City analysts expect Alliance to announce soon its third consecutive set of record annual profits, at more than pounds 300m.
White House officials said they expected the alliance to issue a statement in support of the United Nations resolution on disarming Iraq.
Henry's disappointment with his new wife was immediate, and, when the expected Catholic alliance failed to materialize, the marriage was annulled.
Under the new management line-up it is expected that Alliance Unichem's executive chairman, Stefano Pessina, will become deputy chairman of the merged chain.
But a White House official did say that Mr. Gates's speech raised "legitimate concerns" about whether NATO was providing enough resources for the war and that the Obama administration fully expected the alliance to meet its challenges.
"Four years ago, I never would have expected the alliance to sustain this operation at this level for so long, much less add significantly more forces in 2010," he said at the Brussels gathering.
While fee cuts in the range of the 20% expected at Alliance would hurt, Spitzer's call for the total elimination of the premium small investors pay could do far greater damage.
Mr. Walton said he expected airline alliances — which also include OneWorld — would "negotiate as a combined entity".
To expect the alliance to transform itself overnight into an efficient military machine is unrealistic, they say.
"On the contrary," he added, "we expect the alliance between these two countries to reinforce each other's positions on human rights".
For now, the Bush administration expects the alliance to endorse an idea, proposed earlier this year by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, of a NATO rapid reaction force of 5,000 to 20,000 troops that could be sent to battle within a month.
