GLOBAL MARKETS-Darker credit mood hits stocks, dollar; bonds up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - Deteriorating credit market
sentiment and unexpectedly weak economic data hammered U.S.
stocks and the dollar, while safe-haven government bonds
surged on Friday.




Worries over a potential liquidity crunch escalated as a
top executive at Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns
described the fixed-income market turmoil as the worst
in 22 years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Landry's says SEC taking no action against company

(Reuters) - The casual dining restaurant chain said "the matter was now
terminated."




In addition, Landry's said U.S. Bank, the indenture trustee
under the company's $400 million of 7.5-percent senior notes,
rescinded the acceleration of the notes pending an Aug. 16
injunction hearing.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Luxottica seeks $2 bln loan to finance Oakley buy

(Reuters) - The credit line will consist of a five-year loan of $1.5 billion and a short-term bridge loan of $500 million, the company said in a statement.



)


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Mexican markets end down on credit nerves

(Reuters) - MEXICO CITY, Aug 3 - Mexican stocks closed down
sharply on Friday and the peso weakened after Standard and
Poor's cut its outlook on Bear Stearns' debt, spooking
investors already nervous about the U.S. subprime mortgage
market.




The benchmark IPC stock index fell 2.38 percent to
29,671.77 points, while the peso currency slipped 0.28
percent to 10.987 per dollar.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Midwest says four parties evaluating possible deal

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - Midwest Air Group Inc said on Friday it entered into confidentiality agreements with four interested parties, allowing them to evaluate a possible transaction with the company. Midwest said on Tuesday it planned to begin talks with would-be acquirer AirTran Holdings Inc and other potential buyers. For months, Midwest, based in Milwaukee, steadfastly opposed a hostile offer by rival AirTran, saying it had more value if it remained independent.



Midwest said Tuesday that, while it had not changed its recommendation that shareholders reject the bid, it planned to start talks with AirTran, which has offered $15 a share, or about $367 million in cash and stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Ford recalls 3.6 mln vehicles over switch

(Reuters) - The Ford vehicles being recalled are F-Series and Ranger pickup trucks, Explorer, Bronco and Mountaineer SUVs, Econoline vans and some Crown Victoria, Town Car, Grand Marquis, Capri, Mark VII and Taurus Sho cars with model years ranging from 1992 to 2004, depending upon the particular vehicle.




Ford recalled nearly 6.2 million vehicles in 2005 and 2006 because of engine fires linked to a faulty speed control deactivation switch.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Storm team expects 8 Atlantic hurricanes in '07

(Reuters) - MIAMI, Aug 3 - A noted hurricane research team at
Colorado State University trimmed its forecast for the 2007
Atlantic storm season on Friday and predicted 15 tropical
storms, with eight growing to hurricane strength.




Of those, four would grow into major hurricanes of Category
3 or higher with winds over 110 mph , the team founded
by forecast pioneer William Gray said in its revised forecast.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bond rally picks up steam on Bear Stearns call

(Reuters) - As investors bet the Federal Reserve would have to intervene by cutting interest rates, two-year notes surged 6/32 and were offering a yield of 4.49 percent, down a full 10 basis points in just one session.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bank ratings not threatened by subprime: Moody's

(Reuters) - Diversification is allowing the banks to post solid results despite write-downs resulting from a severe decline in prices and evaporation of liquidity in the subprime sector, Moody's said.




The rating agency said it is still reviewing the impacts of weakness in the market for leveraged loans, those issued by noninvestment-grade companies. A number of banks were recently left with leveraged loans on their books after failing to syndicate new issues as investor demand vanished.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

German HSBC Investments freezes ABS fund

(Reuters) - HSBC Investments Deutschland, a unit of HSBC ,
manages institutional assets and mutual funds.




"To protect investors we have suspended expenditures and
withdrawals," HSBC Trinkhaus' company lawyer Norbert Stabenow
told the paper.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-S&P, Nasdaq extend losses, fall 2 pct

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 171.60
points, or 1.27 percent, at 13,291.73. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 28.13 points, or 1.91 percent, at
1,444.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 49.53
points, or 1.92 percent, at 2,526.45.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canadian Stocks Decline on Telus Results, U.S. Jobs Report; BCE Retreats

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell today and were
headed for a second week of declines after a report showed fewer
U.S. jobs were added last month, reinforcing concern that
consumer spending in Canada's biggest trading partner is slowing.

Royal Bank of Canada paced losses among financial companies.
Telus Corp. led telephone companies lower, after it reported
earnings and revenue below analysts' estimates and said it
doesn't plan to bid for larger rival BCE Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Chile's Madeco first-half net profit falls 36.5 pct

(Reuters) - The company, which has subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Peru
and Colombia, said profit was 12.975 billion pesos
in the January-to-June period compared with 20.445 billion pesos
in the year-earlier period.




Santiago-based Madeco said sales in the first half rose 12
percent to 317.765 billion pesos, from 283.642 billion a
year-earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Dollar Approaches Record Low Versus Euro After Decline in Payroll Growth

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell the most in almost a
month against the euro, trading within a cent of its record low,
after U.S. reports showed slowdowns in payroll growth and service
industries.

The U.S. currency also declined versus the yen and pound as
speculation rose that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates
by year-end, trading in futures contracts show. The yen gained
after investors sold higher-yielding assets funded by loans in
Japan amid concern over losses from U.S. subprime mortgages.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Endesa board says Acciona/Enel bid is 'adequate'

(Reuters) - The board also called an extraordinary shareholders'
meeting for Sept. 25, at which the board recommended
stockholders opt to remove restrictions on voting rights.




In a statement, Endesa said it had agreed an attendance
premium of 0.15 euros per share to encourage the greatest
number of shareholders possible.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Corporate Bond Risk Rises After Bear Stearns Rating Outlook Cut by S&P

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds
rose in the U.S. and Europe after Bear Stearns Cos., the manager
of two hedge funds that collapsed last month, had its debt-
rating outlook cut to negative by Standard & Poor's.

The failure of the Bear Stearns funds, which invested in
subprime mortgage-related bonds, triggered a flight from the
riskiest debt that spurred some lenders to balk at financing
leveraged buyouts. Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan and six more banks
today canceled the sale of 1 billion pounds ($2 billion) of
loans for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s LBO of U.K. drugstore
chain Alliance Boots Plc after failing to find investors, two
people with direct knowledge of the deal said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UniCredit Q2 net beats forecasts, seals Polish sale

(Reuters) - By Lisa Jucca



MILAN, Aug 3 - Italian bank UniCredit increased its second-quarter net profit by 6.8 percent to 1.827 billion euros, beating all analysts' forecasts, as it slashed costs while pushing volumes up across its business divisions.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Costs, charges drag Telus profit down 29 pct

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, Aug 3 - Telus Corp. , Canada's second-biggest phone company, said on Friday that second-quarter profit sank 29 percent as it accounted for costs for a new billing system, the introduction of wireless number portability, and the failed launch of AMP'd Mobile service.



Net earnings declined to C$253.1 million , or 75 Canadian cents a diluted share. That is down from a profit of C$356.6 million, or C$1.02 a share, in the same period last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Petrobras to buy Suzano petrochemical firm--source

(Reuters) - Petrobras shares were down 2.6 percent, underperforming the
broader market, which fell 1.6 percent.




Local news agency Folha Online said the value of the deal
could be around 3 billion reais .




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US labor group concerned about KKR, Och-Ziff IPOs

(Reuters) - The firms have filed for IPOs.




The SEC is responsible for ensuring that the act "is not
evaded or undermined," wrote AFL-CIO.



Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Sandisk, Micron rise after Samsung chip outage

(Reuters) - Conversely, some consumer electronics makers may be forced to pay more for NAND flash, a slim form of flash memory with no moving parts that is poised to eventually take over a market once dominated by clunkier hard drives.




For example, Apple Inc. uses NAND flash in some of its iPod digital media player devices. Shares of Apple fell 1.34 percent to $134.66 in early trading on Friday on Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Bear drops after S&P lowers outlook

(Reuters) - The change pushed Bear Stearns' shares down 6 percent to $108.69 and drove the cost of protecting its debt with credit derivatives nearly 50 basis points higher.




A spokesman for Bear Stearns was not immediately available for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Miner Anglo to sell Tarmac; lifts profit, buyback

(Reuters) - Miner Anglo American unveiled plans to sell Tarmac, its UK-based road building unit, as it met forecasts with a 22 percent rise in first-half earnings and announced a further $4 billion share buyback.

The sale, which analysts believe could raise around $6 billion, is the latest move by Anglo aimed at focusing on its core mining business following bouts of underperformance against its peers and speculation it might attract a break-up bid.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Dollar steady ahead of payrolls; credit still key

(Reuters) - The dollar steadied against major currencies on Friday, hugging tight ranges as investors shifted focus to upcoming U.S. employment data from the credit and stock market volatility that has dominated trading in recent weeks.

The monthly non-farm payrolls report could give a clearer picture of the health of the U.S. economy and help set the tone in currency markets for the next week.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US jobs data hit stocks, dollar, boost bonds

(Reuters) - Stocks and the dollar fell while safe-haven government bonds rallied on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data fanned concerns about a U.S. economy already struggling with credit liquidity fears.

U.S. stock futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street while European stocks moved deeper in negative territory after data showed U.S. employers boosted payrolls in July at the slowest pace since February, adding 92,000 jobs.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand softer vs dollar as risk aversion weighs

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was weaker against the dollar in late Friday trade -- giving up its earlier gains -- as the greenback's own softness against the yen brought risky-asset jitters back to the fore.

At around 1510 GMT, the rand was trading at 7.1135 against the dollar, down 0.33 percent from New York's Thursday close of 7.09, having earlier strengthened to 7.0360 as some market players liquidated long dollar positions.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 2-Pace of Canada purchasing activity slows in July

(Reuters) - The index, the joint project of the Purchasing Management
Association of Canada and the Richard Ivey School of Business,
was 54.6 in July, down from 67.4 in June.




A reading of 50.0 indicates that activity remained flat
from the preceding month, while a higher reading indicates an
increase and a lower reading reflects a decrease.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Crude Oil Falls on Concern U.S. Economy to Slow, Reducing Fuel Consumption

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel
after a government employment report prompted concern that U.S.
economic growth will slow, reducing demand for gasoline and other
fuels.

Job growth slowed to 92,000 in July from 126,000 the prior
month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless
rate rose to 4.6 percent. Economic growth in the U.S. and China
has helped spur the rise in energy demand and fuel prices.
Gasoline, diesel and heating-oil inventories rose last week, a
government report showed on Aug. 1.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

BA CEO expects fines provision to suffice

(Reuters) - BA set aside the provision in May and this week U.S. and UK authorities unveiled fines worth almost 270 million pounds.




Authorities in Europe, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are also probing BA's fuel surcharges.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Tim Hortons posts lower second-quarter profit

(Reuters) - Spun off in March of 2006 from U.S. fast food chain Wendy's International , Tim Hortons said it earned C$67.2 million , or 36 Canadian cents a share. That is down from a profit of C$76.3 million, or 39 Canadian cents, in the year-before period.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Novo Nordisk ups outlook as earnings rise

(Reuters) - By Gelu Sulugiuc



COPENHAGEN, Aug 3 - Denmark's Novo Nordisk A/S posted a 14 percent increase in first-half operating profit on Friday on improving sales and margins, and increased its full-year outlook for operating profit growth.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Haverty posts weak sales; stock falls

(Reuters) - The news came a day after the furniture retailer reported a
second-quarter loss amid the industrywide sales slump, and its
shares fell nearly 9 percent in morning trading and touched a
new year low.




July sales fell 7.6 percent to $67.8 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Lone Star Retreats on Knife Threat in Aborted Sale of South Korean Bank

(Bloomberg) -- It was two months into a strike at
Korea Exchange Bank's credit card unit, and some 200 employees
had been camped out for almost a week in tents and sleeping bags
in the basement parking lot of the company's Seoul headquarters.

At exactly 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 27, 2004, the strikers' mobile
phones tweeted simultaneously, indicating the arrival of a text
message, recalls Jang Wha Sik, a union leader. Half asleep, the
workers rubbed their eyes and grabbed their phones. Then many
burst into tears. ``The company regrets to inform you that you
are dismissed,'' the message from the card unit of Korea
Exchange Bank, owned by Dallas-based Lone Star Funds, read. The
firing was effective the following day.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Dollar May Rise to 120.90 Yen on a Break of 119.49 on Fibonacci, MUFG Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may rise to 120.90 yen
should it pass 119.49 yen in coming weeks, Masashi Hashimoto, a
currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., said.

Traders may accelerate buying of the U.S. currency as it
rises above so-called resistance at 119.49, which represents the
previous high set on July 31, near the conversion line on the
so-called ichimoku chart, Hashimoto said. The next resistance at
120.90 is a 50 percent reversal of the dollar's climb to a high
of 124.13 reached on June 22 from a low of 117.60 on Aug. 1,
based on the Fibonacci series of numbers.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Nymex Gas Rises on Forecast for Extended Hot Spell Across Much of the U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas in New York rose on
forecasts that above-normal temperatures in the Midwest and
Northeast may stretch out into late next week, sparking demand
for electricity to power air conditioners.

Hot weather will surge next week across the nation from the
Rockies to the Eastern Seaboard, according to forecaster
AccuWeather.com. Temperatures will rise starting today in cities
like Denver from forecast highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit to 92
through the weekend and ``the Northeast will not be graced by a
dramatic drop in temperatures,'' the forecaster said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Some hedge funds post big gains in July -WSJ

(Reuters) - The funds gained more than 60 percent in July, the paper
said, citing one investor.




Balestra Capital Partners, a $210 million New York fund,
gained about 28 percent in July and is up about 80 percent for
the year, after fees, the paper reported.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Stocks set for steady start ahead of jobs data

(Reuters) - By 6:05 a.m. EDT S&P and Dow futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures eased 0.1 percent. European stocks were steady but dipped from early highs.




Citigroup chief executive Charles Prince said the recent market pullback "feels sharp," but he was bullish on the bank's growth, the New York Times said on its Web site.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

AXA props up funds after subprime losses

(Reuters) - AXA said it would invest its own money in the funds in order
to prop up their liquidity but would allow investors to sell
their holdings if they wished to do so. AXA added it had closed
the funds to new investors.




An AXA IM spokeswoman said on Friday that these temporary
measures remained in place for the time being.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures fall on news of slow jobs growth

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U S. stock index futures fell
on Friday after a government report showing
weaker-than-expected job growth last month added to nervousness
on Wall Street about losses in the mortgage industry.




American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. was the
latest casualty of the housing market downturn. The company
said it plans to close most operations on Friday and lay off
nearly 7,000 employees. For details, see [ID:nN02455089].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Stocks Gain on Earnings; Konica, Chi Mei, Samsung Electronics Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced, paring a
weekly decline, after Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. and Chi Mei
Optoelectronics Corp. reported better-than-estimated profits.

Nintendo Co. led exporters higher after earnings reports in
the U.S. eased concern subprime loan losses will curb growth.
Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. paced gains among Japanese
property shares after saying profit increased by more than half.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News