U.S. family tries living without China

(Reuters) - In "A Year Without 'Made in China,"'
Bongiorni tells how she and her family found that such formerly
simple acts as finding new shoes, buying a birthday toy and
fixing a drawer became ordeals without the Asian giant.




Bongiorni takes pains to say she does not have a
protectionist agenda and, despite the occasional worry about
the loss of U.S. jobs to overseas factories, she has nothing
against China. Her goal was simply to make Americans aware of
how deeply tied they are to the international trading system.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Boeing gets $2 bln U.S. Air Force contract

(Reuters) - Chicago-based Boeing said the program calls for the replacement wing sets to be delivered in parts and kits for easy installation.




"We are pleased that the Air Force has recognized that Boeing has the skilled expertise, engineering know-how and the affordable solution to address the needs of the A-10 program," Charles Robertson, a vice president of Boeing Support Systems, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-SEC sues firm over alleged bogus takeover bids

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. securities regulators on
Friday sued a partnership and one of its founders, alleging
they made bogus offers to buy such well-known entities as Sony
Corp. and Playboy Enterprises Inc. in an
effort to manipulate their stock prices.




Theodore Roxford, through Hollingsworth, Rothwell & Roxford
, publicized the offers on Internet message board
postings, news releases and in at least one case a regulatory
filing, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a
complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Wall St Week Ahead: Jobs, subprime mess to rule July 4th week

(Reuters) - At the same time, the potential for defaults in subprime
loans to spill over to the general economy remains a concern.
Nervousness over the availability of financing for buyouts
prompted investors to sell banks' and brokers' shares on
Friday, which helped cut short a morning rally.




In the holiday-shortened week, the most significant data,
the June payrolls report, comes on Friday. U.S. financial
markets will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, for the
Independence Day holiday.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

RPT-UPDATE 1-SEC investigating Brookstreet collapse

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - The U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission is investigating the collapse of
Brookstreet Securities, a California broker-dealer that was hit
by heavy losses in mortgage-backed securities this month, its
president said on Friday.




"The SEC is on site and they're reviewing it," Stanley
Brooks said in a telephone interview on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GateHouse Media files to sell up to 17 mln shares

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs & Co., Wachovia Securities and Morgan Stanley
are the lead underwriters for the offering.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Fair Isaac, Fluor, Office Depot, Palm, Priceline: U.S. Equity Movers Final

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares had unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 4 p.m. New York time.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM US) fell $2.53,
or 12 percent, to $18.38. The lender specializing in adjustable-
rate mortgages withdrew its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance and
said it will likely have a second-quarter loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Shire seeks Vyvanse approval for adult ADHD

(Reuters) - A supplemental NDA is used to obtain an add-on approval for
a therapy already approved for another use. Vyvanse, a
once-a-day capsule, is already approved to treat ADHD in
children aged 6 years to 12 years.




"We are pleased with the results of Vyvanse studies
conducted in adults...", Chief Executive Matthew Emmens said in
a news release, adding that this drug is a priority in the
company's ADHD portfolio.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Gold climbs on dollar weakness, oil gains

(Reuters) - Spot gold was quoted at $648.70/650.20 an ounce at 3:19 p.m. , against $647.90/$649.40 in New York late on Thursday and a three-month low of $638.90 on Wednesday.




Most-active gold for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up 50 cents at $650.90 an ounce, after dealing between $648.80 and $655.00.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Ex-CVS execs settle charges on toy accounting

(Reuters) - Philip Galbo, former treasurer at CVS, and Larry Solberg, former principal accounting officer, agreed to collectively pay $53,204 to settle claims that they helped CVS materially overstate its pretax earnings for the third quarter of 2000 by about $18.1 million.



They settled with the commission without admitting or denying the charges. Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Citigroup top H1 underwriter, Merrill tops in fees

(Reuters) - The volume of securities offerings totaled $4.53 trillion, up 15 percent from a year earlier. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG retained their top three rankings, handling a respective $398.1 billion, $338.5 billion and $291.2 billion of volume.



Total disclosed fees edged up 2 percent to $7.7 billion. Merrill took in $869.7 million, followed by JPMorgan's $768.3 million and Citigroup's $654.1 million. Citigroup had ranked first a year earlier, while Merrill ranked fourth and JPMorgan fifth.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wheat Falls From Record as Prices May Curb Demand for Feed, U.S. Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell from a record in Chicago,
erasing a 4.2 percent gain, on speculation high prices for the
grain will curb its use in animal feed and damp overseas demand
for U.S. supplies.

A bushel of wheat now costs 74 percent more than a bushel
of corn, also used to feed livestock, dairy cows and poultry.
U.S. sales of wheat for delivery in the marketing year that
began June 1 have climbed 18 percent from last year after rains
damaged crops in the Great Plains and boosted early season
buying, Department of Agriculture data show.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

RLPC-Bombardier Recreational Products delays bank loan

(Reuters) - The loan was being led by Merrill Lynch and was expected to
pay lenders 250 basis points over Libor.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. regulators tighten subprime lending rules

(Reuters) - By Patrick Rucker



WASHINGTON, June 29 - U.S. bank regulators tightened standards for mortgage lending on Friday in a bid to curtail risky practices that have been blamed for a record level of foreclosures.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

WRAPUP 1-Canada rate hike seen despite stalled growth

(Reuters) - Economic growth stalled unexpectedly in April, coming in
flat from March due to a downturn in wholesale trade,
manufacturing and oil and natural gas exploration, Statistics
Canada said on Friday.




Market operators had expected a 0.2 percent increase.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Mexico's Pemex not seeking risk-sharing alliances

(Reuters) - "We are not proposing anything that goes beyond that or
that implies that in the future we are going to have a change
in legislation," Morales said, in comments made available by
Pemex on Friday.




"We will continue, in all our activities, to respect the
law that we have today," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EU conditionally OKs Nestle buy of Novartis unit

(Reuters) - BRUSSELS, June 29 - Nestle has won permission, subject to conditions, from the European Commission on Friday to buy the medical nutrition business of Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis AG for $2.5 billion.



The European Union executive said on Friday it gave the green light after Nestle offered to divest overlapping activities in France and Spain.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Emerging-Market Bonds Gain After Report Shows U.S. Inflation Eased in May

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds rose, led by
Brazil and Venezuela, after a U.S. government report showed the
inflation measure most watched by the Federal Reserve eased in
May.

Demand for riskier, higher-yielding securities picked up
after the Commerce Department reported the annual inflation rate,
as measured by the core price index for personal consumption
expenditures, fell to a three-year low of 1.9 percent. Slowing
inflation may prompt the Fed to cut borrowing costs, making it
less expensive for investors to finance purchases of emerging-
market assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Investors cut euro corp bonds in June -Citigroup

(Reuters) - Hedge funds, which had been increasing positions in May,
also reduced positions this month to return close to levels seen
in March following a sell-off in Chinese stocks and jump in
corporate credit spreads.
"The subprime fallout probably has more in store,"
Citigroup's credit strategists wrote in a note released late on
Friday.




"But the reduction in positions gives us some comfort that
most credit investors will no longer feel compelled to react as
severely to negative news going forward," they wrote.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FACTBOX: Features of Apple's iPhone

(Reuters) - * Its main feature is a 3.5-inch touch-sensitive screen with one physical button. Programs are accessed by touching icons, and text is entered with an on-screen keyboard.




* It uses AT&T Inc.'s GSM network for voice calls and its EDGE network for data transmission. AT&T has exclusive rights to the phone for at least two years.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-S.Africa ANC opens door for Mbeki to remain leader

(Reuters) - MIDRAND, South Africa, June 29 - South Africa's
ruling African National Congress said on Friday it favoured
keeping the current rules for electing the party's leader,
opening the door for President Thabo Mbeki to seek a third term.




"There is no need to change the current procedures," ANC
General Secretary Kgalema Motlanthe told reporters after about
1,500 activists met outside Johannesburg to discuss the party's
policies and the process to elect a leader in December.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Soybean, Wheat Prices Soar as U.S. Farmers Cut Acreage to Plant More Corn

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans surged the maximum amount
allowed by the Chicago Board of Trade after the government said
U.S. farmers planted less than analysts expected and the fewest
acres in 12 years. Wheat rose to a record.

Soybeans were planted on 64.08 million acres, a 12-year
low, the Agriculture Department said today. That's down 4.6
percent from a forecast in March and 15 percent below last
year. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting 67.84
million. U.S. production may fall 18 percent to a four-year
low, depleting global inventories already at record low levels.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Banco Pine, Cosan, Petroleo Brasileiro and Unibanco: Brazil Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock gained for a third
day, led by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange rose 342.14, or 0.6 percent, to 54,488.73 as of 9:36 a.m.
New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UAW expected to announce Delphi pact vote Friday

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, June 29 - The United Auto Workers is expected to announce results of a member vote on Friday on a deal that auto parts maker Delphi Corp. says it needs to exit bankruptcy, with initial results from the union's local voting units pointing toward support.



Voting on the agreement, which includes wage and benefit cuts and eventual plant closings, is cumulative among the eligible 17,000 UAW members, but results reported independently from some of the largest locals showed a majority in favor.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. construction spending up 0.9 percent in May

(Reuters) - Spending on private homebuilding, however, fell 0.8 percent
to a seasonally adjusted $549 billion annual rate, the 15th
consecutive monthly decrease as U.S. housing market troubles
continue.




On the non-residential side, private construction spending
was up 2.7 percent in May. Public spending was up 2.2 percent,
the department said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Canadian Stocks Gain After Research In Motion Profit Rises; BCE Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose the most in two
weeks after Research In Motion Ltd. announced a stock split and
first-quarter profit that exceeded analyst estimates.

Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry e-mail phones had
the biggest jump in nine months and reached a new high. BCE Inc.,
Canada's biggest phone company, gained after the Ontario Teachers'
Pension Plan said it made bids for all BCE shares it doesn't
already own.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nasdaq to acquire privately held Directors Desk

(Reuters) - The deal is expected to close early in the third quarter,
Nasdaq said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stocks Gain After Inflation Gauge Matches Forecast; Apple Shares Gain

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced after a
government report showed a measure of inflation matched
forecasts last month, giving the Federal Reserve leeway to cut
interest rates should the economy slow.

Research In Motion Ltd. rallied after the maker of the
BlackBerry e-mail phone reported first-quarter earnings that
topped analysts' estimates. Apple Inc. climbed on the day its
iPhone goes on sale in the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. soldiers kill 4 Afghan civilians: rights group

(Reuters) - The soldiers also arrested 15 civilians during the pre-dawn raid in Khogiani district which lies in the foothills of the provincial capital Jalalabad, Lal Gul, the head of Afghanistan's Human Rights Group said.




Those killed in the raid were an 85-year-old man, Mohammada Jan, two of his sons and a grandson, Gul told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

RPT-TREASURIES-Bonds add gains after U.S. core inflation data

(Reuters) - Benchmark 10-year notes were up 7/32 in price
for a 5.08 percent, versus 5.09 percent shortly before the core
PCE data and 5.11 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields
move inversely.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Fall, Led by Banks, Insurers; Segro Tumbles on Downgrade

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell on concern
government reports in the U.S. may show the world's largest
economy isn't expanding enough to fuel earnings growth.

Schroders Plc, London's biggest publicly traded money
manager, and Allianz SE, Europe's largest insurer, paced the
retreat. Segro Plc slid the most in four months after HSBC
Holdings Plc recommended selling shares of the U.K. property
company, saying the commercial real-estate boom is over.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Talbots names Liz Claiborne president as CEO

(Reuters) - Liz Claiborne, which is in the process of restructuring, said it plans to eliminate the position of president and that it is almost finished searching for an executive vice president for its newly formed "partnered brands" division, which includes the Liz Claiborne, Dana Buchman and Ellen Tracy brands.




The company's namesake, designer Liz Claiborne, died in New York on Tuesday at the age of 78.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil above $71 on drop in U.S. fuel stocks

(Reuters) - London Brent crude rose 80 cents to $71.32 a barrel by 1110 GMT. U.S. crude oil was up 69 cents at $70.26 after reaching its highest settlement since August 2006.




While nationwide U.S. crude stocks rose by 1.6 million barrels to a nine-year high, the drop at Cushing has supported gains for U.S. crude and helped narrow its discount to Brent to around $1 a barrel.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

U.K. Natural Gas for July Delivery Climbs to Highest Price Since June 11

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery next
month rose for a fourth day, narrowing its discount to prices for
immediate supplies of the fuel.

July natural gas rose 3.2 percent to 19.4 pence a therm at
8:20 a.m. in London, according to prices on Bloomberg from the
energy broker ICAP Plc. That's the highest since June 11.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Finmeccanica mulls buying Japanese high-tech firms

(Reuters) - TOKYO, June 29 - Italy's Finmeccanica SpA
is interested in buying Japanese high-tech companies
to boost its presence in Japan, expecting growth in both the
economy and defence sector in one of its key Asian markets, its
chief executive officer said on Friday.




Finmeccanica, an Italian aerospace and defence company, also
said it would set up a branch in Tokyo next spring to help it
access the market for future opportunities. The company has
offices in other Asian countries, China, India and Malaysia, but
not yet in Japan.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Polish Zloty Set to Gain in Month Versus Euro After Interest Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The Polish zloty is poised to advance
against the euro this month after the country's central bank
unexpectedly raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point.

Poland's currency also gained for a third week after Warsaw-
based rate-setters lifted borrowing costs to 4.5 percent on June
27 on concern wages increases spurred by quickening economic
growth could fuel inflation. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
expected the bank to keep rates on hold after a 25-basis-point
cut in April, the first in almost three years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Dollar up vs yen after Fed but flat vs Europe

(Reuters) - But the dollar struggled to gain ground against other major currencies as traders took the view that recent data showing an easing of inflation and signs of weakness in growth and housing market indicators will discourage the central bank from raising rates.




The Fed left key interest rates on hold at 5.25 percent on Thursday as expected, making it a year since rates have been stuck at that level.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Carphone Warehouse, Bancaja, Prologis to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond
sales denominated in euros or pounds and expected in the coming
days and weeks.

Investment-Grade Sales


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil holds around $70 as U.S. benchmark catches up

(Reuters) - U.S. crude rose 23 cents to $70.75 a barrel by 0714 GMT, after closing at its highest settlement since late August 2006 and breaching the $70 mark during overnight trade in New York. London Brent crude oil rose 25 cents to $69.82.




Crude oil stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma -- the delivery point for U.S. crude futures -- fell by 1.4 million barrels last week, although nationwide stocks rose 1.6 million barrels to a fresh nine-year high.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

NBC CEO says fiscal discipline behind Dow decision

(Reuters) - He added: "I am not going to presume to know what's in Rupert's mind in terms of why he's bid what he's bid. But you have to remember, this has been a pattern he has always followed," Zucker said.




General Electric and Pearson Plc said on June 21 they would not pursue a joint offer for Dow Jones, removing a potential challenge to the bid by News Corp.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Pound Heads for Monthly Gain on Speculation BOE Will Raise Rates Further

(Bloomberg) -- The pound headed for a monthly gain
against the dollar and the euro on speculation the Bank of
England will keep raising interest rates to curb inflation.

The U.K. currency traded above $2 this week for the first
time since May 2, and is set for its sixth straight quarterly
gain versus the dollar. Policy makers' next decision on interest
rates is on July 5, when economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect
them to lift the main benchmark a quarter-point to 5.75 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Indonesia Accepts Lower Price From Wee Tiong for Raw Sugar, Importer Says

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's Wee Tiong (S) Pte. will
supply 25,000 metric tons of raw sugar to Indonesia, the world's
largest buyer of the commodity, after the trading company
lowered its price, an official said.

Wee Tiong, the sole bidder in PT Perkebunan Nusantara X's
tender yesterday, agreed to supply the sugar today at $312 a ton,
compared with an offer of $314 on June 28, Adi Santoso, head of
market analysis at the state-run Indonesian importer said in a
text message. The price includes freight and insurance charges.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Concha y Toro, ICA, OdontoPrev and Tam: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru
today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name, and
stock prices are from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

S&P, Moody's, Fitch Obscure Rising Risks on $200 Billion of Mortgage Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors
Service and Fitch Ratings are masking burgeoning losses in the
market for subprime mortgage bonds by failing to cut the credit
ratings on about $200 billion of securities backed by home
loans.

The highest default rates on home loans in a decade have
reduced prices of some bonds backed by mortgages to people with
poor or limited credit by more than 50 cents on the dollar and
forced New York-based Bear Stearns Cos. to offer $3.2 billion to
bail out a money-losing hedge fund. Almost 65 percent of the
bonds in indexes that track subprime mortgage debt don't meet
the ratings criteria in place when they were sold, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dollar May Rise to 124.13 Yen on New York Close Above 123.24, MUFG Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may rise to a 4 1/2-year
high of 124.13 against the yen should it close above so-called
resistance at 123.24 today, said Masashi Hashimoto, a currency
analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.

``A New York closing price above that resistance would pave
the way for the dollar's advance to 124.13 next week,'' Hashimoto
said, citing charts that predict currency movements.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yuan Heads for Its Best Quarter Since U.S. Dollar Peg Was Scrapped in 2005

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan headed for the best quarter
since a dollar link was scrapped in 2005 as China allows gains to
cool its economy and ease a record trade surplus.

The currency also rose to the highest since the link ended
as a central bank report today said the economy may expand 10.8
percent in 2007, the fastest pace in 12 years. People's Bank of
China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has said China will boost the
yuan's flexibility as some U.S. lawmakers press for quicker gains.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

New Zealand Dollar Drops From 22-Year High as GDP Won't Spur Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar fell from the
eighth 22-year high this month on concern economic growth isn't
fast enough to trigger an interest-rate increase next month.

The central bank has boosted the official cash rate three
times this year in a bid to subdue consumer spending, which it
says is spurring inflation and unsustainable growth. The record 8
percent rate has helped the New Zealand dollar, known as the kiwi,
gain 29 percent in the past 12 months. The government
statistician said today the economy expanded 1 percent in the
first quarter, matching economists' expectations.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 2-New disk drive consolidation as Western buys Komag

(Reuters) - SAN FRANCISCO, June 28 - Western Digital Corp.
has agreed to buy component maker Komag Inc. ,
in the latest move to consolidate the disk drive industry, for
about $1 billion in cash, the companies said on Thursday.




The proposed merger comes amid a sharp fall in prices in
the highly commoditized computer disk-drive industry, once one
of the bedrock manufacturing sectors in Silicon Valley.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japan's Government Bonds May Drop as Reports Signal Higher Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bonds may fall as
government reports on inflation and the jobless rate back the
case for the central bank to raise interest rates next quarter.

Benchmark 10-year bonds may complete their biggest monthly
drop in more than a year as the government reports today showed
the unemployment rate held at a nine-year low and declines in
consumer prices held steady.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Indonesia's June Inflation Rate Probably Slowed to Seven-Month 5.9 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's inflation probably eased
to a seven-month low in June, providing room for the central
bank to cut its key interest rate to spur the economy.

Consumer prices probably rose 5.9 percent from a year
earlier after accelerating 6.01 percent in May, according to the
median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Indonesia's Central Statistics Bureau will release the data on
July 2 in Jakarta.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Empire posts lower net profit, raises dividend

(Reuters) - The Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based company said it earned
C$64.5 million , or 98 Canadian cents a share,
for the three months ended May 5, compared with C$118.4
million, or C$1.80 a share, a year earlier.




On June 15, Empire said it had completed the transaction in
which it acquired all the outstanding common shares of Sobeys
that it did not already own.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Adept Technology to cut jobs, shut plants

(Reuters) - In a statement, Adept, which makes vision-guided robots,
said it sees restructuring charges of about $1.6 million,
mostly from facility closure and lease terminations.




About $1.2 million of these charges will be recorded in the
fourth quarter ending June 30, 2007, it said in a statement.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bank regulators agree on subprime rules: sources

(Reuters) - The five regulators released a draft of the guidance in early March, and have been consulting both internally and externally on how to refine the standards that will guide how depository lenders make loans to borrowers with damaged credit.




The draft called on mortgage lenders to take more care when dealing with less credit-worthy borrowers by assessing whether they can cover long-term payments and warning them about hidden costs.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Fed nods to easing inflation, but still worried

(Reuters) - The decision by the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee keeps the overnight federal funds rate target at 5.25 percent, the level it hit in June last year after 17 straight quarter-percentage point increases.




In a statement outlining its decision, the U.S. central bank dropped a reference to core inflation as "elevated" that had been in its two prior rate announcements. Nonetheless, it expressed concern that an easing in the pace at which nonfood, nonenergy prices were rising could prove fleeting.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Morgans Hotel Group files for $500 mln mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Dollar General becomes latest to revamp LBO debt

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 28 - Dollar General Corp. restructured a debt sale to finance its leveraged buyout on Thursday, as high-yield debt investors continued to push back at what they view as terms that favor issuers.



Certain LBO financing deals in the pipeline are also likely to meet resistance, but with higher prices and with modifications to covenants and structures the deals are still likely to attract demand, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

ABX subprime mortgage indexes fall to new lows

(Reuters) - The ABX 06-2 "BBB-" series, which references loans made in
last year's first half, fell to 61.74, below the recent record
62.16 low close, market sources said. The index had dropped by
38 percent this year.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazilian Real Gains Most in Six Weeks on Central Bank's Growth Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency advanced the most
in six weeks after the central bank raised its economic growth
forecast for the year.

The economy will grow 4.7 percent this year, up from the
previous estimate of 4.1 percent, according to the central
bank's quarterly report on inflation released on its Web site
today.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

PG&E sets customer plan to offset carbon emissions

(Reuters) - Voluntary payment programs to offset carbon pollution are
spreading through the airline, computer, food, retail and other
industries.




Travelers on Continental Airlines , for example,
will be able to calculate the "carbon footprint" of their
itinerary and buy offsets online from nonprofit Sustainable
Travel International under a program starting this summer.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

War-damaged Liberia starts first census in 23 years

(Reuters) - "For more than 23 years, there has been no accurate data on
the demographic variables of the country," Johnson-Sirleaf said.




The country, founded in 1847 as Africa's first republic by
freed black slaves from the United States, is struggling with
foreign debts of nearly $4 billion and efforts to restore
electricity and other services in the battle-scarred capital
Monrovia have been tortuously slow.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Murdoch says Dow Jones price 'worth paying'-Time

(Reuters) - Murdoch, the chief executive of global media conglomerate News Corp. , has long coveted the publisher of the Wall Street Journal newspaper, seen as one of the world's most reputable business news source.



But it was not until News Corp. planned to take on General Electric Co.'s CNBC channel with the upcoming Fox Business Channel, that Murdoch rationalized offering to pay $60 per share, a 65 percent premium, for an "economically stagnant" newspaper publisher, Time reported on its Web site.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

GM selling Allison for $5.6 billion

(Reuters) - GM shares reacted by rising more than 2 percent, hitting their highest level since January 2005, on speculation that the automaker could use the proceeds from the Allison sale to fund a cost-cutting deal on health care in upcoming talks with the United Auto Workers union.




GM said the sale would include almost all of the Allison Transmission unit's assets, including seven manufacturing plants in Indianapolis and the unit's worldwide distribution network.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Build-A-Bear, Comverge, Hartmarx, Momenta, Verisign: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH US) fell $2.17, or 7.6 percent,
to $26.37. The company said it fired its chief accounting officer
for attempting to destroy documents while it is under
investigation for potential fraud by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Spain's Iberia says board did not discuss TPG offer

(Reuters) - Iberia had been expected to reject the indicative takeover in the hope that another party would emerge with a higher bid, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.



)


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates continue to fall

(Reuters) - Reports that existing home sales dropped in May as part of
what Freddie Mac calls "the current housing recession" helped
mortgage rates ease. The mortgage giant also said the market is
waiting to see if the Federal Reserve changes its monetary
policy at the conclusion of its meeting on Thursday.




"Mortgage rates edged down slightly for the second week in
a row after having risen over the previous month and a half,
and as financial markets prepared for the June 28 Federal Open
Market Committee's announcement on monetary policy," said Frank
Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Empire reports lower profit, raises dividend

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 28 - Empire Co. Ltd. , which earlier this month completed a deal to take majority-held grocery chain Sobeys Inc. private, reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, but raised its dividend by 10 percent.



The Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based company said it earned C$64.5 million , or 98 Canadian cents a share, for the three months ended May 5, compared with C$118.4 million, or C$1.80 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Barloworld executive quits after appointment seen racist

(Reuters) - The white deputy chairman of South African industrial group Barloworld Ltd resigned on Thursday after a state-owned major investor labelled his appointment as "racist".

Earlier this year Barloworld came under fire by the government's Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which has a 17 percent stake in the group, for having no black executive directors.


Read more at Reuters Africa

FACTBOX-Bond, share sales delayed by volatile markets

(Reuters) - The following is a list of recently postponed or cancelled
securities sales.







Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Aspen says Blackstone, DLJ Merchant to sell stake in co.

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group will sell about 5.7 million shares, while DLJ Merchant will sell about 2.2 million shares, the insurer said in a statement.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Futures slip as core inflation perks up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 28 - U.S. stock index futures
dipped on Thursday after government data showed first-quarter
core personal consumption spending, an inflation gauge favored
by the Federal Reserve, was revised higher.




Semiconductors could give the market a lift after chip
makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
got brokerage upgrades. For details, see [ID:nWNA0822]
[ID:nWNA0851]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Little Changed Before Federal Reserve's Interest Rate Decision

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed
before the Federal Reserve's announcement on interest rates.

U.S. government debt fell earlier after a Commerce
Department report showed first-quarter inflation was faster than
previously estimated. All 113 economists surveyed by Bloomberg
News expect the central bank to leave its target rate unchanged
at 5.25 percent for an eighth straight time.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Quantum Fuel says reviewing strategic options for unit

(Reuters) - It retained Merriman Curhan Ford as financial adviser to
assist it in the process, the company said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Fed resumes policy meeting, rates seen unchanged

(Reuters) - Market interest has centered on whether the Fed, meeting
against a backdrop of an economy showing signs of gathering
strength, would acknowledge in its statement that inflation
outside energy and food costs has moderated.




Such an observation might lead markets to bet the Fed might
feel more open to the idea of lowering borrowing costs in the
future to provide a boost for an economy still feeling the drag
from downtrodden housing markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper Gains in New York on Concern Strikes in Chile Will Disrupt Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Copper in New York gained the most in
two weeks on concern that strikes in Chile, the world's largest
source of the metal, will disrupt global supplies.

Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, said a strike
by contract workers reduced output at mines and a smelter in
Chile. A union at Dona Ines des Collahuasi, the country's third-
largest copper mine, voted yesterday to strike next month. The
metal rose to a record high in May 2006 as labor unrest and mine
accidents disrupted production.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US STOCKS-Futures flat before Fed, data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 28 - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Thursday before a packed agenda that includes
a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and data that
could shed light on economic growth.




Semiconductors could give the market a lift after chip
makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
got brokerage upgrades. For details, see [ID:nWNA0822]
[ID:nWNA0851].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dollar Little Changed Versus Euro on Slowing Economic Growth in the U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar was little changed versus
the euro after a government report showed the U.S. economy grew
at the slowest pace in four years during the first quarter.

Federal Reserve policy makers conclude a two-day meeting
today and are forecast to keep U.S. borrowing costs unchanged at
5.25 percent. The Fed's interest-rate announcement and
accompanying statement on the outlook for inflation and growth
will be released at 2:15 p.m. Washington time.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Petro-Canada, UTS Proceed With $24.6 Billion Oil-Sands Project in Alberta

(Bloomberg) -- Petro-Canada, the third-largest oil
company in Canada, and its partners will spend C$26.2 billion
($24.6 billion) to build an oil-sands development in northern
Alberta.

The Fort Hills project will be designed to produce 280,000
barrels a day of synthetic crude oil from the tar-like deposits
by 2014, with output starting in the second quarter of 2012, Teck
Cominco Ltd., one of the partners, said today in a statement
distributed by CCNMatthews.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Kenya unveils Novozymes deal, warns bio-pirates

(Reuters) - Kenya unveiled a biotechnology research agreement with the world's top industrial enzymes maker Novozymes on Thursday and vowed to tackle bio-pirates it accuses of plundering its rich natural resources.

Enzymes developed from rare microbes in the east African nation's Rift Valley soda lakes are a key ingredient of products ranging from detergent to animal feed and are also used for bleaching faded denim jeans.


Read more at Reuters Africa

EnCana Corp., Telus Corp. May Move: Canadian Equity Preview for June 28

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets.
This preview includes news that broke after markets closed. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from
the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 78.04, or 0.6
percent, to 13,741.92 in Toronto.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Netezza sees IPO of 9 mln shares at $9-$11 each

(Reuters) - The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said it applied
for a New York Stock Exchange Arca listing under the symbol
"NZ."





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

FKI, Altadis, Vodafone, Arcelor: European Credit-Default Swap Movers Today

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European corporate
bonds fell today, according to traders of credit-default swaps.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index fell 3,000 euros
to 223,500 euros at 10:59 a.m. in London, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Wheat Falls in Chicago as Price Gains Curb Demand in Feed; Corn Unchanged

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat futures in Chicago fell for a
second day as the premium above the corn price reached the
widest ever, prompting speculation fewer livestock producers
will use wheat in feed. Corn and soybeans were little changed.

Wheat's most-active contract is almost $2.60 per bushel
more expensive than corn on the Chicago Board of Trade, about
double the average difference of $1.30 for the past year. Wheat
is used for food, such as bread and noodles, and competes with
corn and soybean meal for livestock feed.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

French Stocks Rise For First Time in Six Days; Danone, Total, Axa Advance

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks rose for the first
time in six days, led by Groupe Danone after a press report that
the world's largest yoghurt maker may sell its LU cookies
division. Total SA and Axa SA shares also gained.

The CAC 40 Index added 55.13, or 0.9 percent, to 5996.8 at
9:54 a.m. in Paris. The gauge lost 2.5 percent in the previous
five sessions. The broader SBF 120 Index climbed 40.4, or 0.9
percent, to 4372.66.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks regain poise, yen down as risk bid again

(Reuters) - Over the past week, concerns had grown that the fallout from
the U.S. subprime mortgage sector could raise borrowing costs
for companies, squeeze liquidity and spread to the wider
economy.




This weighed on investor risk appetite, whose high levels
had pushed stocks to a record high earlier in June and drew
yen-funded capital into high-return assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

China Prepares Stock-Index Futures to Help Investors Hedge Financial Risks

(Bloomberg) -- China published rules for stock-index
futures, paving the way toward financial products that will let
investors hedge risk in a market that's almost doubled this year.

The China Financial Futures Exchange said investors are
required to put up 10 percent of a contract's value to buy, sell
or short-sell CSI 300 Index-based futures, according to rules on
the exchange's Web site. No date was given for when the products
will start trading.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Economy in U.S. Probably Expanded 0.8 Percent, Slowest Pace in Four Years

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy probably grew at an
annual pace of 0.8 percent in the first quarter, the weakest in
four years as housing slumped, economists said before a
government report today.

The projected gain in gross domestic product compares with
a preliminary estimate of 0.6 percent issued last month, revised
figures from the Commerce Department may show. The forecast is
based on the median estimate of 73 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg News.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Pound Gains Above $2 on View King Will Signal Need to Lift Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The pound rose above $2 as signs U.K.
house-price growth quickened spurred speculation Bank of England
Governor Mervyn King will tell lawmakers it needs to resume
raising interest rates to push inflation back below its target.

The pound rose above $2 for a third time this week after the
Nationwide Building Society said U.K. property-price inflation
accelerated to a 2 1/2-year high. King, who's due to testify
before Parliament today, was among the policy makers who backed
higher rates at the BOE's last meeting. The majority decided to
keep rates unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Ghana's cocoa output down 16.2 pct in 2006/07

(Reuters) - Ghana's cocoa production may not exceed 620,000 tonnes in the crop year ending September 2007 because of dry weather, Issac Osei, chief executive of Ghana Cocoa Board, told Reuters on Thursday.

"It's not more than 620,000 tonnes. That's the maximum," Osei said on the sidelines of an international cocoa conference on the island resort of Bali.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Foreign diggers deported in Congo mining clampdown

(Reuters) - Congo has deported around 350 foreigners and closed scores of buying depots after a campaign to stamp out illegal mineral sales in its southeastern Katanga province, the local governor said on Wednesday.

Several hundred diggers from Democratic Republic of Congo's enormous informal mining sector blocked streets in the town of Kolwezi to protest against the shutting down of the depots by local authorities this week.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. Pound May Extend Gains; King Expected to Signal Need for Higher Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound may gain on
speculation Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will tell
lawmakers the central bank needs to resume raising interest rates
to push inflation back below its target.

The pound climbed above $2 per dollar for the first time
since May 2 this week as investors raised bets the central bank
will lift borrowing costs that are already the highest in the
Group of 7 nations. King, who's due to testify before Parliament
today, was among the policy makers who backed higher rates at the
BOE's last meeting. The majority decided to keep rates unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Petronas Profit Rises 7.7 Percent on Higher Output, Crude Oil Price Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd., Malaysia's
state oil and gas company, said full-year profit rose 7.7
percent after it increased production overseas and sold oil at
higher prices.

Net income in the year ended March 31 climbed to 46.4
billion ringgit ($13 billion) from a restated 43.1 billion
ringgit a year earlier, Petronas, as the company is known, said
in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today. Revenue gained 10 percent
to 184.1 billion ringgit.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Alfa, Axtel, Empresas ICA, Medial Saude, Totvs: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols
are in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are
from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian Currencies Advance on Speculation Funds Returning to Region's Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's rupiah and the Philippine
peso led appreciation in Southeast Asian currencies on
speculation a rally in U.S. stocks yesterday will whet demand for
assets in emerging markets.

The rupiah rebounded from the weakest since April 5 and the
peso from the lowest in almost two weeks as the region's equities
tracked U.S. shares higher. Concern losses connected to U.S.
housing loans will slow growth in one of Asia's biggest export
markets weighed on regional stock markets yesterday, leading to a
sell-off in emerging markets currencies.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Visa to sponsor 2010 and 2014 World Cups

(Reuters) - Visa said it is the sixth and final top tier FIFA partner.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TCW's Gundlach sees subprime problem worsening

(Reuters) - "The subprime area is a total unmitigaged disaster and it's
going to get worse," Gundlach told Morningstar's annual
investment conference in Chicago.




Gundlach, picked by research firm Morningstar as the best
fixed income manager for 2006, said delinquencies in loans made
to risky borrowers could rise as housing prices in the United
States are declining, supply is growing and credit to subprime
borrowers has been tightened, making refinancing difficult.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Seven&I to spend Y300 bln on U.S. expansion-paper

(Reuters) - Under the expansion plan, the Japanese retailer aims to lift
product sales, including gasoline, by at least 15 percent from
the level in 2006 to 1.2 trillion yen, the report said.




Seven & I is trying to boost its presence in the world's
biggest consumer market where competition is expected to further
intensify with the entry of new players such as Britain's Tesco
Plc into the convenience store sector, the Nikkei said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japanese Exporter Shares May Rise as Yen Ends Advance; Sony Seen Gaining

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's exporter stocks may advance,
helping the Nikkei 225 Stock Average rebound from a four-day
slide, after the yen reversed a strengthening trend and some U.S.
investment houses said they see few risks of widespread turmoil
in credit markets.

Sony Corp. lost 4.4 percent during the past three sessions
as the yen strengthened and concerns about the U.S. housing
market spread. Honda Motor Co. fell 1.6 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Chile's Sonda says to buy Brazil's Procwork

(Reuters) - Procwork, a 17-year-old technology solutions company, had
consolidated sales of around $132 million in 2006 and has 600
client companies in seven Brazilian states.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Staar Surgical gets FDA warning after inspection

(Reuters) - The FDA raised eight matters of concern at the time and
found four areas of noncompliance following Staar's initial
response to the FDA. Staar said it expects to provide its
written response to the FDA on or before the July 18 deadline
cited in the warning letter.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Affinion Group files for $600 million IPO

(Reuters) - It also did not disclose what symbol it will be seeking but
said it plans to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Beazer Homes USA fires chief accounting officer

(Reuters) - In a regulatory filing, the sixth largest U.S. home builder
said its board's audit committee was conducting an internal
investigation of the company's mortgage origination business
and related matters.




Atlanta-based Beazer said the action was taken by its board
and management following a briefing by the independent, legal
counsel retained by the audit committee.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US Treasury to review financial services rules

(Reuters) - Speaking at a conference organized by the Wall Street Journal, Paulson said over the next six months, Treasury willcreate a blueprint for a modern regulatory regime that embraces best practices guidelines.



"This is not an easy topic. It's a very important topic: how to have the regulatory structure that's going to operate the way it should in the 21st century," he said. "We would like this obviously to lead to action. We're optimistic that it can."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

NCI acquires Karta Technologies

(Reuters) - The information technology service provider to U.S.
government agencies said it expects the acquisition to be
neutral to slightly dilutive to 2007 earnings, but add to
earnings in 2008.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Boston Private plans to offer $250 mln senior notes

(Reuters) - About $30 million will be used to repay the expected
outstanding balance on the line of credit used to finance the
acquisition of Charter Financial, the company said in a
statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasury Two-Year Notes Are Little Changed, Paring Gains on Equity Rebound

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury two-year notes were little
changed, paring earlier gains, after a rebound in U.S. stocks
helped ease concern that demand for riskier assets is declining.

The yield on $18 billion of two-year notes sold in an
auction yesterday rose 2 basis points, or 0.02 percentage point,
to 4.91 percent at 3:30 p.m. in New York, according to bond
broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The yield touched 4.81 percent, the
lowest since May 22. The price of 4 7/8 percent notes maturing
in June 2009 fell 1/32, or 31 cents per $1,000 face amount, to
99 30/32.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Tognum finds no P&L mistakes in IPO prospectus

(Reuters) - Tognum had checked the prospectus after an analyst had
pointed out discrepancies.




"The prospectus lists all earnings figures as well as the
profit and loss statement correctly, but mistakes crept into
the personnel and material expenses figures in the appendix,
which have now been corrected in an addendum," a company
spokesman said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasury's Paulson: Rates shake-out a wake-up call

(Reuters) - And while interest rates remain low by historical standards, he said their recent rise is "in many ways positive."




"I clearly believe that this is a wake-up call to focus on some of the excesses," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Terra Firma likely to extend EMI bid -sources

(Reuters) - It can, however, extend the offer twice in two-week blocs.




Terra Firma declined to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexican stocks drop on soft U.S. economic data

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index slipped 1.38 percent
to 30,320 points, while the peso gave up 0.15
percent to 10.8680 per dollar.




The U.S. government report showed new orders for
long-lasting manufacturing goods fell more than expected in
May, suggesting the U.S. manufacturing sector may be weaker in
the second quarter than expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Fed starts meeting, expected to hold rates steady

(Reuters) - The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee began its fourth meeting of the year at about 2 p.m. , a Fed official said. A statement outlining the committee's decision is due on Thursday at about 2:15 p.m. .




The Fed is expected to hold its target for benchmark overnight borrowing costs steady at 5.25 percent, a level reached a year ago, and repeat that its main concern is that inflation fails to moderate as expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

MF Global Finance to offer up to $1.2 bln of senior notes

(Reuters) - Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities
Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering,
the company said.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Buyout Firms Face `Rocky Summer' of Financing Bain Capital's Nunnelly Says

(Bloomberg) -- Leveraged buyouts may slow from their
record pace amid signs that it's becoming tougher to get
financing for transactions, Bain Capital's Mark Nunnelly said.

``We're going to have a pretty rocky summer figuring out
what it all means.'' Nunnelly, a managing director at the Boston-
based buyout firm, said today at a conference sponsored by Dow
Jones & Co. in New York. `` There may be a lull, but it may bring
some rationality back.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Copper Rises in New York, Paring Declines, on Strike Threat at Chile Mine

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in New York, erasing
earlier losses, after workers at a Chilean mine said they may
vote today to strike next month.

About 70 percent of workers at Dona Ines de Collahuasi,
Chile's third-largest copper mine, are set to reject a wage
offer and walk off the job in July, a union leader said today.
Chile is the world's largest source of the metal. Copper reached
a record high in May 2006 as labor unrest disrupted supplies.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-AMR plans $12 million in interest cost cuts

(Reuters) - The company said in a statement it reduced the interest
rate on a $442 million term loan, refinanced $236 million in
airport facility bonds and prepaid $48 million of aircraft
debt.




AMR said it expects to end the second quarter with $6.2
billion in cash and short-term investments. The company said it
expects to end the quarter with net debt amounting to $11.6
billion, compared with $14.2 billion at the end of the second
quarter of 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

May durable goods orders fall, stir growth fears

(Reuters) - It was the first drop in durable goods orders since January and followed a 1.1 percent rise in April, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Analysts were expecting orders to slip by only 1 percent.




A separate report showed U.S. mortgage applications fell for the second straight week as interest rates remained near recent highs and made home buying more expensive.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

S.Africa stocks fall 1.6 pct, led by miners

(Reuters) - Mining and resource stocks, led by Anglo American, dragged South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index 1.62 percent lower on Wednesday as lower metal prices and fears about U.S. economic growth scared off investors.

The Top-40 index ended 1.62 percent down at 25,568 points while the broader All-share index ended 1.6 percent down at 28,285 points.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Norway's Krone Strengthens as Central Bank Raises Benchmark Interest Rate

(Bloomberg) -- Norway's central bank raised its
benchmark interest rate and said rates will be lifted more than
previously forecast as widespread labor shortages threaten to
boost wage growth and fuel inflation.

The bank increased the deposit rate by a quarter point to 4.5
percent. The rate will average 4.5 percent this year and 5.75
percent in 2008 and 2009, the bank said, lifting a previous
forecast by a quarter-point this year and half a point for the
next two years. In 2010, the bank sees the rate at 5.5 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Merck wins speedy U.S. review for HIV drug

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 27 - Merck & Co. on Wednesday said U.S. regulators will review its experimental HIV drug Isentress on a priority basis, and that it anticipates a decision on the first in a new class of medicines by mid-October.



Merck said the drug, if approved, would be used alongside standard oral HIV drugs among patients that were no longer adequately protected by their current treatments because of viral resistance.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Rubber Sinks to Three Month Low in Tokyo as Supply Increases, Demand Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Rubber futures in Tokyo, the global
benchmark, fell to its lowest in three months on expectations
supplies will exceed demand as the peak consumption season ends.

Natural rubber contracts on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
failed to rise to 300 yen a kilogram in the past two months, the
high season for demand, signaling to some traders that the
commodity has further to decline.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Herley says U.S. govt suspends two manufacturing facilities

(Reuters) - Herley said the affected operations include facilities in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Woburn, Massachusetts, and Chicago,
Illinois.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Crude Oil Falls on Expectations for Increased U.S. Supplies of Gasoline

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell on speculation that an
Energy Department report today will show that U.S. refineries
bolstered production of gasoline and other fuels.

Gasoline stockpiles increased 1.04 million barrels in the
week ended June 22, according to the median of responses by 16
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Inventories of distillate
fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose
550,000 barrels. Refineries increased operating rates for the
first time in five weeks, the survey showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Treasury Two-Year Notes Advance the Most in Three Months on Risk Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury two-year notes rose the
most in three months as investors dumped riskier assets and a
government report showed orders for durable goods fell more than
forecast in May.

Asian and European stock markets and U.S. stock index
futures fell, and the perceived risk of owning U.S. corporate
bond rose to a 10-month high in the derivatives market, on
concern over the extent of investor losses arising from defaults
on subprime mortgage loans. Treasuries gained as dealers
prepared to bid on $13 billion of five-year notes in the
government's monthly auction of the securities today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

CommScope to acquire Andrew for $2.6 billion

(Reuters) - The latest $15-a-share offer also represents a 16 percent premium over Andrew's closing share price on Tuesday. At least 90 percent of it will be paid in cash, the companies said in a statement.




The move comes amid a wave of mergers in the telecommunications industry, among service providers and their equipment vendors.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Extends Loss Versus Yen as Durable Goods Orders Decline in the U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar extended its loss versus
the yen after a report showed durable goods orders in the U.S.
declined last month more than economists had forecast.

Japan's yen earlier gained the most against the dollar in 10
weeks as investors pared holdings of emerging-market bonds and
stocks funded by loans in the Japanese currency. Signs of
weakness regarding demand for business equipment in the U.S. may
increase speculation of a cut in borrowing costs by the Federal
Reserve later this year to spur growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

US STOCKS-Futures extend losses on durable goods data

(Reuters) - S&P 500 futures were down 4 points, well below fair
value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking
into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration
on the contract.




Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 29 points,
and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 4.5 points.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dollar Accelerates Losses Versus Yen as Durable Orders Decline in the U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar accelerated its losses
versus the yen after a government report showed durable goods
orders in the U.S. declined last month more than economists had
forecast.

Japan's yen earlier gained the most against the dollar in 10
weeks as investors pared holdings of emerging-market bonds and
stocks funded by loans in the Japanese currency. Signs of
weakness regarding demand for business equipment in the U.S. may
increase speculation of a cut in borrowing costs by the Federal
Reserve later this year to spur growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Goldman Sachs Meets Match in Googleplex When Recruiting College Graduates

(Bloomberg) -- Everyone wanted to hire Qiushuang
Zhang.

Before earning her master's degree in computer science at
Georgia Institute of Technology in May, Zhang had two job offers
from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., two from Microsoft Corp. and one
from Google Inc. Then a headhunter phoned to pitch a job at
Renaissance Technologies Corp., the $20 billion hedge fund firm
led by math guru James Simons.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Wells Fargo names Stumpf CEO; Kovacevich stays chair

(Reuters) - Kovacevich has said he would remain with the company no later than the end of 2008, when he will be 65.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US mortgage applications fell in last week-MBA

(Reuters) - Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding
fees, averaged 6.60 percent, unchanged from the previous week,
but near their highest since mid-2006.




The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 4.9
percent to 428.9. The index is considered a timely gauge of
U.S. home sales.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

South African Inflation Exceeded the Target Range for Second Month in May

(Bloomberg) -- South African inflation accelerated to
an annual 6.4 percent in May, exceeding the central bank's 3
percent to 6 percent target range for a second consecutive month,
increasing speculation of more interest rate increases.

The CPIX inflation rate, which excludes mortgage costs, rose
from 6.3 percent in April, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa
said today. Inflation was expected to be unchanged, according to
the median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Prices
rose 0.6 percent in the month.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Air France, Credit Agricole, GDF to Benefit From Retirements, Oddo Says

(Bloomberg) -- Air France SA, Credit Agricole SA
and Gaz de France SA shares will benefit as a ``high
proportion'' of the companies' employees reach retirement age,
according to Oddo Securities in Paris.

Shares of Air France, the biggest European airline; Credit
Agricole, France's second-largest bank; and GDF, which owns the
biggest natural-gas network in Europe, may rise between 9
percent and 20 percent in the next 12 months, the broker wrote
in a summary note of a report to be released today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European shares hit by growth fears, US mortgages

(Reuters) - European shares fell early on Wednesday, tracking U.S. and Asian stocks lower on worries about economic growth, the fallout from troubles in the U.S. mortgage market and the effects of a rising yen.

At 0813 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.5 percent at 1,578.48 points, adding to four successive days of losses, and hitting its lowest in two weeks.


Read more at Reuters Africa

German, Swedish Power Link Capacity Cut by 31 Percent After Grid Overload

(Bloomberg) -- Electricity on the only transmission
line connecting Germany, Europe's biggest power market, and
Sweden was reduced by 31 percent because of an overload in the
German grid, the operating company said.

Capacity on the cable was cut to 410 megawatts from 600
megawatts at 7 a.m. local time today because of ``too much wind
power'' in Germany's 110-kilovolt grid, Baltic Cable AB said in a
note to the Nord Pool ASA exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

ECB's Wellink Says Rate Tightening Policy Probably Hasn't Come to an End

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank council member
Nout Wellink said the bank is likely to continue raising interest
rates to curb inflation in the 13 countries sharing the euro.

``My personal feeling is the tightening has not yet come to
an end,'' Wellink, who also heads the Dutch central bank, told
reporters in Paris today. ``Whether we take steps will depend on
incoming data. If necessary we will take steps.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China Will Sell $200 Billion In Bonds to Buy Foreign-Exchange Reserves

(Bloomberg) -- China's finance ministry plans to
sell 1.55 trillion yuan ($200 billion) of bonds to buy foreign-
exchange reserves that will be managed by a new investment fund,
Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Ministry of Finance is setting up the State Investment
Co. that will purchase a portion of the country's record $1.2
trillion foreign-exchange reserves from the central bank to seek
higher returns in global markets. The bonds will mature in more
than 10 years, Xinhua said today without elaborating.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nippon Oil to Raise Crude Oil Processing in July to Build Fuel Stockpiles

(Bloomberg) -- Nippon Oil Corp., Japan's biggest
petroleum refiner, said it will raise crude oil processing by 5
percent in July to build product inventories.

The company plans to process 4.15 million kiloliters (26.4
million barrels) next month, Managing Director Masahito Nakamura
told reporters in Tokyo today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European Government Bonds Gain for Fourth Day; Yield Falls to Two-Week Low

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds advanced
for a fourth day, sending 10-year yields to the lowest in two
weeks in London.

The yield on the 10-year bund fell 2 basis points to 4.58
percent by 7:13 a.m. in London, the lowest since June 11. The
yield fell 4 basis points in the two days through yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Fujitec shareholders OK poison pill, rebuff fund

(Reuters) - Dalton, which held 15.5 percent of Fujitec as of January,
had sent letters to shareholders urging them to vote against the
scheme, which allows Fujitec to issue equity warrants to dilute
the stake of a suitor deemed unsuitable.




Dalton, which is also pushing for a management buyout at
Nippon Fine Chemical Co. Ltd. , had said Fujitec's
defence measures would restrict shareholder rights and may
violate the spirit of Japanese securities laws.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold Price Little Changed in Asia as Yen Climbs; Tokyo Futures Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed in Asia after
falling to its lowest in more than three months yesterday on
concern that investors paring holdings of higher-yielding assets
financed by Japanese currency loans might sell the metal.

The yen gained the most against favorites for so-called
carry trades, rising for a third day against the Australian
dollar and the most in two weeks against the New Zealand currency.
Investors may sell the metal to raise funds as the yen rises.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Fed Policy Makers Split With Staff, Wall Street Over Economy's Speed Limit

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve policy makers
disagree with their own staff economists, and a growing chorus
on Wall Street, who say the U.S. economy can't expand as fast as
it used to without pushing up prices.

The split, signaled in the minutes of May's Federal Open
Market Committee meeting, may reflect debate over whether a
slowdown in U.S. productivity is permanent. ``Many'' FOMC
members were ``somewhat more optimistic'' than lower-ranking
officials about the economy's speed limit, the records showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BCE Gets Bids; CHC Helicopter Posts Earnings: Canada Equity Market Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets.
This preview includes news that broke after markets closed. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are
from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 177.98, or
1.3 percent, to 13,663.88 in Toronto.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Bear Stearns taps managers to restructure funds

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 26 - Bear Stearns Asset Management
CEO Richard Marin is taking a stronger role in managing its two
troubled hedge funds and tapped Thomas Marano, head of its
mortgage unit, to save one of the funds, said two sources
familiar with the decision.




Marin appointed Marano last week to help with the funds
managed by Ralph R. Cioffi, who retains his current role as
portfolio manager for both funds, said one source.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Morgan Stanley May Buy Daewoo Building in Seoul for $1 Billion, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, investing a record $8
billion fund in real estate outside the U.S., is in talks to buy
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.'s Seoul headquarters for
about $1 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Morgan Stanley won exclusive rights to negotiate the
purchase from Kumho-Asiana Group after the New York-based firm
outbid Kookmin Bank, Koramco Reits Management & Trust Co. and
Macquarie Bank Ltd., said the people, who asked to remain
anonymous because the talks are ongoing.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Malaysia's MISC Postpones $750 Million Bond Sale on `Market Volatility'

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's MISC Bhd., the world's
biggest owner of liquefied natural gas tankers, postponed a
planned dollar-denominated bond sale because of ``market
volatility,'' according to an e-mail sent to investors today.

MISC, a unit of national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd.,
hired Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to sell $750 million of
10-year bonds, an e-mail sent to investors earlier this week
showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Japan retail sales unexpectedly rise in May

(Reuters) - Retail sales rose 0.1 percent in May from the same month last
year, beating economists' median forecast for a 0.4 percent drop,
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday.




Compared with April, retail sales were up 0.5 percent on a
seasonally adjusted basis.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Tweeter says gets bids for assets

(Reuters) - It also said Whippoorwill Associates Inc. and Bay Harbour
Management LC made a $10 million bid for its 18.75 percent
ownership interest in Tivoli Audio LLC.




Tweeter said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved on Tuesday
the so-called "stalking horse" bids under a process where other
qualified bidders will have the opportunity to submit "higher
or otherwise better" offers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Yen Strengthens for a Third Day Against Euro on Paring of Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen strengthened for a third day
against the euro on speculation investors will unwind positions
in so-called carry trades, after stocks in the U.S. declined.

The yen rose to 165.36 per euro at 8:07 a.m. in Tokyo from
165.83 late in New York yesterday. Japan's currency traded at
123.00 per dollar from 123.26.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

GM says Delphi-UAW deal leaves liability unchanged

(Reuters) - GM has already taken $6 billion in charges related to
Delphi, which is seeking to emerge from bankruptcy as a smaller
parts supplier with sharply lower labor costs.




GM repeated in its Tuesday filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission that it expected to pay Delphi $500 million
to offset labor costs as the supplier emerges from bankruptcy.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Buyout firms face summer of discontent in debt market

(Reuters) - A wave of buyout-related financing is expected to hit the market just as trading activity slows for the summer and Wall Street grows more fearful that weakness in risky subprime mortgages, or home loans to people with patchy credit, could spill into other sectors.




The one-two punch of heavy debt supply and skittishness over two troubled Bear Stearns-managed hedge funds that made bad bets on subprime loans may nudge borrowing costs higher, raising the price tag on the corporate takeovers and share repurchases that have helped prop up U.S. stock gains.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazil Real Declines on Worry About CPI Target, U.S. Hedge Funds, Housing

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency fell as a slowing
U.S. housing market and concerns with losses in subprime
mortgages increased aversion to riskier, emerging market assets.

``The scenario in the U.S. is worrisome, with news about
the Bear Stearns funds starting to damp market mood last week,
and now worse-than-expected housing data,'' said Luiz Carlos
Barroso Simao, partner and chief strategist at Questus Asset
Management in Rio de Janeiro.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Gannett to sell $1 bln convertible debt

(Reuters) - Gannett said the securities carry an interest rate of 0.23
of a percentage point below one-month Libor , equal to an initial rate of 5.09 percent. They
are convertible into shares at $92.14, a 70 percent premium
over Gannett's Tuesday closing price of $54.20.




Convertible debt is a stock-bond hybrid that usually offers
current income, and can be converted into company stock.
Moody's Investors Service rates the Gannett debt "A3" and
Standard & Poor's rates it "A-minus," their fourth lowest
investment grades.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cerberus to bid for Canada's BCE

(Reuters) - The spokesman declined to say whether other parties would join the Cerberus bid.



) Keywords: BCE CERBERUS/


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bear Stearns says won't bail out second fund

(Reuters) - "We have brought in additional resources with expertise in
these asset classes to facilitate the orderly deleveraging
process," said Richard Marin, chief executive of Bear Stearns
Asset Management.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hovnanian, Huntsman, Reynolds American: U.S. Equity Option Market Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
with unusual option trading in U.S. exchanges today. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Option trading
and stock prices are as of 3:15 p.m. in New York.

Each call option gives investors the right, without the
obligation, to buy 100 shares of a company at a specified price
by a given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Brazil's Real Declines as Government Sets 2009 CPI Target at 4.5 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency fell after the
country's National Monetary Council disappointed investors by
setting the central bank's annual inflation target at 4.5
percent for 2009.

``The market expected a lower inflation target, something
between 4 percent and 4.25 percent,'' said Reginaldo Galhardo,
currency trading manager at Treviso Corretora de Cambio, a
brokerage in Sao Paulo.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

US STOCKS-Indexes drop as subprime worries weigh

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 26 - U.S. stocks edged lower on
Tuesday as bond yields rose and possible fallout from the
subprime mortgage market kept investors on edge.




A 2 percent drop in oil prices dragged down shares of
energy companies, with Exxon Mobil Corp. down 0.9
percent at $81.62.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Westernbank Puerto Rico parent sinks on bad loan

(Reuters) - The Mayaguez-based parent of Westernbank Puerto Rico said
it determined on June 19 that one of the larger loans made by
its asset-based loan unit is "impaired." It said it believes
the value of the collateral may be at least $80 million below
the face value of the loan.




W Holding said it has hired an independent firm to review
the impaired loan, the lending unit, and the company's
asset-based lending portfolio. It said it is evaluating
possible new collateral and the loan guaranty to determine the
extent to which the loan might affect its finances.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Canada eyes security concerns in foreign takeovers

(Reuters) - Ottawa has said it will soon name a panel of experts tasked
with recommending changes to foreign investment and competition
policy before the next budget in early 2008.




"One of the elements they're going to look at is foreign
direct investment. It's the Investment Canada Act, it's the
Competition Act and also maybe the need to have a security
clause in the Investment Canada Act," Industry Minister Maxime
Bernier said in Edmonton.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Exxon, Shell put Canada gas project stake on block

(Reuters) - EnCana Corp. is the operator.




A regulatory decision for Deep Panuke, the which would
produce 300 million cubic feet a day by 2010, is expected in
the next few months.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Conoco, Exxon to Quit Venezuelan Oil Projects as Talks Fail, Person Says

(Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp.
will quit Venezuela, where they invested billions of dollars in
oil and natural gas projects, after talks about ownership failed,
said a person on the government's side of the negotiations.

ConocoPhillips will cede its interests in the Petrozuata
heavy-oil joint venture to state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA,
and Exxon Mobil will give up its concession in the Ceiba oil
block in western Venezuela, Petroleos de Venezuela said in a
statement today. The release didn't disclose the status of the
companies' other interests in the country, which the person said
would be given up.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

PIMCO's Gross: "Subprime crisis" not isolated

(Reuters) - Gross, the chief investment officer of Pacific Investment
Management Co., or PIMCO, also said in his July investment
outlook that the crisis would prompt the Federal Reserve to
lower the benchmark interest rate by year-end.




"To death and taxes you can add this to your list of
inevitabilities: the subprime crisis is not an isolated event
and it won't be contained by a few days of headlines in The New
York Times," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News