Friday, July 13, 2007

Asian Stocks Rise for Second Week; BHP Advances After Rio Offer for Alcan

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a second week,
driving a regional benchmark to a record. BHP Billiton Ltd.
paced gains as Rio Tinto Group's $38 billion bid for Alcan Inc.
sparked speculation of more takeovers.

BHP, the world's biggest mining company, climbed yesterday
and Posco, the fourth-largest steelmaker, surged the most in
four years after Rio's offer, which came after Chaparral Steel
Co. agreed to be bought for $4.22 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Blackstone partners may avoid tax on IPO gains

(Reuters) - The company expects these benefits to total $863.7 million over 15 years, the filing said.




The Times said Blackstone partners would get back about $200 million more than the $553 million they paid in tax. The paper did not explain how it arrived at those figures.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Bill Gates fund reports 12.8 pct PlanetOut stake

(Reuters) - The Microsoft Corp. chairman's fund did not reveal
when it bought the shares or their price in the "passive"
filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cascade also did not reveal the purposes behind the
transactions.




San Francisco, California-based PlanetOut, which went
public in 2004, maintains a number of Web sites serving the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The sites
include Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, OUT&ABOUT Travel, Advocate.com,
Out.com, OutTraveler.com and HIVPlusMag.com


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Credit derivatives backlog improvement praised

(Reuters) - "We look forward to additional progress and commend the joint regulatory action and industry response as a model for tackling similar problems in global markets," he said.




Credit derivatives are contracts, such as credit default swaps, reached between institutions to manage debt risk. The market for them at the end of 2006 was $34.5 trillion in notional value, up 33 percent from mid-year and double 2005's level.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Sallie deal may yet go ahead, but price could fall

(Reuters) - Sallie Mae said on Wednesday a group of private equity firms and banks threatened to scuttle their buyout of the company, blaming proposed legislation to cut government subsidies to student lenders.




The deal has a break-up fee of $900 million, but if the buyers could prove the legislation has a "material adverse impact" on the transaction, they would not have to pay the fee.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Mexico industrial output rises 1.1 pct in May

(Reuters) - A Reuters poll had predicted a 2.23 percent year-on-year
increase in industrial production.




Industrial output was the same in May as in April, the
government said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 2-St Lawrence Cement gets higher bid, shares jump

(Reuters) - TORONTO, July 13 - St. Lawrence Cement Group
stock jumped 5.1 percent on Friday after its minority
shareholders received a raised takeover offer of C$43.50 a
share cash from Swiss cement maker Holcim .




Holcim's revised C$681 million offer is up
from its previous bid of C$630 million, or C$40.25 a share,
which had been endorsed by the board of Montreal-based St.
Lawrence.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Energizer won't discuss possible Playtex synergies

(Reuters) - During a rare conference call with analysts, Chief
Executive Officer Ward Klein and Chief Financial Officer Daniel
Sescleifer said they would not discuss synergy estimates until
plans to integrate Playtex are more formalized.




Klein said Energizer approached Playtex a few months ago to
talk about a deal, but declined to say whether Energizer took a
look at Playtex when it was on the auction block a few years
ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Buffett rumors lift Hovnanian, home-builder shares

(Reuters) - Hovnanian shares were up 9.3 percent near noon at $18.09 on the New York Stock Exchange after rising as much as 14 percent earlier in the session. Hovnanian shares were among the top percent gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.




That helped other home-builder shares climb. Standard Pacific Corp shares were up nearly 4 percent, rising 70 cents, to $18.24. Shares of KB Home were up 3.2 percent, or $1.15, to $37.34.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Dow hits record, dollar firms on sentiment data

(Reuters) - U.S. blue-chip stocks rose on Friday, sending the Dow to a record for a second straight day, and the dollar recovered from lows against the euro after a stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer sentiment report tempered worries about the economy's health.

The boost in the Reuters/University of Michigan July consumer confidence survey offset an earlier report that showed retail sales suffered their biggest monthly drop in nearly two years in June as the housing market slump took its toll on consumers.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Gold, Silver Head for Biggest Weekly Gain in Six on U.S. Dollar Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver, little changed in
New York, headed for the biggest weekly gain in six as a decline
in the value of the dollar increased demand for precious metals
as an alternative investment.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S.
currency, which fell to a record low against the euro. Before
today, gold had gained 4.8 percent this year and the euro had
climbed 4.5 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

S.Africa to raise nurses' pay by 20 percent

(Reuters) - AIDS-hit South Africa, which has seen many health workers leave for better pay overseas, will raise nurses' salaries by around 20 percent in an effort to keep more at home, the health minister said on Friday.

The announcement followed a pay strike by public servants last month which crippled operations in many public hospitals and schools. That strike ended when public service unions agreed to an increase of 7.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Smithfield Foods says China looking for pork

(Reuters) - China's interest in buying pork is greater than it has been in the past, said Hostetter.




Smithfield shares have risen sharply since Thursday, reaching a two-year high, and Hostetter said the gains probably were related to talk of China's interest in buying pork.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Tribune hopes for positive FCC response in 4th qtr

(Reuters) - Tribune agreed in April to be bought in a $34-a-share
leveraged buyout deal led by Chicago real estate magnate Sam
Zell.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Indexes flat as data offsets GE news

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 13 - U.S. stocks were little
changed on Friday as renewed worries about economic growth and
inflation offset news of General Electric's expanded
share repurchase plan and earnings.




A government report showed retail sales suffered their
biggest monthly drop in nearly two years in June as the housing
market slump took its toll on consumers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FACTBOX: Charges against Conrad Black

(Reuters) - The tax-free payments to the executives, who included Black's one-time partner turned government witness David Radler, and to companies they controlled, were said to be compensation for agreeing not to compete with the buyers for periods up to five years.




Prosecutors argued the buyers never asked for most of the non-competition agreements and the payments were actually unapproved, disguised bonuses.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FEATURE-"Iron river of guns" flows from U.S. to Mexico

(Reuters) - But as U.S. and Mexican detectives subsequently traced
powerful assault weapons recovered from the battlefield to
Texas and Arizona, it raised the curtain on a deadly and
controversial flow of arms from the United States.




A war without quarter for control of cocaine, marijuana,
methamphetamine and heroin trafficking routes has killed 1,300
people this year in Mexico, and has created a huge demand among
rival drug gangs for weapons of all kinds, authorities say.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

French PM sees no urgency for GDF/Suez merger

(Reuters) - A previous French government engineered the merger in 2006
to fend off the threat of a possible bid for Suez by Italian
utility Enel .




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Chicago prices, yield worries push up S.Africa maize

(Reuters) - South Africa's benchmark maize contracts ended firmer on Friday, as concerns about local supply shortages rose and prices in Chicago trended upward.

July white maize breached the 1,700 rand a tonne mark, closing 2.7 percent higher at 1,707 rand a tonne, while the December white contract was also 2.5 percent firmer at 1,788 rand a tonne.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Rises Above $73 as North Sea Output Slips on Closed Pipeline, Repairs

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York and Brent
oil in London touched an 11-month high on reduced production in
the North Sea because of a pipeline shutdown and maintenance at
regional fields.

Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips said they lost output from
North Sea fields that produce oil and gas after BP Plc closed
the pipeline. BG Group Plc said its Armada oil field in the
North Sea has been shut for maintenance since June. The
International Energy Agency said in a report today that global
oil demand will rise 2.5 percent next year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury calls 10-3/8 pct bonds of 2007-12

(Reuters) - The bonds are for redemption at par on Nov. 15, 2007 for
the bonds originally issued Nov. 15, 1982 and due Nov. 15, 2012
, the department said.




There are $10,126 million of these bonds outstanding, of
which $7,614 million are held by private investors. Securities
not redeemed on Nov. 15, 2007 will stop earning interest.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Game expo thrill gone as focus on business

(Reuters) - At this year's main venue for the Electronic Entertainment Exposition, a Santa Monica airport hangar, television screens demonstrate the hottest new games to a quiet few, while the scantily clad women at promotion booths and legions of fans who once typified the spectacle are noticeably absent.




Seeking to make this week's E3 Media and Business Summit more business-friendly than in previous years, organizers have locked out most of the gamers, culling a show once attended by 60,000 to just over 3,000 handpicked guests. And many of them didn't even venture onto the showroom floor.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. June import prices up 1.0 pct

(Reuters) - Imported petroleum prices climbed 4.7 percent in June, the
fifth straight monthly gain, after an upwardly revised 3.7
percent rise in May. The department said that petroleum prices
were up 28.1 percent since January but up only 2.1 percent from
a year ago.




Excluding petroleum, import prices - which are monitored
closely by the Federal Reserve policy-makers as a potential
source of inflation - edged up 0.2 percent after a 0.5 percent
gain a month earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

SK Telecom, Bausch & Lomb, Ceva Plan to Sell Debt: Corporate Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest
mobile-phone operator, and eye-care and surgical product maker
Bausch & Lomb Inc. are among borrowers seeking to raise at least
$61.5 billion of bonds in the U.S., according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.

Sales this week total $15.1 billion, compared with $343
million last week. Companies sold $687.3 billion of bonds so far
this year, up from $558.2 billion a year ago.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Futures flat after record rises, GE gains

(Reuters) - General Electric Co posted quarterly profit that beat Wall Street's forecasts by a penny and said it was exiting the subprime mortgage lending market.




Shares of GE, the world's second-largest company by market capitalization, rose 1.3 percent in Europe. The conglomerate also said it had raised its share repurchases to $14 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Zimbabwe government eyes inflation data black-out

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe may stop publishing inflation data for one year, an effort economists say is aimed at shielding the government from embarrassment over its failure to rein in soaring prices in the economically depressed nation.

President Robert Mugabe's government has failed to release inflation figures for May and June -- it usually does so on the 10th day each month -- prompting speculation the numbers were too shocking to reveal to Zimbabweans struggling to feed themselves amid worsening food shortages and unemployment.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Gives Up Gains on Speculation IEA Overestimated World Demand in 2008

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil pared gave up early gains as
some analysts speculated an International Energy Agency forecast of
world oil demand was overstated.

Demand will reach 88.2 million barrels a day in 2008 ``largely
due to a weather-related rebound in the OECD and strong demand in
non-OECD countries,'' the IEA, an adviser to oil-consuming nations,
including members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development, said today in its monthly report.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Lead Rises in London to Record on Australia Pollution Probe; Copper Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Lead rose to a record in London for
a third consecutive day on speculation an expanded inquiry into
contamination at Australian ports will exacerbate a shortage of
the metal. Copper and zinc also climbed.

Western Australia state will assess pollution at seven
ports after lead was detected in tests at Derby and Geraldton,
the state's Department of Environment said yesterday. Shipments
of raw material containing the metal used in batteries had
already been suspended from the port of Esperance.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

German Electricity for August Falls to Record Low as Supply Meets Demand

(Bloomberg) -- German electricity prices for delivery
in August dropped to a record after declines on the day-ahead
market indicated enough power was being produced to meet demand.

Next-month baseload power prices in Germany, Europe's biggest
electricity market, declined as much as 4.3 percent to 35.50 euros
($48.95) a megawatt-hour, according to broker GFI Group Inc. at
about 10:25 a.m. Berlin time. That's the lowest since the contract
started trading on April 10. Baseload refers to power delivered
around the clock.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Investor group VEB says LaSalle sale now likely

(Reuters) - The VEB will however continue to pursue a separate case
against ABN before the Dutch commercial court in which it seeks
an inquiry into the conduct of ABN's business, De Vries said.




He declined to say whether the VEB would bring a new case to
prevent the sale of LaSalle.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Stocks Advance, Led by ASML, SAAB, FCC; C&C Group Tumbles

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed for a second
day on speculation companies will keep increasing earnings.

ASML Holding NV rallied to a five-year high after Samsung
Electronics Co., Asia's largest maker of semiconductors, reported
profit that beat analysts' estimates. Saab AB rose the most in a
month after the company posted a 48 percent jump in earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European shares open higher, miners, banks in focus

(Reuters) - European shares opened higher on Friday with mining stocks in focus after a 38-billion deal in the sector and boosted by banking shares while investors awaited key U.S. data.

Alcoa withdrew its offer for Canada's Alcan on Thursday , clearing the way for Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto to agree an $38.1 billion deal, which fuelled further takeover speculation in the sector.


Read more at Reuters Africa

General Electric Plans to Seek Buyer for Three-Year-Old Subprime Loan Unit

(Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. plans to sell
its three-year-old U.S. subprime mortgage unit following a surge
in defaults by borrowers.

``The mortgage industry has greatly changed since the
purchase of WMC,'' Laurent Bossard, chief executive officer of
the division, said in an e-mail to employees yesterday. ``The
current subprime market environment has made a significant
negative impact on the business.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Moroccan state cuts Maroc Telecom stake to 30 pct

(Reuters) - The Moroccan government has sold 4 percent of former state telecoms monopoly Maroc Telecom on the stock market, reducing its stake in the company to 30 percent, market regulator CDVM said on Thursday.

The state sold 35.2 million shares for 130 dirhams each on July 2, CDVM quoted the Finance Ministry as saying. The government announced on June 27 that it planned to sell the stake to local and foreign institutional investors.


Read more at Reuters Africa