31.   It has already temporarily blocked the planned merger with Deutsche Boerse AG, parent of the Frankfurt market.

32.   It was the first time the regulators had commented publicly on the planned merger, announced last May.

33.   It would be operated by LILCO and its planned merger partner, Brooklyn Union Gas, under a state contract.

34.   Jenkins said that it is possible that US Airways, which abandoned a planned merger with UAL Corp., could be pushed over the edge.

35.   Last December, a planned merger with Morgan Stanley collapsed.

36.   Karen Ng, a spokeswoman for HSBC in London, declined to comment on whether the new developments would affect the planned merger.

37.   Lilco cleared another important hurdle Wednesday, winning approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its planned merger with Brooklyn Union Gas Co.

38.   Lloyds continues to look for partners in Europe and the United States after British regulators blocked its planned merger with Abbey National earlier this month.

39.   More troublesome, the penalty hints of obstacles to a planned merger by the bottler.

40.   Now the change will likely never take place because of the planned merger.