On Thursday 61.52 million shares, representing a 46% stake in the company, will begin trading under the symbol MA. The deal values MasterCard, owned by its 1,400 member banks, as an almost $6 billion company. Proceeds from the deal will mostly be used to redeem Class B shares, allowing the banks to begin unwinding their stakes. MasterCard will also use about $650 million raised in the public flotation to fund a war chest to protect itself from legal troubles. MasterCard and its rival Visa International have been participants in legal battles over what are known as interchange fees. Merchant groups have already filed a class-action suit alleging unlawful price fixing of fees that hurt both merchants and consumers.


[R]7:30AM Japanese benchmark Nikkei falls, followed by most Asian markets.[/R]
Asian markets finished lower. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Average was down 213 points, or 1.34% to close at 15693.75. The Nikkei declined on weakness in banking shares. Mitsubishi UFJ, the world-largest bank in terms of assets, fell 3.5%. Another major, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shed 1.7%. Auto makers also declined as Toyota was down 1.6%, while Honda Motor Co lost 1.7%. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.9% to 15,675.36. The China Enterprise Index, a yardstick of China stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, shed 2.8% to 6,556.78. South Korean benchmark Kospi was the lead declining market, shedding 2.82% to 1295.76. Singapore''s Straits Times Index dropped 1.5%, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.3%. Markets in Indonesia were not opened today for a public holiday.


[R]6:30AM European shares plunge after initial gains.[/R]
On the corporate front Euronext stocks were down 4.5%, following the announcement of Atticus, which has 9% of the operator, to leave with the management to decide which the best offer was. That impacted negatively hopes of a higher bid placed by Atticus. Deutsche Börse was down 4.4%, after it said that it would improve its offer but would not overpay. Danone advanced 2.2%, on the brokerage front, after Merill Lynch added the company to its Europe 1 Focus List on valuation basis. ProSiebenSat.1 advanced 2.6% after Deutsche Bank raised the broadcaster’s level from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’.

Crude oil dipped 20 cents to settle at $70.06 a barrel by 0535 GMT, after shedding $1.90 or 2.7 % on Wednesday. London Brent crude advanced 13 cents to $69.35. Gold gained on Thursday after plunging in U.S. trade, with bargain-hunters and physical buyers slowly moving into the market on dollar frailty. Spot gold advanced to $647.30 an ounce before slipping to $644.90/645.70 by 0933 GMT, against $639.20/640.00 late in New York on Wednesday. The dollar rose against the euro. The euro bought $1.2761 in morning European trading, down from $1.2773 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound fell to $1.8687 from $1.8717. The dollar was virtually unchanged against the Japanese currency, edging up to 112.71 yen from 112.69 yen.