Delta Air Lines, Inc.

$5.26

+5.2%

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have filed for European Union regulatory approval of their proposed merger. The European Commission, the EU's antitrust authority, listed a July 29 provisional deadline for its ruling on the deal.

The European Commission may clear the merger to proceed or flag any issues to be addressed, which would trigger another review phase, according to Delta.

"We fully expect that the EU will approve our request" because of limited overlap between Delta and Northwest route networks and because the airlines received approval to operate with antitrust immunity in the trans-Atlantic market, Delta spokesman Kent Landers said.

Pending approval, Delta and Northwest plan to close their merger by the end of the year. The merger is also being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

—- Kelly Yamanouchi

B of A deal likely to be done soon

Bank of America Corp.'s takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp. could be wrapped up as early as next week, but first it must clear one last hurdle —- getting the OK from the struggling mortgage lender's shareholders.

Countrywide shareholders are scheduled to vote on the buyout this morning.

The all-stock deal, valued in January at about $4 billion, is now valued at around $2.8 billion, reflecting a decline in Bank of America's stock price.

Countrywide's board, which has unanimously backed the transaction, needs stockholders to vote a majority of the outstanding shares in favor of the deal.

Legg Mason Capital Management Inc., which now holds the largest Countrywide stake at 14.7 percent, plans to support of the buyout.

—- Associated Press