* STOXX up 0.6%, banks lead gains * Ericsson slips after $1.09 billion impairment * UK election results awaited (Updated at 1615 GMT) By Jesus Calero, Shubham Batra and Shristi Achar A July 4 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday amid optimism around U.S. interest rate cuts following soft economic data, while London markets gained as voting began in...

* Bridgewater Associates' flagship fund up 14.4% through June 26 * Hedge funds show mid-to-high single-digit gains * Citadel Wellington gains 8.1% * Aspect Capital Diversified fund returns 14.3% in year to end June (Updates July 3 story with details from Brevan Howard and Dymon Asia Multi-Strategy Investment Fund) By Carolina Mandl and Nell Mackenzie NEW YORK/LONDON, July 3 (Reuters)...

July 4 (Reuters) - The parent of Saks Fifth Avenue said on Thursday it has agreed to buy rival luxury retailer Neiman Marcus in a $2.65 billion deal. (Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru) ...

July 4 (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBC ) is attracting initial interest from peers including BNP Paribas SA and UBS Group AG, for the sale of its German wealth-management unit, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday citing people familiar with the matter. Julius Baer is also among potential bidders for the wealth-management business which could be valued at 300 million euros...