EMERGING EUROPE STOCKS - Factors to Watch June 18

(Adds Monbat)

WARSAW, June 18 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press
reports and events to watch which may affect Central/Eastern
Europe's financial markets on Wednesday.

MONBAT

Bulgarian car battery producer Monbat MONBAT.BB boosts its
capital to 39 million levs ($30.9 million) from some of its
financial reserves and earnings, Dnevnik writes.

NOKIA

Cartel Alfa, one of Romania's powerful unions, will ask the
management of Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) to
start wage negotiations at its local plant in the northwestern
city of Cluj, a union official tells Ziarul Financiar.

Wages at Nokia Jucu plant average 800 lei. Negotiations may
start around July 1, the official says.

ELECTRICA

Romanian state-owned power producer Electrica will partner
with local firm Holrom in the northwestern county of Satu Mare
to build a 50 MW wind energy unit worth about 50 million euros,
daily Ziarul Financiar reports.

GAS DE FRANCE

French Gas de France plans to bid for various small Romanian
hydro power plants to ensure its local energy production is
balanced, the firm's development director Tanguy Moulin Fournier
tells Business Standard.

ZENTIVA

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) plans a rival $2.6
billion bid for Czech drugmaker Zentiva ZNTVsp.PR. [nWEA9644]

CEZ

Merrill Lynch ups its price target for CEZ (CEZPsp.PR: Quote, Profile, Research) to
1,510 crowns from 1,491 crowns and maintains its 'buy' rating
for the Czech power utility, citing bullish outlook for power
market fundamentals and higher power price assumptions.

For more research news double click [CEEU-RCH]

PKO BP, PEKAO, MILLENNIUM

JP Morgan raises Poland's biggest listed bank PKO BP
PKOB.WA to 'overweight' from 'neutral' and cut largest bank by
assets, Pekao BAPE.WA, to 'underweight' from 'neutral'. The
investment bank starts Millennium BIGW.WA at 'underweight'
with a price target of 8 zlotys.

For more research news double click [CEEU-RCH]

OTP

OTP Bank OTPB.BU has completed its 15 million euros
capital increase at Crnogorska Komercijalna Banka (CKB), its
subsidiary in Montenegro, the bank says. CKB now has 46.8
million euros in capital.

For more news on OTP double click [OTPB.BU]

LOTOS

Refiner Lotos LTOS.WA may consider floating its
Petrobaltic unit to help finance its ambitious development
programme, local newspapers write.

For more news on Lotos double click [LTOS.WA]

PKO BP

Former deputy head of the central bank Jerzy Pruski gets
permission from the financial regulator to take the helm at PKO
BP, Dziennik writes.

FIBANK

Bulgaria's First Investment Bank (FIBank) FIB.BB takes 65
million euros ($100.8 million) one-year syndicated loan to boost
its operations.

KREMIKOVTZI

A Bulgarian court postponed on Tuesday an insolvency case of
steel maker Kremikovtzi KMKV.BB until July 29. Creditors asked
for legal action against the indebted plant, writes daily
Dnevnik.

TARNOW

Polish chemicals group Tarnow is unlikely to raise the 307.5
million zlotys ($141.1 million) in its IPO as many local funds
balked at the price, daily Parkiet reports. Several state-owned
companies will likely buy shares in the state-owned Tarnow.

For more IPO news double click [CEEU-IPO]

NWR

Mining group New World Resources (NWRSsp.PR: Quote, Profile, Research)(NWRS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will
get permission to reopen the Debiensko mine in Poland very soon,
an environment ministry official says. [ID:nL17412973]

For more news on NWR double click [NWRSsp.PR]

EUROPEAN MARKETS

European shares were set to open lower on Wednesday, with
investors focusing on banking stocks ahead of results from
Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Bookmakers expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open down
12 to 20 points, Germany's DAX .GDAXI down 5 to 20 points and
France's CAC .FCHI down 6 to 14 points.

For the latest news on European markets, double click [.EU]

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after a major brokerage warned
that U.S. banks would have to raise as much as $65 billion in
capital to shore up balance sheets weakened by the mortgage
crisis.

Raising capital could dilute the equity stakes of current
shareholders, and shares of U.S. banks sold off across the
board. The KBW bank index, which encompasses U.S. banks,
fell 3.7 percent.

For latest Wall Street news, double click [.N]

OTHER EQUITY NEWS
Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity News [E]
Emerging markets equities [EMRG-E] E.Europe equities [.CEE]
Hot stocks [HOT] Stock markets [STX]
Emerging Europe diaries [EMRG-EUROPE-DIARY]

European stocks report [.EU]
Major world stock market performance [.STX]
FTSE Eurotop 300 index...................
DJ STOXX index...........................
Eurotop 300 sector gainers/losers....PGL.FTEU3S
Top 25 European pct gainers.............PG.PEUR
Top 25 European pct losers..............PL.PEUR
European Equities speed guide.............<EUR/EQUITY>
Pan European indices.....................<EUR/INDICES1>
Pan European analysis.....................<EUR/STATS1>

REGIONAL INDICES
Warsaw WIG20 .WIG20 Istanbul ISE National 100 .XU100
Budapest SE Index .BUX Bucharest Beti .BETI
Prague PX Zagreb Crobex .CRBEX
Sofia Sofix .SOFIX Ljubljana SBI20

MSCI Global Emerging Markets .MSCIEF
FTSEurofirst 300
($1=2.180 Zloty)
($1=1.263 Leva)