Countdown begins for business conference
Leaders of the business world will meet at THEBOX conference which will be held at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul on May 14. The event will host Jacque Attali the French governments' financial consultant; Mark J. Penn the worldwide CEO of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller; and Alan Webber a USA Today columnist. THEBOX is sponsored by Yapı-Kredi the Turkish bank co-owned by Italy's UniCredit SpA.
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

Lafarge Aslan shares gain
Lafarge Aslan Çimento a Turkish cement maker partly owned by France's Lafarge SA rose to its highest level in more than two months in Istanbul trading after announcing a dividend payment. Lafarge Aslan shares rose YTL 4.50 or 6.8 percent to YTL 70.50 at 11:16 a.m. The company will pay a gross dividend of YTL 5.04 ($3.90) per share according to a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange yesterday. ISTANBUL – Bloomberg