Lilly ads for dog drug misleading, U.S. FDA says

(Reuters) - Lilly's materials touted the percentage of dogs that improved with Reconcile compared with a placebo, but failed to mention that both groups received behavior modification training, the FDA letter said. The promotions "suggest that the product is more effective than has been demonstrated," the FDA said.



The materials also did not mention that some dogs improved with the behavioral training alone, according to the FDA.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks climb with Boeing, oil hits 11-month high

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
helped by a gain in the shares of jet maker Boeing Co. ,
as investors hoped for better-than-expected profit reports and
a stronger economy even as oil prices hit an 11-month high.




Many markets were still being driven by Friday's U.S.
payrolls data, which showed robust jobs growth and fueled the
belief that the Federal Reserve will not be inclined to cut
interest rates this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

J&J OKs $10 bln stock buyback plan, shares rise

(Reuters) - J&J, which is based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has almost 2.9 billion shares outstanding. It will finance the stock repurchases through a combination of available cash and debt.




Company spokesman Jeffrey Leebaw declined to comment on the stock buyback plan, saying J&J officials will discuss it with investors during a second-quarter earnings conference call on July 17.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Currency Funds Advanced for Second Month in May, Parker FX Index Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Currency funds gained for a second
month in May, the first back-on-back advance since January, as
traders bet correctly on a gain in the dollar.

The funds posted a 0.3 percent return, following 0.2
percent advance in April, according to the Parker FX Index. The
index, which tracks 62 companies in the U.S., Canada and U.K.,
has gained 1.49 percent during the first five months of this
year, according to Stamford, Connecticut-based Parker Global,
which compiles the index.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Darden's June same-store sales rise, shares up

(Reuters) - It was Red Lobster's first month of positive same-store
sales since February, and the company's shares rose more than 2
percent in extended trading after the announcement.




Sales at Italian-themed Olive Garden restaurants open at
least 16 months rose 3 percent to 4 percent for the five weeks
ended July 1. Customer counts rose about 1 percent and the
average check was up between 2 percent and 3 percent, Darden
said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise in relief rally as data dwindles

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. Treasury debt prices rose
on Monday as bargain-hunting investors snapped up benchmark
bonds following their worst week of losses in more than a
year.




The gains were limited by the series of robust economic
reports that culminated in Friday's strong jobs report, all of
which caused last week's steep drop in bonds. But the rise in
10-year yields on Friday to two-week highs near 5.20 percent
provided an attractive buying opportunity.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexico stocks drop as telecoms fall, peso gains

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index fell 1.00 percent to
32,088.25 points, with dominant cell phone company America
Movil and fixed line giant Telmex
dragging hardest on the index.




Mexico's antitrust commission, known as the CFC, said last
week it has new powers to investigate market dominance in the
telecom sector. In 1997, it declared Telmex a dominant player
in Mexico. The telecom appealed and years later had the
designation overruled.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcoa second-quarter profit down; extends Alcan offer

(Reuters) - Alcoa has offered to buy Alcan for $28.6 billion. The offer. which has been rejected by Alcan, was to expire on Tuesday July 10, but Alcoa said it extended it until August 10.




Earnings from continuing operations were $716 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $749 million, or 85 cents per share in the same quarter of last year, the Pittsburgh-based company said. Revenue rose to $8.1 billion from $7.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CBOT chairman says CME-CBOT merger vote to pass

(Reuters) - The $11.9 billion merger was put to a vote at a special shareholder meeting of the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday.



) Keywords: CBOT CME/VOTE


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

More U.S. hedge funds launch in first half of 2007

(Reuters) - Data compiled by Absolute Return magazine shows that 72 new
funds began trading between January and June 2007, marking a
roughly 41 percent increase from the 51 funds that launched
during the first six months of 2006.




Investors put $14 billion into the funds started this year
after adding $11.7 billion to the funds launched a year ago,
the magazine found.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Theravance says mid-stage study of antibiotic meets main goal

(Reuters) - The study also met key secondary goals, the company said in
a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-WellPoint to buy radiology benefits company

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - Health insurer WellPoint Inc.
said on Monday it plans to buy radiology benefits
company American Imaging Management for about $300 million to
better manage its coverage of MRIs, X-rays and other scans.




The No. 1 U.S. health insurer by membership said the deal
would help it control spending on radiology, which has grown
nationally to $100 billion in 2005 from $75 billion in 2000.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Soybeans Extend Rally to Three-Year High as Rains Too Light to Boost Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose in Chicago, extending a
rally to a three-year high, on speculation that rains forecast
for the Midwest this week won't be enough to make up for dry
weather the past month.

Less than half an inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain will fall
in the eastern Midwest in the next five days, too little to
replenish soils, and none is expected west of the Mississippi
River, said Mike Tannura, a meteorologist for T-Storm Weather in
Champaign, Illinois. Some fields have received less than
25 percent of normal rain the past 30 days.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Schultze Master Fund sells Movie Gallery shares

(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on July 5 lowered its rating for the
movie rental chain deeper into junk territory, citing the
company's failure to meet financial covenants and consideration
of strategic alternatives.




Shares of Movie Gallery were down 1 cent, or 1.6 percent,
to 62 cents in Monday afternoon trading on Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

May consumer credit rises $12.9 billion

(Reuters) - The May jump was back on the pace of March's increase of $12.94 billion. April's gain was much smaller at a revised $2.29 billion, initially reported as a $2.60 billion increase.




May revolving credit, made up of credit and charge card debt, rose $7.25 billion, or at a 9.8 percent rate, to $894.80 billion, marking the biggest increase since November 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

BMO's Harris declines comment on Ozaukee report

(Reuters) - The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, quoting two unnamed banking
industry sources, reported late last week that Canada's fourth
biggest bank is eyeing Ozaukee Bank, which has more than $694
million in assets and six branches in the Milwaukee suburbs.




"We don't comment on rumor and speculation," Harris
spokeswoman Amy Yuhn said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil Falls From 10-Month High as U.S. Refineries Increase Gasoline Outputt

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a 10-month high
on expectations that demand will decline because of the
unexpected shutdown of units at U.S. refineries.

BP Plc is shutting the largest of three crude units at its
Whiting, Indiana, refinery, a person familiar with the plant
said. Units were shut at refineries in Texas and Kansas last
week. Oil rose last week on unrest in Nigeria, Africa's biggest
producer. U.K. authorities said a three-year-old British girl
abducted July 5 in Nigeria was freed yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

ConocoPhillips to Buy Back as Much as $15 Billion in Shares Through 2008

(Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S.
oil company, plans to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares,
returning cash to shareholders as the company pays off debt and
cuts spending.

The company will spend $2 billion to $3 billion repurchasing
stock in the third quarter, and a similar amount in the fourth,
Houston-based ConocoPhillips said today in statement. The amount
includes $2 billion remaining under a $4 billion program
announced in February. The buyback plan is approved through the
end of 2008.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Tyco Shares Decline After Citigroup Says Company is Unlikely LBO Candidate

(Bloomberg) -- Tyco International Ltd. shares had
their biggest decline in four months after Citigroup Investment
Research downgraded the stock to ``sell'' and said the company
was unlikely to be a leveraged buyout candidate.

A ``solid'' balance sheet and recurring free cash flow make
Tyco a ``logical'' candidate, Citigroup analyst Jeffrey Sprague
wrote in a note to clients. ``However, this scenario looks less
likely at current valuations.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper spikes through $8,000, lead at new high

(Reuters) - Copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange ended up at $7,990 a tonne from $7,840 on Friday. Earlier it touched $8,015, the highest level since May 9 and a gain of more than 10 percent since late May.




In New York, copper for September delivery settled up 3.50 cents to $3.6295 a lb at the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, its best settlement since May 9. Trading ranged from an overnight low at $3.5890 to a session peak at $3.6650.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Paulson plans conference on U.S. business taxes

(Reuters) - Under present law, much of the gains made by senior
managers of private equity firms are taxed below the income tax
rate.




Paulson in late June also announced the launch of a broad
study of the U.S. regulatory framework for securities, banking
and insurance aimed at maintaining U.S. markets' competitive
edge.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Royal Bank Buys Stake in Sempra Commodities Business for $1.35 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the
U.K.'s second-biggest bank, will buy a majority stake in a Sempra
Energy unit for $1.35 billion, creating a joint venture that will
help the bank catch up with peers in commodities trading.

Royal Bank, based in Edinburgh, will provide capital and
credit, freeing up $1 billion at Sempra, the San Diego-based
company said in a statement today. Sempra will buy back as much
as $2 billion of its shares and raise its annual dividend 13
percent to $1.40 a share after closing the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Asustek Computer, Samsung Electronics, WCT: Asia Ex-Japan Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in Asian markets, excluding Japan. This preview includes news that
broke after markets closed. Prices are from the local market's last
close. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Taiwan exporters: Taiwan's exports surged twice as much as
economists' expected in June, climbing 11 percent from a year
earlier, the Ministry of Finance said. That compared with a 5.5
percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Hon Hai
Precision Industry Co. (2317 TT), Taiwan's biggest electronics
exporter, rose NT$4, or 1.4 percent, to NT$299. Quanta Computer
Inc. (2382 TT), the world's largest maker of notebook computers,
climbed NT$3.80, or 6.9 percent, to NT$58.80.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

The butler did it, SEC says in insider trading case

(Reuters) - The SEC said Lefford, who managed Sillerman's residence in the upscale Long Island beach community of South Hampton, agreed to pay $66,180 to settle the charges.




According to the SEC's complaint, Lefford intercepted faxes about Sillerman's intent to acquire a controlling interest in a publicly traded company, Sports Entertainment Enterprises Inc., and use it as a vehicle for acquiring the commercial rights to Elvis Presley's name and likeness.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TREASURIES - Bond prices rebound in data vacuum

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. Treasury debt prices rose
on Monday as bargain hunting investors snapped up benchmark
bonds following their worst week of losses in more than a
year.




The gains were limited, however, by the series of robust
economic reports that culminated in Friday's strong jobs report
and caused last week's steep drop in bond prices.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Carbon Emission Permits Decline After Ireland Contests Allocation for 2008

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
declined for the first day in three as Ireland contested a
November ruling by the European Commission that it hand out 6.2
percent fewer allowances in the five years through 2012.

Emission permits for delivery in December 2008 fell 68
cents, or 3.1 percent, to close at 21.12 euros ($28.76) a metric
ton, according to prices from the European Climate Exchange in
Amsterdam. They earlier today traded at 22.30 euros, their
highest since July 2.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Richards Bay Coal Prices Fall as Chinese Producers Step in to Supply Japan

(Bloomberg) -- The price of coal shipped from South
Africa's Richards Bay, site of the largest export terminal for
the fuel, fell to a four-week low after Chinese producers stepped
in to supply Japan after Australian shipments were halted.

The price dropped $2.30, or 3.9 percent, to $56.90 a metric
ton as of July 6, according to weekly data from McCloskey Group
Ltd. Total shipments from the port, the main source of coal for
European power plants, increased 18 percent last month to 5.45
million metric tons, even after a temporary closure because of
high waves that could be dangerous for ships.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.S. Stocks Gain, Paced by Alcoa, Intel; S&P 500 Index Climbs for 5th Day

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose and the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index gained for a fifth straight day on speculation
second-quarter earnings will beat analysts' estimates.

Alcoa Inc., the first Dow Jones Industrial Average company
scheduled to report results, paced the 30-stock gauge's
advance. The world's second-biggest aluminum maker will
announce its results after the close of trading. Intel Corp.
climbed after UBS AG and JPMorgan said the world's largest
chipmaker may report earnings at the high end of its forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Brinker, Imation, KBR, Paccar, Quest, Rush, Tyco: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 1:10 p.m. New York time.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY US) rose $7.95, or 52
percent, to $23.15. Roche Holding AG (ROG VX), the world's
biggest maker of cancer medicines, may pay as much as $1 billion
for rights to Alnylam technology that may allow the companies to
find new tumor, liver and breathing treatments.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GE-Hitachi prep for 'reemergence' of nuclear power

(Reuters) - Much of that demand will come from the United States, where
nuclear power produces about 20 percent of the electricity
supply, but no new plants have been commissioned in about three
decades. It will be further boosted by rising demand in Asia,
including China and India, GE officials said.




"This is an industry that really is reemerging after
decades of not being in strong production," said Jeff Immelt,
chairman and chief executive of the U.S. conglomerate. "Nuclear
energy has become of higher interest, clearly, today with
higher energy costs. Already much of the rest of the world has
moved aggressively."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Peru's Stock Index Rises to Record on Mine Labor Talks, Led by Cerro Verde

(Bloomberg) -- Peru's main stock index rose to a record
on indications that the mining industry may avert a planned strike
and continue exploiting rising metal prices.

The Lima General Index, which consists mostly of commodity
producers, advanced 124.93, or 0.5 percent, to 23061.00 at 12:10
p.m. New York time, beating its May 9 high. Copper miner Sociedad
Minera Cerro Verde SA led the advance.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 3-Lear accepts sweetened Icahn bid, Pzena not swayed

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 9 - Billionaire investor Carl
Icahn's American Real Estate Partners LP raised its
takeover offer for Lear Corp. to about $3 billion, but
the auto parts maker's second biggest shareholder remained
unconvinced.




Pzena Investment Management LLC, which holds some 6.6
million Lear shares, or an 8.6 percent stake, said it plans to
vote against investor Icahn's latest offer for the auto parts
company, saying the company should remain independent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks mixed, oil hits 11-month high

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. stocks were mixed on
Monday as a gain in shares of plane maker Boeing Co. was
countered by disappointing profit outlooks and concerns about
oil prices that hit an 11-month high.




The Dow Jones industrial average rose but a broader
Standard & Poor's 500 Index was slightly weaker. The Nasdaq
Composite Index, however, turned lower after briefly touching
its highest level in more than six years. Global stock markets
were mostly higher and Japan's Nikkei closed at a seven-year
high.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nymex Gas Rises as Warmer-Than-Normal Weather Boosts Demand in U.S. East

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures in New York rose
for the first time in five trading sessions as hot weather pushed
into the eastern U.S., boosting demand for electricity to power
air conditioners.

New York's high temperature today is forecast to reach 96
degrees Fahrenheit (36 Celsius), about 12 degrees above normal,
according to the National Weather Service. The hot weather will
last through July 11, with maximum temperatures of 95 degrees
tomorrow and 91 the following day, the forecaster said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.S. Stocks Gain, Paced by Alcoa, Boeing; S&P 500 Index Rises for 5th Day

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose and the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index gained for a fifth straight day on speculation
second-quarter earnings will beat analysts' estimates.

Alcoa Inc., the first Dow Jones Industrial Average company
scheduled to report results, paced the 30-stock gauge's
advance. The world's second-biggest aluminum maker will
announce its earnings after the close of trading today. Boeing
Co., the world's second-largest commercial airplane maker,
climbed on reports it received orders for its 787 Dreamliner.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Supertanker Rates May Fall on Reduced OPEC Shipments to U.S., Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of hiring supertankers on
the world's busiest shipping lanes may slump this quarter as
OPEC, supplier of 40 percent of the world's crude, works to
reduce a glut of crude in the U.S.

Daily earnings for carriers able to haul 2 million-barrel
cargoes of Middle East crude on the main supertanker route to
Asia will drop 42 percent to $47,500 a day, according to the
median estimate of seven analysts polled by Bloomberg News July
5 and 6. They were about $82,000 in the same quarter last year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Danone, Numico to merge in $17 bln deal

(Reuters) - Shares in Numico had risen almost 11 percent to a six-year high before they were suspended earlier on Monday, after traders cited market talk of Danone's interest.




Danone's offer is 44 percent above Numico's average closing price over the past three months, the companies said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

First Indiana, Quest Diagnostics, Terex, Tyco, Xinhua: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY US) rose $7.68, or 51
percent, to $22.88. Roche Holding AG (ROG VX), the world's
biggest maker of cancer medicines, may pay as much as $1 billion
for rights to Alnylam technology that may allow the companies to
find new tumor, liver and breathing treatments.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Pennsylvania shuts services amid budget impasse

(Reuters) - PHILADELPHIA, July 9 - Pennsylvania idled about
25,000 state workers and shut down noncritical services early
on Monday after Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Ed
Rendell failed to agree on measures he set as a precondition
for signing a budget for the new fiscal year.




Rendell said the two sides were close to agreement on
"three or four" items, but not close enough to allow him to
call off the furlough of nonessential employees.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Fannie Mae to sell $5 bln notes in 2 parts

(Reuters) - The sale includes $4 billion of new two-year benchmark
notes due July 13, 2009 as well as $1 billion in a reopening of
existing 5.375 percent 10-year benchmark notes due June 12,
2017.




With the reopening, the 10-year note issue will total $4
billion


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FACTBOX-Possible impacts of ABN takeover ruling

(Reuters) - - - - -




Possible ruling:


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-ICE urges Congress against more gov't oversight

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 9 - IntercontinentalExchange
Inc. , the upstart energy exchange that has been
embroiled in a hostile takeover bid for the Chicago Board of
Trade since March, opposes giving federal regulators
more authority over ICE's operations, the head of the exchange
said in prepared testimony on Monday.




The views of ICE Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher conflicted with
those of Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations. Levin seeks to give the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission the same regulatory
authority over ICE as it has over the competing New York
Mercantile Exch1ange .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-CME's battle to buy CBOT set to end in victory

(Reuters) - By Ros Krasny



CHICAGO, July 9 - Shareholders on Monday wrap up voting on a merger deal that would combine the parents of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade to create the world's largest derivatives exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Almunia of EU, Trichet of ECB Say Sarkozy Must `Respect' EU Budget Rules

(Bloomberg) -- European policy makers pressed France to
stick to budget-deficit rules, challenging President Nicolas Sarkozy's
plan to apply a ``growth and confidence shock'' to the economy.

``It is crucial that France has good economic growth and indeed
also budgetary discipline,'' European Union Monetary Commissioner
Joaquin Almunia told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with Sarkozy
and euro-region officials in Brussels today. European Central Bank
President Jean-Claude Trichet said ``the stability and growth pact has to
be respected.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Zimbabwe fines dozens of executives over prices

(Reuters) - A Zimbabwe court on Monday fined dozens of business executives for defying a price cut ordered by President Robert Mugabe's government in an effort to gain control over the world's highest inflation rate.

The southern African country is in the grip of a severe economic crisis that has sent official inflation figures spiralling above 4,500 percent and private economists estimate the real rate may be far higher.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Iron-Ore Prices Will Advance Through 2009 on Chinese Demand, UBS Says

(Bloomberg) -- Iron-ore will rise through 2009 for a
record seven consecutive years of price gains as global
production of the key steelmaking raw material fails to meet
Chinese demand, UBS AG said in a report.

Iron ore will climb 25 percent in 2008 and 10 percent in
2009, UBS analysts led by Daniel Brebner wrote in a report
yesterday. That's higher than UBS's previous forecasts for a 10
percent gain in 2008 and no increase in 2009. Macquarie Bank
Ltd. expects 2008 prices to rise 17.5 percent, Citigroup Inc.
forecasts 20 percent and Credit Suisse Group 25 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CME's battle to buy CBOT set to end in victory

(Reuters) - Most analysts predict victory for Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. after the company improved its bid for a third time on Friday to quell dissent among CBOT Holdings shareholders.




A vote that looked like it might be a toss-up, given a higher competing bid for CBOT from IntercontinentalExchange Inc. , now has the makings of a landslide.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Emerging Market Stocks Stage Longest Rally in 16 Months, Led by Samsung

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging markets stocks rose for an
eighth day, as Samsung Electronics Co. led the longest rally in a
developing country stock index almost 16 months, boosted by rising
computer chip prices.

The MSCI emerging markets index rose 1.3 percent to 1120.80 at
10:43 a.m. in New York, breaking a record for a sixth day. The
eight-day streak is the longest since March 20, 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand: 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 will auction 20 billion yuan
($2.6 billion) of 10-year floating rate bonds tomorrow at an
interest rate based on a spread over the one-year deposit rate.
The Ministry of Finance will sell 35 billion yuan of three-year
fixed-rate notes on July 13.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UK Commission to look at Murdoch's media control

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 9 - A Competition Commission investigation into satellite group BSkyB's purchase of a stake in ITV will look at the wider case of whether Rupert Murdoch's media empire has too much influence in Britain.



The Commission is investigating BSkyB's controversial purchase of a 17.9 percent stake in Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster ITV and on Monday outlined the scale of the probe.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Uranium Prices Decline for a Second Week as Demand Drops, TradeTech Says

(Bloomberg) -- Uranium spot prices fell for a second
straight week as ``extremely weak'' demand from utilities forced
miners of the metal to settle for less, industry consulting
company TradeTech LLC said.

A decline by $2 to $133 a pound of uranium oxide concentrate
coincides with the volume of spot supply increasing by 28 percent
to 3.2 million pounds last week, while demand remained at 900,000
pounds, Denver-based TradeTech said July 6 in its weekly Nuclear
Market Review. The last time spot prices fell for two consecutive
weeks was in May 2001.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-3M plans 7-year euro benchmark bond -lead

(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UBS are managing the sale,
which is due in the near future subject to market conditions.




A banker familiar with the sale said the bond would be
priced to yield around 17 basis points over mid-swaps.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.K. Day-Ahead Natural Gas Touches 2007 High on Reduced North Sea Supply

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery a day
ahead rose to the highest this year following an announcement
last week that flows of the fuel through a BP Plc pipeline may
be halted for a matter of weeks, reducing supply onto the grid.

Day-ahead gas rose as much as 4.5 percent to 32.25 pence a
therm, the highest since Dec. 21, according to prices on
Bloomberg from energy broker Spectron Group Plc. It traded at 31
pence a therm at 8:22 a.m. in London, equivalent to $6.24 per
million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Falls From Near a 10-Month High as U.S. Refineries Raise Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York from near a
10-month high as some analysts and traders speculated refineries
were turning out more fuel.

Refiners operated at 90 percent of capacity in the week to
June 29 for the first time in five weeks, according to U.S. Energy
Department data.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Roche May Pay Up to $1 Billion for 5 Percent Stake in Germany's Alnylam

(Bloomberg) -- Roche Holding AG, the world's biggest
maker of cancer medicines, may pay as much as $1 billion for
rights to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. technology that may allow
the companies to find new tumor, liver and breathing treatments.

Alnylam will get a cash payment of $288.5 million and will
sell Roche about 2 million shares for $42.5 million. The stock
represents just less than a 5 percent stake in Alnylam, the
Basel, Switzerland-based company said today. Roche will also get
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Alnylam's German research site.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hong Kong Stocks Climb for Fifth Day; Sun Hung Kai, Cheung Kong Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong stocks rose, driving the Hang
Seng Index to a record for a fifth day. Sun Hung Kai Properties
Ltd. climbed after the South China Morning Post said the company
sold a house at a record price.

``We favor Hong Kong developers because the property market
is rebounding, in particular, luxury property prices are on a
rising trend,'' said Mona Chung, who helps manage more than $1.2
billion at Daiwa Asset Management Ltd. in Hong Kong.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian Stocks Resume July Rally on Economic Growth; Samsung, Komatsu Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, driving the Nikkei
225 Stock Average to a seven-year high, on signs economic growth
in Japan and South Korea is accelerating.

Komatsu Ltd. gained after a government report showed
machinery orders in Japan rose more than forecast in May. Samsung
Electronics Co. led the Kospi index, the world's third-best
performer this month, to a fourth straight high after the
commerce ministry raised its forecast for South Korean exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FTSE 100 Index Climbs, Paced by Tate & Lyle, British Energy and Xstrata

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, paced by Tate &
Lyle Plc, British Energy Group Plc and Xstrata Plc.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rallied 21.8, or 0.3 percent,
to 6711.9 in London at 8:06 a.m. The FTSE All-Share Index added
9.88, or 0.3 percent, to 3464.01. Ireland's ISEQ Index rose 9.87
to 9461.03.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Northwest Bio wins Swiss approval for cancer vaccine

(Reuters) - A spokesperson for the firm said the approval had come much earlier than had been expected at the time of the AIM float last month.




Shares in Northwest were seen trading up 9.76 percent by 0703 GMT at 112.5 pence.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Airbus, GE dispute could delay A350 plane: paper

(Reuters) - The reported dispute comes as Boeing unveiled its new lightweight, carbon composite 787 Dreamliner aircraft on Sunday. The mid-sized long-range aircraft has already attracted more than $100 billion in orders and would compete with the yet to be built A350 XWB , which has GE's UK rival Rolls-Royce as the only current engine supplier.




GE officials told the WSJ they will not build a new engine that competes with the one they supply for the 777 but the company has offered Airbus a version of the new GEnx engine which it is creating for the Dreamliner.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

KfW, Air Liquide, CRH, Prologis Plan to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales
denominated in euros or pounds and expected in the coming days
and weeks.

Investment-Grade Sales


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Pound May Gain Versus Dollar as Interest-Rate Outlook Spurs Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The pound may gain for a fifth week,
its best performance in more than a year, as expectations the
higher yield advantage the U.K. currency offers over other major
currencies spurs carry trades

The U.K. currency traded near its strongest since June 1981
after the Bank of England raised interest rates last week for a
fifth time in 12 months to 5.75 percent, its highest in six
years. Carry trades involve borrowing in low-yielding currencies
to fund higher yielding investment elsewhere.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen stays weak, hits record low vs euro

(Reuters) - The yen slipped to a record low against the euro and hit its weakest in a decade and a half versus sterling and the Australian dollar on Monday as investors continued to sell the low-yielding yen for assets in higher-yielding rivals.

The dollar hovered near a 4-1/2-year high against the yen but stayed on the back foot against the European currency after a rally on Friday inspired by surprisingly strong U.S. employment data quickly lost steam.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Platinum Futures Rise in Tokyo as Yen Drops Versus Dollar, Euro; ETFs Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo gained for
a fourth day in five as the yen weakened and some analysts said
they expected investors to buy more platinum through exchange-
traded funds, or EFTs.

The Japanese currency dropped to a record low against the
euro and to its weakest in nine days against the dollar today in
Asian trading. Investment in ETFS Physical Platinum, a London-
based fund, rose by a third in the week ending June 28.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Russia's MMK owner rules out merger soon - paper

(Reuters) - "The problem is that I don't see myself a minority
shareholder ... Any of these deals is possible in the future,
but not now," he said adding that a merger with Evraz would have
offered the most synergy.




He also said MMK planned to increase rolled steel output to
15 million tonnes by 2013 from 11.3 million last year by
investing over $5 billion in domestic expansion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Novartis gets U.S. approval for Alzheimer patch

(Reuters) - ZURICH, July 9 - Pharmaceutical group Novartis said on Monday it had received U.S. approval for Exelon Patch, which delivers a treatment for Alzheimer's disease through a skin patch instead of an oral capsule.



The medication was submitted for review in the European Union in late 2006, Novartis said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Malaysian Industrial Production Rose in May at Fastest Pace in Five Months

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's industrial production rose
in May at the fastest pace in five months, as mining output
accelerated amid increasing demand for the nation's commodities.

Overall production at factories, utilities and mines grew
3.1 percent from a year earlier, compared with a revised 0.7
percent gain in April, the Putrajaya-based Statistics Department
said today. Economists were expecting a 1.3 percent increase.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News