanding our global footprint with acquisitions such as Mergent Inc.

"FTSE Russell produced another good top line performance and the integration savings are now mostly achieved, ahead of schedule.

"The LCH OTC clearing services performed well, particularly SwapClear and its compression services.

"We remain well positioned across all our businesses, underpinned by our Open Access approach and strong customer partnerships."

Termination of the Merger following EC decision
London Stock Exchange Group plc ("LSEG") today announces that the European Commission ("Commission") has notified LSEG, Deutsche Börse AG ("Deutsche Börse") and HLDCO123 PLC ("HoldCo") of its decision to prohibit the recommended all-share merger between LSEG and Deutsche Börse (the "Merger"). The Merger is subject to certain Conditions, including one that relates to the European Commission (the "EC Merger Control Condition"). The EC Merger Control Condition is LSEG Condition 4 to the LSEG Acquisition as set out in Part IV of the Scheme Document and is Deutsche Börse Condition B.7 to the Deutsche Börse Acquisition as set out in Section 14.1 of the Exchange Offer Document. The EC Merger Control Condition to the Merger has become incapable of being satisfied and consequently, the Merger will not proceed to Completion. Accordingly, the proposed Scheme of Arrangement of LSEG and the proposed Exchange Offer for Deutsche Börse Shares have lapsed, and the Cooperation Agreement has been terminated.

As a consequence of the termination of the Merger, the proposed sale of LCH SA by LSEG and LCH Group to Euronext N.V. will also terminate in accordance with its terms.

LSEG regrets the Commission's decision to prohibit the proposed Merger and looks forward to reviewing the detailed Commission decision in due course.

StockMarketWire.com
London Stock Exchange Group reported Thursday a rise in profits for the first half of the year supported by double-digit revenue growth in information services, clearing and capital markets.

For the six months to 30 June, profit before tax was up 30% to £360m, adjusted operating profit rose 21% to £480m and revenue increased 12% to £953m.

Strong performance was led by information services, the group's largest business segment by revenue, which saw revenue rise 16% to £412m.

LCH, the group's majority-owned global clearing business, saw an 18% increase in total income, to £320m for the half year. While capital markets division increased revenue by 13%.

'We remain well positioned in an evolving regulatory and macroeconomic environment and remain focused on achieving the 2019 financial targets,' the company said.

StockMarketWire.com
London Stock Exchange Group said Friday third-quarter reported revenue rose 5% led by its information and clearing services unit.

The bourse operator also said it had acquired a further 15.1% in clearing house group LCH, taking its total stake above 80%.

The acquisition was expected to close before the end of 2018, the company said.

For the three months to 30 September, reported revenue increased 5% to £522m, and total income was up 8%.

Information services, the group's largest business segment by revenue, saw revenue rise 17% to £212m.

LCH income was up 5% to £120m, driven by 12% revenue growth in OTC clearing, with strong volumes at SwapClear and ForexClear also contributing to 49% growth in net treasury income, the company said. 'The Q3 results show continued momentum across the Group, reflecting another period of operational execution and investment in the business. Information Services and LCH both delivered good year on year growth,' said David Schwimmer, Chief Executive.

London Stock Exchange Group said it was buying a 4.92% stake in financial market infrastructure company Euroclear for €278.5m (£241.9m). Euroclear provides settlement, custody and collateral management services across Europe with €28.2trln in assets under custody.