BUZZ-Lloyds' shares dip after Q2 results miss consensus expectations ** Shares in UK's Lloyds LLOY.L fall 2% to 58.48p after it reported a 14% drop in its pre-tax profit for the first half of the year on Tuesday ** JP Morgan says Q2 results are below company-compiled consensus expectations, driven by a charge related to electric vehicle values in t

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks flop on feeble earnings reports, oil in the doldrums Europe's STOXX down 0.3%, U.S. futures dip on dour earnings U.S. data due later in week could offer direction Yen hits seven-week high, rate hike in the balance Updates prices By Lawrence White LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Stocks sagged worldwide on Wednesday as earnings from Tesla , Alphabet and European luxury brands disappointed, while oil prices traded near-six week lows as summer demand failed to surge.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks flop on feeble earnings reports, yen at seven-week high Europe's STOXX down 1%, U.S. futures dip on dour earnings U.S. data due later in week could offer direction Yen hits seven-week high, rate hike in the balance Updates at 0815 GMT By Lawrence White LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Stocks sagged worldwide on Wednesday as earnings from Tesla , Alphabet as well as European luxury brands disappointed, while the yen surged to a seven-week high ahead of a central bank meeting next

BUZZ-UK's easyJet shares jump after annual forecast boost ** Shares in UK's easyJet EZJ.L gain as much as 6.3% to 454.3p after co increased its annual forecast for its holidays division ** Hargreaves Lansdown finds Q3 numbers 'a little better than expected' and adds they give a respite following the share price instability for UK airlines due to Ryanair's results ** On Monday, shares of industry peer Ryanair RYA.I crashed after profits slumped as ticket prices plunged ** "Investors were bracing

Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Adds Starbucks, Panera Brands, updates Ecopetrol July 19 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1920 GMT on Friday: * * Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in Starbucks SBUX.O , a source told Reuters. nL4N3JB1WN ** Panera Brands is exploring a sale of Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros Bagels, as well as its other bagel brands, in a deal that could value the restaurant cha