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