European Markets Recover Slightly; Steris Tries $1.9B Tax Inversion Merger with Synergy

European markets bounced back after falling in early trading this morning, despite continued gloom over the Eurozone economy and continued uncertainty about life after Quantitative Easing when the Federal Reserve finishes its taper this month. Steris Corp. of Ohio is the latest U.S. company to agree to buy a European rival in a tax inversion deal. It’s offered a $1.9 billion merger in cash and shares that would give Synergy shareholders a 30% or so stake in the combined company and Steris a 25% effective tax rate. Activist investor Bill Ackman took his Pershing Square Capital Management to an initial public offering in Amsterdam this morning, but the share fell sharply on opening. Italian spectacles maker Luxottica, which makes Ray-Ban sunglasses and other global brands, dipped after losing its second chief executive in as many months