Trading in Alitalia Stocks Halted:

[an-124]

Trading in shares of the Italian airline Alitalia were suspended on the Milan market on June 22, pending an announcement on the company's future. The government is due to make an announcement on the granting of a short-term loan to the troubled company. The airline recently exacted concessions from its pilots in the hope of getting it at least through the summer months. The suspension of stock-share trading will staunch the flow of money away from company stock in the near-term, but it is a serious blow to Alitalia, whose future is now very much in question.

[Globaliser]

To get this back on track, this from ft.com (http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=040623000785):-The Italian government yesterday agreed to guarantee a €400m ($484m) emergency loan to Alitalia, the national airline on the brink of bankruptcy.

The loan will replenish Alitalia's coffers, which are expected to run out of cash at the end of this month. The European Commission, however, will need to approve the loan and will require Alitalia to present a detailed restructuring plan in order for the loan to pass.

Alitalia had €256m in cash at the end of March and analysts fear the airline is burning at least €70m a month.

(cont'd - see link above)