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.




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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.


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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