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