Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word lead. 8 news.

MERRILL Lynch is in talks with Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that could lead to the sale of another big stake in the US bank, British newspaper The Observer reported, citing sources in London and New York.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines and ExpressJet Holdings saw their shares rise 2.1% and 3.6%, respectively, to pace a broad advance in the airline sector on the last trading day of the year. The Amex Airline Index added almost 1% to 34.69 points on Monday even as crude advanced toward $97 a barrel. Frontier Airlines , Mesa Air Group and JetBlue Airways were the only decliners among the 14 components in the benchmark index.

Merrill Lynch & Co is in talks with Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that could lead to the sale of another big stake in the U.S. bank, a British newspaper reported.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co is in talks with Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that could lead to the sale of another big stake in the U.S. bank, British newspaper The Observer reported, citing sources in London and New York.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co is in talks with Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that could lead to the sale of another big stake in the U.S. bank, British newspaper The Observer reported, citing sources in London and New York.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- London Scottish Bank said it's going to take 22 million pounds ($44 million) before tax in additional impairment charges for the year to Oct. 31, due to customer account balances in arrears. That will lead to 13 million pound shortfall in regulatory capital as of Jan. 1, which may lead it to restrict new lending volumes and not pay a final dividend.

Italy's decision to let Air France enter exclusive talks with Alitalia may lead to creating a behemoth that could alter Europe's aviation industry.