ANALYSIS-BNP Paribas aims at 'usual suspect' status in hard-to-crack UK market By Mathieu Rosemain LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - When acquisitive Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky set his eyes earlier this year on one of Britain's most iconic companies, the Royal Mail , he chose BNP Paribas BNPP.PA along with two Wall Street giants to advise him. The 3.57 billion pound ($4.63 billion) takeover of Royal Mail's owner IDSI.L still needs UK government approval , but the mandate shows the French bank'

UPDATE 3-Air France-KLM misses profit forecast on higher costs Q2 operating profit 513 mln euros vs forecast 547 mln Sees unit costs up 2% in 2024 vs up 1-2% previously Group cutting discretionary costs, marketing spend Updates share move, adds CFO comments in paragraphs 6 and 12-13 By Stephanie Hamel July 25 (Reuters) - Airline group Air France-KLM AIRF.PA reported a worse-than-expected 30% drop in quarterly operating profit on Thursday, as higher labour and fuel costs erode margins even as rev

EUROPE RESEARCH ROUNDUP-Ascential Plc, Oxford Instruments, Reckitt Benckiser July 25 (Reuters) - Securities analysts revised their ratings and price targets on several European companies, including Ascential Plc, Oxford Instruments and Reckitt Benckiser, on Thursday. HIGHLIGHTS * Ascential Plc ASCL.L : HSBC raises target price to 568p from 370p * Oxford Instruments OXIG.L : HSBC raises target price to 2850p from 2500p * Reckitt Benckiser RKT.L : HSBC cuts target price to 4800p from 4900p * RS Gr

UPDATE 1-London shares weighed down by luxury stocks, downbeat US tech earnings For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window Burberry falls after LVMH reports sales slowdown Aston Martin surges after half-yearly earnings update FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.7% Updated at 1558 GMT By Purvi Agarwal and Roshan Abraham July 24 (Reuters) - UK shares ended lower on Wednesday under pressure from weakness in luxury goods stocks and disap

UPDATE 1-Ryanair CEO says business model is fine after rival avoids slump in fares Adds quotes and background from paragraph 3 By Conor Humphries DUBLIN, July 24 (Reuters) - Ryanair's CEO said easyJet 's EZJ.L much better fare performance in the April-June quarter did not indicate flaws in his airline's strategy, but were due to its rival's weaker prior year comparisons and slower traffic growth.