article_content: 
  the london stock exchange has dropped it's plan to merge with deutshe boerse.  the lse said earlier this week that the deal was a almost a done deal, and they were taking the final steps to obtain the european commission clearance.  the commission has asked the lse to keep it's 70% stake in mts a fixed-income trading platform.  the lse is very excited about this request.  they believe it will help the decrease in profits reported for 2016.  lse said their profit has tumbled from $623.1m to $516.4m in the past year.  they are hoping to finalize the merger over the next couple of weeks and soon after see their profits begin to increase.
article_headline: london stock exchange has dropped merger with deutshe boerse