In yet another bit of news from the automotive industry, Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) president Takeo Fukui announced today that he will be stepping down from his post in June after six years with the second-largest Japanese automaker.

Fukui is passing the torch to Takanobu Ito, who currently serves as chief of automobile operations. The 64-year-old Fukui said, about passing the job to his 55-year-old successor, "It is very important to have a generational change in management every few years." It will be a challenging post for Ito, who assumes the reins as Honda and the overall auto industry face falling sales. The company is expecting an earnings loss of nearly 90% this year to $860 million (but at least they are still hoping to turn a profit).

Putting it mildly, it has been a turbulent time in the auto industry. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) replaced its president in January. Mazda announced changes in management in November. And Nissan president has delegated some of his responsibilities of late. Meanwhile, on American soil ... well, we all know the saga the Big-Three is facing.

Beth Gaston Moon works for WeSeed.com, "The stock market for the rest of us." The above comments are not intended as trading or investment advice.

The London Stock Exchange would seem a fairly attractive property. It is the major exchange in the UK and lists some of the world's largest multinationals include BP (NYSE: BP) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) tried to buy the exchange but was repeatedly rebuffed. The US company still has a 30% stake.

But, asked if it had any interest in owning the exchange, NYSE/Euronext's (NYSE: NYX) answer [subscription required] was "no". The recent merger with Euronext was taking up all of management's time.

The answer from the NYSE may be a bit too cute. It is likely that it does not want to get into a bidding war with Nasdaq, which, under UK law, can make another run at the LSE next year. Dubai International Financial Centre has been reported to be interested in the London exchange, but it has made no formal bid.

The London Stock Exchange's problem may be that, without a partner from outside Europe, it cannot become a part of the sort of global trading platform that NYSE and Nasdaq are trying to build. There are even reports that The Tokyo Stock Exchange is looking at several partnerships in Europe and the US.

Being left out of a global alliance means being local. And, with trading having moved across borders, that is not good.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

According to a story in the AP, a deal between The NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) and Tokyo Stock Exchange is not "imminent." However, a story in Bloomberg.com says just the opposite.

Well, one thing is clear: both organizations are talking. It's unlikely to result in a mega merger. Such a deal would be extremely complicated – and involve big political issues. Besides, the NYSE is currently in the process of buying the Euronext. Rather, the likely result is some type of alliance. There may even be a minority investment (this was the case in the NYSE's recent deal in India).

Although, given the aggressiveness of the NYSE, it would not be a surprise that a deal with the Tokyo Stock Exchange is, in fact, imminent.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Before coming on board the NYSE Group as CEO, John Thain was a bigwig at Goldman Sachs. Well, he certainly learned the skills of dealmaking there and he's applying them to his current gig.

This week, the shareholders of Euronext NV approved a merger with the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction amounts to about $14.6 billion.

This is unprecedented, and creates a trans-Atlantic exchange which will trade stocks with a combined value of $25.8 trillion. Of course the integration will not be easy since cross-border deals are rarely smooth.

But in a recent interview on CNBC, Thain was confident.

It looks like the merger momentum is going to continue into 2007. Thain said he is looking to Asia for consolidation, perhaps even merging with the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The two parties have already begun having some discussions.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfile.com.