Nasdaq to buy Swedish exchange

The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. on Friday agreed to buy Nordic bourse OMX AB in Stockholm, Sweden, for $3.7 billion.
The new company will be named Nasdaq OMX Group.
The deal comes off the heels of London Stock Exchange PLC’s February rejection of New York-based Nasdaq’s acquisition bid and the $11 billion purchase by NYSE Group Inc. (now NYSE-Euronext Inc.) in New York of Eurpean exchange owner Euronext NV of Amsterdam, Netherlands, in April.

Existing-home sales hit a four-year high
Sales of existing homes in the United States fell in April to the lowest level in nearly four years, the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors said Friday.
Purchases fell 2.6% to an annual rate of 5.99 million in April from 6.15 million in March.

UBS to sell its stake in Julius Baer
UBS AG said Friday it will sell its 20.7% stake in private bank Julius Baer Holding Ltd. to raise capital for its share buyback program. Both are based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Proceeds from the sale are expected to exceed $3.34 billion.

TD Ameritrade to buy Fiserv custody unit
Fiserv Inc. of Brookfield, Wis., agreed late Thursday to sell its Denver-based custody unit, Fiserv Investment Support Services, to TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. of Omaha, Neb. TD Ameritrade will pay as much as $325 million.

Pioneer raises scratch with CAT bond fund
Boston-based Pioneer Investments on Friday launched the Pioneer Diversified High Income Trust, a closed-end mutual fund that invests in catastrophe bonds. The fund, trading on AMEX under the ticker HNW, sold 7.3 million shares, raising $182.5 million in gross assets.

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