Rio shares on trading halt amid Alcan bid reports

(Reuters) - Rio was near a deal to buy Alcan for about $100 per share, or $37 billion, topping Alcoa Inc.'s $28.8 billion offer already on the table, the Wall Street Journal Online reported earlier.




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U.S. Trade Deficit Probably Grew in May as Oil Imports Swamp Export Gain

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. trade deficit probably
widened in May as a jump in imported oil costs swamped record
exports, economists said before a report today.

The gap in goods and services trade rose 2.6 percent to $60
billion from $58.5 billion in April, according to the median
forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 71 economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Taiwan's CPC Plans to Shut Ethylene Plant for Maintenance Work in October

(Bloomberg) -- CPC Corp., Taiwan's state refiner,
plans to shut an ethylene plant for maintenance in October, a
company official said.

The plant, capable of making 230,000 metric tons of ethylene
a year from the crude oil distillate naphtha, is scheduled for a
40- to 45-day overhaul starting in October, said the official who
declined to be identified because of company policy. The refiner
hasn't set precise dates for the planned maintenance, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

America Movil, Bancolombia, Televisa: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico
today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name, and
stock prices are from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian shares rebound on Wall Street; eye BOJ

(Reuters) - Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.4 percent, led by trading houses such as Marubeni Corp., while a wide range of other shares rose on the back of a rebound in U.S. stocks and a slightly softer yen.




By 0301 GMT, MSCI's broadest index of shares excluding Japan rose 0.8 percent, resuming its climb after slipping 0.8 percent on Wednesday -- its first decline following nine straight sessions of gains.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Dollar May Weaken to 116 Yen on U.S. Housing Slump, Daiwa's Kameoka Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may weaken 5 percent to
116 yen by year-end on speculation a housing slump will curb
consumption, increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower
interest rates, said Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo.

Signs of a weakening economy may prompt traders to place
more bets the Fed will cut rates. The U.S. currency fell to a
record low against the euro yesterday after the Standard & Poor's
500 Index a day earlier posted its worst decline in a month on
concern mortgage losses will worsen a housing slowdown.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Takeda's Diabetes Pill, Actos, Avoids Heart Risk Linked to Glaxo's Avandia

(Bloomberg) -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.'s Actos
diabetes pill may not have the heart-attack risk linked to
GlaxoSmithKline Plc's similar drug, Avandia.

An analysis of Takeda studies, scheduled for completion
this month, may show Actos is free of the cardiac side effect
and could catapult the Takeda drug past Avandia as the world's
best-selling oral diabetes medicine, analysts say. A report by
the Cleveland Clinic in May said Avandia may increase the
chances of heart attacks by 43 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News