Barclays may have lost big in Bear fund-WSJ

(Reuters) - Bear Stearns said on Tuesday that assets in the fund are at
this point essentially worthless.




The Journal said Barclays was reviewing its options for
recovering the $400 million, citing arbitration, a negotiated
settlement or litigation as possible strategies.


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Barclays says may include cash in ABN offer

(Reuters) - "Barclays is considering possible alternative offer structures, including introduction of a partial cash consideration element into the offer," Britain's third-biggest bank said in a statement.




"No decision has yet been taken but Barclays will make further announcements as, if and when due under applicable rules and regulations."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Barclays says confident of winning ABN bid battle

(Reuters) - "We are confident the deal will succeed because it is based on growth," Frits Seegers, chief executive of Barclays' retail and commercial banking operations, said on the sidelines of a news conference in Amsterdam.




Seegers said he had spoken to Barclays shareholders and they were content with Barclays' projected growth based on its all-share offer for ABN, currently worth 65 billion euros .


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Barclays Should Abandon ABN Amro Bid, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc should walk away from its
proposed acquisition of ABN Amro Holding NV because it won't be
able to beat a rival bid led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc,
analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. said.

``Barclays is going to have to walk away at some point, and
we think they can achieve that in the least damaging way by making
the move now,'' analysts including Antony Broadbent said in an e-
mail to investors today. ``We do not think that Barclays has
widespread shareholder support to enrich its offer.''


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U.K. Benchmark Index Falls, Paced by Lonmin, BHP Billiton; Barclays Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell for the first time
in three days, led by Lonmin Plc after the mining company said it
will delay the sale of as much as 90,000 ounces of platinum. BHP
Billiton Plc and Xstrata Plc slid as copper retreated.

Barclays Plc paced advancing shares after Royal Bank of
Scotland Plc sweetened its 71.1 billion euro ($98.1 billion)
offer for ABN Amro Holding NV. GlaxoSmithKline Plc and BT Group
Plc advanced after brokerages raised their recommendation for the
companies' shares.


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Dutch court poised to rule on ABN's LaSalle sale

(Reuters) - The court is considering whether to unfreeze the suspended sale of ABN's LaSalle Bank to Bank of America for $21 billion.




If the court tells ABN it can sell LaSalle, that would strengthen a bid by Britain's Barclays to buy ABN for nearly 63 billion euros , since its offer is contingent on the sale of LaSalle.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Stocks Decline; Barclays, Siemens, Royal Dutch Shell Lead Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell for a second
day, led by banks and exporters, on concern that mounting U.S.
mortgage losses will hamper the world's biggest economy and slow
global expansion.

Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-largest bank, and engineering
company Siemens AG led declines. Royal Dutch Shell Plc retreated
after Goldman, Sachs & Co. recommended investors sell the oil
producer's shares.


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West Bromwich Building Society Plans $1.2 Billion of Mortgage-Backed Debt

(Bloomberg) -- West Bromwich Mortgage Company Ltd., a
unit of U.K. lender West Bromwich Building Society, plans to sell
575 million pounds ($1.15 billion) of bonds backed by home loans.

The bonds for the West Bromwich, England-based lender will
package buy-to-let loans, according to an e-mail from Barclays
Capital, which is managing the sale with Citigroup Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

RBS group says on track for ABN offer this month

(Reuters) - RBS and its partners -- Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch Fortis -- has offered to buy Dutch rival ABN for about 71 billion euros , trumping an all-share offer from Britain's Barclays worth about 62 billion euros.



RBS said in a statement it expects to file with a prospectus the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the consortium will issue its tender offer on schedule this month.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

European Stocks Decline, Paced by Barclays, BNP Paribas, BAE Systems

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped for a fourth
day as U.S. equities retreated. Barclays Plc, Britain's third-
largest bank, and BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest, paced the
decline after their U.S.-traded securities fell.

BAE Systems Plc tumbled after Europe's largest weapons maker
said the U.S. Justice Department started a probe of the company's
compliance with anti-corruption laws. Arcelor Mittal declined
after Merrill Lynch & Co. downgraded the steelmaker's shares.
Iberdrola SA dropped after the Spanish power company agreed to
buy U.S.-based Energy East Corp. for $4.5 billion.


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TREASURIES-Steady in Asia, subprime jitters in focus

(Reuters) - Persistent flight-to-quality bids stemming from hedge fund
worries continued to support Treasuries and pressured two-year
Treasury yields to the lowest levels in nearly a month.




"No one knows what more the hedge funds problem will bring,"
said Yoshio Takahashi, a bond strategist at Barclays Capital in
Tokyo.


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Barclays has plans to sweeten offer for ABN: report

(Reuters) - Barclays is looking at reducing the number of shares it would issue for ABN and replacing them with cash, said the newspaper, quoting people familiar with the situation.




Barclays is not expected to make a decision about restructuring its offer until it becomes clear whether the RBS-led consortium can go ahead with its rival 71.4 billion euro break-up bid for ABN, said the FT.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European Stocks Drop on Rate Concerns; Allianz, Barclays, BHP Pace Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped this week as
rising borrowing costs heightened concern profit growth in the
region will slow. Benchmarks were little changed today.

Allianz SE, the region's biggest insurer, and bank Barclays Plc
led declines by companies most sensitive to rising interest rates.
BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining shares lower as copper slid. BNP Paribas
SA limited the drop after Les Echos said Societe Generale SA is
studying a possible bid for its larger banking rival.


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European Stocks Drop on Bond Yields; Allianz, British Energy Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell for a fifth day,
the longest rout in three months, after surging bond yields
heightened concern borrowing costs in the region will rise.

Allianz SE, the region's biggest insurer, Barclays Plc and
utility British Energy Group Plc led declines by companies most
sensitive to rising interest rates. BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining
shares lower as copper slid. BNP Paribas SA limited declines
after Les Echos reported Societe Generale SA is studying a
possible bid for its larger banking rival.


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FTSE 100 Index Drops, Led by Shares of Aviva, Barclays on Yield Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell, led by Aviva Plc,
the U.K.'s biggest insurer, and Barclays Plc as rising bond
yields stoked concern higher borrowing costs may damp companies'
investments.

``Investors are watching carefully the extent to which bond
yields rise,'' said Richard Scott, who helps oversee about $1
billion at Iimia Investment Group in Exeter, England. ``If bond
yields rise further, there will be less scope for mergers and
acquisitions.''


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ABN unions seek Dutch Finance Minister's support

(Reuters) - "ABN AMRO is not a state enterprise, and I can not sit in
the position of an employer," Bos said. "But every opportunity I
have, I will offer my support."




Barclays and the consortium of RBS, Santander and
Fortis are locked in a tussle for what would be the
biggest-ever bank takeover.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TREASURIES-Slip in Asia as chance of Fed rate cut seen fading

(Reuters) - Futures now reflect a less than 20 percent chance of the Fed
trimming rates by a quarter-point from the current 5.25 percent
later in the year after having priced in the possibility of two
cuts in 2007 a little more than a month ago.




Adam Mackillop, head of U.S. rates trading at Barclays
Capital in Tokyo, said the flows in Asia have become more two-way
as some investors pare back their holdings in the sell-off,
rather than the steady buying that usually predominates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Morgan Stanley Hires From Barclays, Deutsche Bank for High-Yield Loans

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley hired two loan traders
from Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank AG, boosting the high-
risk, high-yield debt trading team at the London office of the
second-largest securities firm to eight.

Robert Campbell, who formerly ran loan trading at Barclays
Capital, will join as an executive director in August, said
Robert Lepone, head of European distressed and leveraged credit
trading at Morgan Stanley. Andrew Jarman joins as an associate
from Deutsche Bank. Both will trade high-yield loans, bonds and
derivatives, reporting to Lepone.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

IRPC Raises $250 Million in First Bond Sale By a Thai Company This Year

(Bloomberg) -- IRPC Pcl, Thailand's biggest
petrochemicals company by sales, raised $250 million from its
bond sale, the first overseas debt offering by a Thai company
this year.

IRPC priced its first overseas debt sale to yield 1.13
percentage points more than the mid-swap rate, according to a
statement today from Barclays Plc. IRPC received demand of more
than $1 billion from investors, allowing it to cut the yield
from an originally planned 1.2 percentage points over the mid-
swap rate, the statement said. Barclays and Citigroup Inc.
arranged the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News