Gold steady, Tokyo futures rally from 2-week low

(Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on Tuesday after bargain hunters lifted the price in New York, and Tokyo futures rebounded from two-week lows, tracking a move on COMEX.

Bullion was fetching $653.80/$654.50 an ounce at 0311 GMT, compared with $653.40/$654.90 last quoted in New York.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-U.S. fund Jana wins 30% stake in China lathe maker

(Reuters) - SHANGHAI, June 12 - U.S.-based Jana Partners LLC
has won the bidding for a 30 percent stake in Shenyang Machine
Tool Co. Ltd., China's largest lathe maker, in a rare
acquisition in China for an overseas hedge fund.




The deal with Jana Shenyang Holdings Corp., a vehicle set up
by the activist hedge fund to buy the stake, still requires
regulatory approval, said a unit of the Chinese company, Jiaoda
Kunji High-Tech Co. , which announced the bidding
result on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Canadian Employers' Hiring Plans Close to Five-Year High, Manpower Says

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian employers' hiring plans for
the third quarter edged closer to a five-year high, led by
construction firms experiencing labor shortages, a survey by
Manpower Inc. shows.

The net employment outlook, which subtracts the percentage
of companies planning to shed jobs from the percentage that say
they'll hire, rose by 1 point to 18 percent for the July to
September period, according to Milwaukee-based Manpower. The
figure is seasonally adjusted.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Atos, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Riber: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies
may rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Stock symbols are
in parentheses and prices are from the last close.

The CAC 40 Index added 56.80, or 1 percent, to 5940.09. The
SBF 120 Index also climbed 1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Crude Oil Declines After Gains on Saudi Arabia Cutting Shipments to Asia

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after rising yesterday
on signs the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may
extend production cuts to trim global stockpiles.

Crude oil for July delivery fell as much as 21 cents, or 0.3
percent, to $65.76 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on
the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $65.82 a
barrel at 11:13 a.m. in Singapore.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South Korean Won Rises on Exporters; Indonesia Rupiah Gains With Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won rose, ending two
days of losses, on speculation exporters took advantage of the
currency's lowest close in three weeks to bring home earnings.

The won yesterday completed the biggest two-day drop since
May 18, making it more attractive for exporters to convert
dollars into the local currency. Shipbuilders are also bringing
back their earnings, said Moon Hee Lee, a currency trader at ABN
Amro Bank NV.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan's Shares Slip, Led by Millea, Insurers; Trading Houses, Toshiba Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, led by
insurance companies, on speculation recent stock price gains
have been excessive given their profit outlook.

Millea Holdings Inc. fell 2.2 percent after soaring 20
percent in the past month. Commodity-related shares climbed
after prices for raw materials including copper, gold and oil
rebounded.


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Saskpool swings back into profit in third quarter

(Reuters) - Sales were C$402.3 million, up from C$336.5 million a year
earlier.




Regina, Saskatchewan-based Saskpool won a six-month bidding
war for Agricore in May with a deal worth C$20.50 per Agricore
common share, or a total of C$1.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Japanese Insurance Stocks Slide, Led by Millea; Trading Companies Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Japanese insurance
companies dropped on speculation recent stock price gains have
been excessive given their profit outlook.

Millea Holdings Inc. fell 1.8 percent after soaring 20
percent in the past month. Trading companies climbed after
prices for commodities including copper, gold and oil rebounded.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

DEALTALK-Looking for Blackstone's bottom line? Good luck

(Reuters) - In a filing issued on Monday for its upcoming public
offering, Blackstone makes it clear that net earnings won't be
one of its key metrics. Instead, bearing in mind the company's
warning that it expects significant net losses for years,
investors should get familiar with less common measurements of
performance, such as "pro forma economic net income."




With many other private-equity firms and hedge funds
expected to pursue a path similar to Blackstone's, Monday's
filing shows that investors are likely to be flummoxed when it
comes to understanding the earnings of these private
partnerships that go public.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UK's NICE paves way for wider arthritis drugs use

(Reuters) - Anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs have revolutionised
treatment for many patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis but
their high cost, which can exceed 10,000 pounds per
patient a year, has made NICE wary about their use.




"It is fantastic that people may now get a 'second bite of
the cherry'. There are three drugs of this type, and obviously
patients want to try the other two if the first does not work
for them," Arthritis Care head Neil Betteridge said in a
statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Indexes flat on rate worry; Texas Instruments falls

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 11 - U.S. stocks ended little
changed on Monday as rising oil prices boosted the energy
sector but lingering concern about higher interest rates kept
investors on the defensive.




Exxon Mobil Corp. helped lead the Standard &
Poor's 500 index higher as oil prices rose nearly 2
percent on news Saudi Arabia will keep OPEC supply limits in
place through July.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Continental sees cargo, other revs of $310-$320 mln

(Reuters) - Continental expects contributions to its qualified defined
benefit pension plans to total about $320 million during 2007.
Non-cash pension expense will be about $172 million for the
year.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-TI lowers rev outlook as calculators miss target

(Reuters) - TI, the biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, forecast
revenue in a range of $3.36 billion to $3.51 billion, from an
earlier estimate of $3.32 billion to $3.6 billion, slightly
lowering the midpoint of its forecast.




It reduced its estimate for sales from its calculator unit
to a range of $160 million to $170 million, from its earlier
target of $180 million to $200 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Drugs show small effects in Alzheimer's-research

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 11 - Several new drugs showed early promise against Alzheimer's disease, but none had a dramatic effect, demonstrating that the battle against the brain-wasting illness will be long, researchers said on Monday.



One of the new drugs offers an alternative food source to damaged brain cells that can no longer make use of sugar, while another was originally developed as an antihistamine.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

S&P says LatAm still vulnerable to global conditions

(Reuters) - "However, ratings go beyond economic cycles and the key
determinants of a rating change center on the policies
implemented by these governments during this period to better
prepare their economies to face a potential reversal of this
cycle," he said.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Kiwi Dollar May Rebound as Interest Rates Attract, ABN, Citigroup Predict

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar may rebound
from its biggest loss in more than three months because the
nation's high interest rates will attract international
investors, said banks including ABN Amro Inc. and Citigroup Inc.

New Zealand's currency, dubbed the kiwi, sank 1.6 percent
against the U.S. dollar yesterday after the Reserve Bank of New
Zealand sold its currency, saying the economic outlook doesn't
justify this year's rally to a 22-year high. The central bank
lifted its benchmark rate to a record 8 percent this month,
compared with 5.25 percent in the U.S. and 0.5 percent in Japan.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Morgan Stanley's McVey, Chief U.S. Strategist, Resigns to Join Fortress

(Bloomberg) -- Henry McVey resigned as chief U.S.
investment strategist at Morgan Stanley after 12 years with the
second-largest securities firm to join an investment company.

McVey, 38, announced he is going to Fortress Investment
Group LLC, the first U.S. manager of private equity and hedge
funds to go public, earlier today on a call with Morgan Stanley
analysts, according to two people who listened.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury says no new China legislation needed

(Reuters) - "We believe that we currently have the tools to effectively
address these issues, the issue with respect to the exchange
rate," said Alan Holmer, the Treasury department's special
envoy to China.




Holmer declined to say whether Treasury would formally
label China a currency manipulator in a semiannual report on
foreign exchange practices of key trade partners due out on
Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Treasury says no new China legislation needed

(Reuters) - Holmer declined to say whether Treasury would formally
label China a currency manipulator in a semiannual report of
foreign exchange practices of key trade partners due out on
Wednesday.




But he said the administration took the issue of China's
currency practices "very seriously" and was making an
unprecedented push for faster reform by Beijing.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Reserve Bank of New Zealand to `Strike Again' to Weaken Currency, UBS Says

(Bloomberg) -- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is
set to ``strike again'' in the currency market to curb gains in
the country's exchange-rate, according to UBS AG, the world's
second-largest foreign-exchange dealer.

The central bank today sold its currency to halt a rally to
a 22-year high against the U.S. dollar. The intervention, the
bank's first since setting up a NZ$7 billion ($5.3 billion) fund
to stabilize the market in 1990, adds to risks for investors who
buy New Zealand assets using funds borrowed in Japan.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stocks Rise on Takeover Speculation; Exxon, H&R Block Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained after a jump in
oil prices lifted energy producers and investors speculated
companies in the financial services and automotive industries
may be acquisition targets.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest oil producer, led the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index higher. H&R Block, the biggest tax
preparer, had its steepest gain in eight-months after UBS AG
said it may receive a leveraged buyout bid.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BHP, Rio declare force majeure on coal exports

(Reuters) - Australian coal exporters BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have declared force majeure following severe flooding which halted ship loadings at Newcastle port and rail transport of coal, utility/traders and traders said on Monday.

Newcastle, Australia's largest coal export facility, can handle 91 million tonnes a year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Ford hires banks to explore options: sources

(Reuters) - Ford, Goldman, HSBC and Morgan Stanley all declined to comment on the situation.




The review of options follows the sales of several car businesses to private equity as carmakers reshuffle their portfolios as they come under financial pressure and reorganize operations.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Crude Oil Climbs as Saudi Arabia Cuts Shipments to Asian Refiners in July

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York after
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, told Asian refiners
that it would curb shipments for a ninth month in July.

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest state oil company, will
cut supplies of its Arab Light and Arab Heavy crude to refiners
in Japan, China and South Korea by between 9.5 percent and 10
percent below their contracted volume, officials said. The
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year pledged
to cut supplies by 1.7 million barrels a day to support prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-UraMin says in talks on possible sale

(Reuters) - The company has three projects that are due to start
production by the end of 2009 and said recently it planned to
be the world's No. 4 uranium producer in four years.




Shares of the company surged 71 Canadian cents to C$7.66 on
the Toronto Stock Exchange when trading resumed after a halt
pending the announcement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

REFILE-UPDATE 5-Rexam to buy Owens-Illinois Plastics for$1.8 bln

(Reuters) - By Miyoung Kim and Euan Rocha



LONDON/NEW YORK, June 11 - Britain's Rexam Plc agreed to buy the plastic packaging business of Owens-Illinois Inc. for $1.83 billion in cash as it targets the fast-growing market for packaging medicines.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bonds fall again, but yields off highs

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 11 - U.S. Treasuries fell again on
Monday as bond bears retained the upper hand following last
week's rout on worries about tighter global credit conditions,
though benchmark yields kept below recent highs.




With no top data on the agenda, dealers expected the market
to consolidate. This could keep 10-year yields off Friday's
peak around 5.25 percent, at least until key releases on retail
sales on Wednesday or consumer price inflation on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Back Yard Burgers to be acquired for about $38 mln

(Reuters) - Shares of the company rose 23 percent to $6.21 in early
morning trade on Nasdaq.




The deal represents a premium of 28.71 percent above Back
Yard Burgers' closing price of $5.05 on Friday on the Nasdaq,
the hamburger chain said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Henry McVey Resigns as Morgan Stanley's Chief U.S. Investment Strategist

(Bloomberg) -- Henry McVey resigned as chief U.S.
investment strategist at Morgan Stanley after 12 years with the
company to join an undisclosed investment firm.

``It has been a great ride,'' McVey, 38, said in a statement
sent by Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Jennifer Sala. ``I am now
looking forward to working with Morgan Stanley as a client.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hong Kong to simplify licensing of hedge funds

(Reuters) - Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission said the
changes include speeding up the licensing process for some U.S.
and UK-registered hedge fund managers, and exempting some staff
at hedge funds from having to take exams.




Hong Kong is home to more hedge fund assets than any other
Asian city. But a growing number of hedge fund managers are
choosing to set up in Singapore, where authorities have sought
to attract the industry with accommodative regulation.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. Corn Surplus Estimate Raised by USDA as Higher Prices Curb Demand

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. corn surplus will be 5.3
percent bigger than estimated in May after high prices reduced
purchases for feed and ethanol production and slowed overseas
sales, the government said.

Reserve supplies before this year's harvest will rise 5.3
percent to 987 million bushels from 937 million forecast a month
ago, the Agriculture Department said today in a report.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Blackstone paid CEO $398.3 million last year

(Reuters) - Should Blackstone's IPO price in the expected range of $30
per share, that would make Schwarzman's stake worth $7.73
billion.




Co-founder and Senior Chairman Peter Peterson received
$212.9 million in pay and will own 4 percent of the firm after
the IPO, the filing says. The two men founded Blackstone in
1985 with $400,000.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall After Bond Yields, Oil Advance; Disney Drops

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell after
bond yields and oil prices increased, reinforcing concern that
the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates.

Walt Disney Co., the world's largest theme-park operator,
and General Motors Corp., the biggest U.S. automaker, led
declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Implats to help workers buy 3 pct of its shares

(Reuters) - South Africa's Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd (Implats) has launched a plan to help its mainly black workers buy 3 percent of the firm's shares worth nearly 4 billion rand, it said on Monday.

Implats, the world's second biggest platinum producer, said in a statement it had financed the purchase of 16.4 million shares, which will be placed in an employees' trust.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Caterpillar Drops in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before economic reports this week that may provide clues
about the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.

Caterpillar Inc., the world's biggest maker of earthmoving
equipment, and Alcoa Inc., the second-largest aluminum producer,
declined in Europe. Shares of Boeing Co. climbed after the
second-biggest maker of commercial aircraft won an order valued
at about $3 billion from OAO Aeroflot.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-China's May trade surplus surges to $22.45 bln

(Reuters) - BEIJING, June 11 - China's trade surplus
ballooned to an unexpectedly high $22.45 billion in May, a jump
likely to intensify calls for Beijing to let the yuan
appreciate more rapidly.




The figure, released a day ahead of a meeting between China
and the European Union to discuss trade tensions, compared with
a $16.9 billion surplus in April and a forecast from economists
of $18.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

German Merck buys stake in Archemix, expands link

(Reuters) - Aptamers are chemically synthesised nucleic acids, which are
much less expensive to produce than monocolonal antibodies.




"Aptamers have the potential to play a key role in the next
generation of drugs in our core therapeutic areas," said
Bernhard Kirschbaum, a director of research at Merck Serono.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Renault denies interested in Jaguar, Land Rover

(Reuters) - London's City A.M. newspaper said on Monday that private equity firm Alchemy Partners was lining up a 3 billion-pound bid for Land Rover and Jaguar and other possible bidders included Renault.




Renault shares were 1.1 percent higher at 108.84 euros by 0840 GMT, slightly outpacing the rest of the French blue chip index but broadly in line with the European car sector.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Supplies to Asian Refiners for Ninth Month in July

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the world's largest
state oil company, will cut crude oil exports to Asian refiners
for a ninth month in July, refinery officials said.

The Dhahran, Saudi Arabia-based oil producer will reduce
supplies of its Arab Light and Arab Heavy crude to refiners in
Japan, China and South Korea by between 9.5 percent and 10
percent below volumes set out in annual supply contracts, said
four refinery officials who received notices from the company and
asked not to be identified because of confidentiality agreements.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Dollar Rises Against Euro as Inflation, Retail Sales Suggest No Rate Cut

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar strengthened on
speculation reports on U.S. consumer prices and retail sales this
week will provide further evidence the economy is strong enough
not to warrant a cut in interest rates this year.

The dollar rose against 12 of the 16 most-traded currencies
this month as Treasury yields touched a five-year high, widening
the spread over German and Japanese debt. Retail sales likely
rebounded in May and consumer price inflation held above the
range Federal Reserve policy makers have indicated they are
comfortable with.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Best May Be Over for U.S. Stocks Rally as Bond Yields Rise on Fed Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- The best may be over for the 2007
U.S. stock market rally.

Gains in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will slow in the
second half of the year amid rising concern that the Federal
Reserve will raise interest rates, investors said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Petronas, Sudan Have Sought Engineering Bids to Build Oil Refinery

(Bloomberg) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd., Malaysia's
state-owned oil company, and its counterpart in Sudan are
awaiting engineering bids to build a refinery in Port Sudan, the
Malaysian company said.

The plant, a joint venture with Sudan's national oil
company, would process 150,000 barrels a day, Hassan Marican,
chief executive of Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, said at the
Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur today. In August
2005, Petronas said the plant would process 100,000 barrels a
day, without giving the cost of the project. Marican wouldn't
comment today on the change in the proposed scale.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

CDO Sales Increased to a Record $251 Billion in First Quarter, BIS Reports

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of collateralized debt
obligations reached a record $251 billion worldwide in the first
quarter, led by bonds backed by credit derivatives, the Bank for
International Settlements said.

Banks and asset managers create CDOs by packaging bonds,
loans or derivatives into new securities. Sales of CDOs that pool
credit-default swaps, contracts used to bet on corporate
creditworthiness, rose 32 percent to $121 billion from the
previous quarter, the Basel, Switzerland-based bank said in its
quarterly review published on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Zoellick Defends Lending to China, Will Adopt Wolfowitz's Focus on Africa

(Bloomberg) -- Robert Zoellick, the next president
of the World Bank, defended lending to China in spite of the
country's record currency reserves and the fastest economic
growth of any major economy.

``China has grown a tremendous degree, but if you get out
in the countryside you still see there's an awful lot of
poverty,'' Zoellick said in his first interview since President
George W. Bush nominated him for the post on May 30. He added
that aid to Africa will be his top priority.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

GE, Microsoft discussed Dow Jones bid: report

(Reuters) - GE would then have combined Dow Jones with its NBC Universal unit, in part to stave off competition from News Corp., which is planning a business television channel to rival GE's CNBC.




None of the companies mentioned in the report immediately returned calls seeking comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil inches up after slide as supply worries remain

(Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Monday, as dealers saw a buying opportunity after a sharp slide, with OPEC producers maintaining supply curbs and worries remaining over U.S. summer gasoline supplies.

London Brent crude, seen as currently more representative of the global market, rose 19 cents to $68.79 a barrel at 0412 GMT, after plunging by $2.62 on Friday amid a commodities sell-off on fears of slower economic growth. U.S. crude rose 15 cents to $64.91 after a $2.17 drop.


Read more at Reuters Africa