AROUND THE WORLD'S MARKETS: FRANKFURT

BANKING MERGER speculation provided a fillip for the German stock market as rumours spread of a tie-up between Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Bank. Both sides played down a report in a German newsletter, but shares in Dresdner were up 2 per cent at one point while Deutsche added 1 per cent.

The DAX-30 advanced in early trading but a weak Wall Street open left the index of leading shares down 29.44 points or 0.56 per cent at 5,230.47.Traders said the market was pausing ahead of a possible US rate rise on 24 August.