Feb 1 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's flagship carrier Air Astana has placed orders for 15 new planes worth more than $1 billion in total, Air Astana President Peter Foster said on Wednesday.

European Union regulators have blocked the merger of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to avoid giving them a stranglehold on the European futures market.

European banks could ask for more than a trillion dollars in loans from the European Central Bank (ECB) next month, reported the Financial Times on Monday, as the ECB prepares for a second money auction designed to avert a possible credit crunch.

Finance Minister Says Euro Zone May Refuse Athens a Fresh Bailout If Nation Can't Enact Reforms.

Kazakh bank BTA will try to persuade angry creditors to accept a second debt restructuring after failing on Thursday to win shareholder approval for the proposal it says is imperative for survival.

26 January 2012, Almaty - "BTA Bank" JSC (the "Bank") would like to announce results of today's General Shareholders' Meeting (the "GSM") held in Almaty as well as to provide an update on a number of matters in relation to the proposed restructuring of certain of its financial indebtedness.

Almaty, January 24, 2012 - BTA Bank JSC informed that from January 23, 2012 Mr. Konstantin Korishchenko has resigned from his position as a Member of the Board of Directors, Independent Director of BTA Bank JSC.

Creditors' Meeting Presentation on 27 January 2012.

The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development program.

Temporary victory for tech companies.

Kazakh bank BTA, majority owned by the country's sovereign wealth fund is now officially in default, creditors said on Tuesday, citing notification from settlement services provider Euroclear.

Kazakhstan's efforts to provide employment and avert a repeat of last year's strikes by oil workers are likely to raise costs for the national oil company and foreign firms operating there, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

Update on the restructuring process: preliminary talks with stakeholders have started.

Abu Dhabi and Libya stakes set to be heavily diluted.

Hedge funds are positioning to profit from a plan to slash Greece's towering debt pile as Athens enters final talks that could sway the country's membership of the euro.