European shares looked set to fall on Friday, tracking late Wall Street losses, with Credit Suisse in focus after surprise news that co-Chief Executive John Mack will leave Switzerland's second biggest bank. Credit Suisse said late on Thursday that Oswald Gruebel would become the bank's sole CEO. The stock was indicated up 1.7 percent as investors looked set to welcome the scrapping of the bank's dual chief executive structure and the streamlining of its operations. A source close to the situation confirmed that Mack fell out with the firm as their views on how to take the firm forward differed and Mack was keen to merge with another bank. "The question over the strategic direction of the firm was the issue," one source said. Sources said Mack had talked to Deutsche Bank about a possible tie up and that Deutsche CEO Joseph Ackermann was keen for a deal. "There had been some contact between them (Deutsche and CSFB) but I am not sure how good it would have been for Deutsche," one source said.
"Ackermann came from CSFB and he knew them very well," another said. Drugmakers will also feature, with Astrazeneca and Novartis possible outperformers after U.S. health officials said the government would pay for selected drugs, among which may be products from the two companies. But Astrazeneca's gains may be capped by news that a U.S. consumer advocacy group asked for its cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor to be removed from the market. Also among drug stocks, Akzo Nobel's Organon unit said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the application for its gepirone ER to treat depression. Financial bookmakers in London expect Britain's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> to open 16 to 18 points weaker, with Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> seen opening 12 to 14 points softer and France's CAC-40 <.FCHI> set to start 10 to 16 points lower.///