Japan's 10-Year Bonds Decline as Yields Near Six-Week Low Deter Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese government bonds dropped,
ending their longest rally since November, as 10-year yields
near the lowest in more than six weeks deterred investors from
buying the securities before a government auction this week.

Investors saw little reason to extend a five-day rally
without evidence growth in the world's second-largest economy is
slowing. The yield premium on 20-year bonds relative to five-
year securities reached the most in two months on speculation
traders will sell to protect against possible losses at an
auction of the longer-maturity debt in two days.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Average yield rises on 182-day Egypt T-bills

(Reuters) - The average yield on Egyptian 182-day treasury bills rose to 7.367 percent (CBEY) at an auction on Sunday from 7.360 percent at the July 17 issue.

The Finance Ministry accepted bids for 500 million Egyptian pounds, the same amount it had requested.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru: Latin America Local-Currency Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Latin American local bonds
today. Bond yields are from the previous session.

Argentina: Argentina's trade surplus probably narrowed to
$800 million in June from $1.25 billion the previous month,
according to the median estimate of five economists surveyed by
Bloomberg. The National Statistics Institute is scheduled to
release the report at 4 p.m. New York time today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Telefonica Chile H1 net profit down by a third

(Reuters) - Operating costs rose 4.3 percent compared to the same
period a year earlier, while administrative costs climbed 9.3
percent.




Revenue totaled 294.2 billion pesos, up 0.4 percent from a
year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Atheros, Beazer, JDA Software, OceanFreight, SanDisk: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names.

Atheros Communications {ATHR US) fell $1.86, or 5.8
percent, to $30.25 in trading after the official close of U.S.
exchanges. Chief Financial Officer Jack Lazar said during a
conference call that the maker of computer networking gear
expects a decline in third-quarter revenue from the PC segment,
which had record sales in the second-quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

General Electric Expects 60 Percent of Sales From Outside U.S. in 5 Years

(Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co., the world's
biggest maker of power generators, expects as much as 60 percent
of sales to come from outside the U.S. within five years as the
company targets emerging markets such as China and India.

Revenue from outside the company's domestic market is
currently 50 percent, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said in a
statement handed to reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Jacobs Engineering Q3 net profit rises 48 pct

(Reuters) - Analysts were expecting the company to earn 57 cents a
share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Jacobs raised its fiscal 2007 profit outlook to $2.20 to
$2.35 a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Asian Stocks Rise to Record on Earnings Outlook; Samsung Heavy, BHP Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, driving a
regional benchmark to a record, on speculation companies will
report increased earnings.

KDDI Corp., Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone carrier,
jumped the most in eight weeks after it said earnings improved,
while Samsung Heavy Industries Co. advanced after the
shipbuilder reported its highest quarterly net income. BHP
Billiton, the world's largest mining company, climbed after it
reported record annual production for eight of its main
commodities, setting it up for its largest yearly profit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Mangalore Refinery Offers Cargo of Vacuum Gasoil for Loading in September

(Bloomberg) -- Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals
Ltd., a unit of India's biggest oil producer, offered to sell a
cargo of vacuum gasoil for loading in September, the company said
in a document e-mailed to Bloomberg.

Vacuum gasoil can be processed into a feedstock for
producing gasoline. Mangalore Refinery is a unit of Oil & Natural
Gas Corp.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Australia's HFA to buy U.S. fund Lighthouse

(Reuters) - HFA will offer $348.5 million in cash and 134.67 million
HFA shares for Lighthouse. The shares will be offered to
Lighthouse's existing management.




HFA, which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last
year, said the offer price is about 11 times Lighthouse's
estimated earnings for 2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BHP Billiton Says Cost to Develop Stybarrow Oil Project Jumps 27 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Ltd., Australia's
biggest oil and gas producer, said the cost of developing the
Stybarrow project in Australia jumped 27 percent while costs for
two crude ventures in the U.S. are ``under review.''

The cost of BHP's 50 percent share of rose to $380 million,
from the original $300 million budget given in November 2005, the
Melbourne-based company said today in a statement to the
Australian Stock Exchange. The field is on schedule to start up
in the first quarter next year, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

DealTalk: KKR plays hard ball and Wall St. winces

(Reuters) - KKR, with four major buyout deals in the debt pipeline, is
refusing to budge on lending terms agreed to with investment
banks, even as debt investors show a weakening appetite.




That tough stance amid shaky debt markets means banks will
have to shoulder all the risk and perhaps take significant
losses on the massive loans.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Bisys says ISS, Glass Lewis recommend Citi buyout

(Reuters) - Citigroup agreed to buy Bisys on May 2 so it could offer
more services to hedge funds and private equity firms. The
largest U.S. bank plans to keep Bisys' fund services and
alternative investment services units and sell its retirement
and insurance services units to private equity firm J.C.
Flowers & Co.




The transaction calls for Bisys shareholders to receive
$11.85 per share in cash from Citigroup and a 15 cents per
share special dividend from Bisys.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Crane Co. reports higher quarterly results

(Reuters) - Excluding a charge, the company said it would have earned
84 cents per share, topping analysts average call for 78 cents
per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Paulson says backs strong U.S. dollar

(Reuters) - He added that he felt the same way about the value of other currencies.




The U.S. dollar's value has declined for five consecutive weeks, battered by turmoil in U.S. credit markets due to worries about fallout from mushrooming defaults in the subprime mortgage sector. On Monday the greenback recovered slightly from a record low against the euro of $1.385 and stabilized at near 12-year lows against a basket of other major currencies.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Money still flowing into hedge funds - survey

(Reuters) - "We still see extremely strong flows into hedge funds,"
said Kenneth Heinz, president of Chicago-based HFR.




Hedge funds, which employ myriad trading strategies often
using debt and short-selling, saw the biggest gains in relative
value arbitrage, a broad strategy which goes "long" on
securities expected to rise against "shorts," or those viewed
as overvalued.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

AIG unit granted wholly owned license in China

(Reuters) - It will be headquartered in Shanghai, and the existing
branches in Shanghai, Guangdong and Shenzhen will be
consolidated into AIG General.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Netflix 2nd-qtr profit up but lowers year outlook

(Reuters) - Net income for the second quarter was $25.6 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $17 million or 25 cents per share a year ago, boosted in part by a $4.1 million settlement of a patent dispute.




Revenue rose 27 percent to $303.7 million, from $239.4 million in last year's second quarter but finished behind analysts' average expectation of $307.8 million, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

California bars Adidas from selling kangaroo shoes

(Reuters) - California does not allow products made from kangaroos to be sold or imported into the state, but Adidas had claimed that the state law conflicted with the aims of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, which sought to support Australian efforts to control kangaroos. The expanding population of the jumping marsupials has become a problem for Australia.




"The bottom line is they've decided the California law is constitutional. As of now, it is illegal to sell products made of kangaroos in California," said Orly Degani, a lawyer for Viva! USA, an animal rights group that first filed a lawsuit in 2003 challenging the sale of kangaroo-skin shoes in the state.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

American acceptance of nuclear power grows

(Reuters) - The survey by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found 35 percent of people in the United States favored increasing the nation's reliance on nuclear energy, up from the 28 percent who held that view five years ago.




The 35 percent who wanted to increase nuclear power usage exceeded the 28 percent who wanted to reduce its use, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Edwards Lifesciences posts lower quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Analysts on average expected 57 cents per share, according
to Reuters Estimates.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Ford says expects to clinch competitive UAW deal

(Reuters) - "We do expect to get a resolution for our issues," Laymon said.




Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger shook hands at the automaker's headquarters on Monday afternoon in a ceremony to mark the start of talks.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Cubs draw bidders, deal could top $1 bln-source

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - The Chicago Cubs franchise,
being sold by media group Tribune Co. , has attracted
credible interest from about 15 parties, and a deal for the
baseball team and other assets is expected to top $1 billion,
according to a source familiar with the situation.




First-round bids are likely due after the Sept. 3 U.S.
Labor Day holiday, with a winner expected to be picked in
October. A deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
The winner must be approved by Major League Baseball.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Mexico's Maxcom Telecommunications files for US IPO

(Reuters) - The company did not identify the U.S. exchange or the
proposed symbol for its IPO.







Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazil Stocks Gain, Led by Vale do Rio Doce, CSN; Grupo Mexico Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index rose for the
second time in three days, led by steel and mining companies, on
speculation that diversification will boost their profits.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange added 379.38, or 0.7 percent, to 57,822.12 as of 1:11 p.m.
New York time. Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's biggest iron-ore
producer, led the gains. Mexico's benchmark Bolsa index climbed
163.75, or 0.5 percent, to 32,086.37.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Merck shares jump on strong profit, raised forecast

(Reuters) - Merck, whose results were also spurred by soaring vaccine sales, really gave investors something to cheer about when it boosted its 2007 earnings forecast 25 cents per share and significantly raised the outlook for sales of several of its drugs, sending its stock up more than 8 percent.




For vaccines alone -- including Gardasil, the first vaccine to protect against cervical cancer -- Merck raised its sales forecast for the year by $600 million to between $3.9 billion and $4.3 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Canada Dollar Rises Before Report Forecast to Show Retail Sales Increased

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar gained before a
government report that analysts forecast will show retail sales
rose in May, bolstering speculation the central bank will lift
interest rates.

The currency strengthened today as the yield advantage on
U.S. two-year Treasury notes over Canada's two-year bond shrank
to the smallest in more than two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Netflix drops after price cuts

(Reuters) - Two other analysts maintained their ratings but said the lower prices would cut deeply into Netflix's profits this year and could indicate that the company was losing ground to rival Blockbuster Inc .




Netflix said on Sunday it would cut its monthly subscription prices by $1 on plans that offer one and three DVDs out at a time, bringing them in line with similar plans offered by Blockbuster.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-RESEARCH ALERT-Citigroup still bullish on US equities

(Reuters) - Slowing earnings growth, rising consumer delinquencies, and
a move towards stocks with greater international exposure,
among other reasons, would drive large-caps to outperform
small- and mid-caps, Citigroup's Tobias Levkovich said in a
note to investors.




Levkovich said he had a 2007 year-end target of 1,600 for
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index , and saw the index at
1,725 by mid-2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Astec quarterly profits jump; shares hit year-high

(Reuters) - Shares of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company shot up
to their year-high on Monday and were trading up about 11
percent at $52.90 in morning trade on the Nasdaq.




The stock rose as high as $54.00 in early trade.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Greenspan: liquidity boom not permament-media

(Reuters) - "It is not permanent. It is reflective of a one-shot
thing," he said. "I'd say we're about half-way through."




Greenspan left the Fed in January 2006 after serving for 18
years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EU to sign Morocco grant, sees energy cooperation

(Reuters) - The European Union will grant Morocco 654 million euros over four years and begin moves to merge Morocco's energy sector with those of its northern neighbours, the EU said on Monday.

After meeting in Brussels on Monday, officials will sign a common declaration to prepare an eventual integration of Morocco's power sector into the EU's energy market, it said, without giving any deadline.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Platinum Declines in New York on Prospect Anglo Platinum Will Avoid Strike

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum fell from an 11-week high
in New York on expectations Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's
biggest producer of the metal, will resolve a wage dispute with
miners later this week, avoiding a strike. Palladium also fell.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers agreed to
meet Anglo Platinum for more wage talks on July 26 and expects
an improved offer, union chief negotiator Oupa Koma said on
July 20. Before today, platinum had gained 18 percent this
year, partly on concerns strikes would disrupt supplies.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nymex Gas Falls to Six-Month Low on Mild U.S. Weather, Ample Inventories

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures in New York fell
to a six-month low as a combination of mild temperatures and high
inventories served to undercut demand and push down prices.

The potential for hot weather forecast last week for the
U.S. East Coast later this week is now ``diminished'' and
temperatures in the South and Southeast will be at normal levels
for the rest of July, MDA Federal Inc.'s Earthsat Energy Weather
said in outlook today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Mexico's Asur 2nd qtr net profit up 30 pct

(Reuters) - Asur said on Monday its April-June net
profit was 234 million pesos , compared with 180
million pesos a year earlier.




Revenue increased 17 percent to 701 million pesos as total
passenger traffic rose 15 percent. International traffic moved
up 8.5 percent and domestic traffic soared 25.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Wall St eyes higher open on deals, profits

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - U.S. stocks headed for a
higher open on Monday as takeover news and
stronger-than-expected profits in the pharmaceutical sector
eased anxiety about earnings, which led to Friday's sell-off.




In one of the takeover deals, Transocean Inc. , the
world's largest offshore driller, said it had agreed to buy
drilling rig operator GlobalSantaFe Corp . For details,
see [ID:nN23380261]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

India's Patni Computer buys Taratec for $27.2 mln

(Reuters) - Taratec is based in New Jersey and has an operations centre
in Puerto Rico.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wal-Mart drops prices on more than 16,000 products

(Reuters) - The price cuts and new ad campaign come as Wal-Mart is working to revive sales at its U.S. stores, which last year posted their smallest same-store sales gain since the retailer began reporting such figures in 1980.




The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer has blamed numerous factors for the sluggish results, including merchandising missteps and a remodeling program that disrupted shoppers.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Corporate Bond Risk Soars in Europe on Concern Over Hedge Fund Selloff

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds
rose to the highest in more than two years in Europe on concern
hedge funds may have to sell assets to cover losses, according
to traders of credit-default swaps.

Contracts on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies increased 21,000 euros to 365,000 euros at 1:25 p.m.
in London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The index, which
increases as perceptions of credit quality deteriorate, has more
than doubled since the start of June.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures rise on deals, profits; Merck gains

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - U.S. stock futures rose on
Monday as deal news and stronger-than-expected profits from
drug maker Merck & Co. and others eased anxiety about
earnings, which led to Friday's sell-off.




In one of the deals, GlobalSantaFe Corp and
Transocean Inc. said they had agreed to a combination
that would create an offshore oil drilling company worth about
$53 billion. For details, see [ID:nN23380261]. Shares of
Transocean were up 7.3 percent in electronic trading before the
open.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Borders, Halliburton, Taser, Tellabs, United Rentals: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 7:30 a.m. in New York.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN US): The company's anemia drugs will be
restricted at high doses for patients on kidney dialysis
treatment, according to a statement from the U.S. health program
for the elderly and disabled. The policy will provide greater
restrictions on dosages when a patient's level of hemoglobin
exceeds 13 grams per deciliter of blood, the Medicare agency
said. The stock rose 61 cents to $56.18 Friday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Teleflex to buy Arrow International for $2 bln

(Reuters) - Teleflex also said it hired Goldman Sachs to evaluate
strategic alternatives for businesses in its commercial
segment.




Arrow shareholders will receive a cash payment of $45.50
per share, representing a premium of 20 percent over Arrow's
closing share price of $37.79 on Friday. The deal was approved
by the boards of both companies and is subject to approval by
Arrow shareholders.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nickel Falls on Rising Stockpiles; Tin Rises, Matching Highest in 18 Years

(Bloomberg) -- Nickel fell for the first day in
four in London, paring last week's gains, on rising stockpiles
and speculation that producers will reduce usage of the metal.

Nickel stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange
increased 492 tons, or 4.3 percent, to 11,838 tons, the exchange
said today in a daily report. Inventories have more than doubled
this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

U.K. Stocks Erase Gains; British Land, Segro and Land Securities Decline

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks erased gains as shares of
British Land Co., Segro Plc and Land Securities Group Plc fell.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index was little changed at 6585.4 at
11:38 a.m. in London. The measure earlier rose as much as 0.5
percent. The FTSE All-Share Index slid 2.59, or 0.1 percent, to
3405.2. Ireland's ISEQ Index lost 34.13, or 0.4 percent, to 8993.18.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kenya shilling eases vs dollar, agriculture cushions slide

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling weakened slightly against the dollar on Monday due to demand for the U.S. currency from the energy sector, but its fall was cushioned by farm export proceeds, dealers said.

At 0930 GMT, commercial banks traded the local unit at 67.15/25 against the dollar compared with Friday's close of 67.00/10.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Benchmark Treasury Yield Holds Below 5 Percent on Mortgage Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasury yields held
near the lowest in two months as investors sought the relative
safety of government debt on concern that losses on subprime
loans in the U.S. will hurt the broader economy.

Benchmark yields stayed below 5 percent for a second day
before a report this week that's expected to show home sales
fell to the lowest in four years in June. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week said inflation will recede
and housing market weakness may slow the economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Global Industries to sell $325 mln of debentures

(Reuters) - It will use up to $75 million of the net proceeds to buy
back common shares, and the rest for acquisitions and for
constructing and upgrading its vessels, among other purposes,
Global Industries added.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar slides, stocks pressured on credit worries

(Reuters) - Turkish markets were a bright spot, however, after elections
on Sunday in which the pro-business AK Party secured a decisive
victory. The lira and Turkish bonds rallied and Turkey's main
share index rose 2.7 percent.




Concerns about problems in the U.S. subprime -- or risky --
mortgage sector continue to swirl around markets. U.S. Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that losses could
hit $100 billion and hit consumer spending.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Bond Yields at Seven-Week Low as Subprime Concern Hurts Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- European 10-year bond yields were at
the lowest in seven weeks as stocks declined in Europe, Asia and
the U.S., underpinning demand for the safest assets.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bund fell to the lowest
since May on concern defaults on U.S. subprime mortgages will
spread to the wider economy. European and Asian stocks dropped
today after declines in the U.S. on Friday as Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said inflation will recede and housing
market weakness may slow economic expansion.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Terna, InterGen, Sparebanken, Groupama to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- Network Rail Ltd., the government-
backed owner of Britain's railways, is among borrowers seeking to
raise the equivalent of at least 3.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion)
from sales of bonds in euros and pounds, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.

Companies sold the equivalent of $1.04 trillion of bonds
denominated in euros and pounds so far this year, up from $844
billion in the same period in 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Turkish Lira, Stocks Climb After Erdogan's Justice Party Wins Re-Election

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish stocks, bonds and the lira
gained after voters re-elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, giving him a mandate to extend policies that won European
Union membership talks and helped bring 21 quarters of growth.

The ISE National 100 Index rose 3.8 percent to 54,966.6 as of
9:56 a.m. The lira rose 1.58 percent, trading at 1.253 to the
dollar. Yields on lira-denominated bonds fell 27 basis points to
17.19 percent, their lowest in 13 months, according to ABN Amro
benchmark prices. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Dollar hits record low vs euro on subprime woes

(Reuters) - The dollar fell to a record low against the euro on Monday and a six-week low against the yen, hurt by continuing worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage sector and some unwinding of yen carry trades.

The yen seesawed, sliding broadly in early Asian trading and hitting record lows against the euro in a move that traders attributed to speculative buying of sterling against the yen.


Read more at Reuters Africa