Kuwait Says Currency Peg Gives It `Flexibility' in Setting Exchange Rate

(Bloomberg) -- Kuwait's decision to peg the dinar to
a basket of currencies gives it flexibility in setting its
exchange rate, Kuwait News Agency reported, citing central bank
governor Sheikh Salem Abdul Aziz al-Sabah.

Markets needed time to adequately absorb the new currency
arrangement that was adopted on May 20, KUNA reported, citing the
governor. The central bank has sufficient expertise in managing a
currency basket to boost monetary stability and confidence in the
dinar, he said, the state news agency reported.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 30

(Reuters) - * Dow Jones & Co. Inc.'s controlling shareholders,
the Bancroft family, were still deliberating late Sunday
whether to sell to News Corp. , which has offered $5
billion for the publisher.




* John Malone's Liberty Global Inc. is weighing a
bid for Virgin Media Inc. , for which the Carlyle Group
[CYC.UL] has already offered $8 billion to $10 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sri Lanka's Inflation Probably Accelerated in July on Oil and Food Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka's inflation probably
quickened in July for the first time in four months as higher
oil and food prices offset slowing loan growth.

Consumer prices in the capital Colombo rose 15.5 percent
from a year ago, after gaining 13 percent in June, according to
the median forecast of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The
statistics department's index, the key inflation gauge watched
by the central bank, is due tomorrow at 3 p.m. in Colombo.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Drops on Subprime Concerns; Topix Climbs on Earnings

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
dropped after U.S. residential investment slumped, raising
concern the world's largest economy will slow.

Canon Inc. slid 2.6 percent, leading exporters lower after
the yen advanced to the highest against the dollar in more than
three months, reducing the value of their overseas sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

ABN Amro Holding NV, Bulgari, Geox, Linde, Tod's: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 0.5 percent to 372.69. The Dow
Jones Stoxx 50 Index declined 0.4 percent to 3720.33. The Euro
Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro,
dropped 0.2 percent to 4244.58.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dow Jones family owners face deadline on bid-source

(Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New
York Post and a sprawling global media empire, made its $60 a
share bid for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street
Journal, on May 1.




The board of Dow Jones endorsed the offer two weeks ago,
sending the deal to the Bancroft family for approval.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TREASURIES-Steady in Asia, credit crunch fears supporting

(Reuters) - The credit crunch fears have fuelled safe-haven flows to
shorter-dated Treasuries and stirred speculation the Fed could
cut rates, pulling the two-year yield down to some 75 basis
points below the current federal funds rate of 5.25 percent.




With no major economic data due in the session, traders said
they would be keeping a close eye on how U.S. stocks move later
in the session, with Asian equity markets initially falling
about 1 percent following the tumble on Wall Street last Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

PetroChina's Shares Fall After Buffett's Berkshire Pares Stake in Company

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of PetroChina Co. fell after
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reduced its stake in the
nation's biggest oil producer.

The stock dropped 4.4 percent to HK$11.24 at 10:29 a.m. in
Hong Kong, headed for its biggest two-day decline since August
2005. Berkshire sold 16.9 million shares for $27 million,
PetroChina said in a July 27 filing to the city's stock exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Apache Plans to Triple Australian Oil, Gas Spending to $1 Billion by 2008

(Bloomberg) -- Apache Corp. plans to triple spending
in Australia next year from 2006 as it steps up drilling and
construction in a region that may rival Egypt and the U.S. Gulf
as the company's main oil and gas producers.

Capital investment in drilling and exploration will probably
reach $1 billion next year, up from about $300 million in 2006,
said Tim Wall, managing director of Houston-based Apache's
Australian unit.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Iran Doesn't Back OPEC Output Increase in September, Ministry Agency Says

(Bloomberg) -- Iran, the second-largest producer in
OPEC, doesn't support an increase in oil production at the
group's next meeting because high prices are being caused by
geopolitical issues and U.S. gasoline shortages, Shana reported.

Iran won't favor a production increase if the oil market
situation remains the same, the Tehran-based oil ministry press
agency said, citing Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Falls From One-Year High as Sliding Equities Weigh on Confidence

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a one-year high
in New York as sliding world equity markets weighed on investor
confidence.

A two-day slump on world equity markets pushed the Standard
& Poor's 500 index to its lowest in 3 1/2 months and knocked
$2.1 trillion off the value of global shares last week. Oil
climbed to within 1 cent of a record close on July 27 after a
report showed the U.S. economy, the world's biggest consumer,
expanded by 3.4 percent in the second quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China Development Bank, a state-owned lender, will
sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64 billion) of 10-year bonds on Aug. 1.
China will maintain a tight monetary policy to prevent the
economy from ``overheating,'' Xinhua News Agency reported July
27. The government will apply ``moderate and tight monetary
policies to cool the growth pace in the economy and improve
quality and efficiency of the growth,'' Xinhua said, citing a
statement by the Chinese Communist Party's Political Bureau.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil Trades Little Changed After Surging to 11-Month High on U.S. Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed near an
11-month high in New York after rising last week on signs growth
in the U.S. economy may underpin world demand.

Oil jumped after a July 27 report showed the U.S. economy,
which uses about 24 percent of the world's oil, expanded by 3.4
percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than a
year. A 3.2 percent increase was forecast by economists surveyed
by Bloomberg News. World demand will rise 1.8 percent this year,
the International Energy Agency said in a July 13 forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Paulson's Yuan Appreciation Anticipated by Pictet, Western Asset's Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Investors from Switzerland to
California are banking on U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
convincing China to let its yuan appreciate more than 5 percent
in coming months.

Western Asset Management Co. in Pasadena and Pictet Asset
Management in Geneva are buying contracts tied to the future
value of the yuan, driving the price so high that the currency
must strengthen at least 5.5 percent in the next 12 months
before they see any profit. The so-called non-deliverable
forwards are rising at the fastest pace in two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

TIPS, A Bad Tip on Inflation in 2006, Lose Value as Oil Closes In on $100

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury investors say inflation is
abating, even if the oil bulls are right and crude heads to $100
a barrel.

Pacific Investment Management Co. and Fidelity Investments
sold Treasury inflation-protected securities maturing next year,
confident that consumer prices will remain in check. Money
managers lost as much as $275 million on so-called TIPS in the
second half of 2006 because oil fell from record highs and
gasoline prices dropped.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Egypt median o/n interbank rises to 8.7625 pct

(Reuters) - The median overnight interbank rate on Egypt's pound rose to 8.7625 percent on Sunday from 8.754 percent on Thursday, with the market liquid in the absence of auctions of certificates of deposits, dealers said.

"Many banks were offering money as they have a lot of liquidity available. I believe this will not change soon," one dealer said.


Read more at Reuters Africa