Taiwan's Hon Hai eyes stake in LG.Philips: papers

(Reuters) - Hon Hai officials were not available for comment.




Dutch company Philips Electronics owns about a one-third stake in LG.Philips LCD, the world's No.2 LCD maker, worth about $5.4 billion at current market prices, according to Reuters data.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Asian Stocks Rise for Second Week; BHP Advances After Rio Offer for Alcan

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a second week,
driving a regional benchmark to a record. BHP Billiton Ltd.
paced gains as Rio Tinto Group's $38 billion bid for Alcan Inc.
sparked speculation of more takeovers.

BHP, the world's biggest mining company, climbed yesterday
and Posco, the fourth-largest steelmaker, surged the most in
four years after Rio's offer, which came after Chaparral Steel
Co. agreed to be bought for $4.22 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Robust earnings to keep stocks charged

(Reuters) - Rising energy and food prices coupled with uneven retail sales are not likely to slow down investors as they test the market's limits. At the same time, the financial sector is expected to avoid major losses from the subprime sector.




After a week where the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index reached record highs on mergers and acquisitions activity and multibillion-dollar blue-chip buyback plans, investors will eye profits, inflation data and the Federal Reserve for signs of further good news.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Broadcom probe looks at ex-CEO's behavior: report

(Reuters) - In court papers, Kato claimed that Nicholas had a deep dependence on cocaine and other drugs, regularly slept with prostitutes and women other than his wife, spiked the drinks of Broadcom customers with ecstasy, and ordered prostitutes for customers while at trade shows in Las Vegas.




Steven Silverstein, Nicholas' attorney, denied all those claims, saying Kato made them in a bid to extort money from Nicholas.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Brazil's Embraer delivers 36 planes in 2nd quarter

(Reuters) - "Embraer maintains its projection of delivering 165 to 170
aircraft in 2007," it said in a statement.




Orders for commercial, executive and military aircraft rose
by $600 million between April and June to total $15.6 billion,
the highest ever, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Broadcom probe looks at ex-CEO's behavior-WSJ

(Reuters) - In court papers, Kato claimed that Nicholas had a deep
dependence on cocaine and other drugs, regularly slept with
prostitutes and women other than his wife, spiked the drinks of
Broadcom customers with ecstasy, and ordered prostitutes for
customers while at trade shows in Las Vegas.




Steven Silverstein, Nicholas' attorney, denied all those
claims, saying Kato made them in a bid to extort money from
Nicholas.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Huntsman to pay Apollo up to $325 million if deal fails

(Reuters) - It will also reimburse Apollo, which is buying Huntsman through its Hexion Specialty Chemicals unit, the $100 million it spent on the Basell deal's break-up fee for a total pay-out of $325 million, or about 5 percent of the deal's total value.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Argentina stocks close steady after record high

(Reuters) - "We have a very selective cycle ... in which we can see the
market sitting on prices that are already high," said Juan
Pablo de Bary, a trader with De Bary and Company brokerage.




"Investors divided up their preferences and focused on
stocks in the energy sector, which compensated for profit
taking with Tenaris," he added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Hillary Clinton slams private equity tax loophole

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 13 - New York Sen. Hillary
Clinton, the front-running Democratic presidential candidate,
on Friday urged closing a tax loophole that she said unfairly
benefits a few top Wall Street financiers.




Clinton called the loophole a "glaring inequity" and joined
other lawmakers in a push to raise the tax rate on "carried
interest" gains made by senior partners in the booming private
equity and hedge fund businesses.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Home Depot gets credit commitment for tender offer

(Reuters) - The retailer added in the filing that the availability of
the commitment was subject to the execution of a definitive
credit agreement.




Earlier this week, Home Depot said it would buy back up to
$11 billion of stock through a tender offer of 250 million
shares at $39 to $44 per share. The offer expires on Aug. 16.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Corn, Soybean Futures Rise as Hot, Dry Weather May Threaten U.S. Crops

(Bloomberg) -- Corn rose in Chicago to the highest
price in two weeks and soybeans extended a rally to a three-year
high on speculation unusually hot weather will damage crops in
the U.S., the biggest producer and exporter of both commodities.

Temperatures may reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius)
west of the Mississippi River on fields already stressed after
receiving less than 25 percent of normal rain in the past 30
days, said Joel Widenor, a meteorologist for CropCast Services in
Rockville, Maryland. Most of the Midwest will be drier than
normal in the next two weeks as average temperatures rise as much
as 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, Widenor said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Clayton Holdings subpoenaed in subprime probe

(Reuters) - The subpoenas were served "three weeks ago and we were not
the only ones," Keith Johnson, the company's president and
chief operating officer, said in an interview with Reuters.




Johnson said he understands the investigation is
wide-ranging and involves many "due-diligence" companies that
review mortgages for Wall Street firms before the loans are
sold on as investments.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Mexico markets up on robust U.S. consumer sentiment

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index climbed 0.39 percent
to 32,386.51 points, while the peso advanced
0.07 percent in local trading to 10.767 per dollar.




In the United States, the Reuters/University of Michigan
Survey of Consumers said its preliminary July consumer
sentiment index came in at 92.4, well above a median forecast
of 86.0 and its highest since January.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Dow, S&P500 set records even as oil jumps

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 13 - U.S. stocks rallied to record
highs on Friday on optimism about economic growth, takeovers
and corporate profits even as oil prices surged on concerns
about North Sea production problems.




The Dow blue-chip index set a record for the second
straight day and the Standard & Poor's 500, a broader measure
of large U.S. stocks, regained a life high after seven years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Icahn takes stake in Kraft Foods: report

(Reuters) - Neither Kraft nor Icahn could be reached immediately for comment.




The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, also said Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld planned to meet next week with another activist investor, Nelson Peltz.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold holds on near 5-week high

(Reuters) - "Funds have been attracted into these markets because they are in an uptrend and that gives them an opportunity to make some money. They are making the markets more volatile," said Richard Davis, director of natural resources at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.




"Our view on gold is very positive going forward. Investment demand is growing and that is important because investment demand is the only thing which has driven a bull market in gold."


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Cocoa Falls for First Week in Five on Rain, Relative Calm in Ivory Coast

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa declined in New York and posted
the first weekly drop in five after rain fell and political
tensions eased in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa grower.

Rainfall over the past few days on the West African nation
relieved dry weather that was threatening the harvest. Little
follow-up violence to the June 29 attack on Prime Minister
Guillaume Soro reduced concern that exports will be affected,
analysts said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Treasuries Post Weekly Gain Over Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Economic View

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries posted a weekly gain as
the subprime mortgage crisis sent investors to the safety of
U.S. government debt and raised concern that housing weakness
will slow economic growth.

Benchmark 10-year note yields dropped more than 8 basis
points for the week. Treasuries strengthened today as a Commerce
Department report showed U.S. retail sales fell last month by
the most in almost two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Kia, Resorts World and Shanghai Industrial: Asia Ex-Japan Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in Asian markets, excluding Japan, on July 16. 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.

Fosun International Ltd. (656 HK): The Chinese company, which
has businesses ranging from pharmaceuticals to steel, raised
HK$11.5 billion ($1.5 billion) in an initial public offering,
selling 1.25 billion shares at HK$9.23 apiece. The stock will start
trading July 16.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Marsh & McLennan sued by ex-COO of unit

(Reuters) - Roger Egan, 56, now the chief executive of insurance broker Integro Ltd., said Marsh & McLennan refused to make payments owed to him despite saying that he was not responsible for issues raised in the scandal, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court.




A spokesman for Marsh & McLennan, Mike Kachel, declined to comment on the lawsuit.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Amgen, Frontline, GE, Hovnanian, RadioShack, Shaw: 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 2:45 p.m. New York time.

Alcoa Inc. (AA US) rose $1.95, or 4.3 percent, to $47.24.
The world's second-biggest aluminum maker said yesterday it
withdrew its unsolicited takeover bid for aluminum producer Alcan
Inc. (AL US) after Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU) made a higher offer
of $38.1 billion. Separately, Credit Suisse Group increased its
share-price estimate for Alcoa by 22 percent to $55, saying that
takeover speculation would support the stock. Alcan shares fell
85 cents to $97.60.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Baker Hughes Shares Fall as Profit Is Hurt by Drilling Slowdown in Canada

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Baker Hughes Inc., the
world's third-largest oilfield-services provider, fell more than
5 percent after the company said second-quarter profit was less
than analysts expected because of a slowdown in drilling in
Canada and higher tax rates and costs.

Net income probably was $1.07 to $1.09 a share, the Houston-
based company said in a preliminary earnings statement today.
Baker Hughes was expected to earn $1.19 a share, the average of
11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company is
scheduled to report actual results on July 27.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

US STOCKS-Dow up with GE, S&P 500 near record

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 13 - U.S. blue-chip stocks rose on
Friday, lifting the Dow to a record, as General Electric Co
increased a stock buyback plan and a report showed
consumer sentiment rose in early July.




The broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index came to within
a point of its all-time high, a day after a market rally in
which the Dow notched its biggest one-day points-gain in more
than four years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Rio's Alcan deal spotlights alumina, bauxite

(Reuters) - Rio's recommended offer for Alcan, which immediately
eliminated a lower one by arch-rival Alcoa Inc. will make Rio
the world's largest aluminum maker.




With a combined smelting capacity approaching 4.4 million
tons -- out of a projected 37 million tons to be consumed
worldwide this year, Rio will easily eclipse other sector
giants United Company Rusal, Aluminum Corp. of China and Alcoa
in size.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Hillary Clinton condemns private equity tax break

(Reuters) - Clinton called the loophole a "glaring inequity" and joined other lawmakers in a push to raise the tax rate on "carried interest" gains made by senior partners in the booming private equity and hedge fund businesses.




"It offends our values as a nation when an investment manager making $50 million can pay a lower tax rate on her earned income than a teacher making $50,000 pays on her income," said Clinton in a campaign statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-St Lawrence Cement gets higher bid, shares jump

(Reuters) - TORONTO, July 13 - St. Lawrence Cement Group
stock jumped 5.1 percent on Friday after its minority
shareholders received a raised takeover offer of C$43.50 a
share cash from Swiss cement maker Holcim .




Holcim's revised C$681 million offer is up
from its previous bid of C$630 million, or C$40.25 a share,
which had been endorsed by the board of Montreal-based St.
Lawrence.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-MercadoLibre sees IPO of 16.1 mln shrs at $16-$18 each

(Reuters) - In an amended filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange
Commission, the company said it is selling about 2.6 million
shares, while selling stockholders are offering about 13.5
million shares.




MercadoLibre plans to raise up to $332.8 million from the
IPO. It had earlier filed to raise up to $100 million from its
IPO, according to a May 11 filing with the regulators.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

INSTANT VIEW: U.S. jury finds Conrad Black guilty

(Reuters) - The following are reactions to the verdict:




ORIN SNYDER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR WHO WORKED WITH U.S.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wendy's up on report of possible Yum interest

(Reuters) - "While we don't comment on rumor or speculation, our plate is full with significant growth opportunities from our existing businesses around the globe," a Yum spokeswoman said.




Wendy's and PepsiCo were not immediately available for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Debt, buybacks let firms boost returns without LBOs

(Reuters) - In a growing practice known as leveraged recapitalization, companies increase returns by floating debt and using the proceeds to buy back stock or pay special dividends. These transactions are especially attractive now, when low interest rates make debt financing cheap.




Recaps are also a response by corporate chiefs who see the windfall generated by private-equity firms and want to perform their own financial engineering, stay in control and please shareholders.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Blue chips up on GE, S&P 500 near record

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 13 - U.S. blue-chip stocks rose on
Friday, sending the Dow to a record, as General Electric Co
increased a stock buyback plan, while a strong consumer
sentiment report offset worries about the economy.




The broad S&P 500 came to within a point of its all-time
high, a day after a market rally in which the Dow notched its
biggest one-day points-gain in more than four years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GE profit rises, to sell subprime unit

(Reuters) - Those businesses overshadowed weakness at its loss-making subprime lending unit, WMC Mortgage, which GE has decided to put up for sale.




The world's second-largest company by market capitalization also said it would roughly double its 2007 share buyback to $14 billion. It will use some of the funds budgeted for the planned $8.1 billion purchase of the diagnostics business of Abbott Laboratories Inc. . That deal was scrapped this week.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. federal IT service providers seek M&A to fuel growth

(Reuters) - The government has also bundled contracts, making them
harder for smaller players to win.




This has put pressure on federal IT service providers to
chase revenue growth through acquisitions, either to improve
their contract bidding prospects or to pick up companies that
already have government contracts.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Tribune hopes for FCC OK in fourth quarter

(Reuters) - Tribune agreed in April to be bought in a $34-a-share
leveraged buyout deal led by Chicago real estate magnate Sam
Zell.




Under current FCC rules, a single company cannot own both a
daily newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same market,
although several companies with cross-ownership markets were
either grandfathered around the ban or received a waiver that
allowed them to own both, wrote analysts at Deutsche Bank in a
recent research note on Tribune.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Lawmaker questions SEC "terrorist" investor list

(Reuters) - In the letter to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Frank wrote: "I understand from several reports that at least one company listed has in fact disclosed their divestment from terrorist- financing states.




"Others apparently have investments that are so negligible they could not reasonably be considered material either to investors or the economy of the terrorist-financing state."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Buffett rumors lift Hovnanian, home-builder shares

(Reuters) - Hovnanian shares were up 9.3 percent near noon at $18.09 on the New York Stock Exchange after rising as much as 14 percent earlier in the session. Hovnanian shares were among the top percent gainers on the New York Stock Exchange.




That helped other home-builder shares climb. Standard Pacific Corp shares were up nearly 4 percent, rising 70 cents, to $18.24. Shares of KB Home were up 3.2 percent, or $1.15, to $37.34.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Conrad Black co-defendants found guilty

(Reuters) - The co-defendants include former Hollinger International Inc. chief financial officer Jack Boultbee, 64; Peter Atkinson, 60, former vice president and general counsel for the same company, and Mark Kipnis, 59, a former Hollinger lawyer.




Boultbee, Atkinson and Kipnis were found guilty the same three counts of mail fraud as Black. The charges related to non-compete agreements connected with sales of Hollinger International newspapers, which prosecutors said Black and the others conspired to skim off for themselves.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Crude Oil May Fall Next Week as Gasoline Inventories Rise, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil may fall next week on
speculation U.S. gasoline inventories will increase as refineries
finish maintenance.

Twenty-one of 42 analysts surveyed, or 50 percent, said oil
prices will decline. Fifteen, or 36 percent, said prices will
increase and six forecast little change. Last week, 44 percent of
respondents said prices would rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gold, Silver Head for Biggest Weekly Gain in Six on U.S. Dollar Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver, little changed in
New York, headed for the biggest weekly gain in six as a decline
in the value of the dollar increased demand for precious metals
as an alternative investment.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S.
currency, which fell to a record low against the euro. Before
today, gold had gained 4.8 percent this year and the euro had
climbed 4.5 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Mutilation Frenzy, Hollywood Style, Slashes Limbs -- And Box-Office Sales

(Bloomberg) -- This year's crop of gore-filled
horror films may send a shiver down the spines of Hollywood
executives. And not because of the on-screen terror.

The studios are taking in less on each film as they release
a record 39 horror and thriller movies in the U.S. this year,
according to industry tracker Media By Numbers LLC. Sequels like
``Hostel: Part II'' aren't matching the appeal of the originals.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Tunisia grants oil exploration permit to Shell

(Reuters) - Tunisia has awarded an oil and gas exploration permit to an Anglo-Dutch Shell subsidiary, Shell Tunisia, government officials said on Friday.

Under the production-sharing agreement, Shell Tunisia in partnership with Tunisian state oil firm Entreprise Tunisienne des Activites Petrolieres (ETAP), will invest $3.0 million in search and drilling work.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Hovnanian Jumps The Most Since 2004 on Speculation Buffett May Buy a Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. shares
jumped the most since December 2004, leading homebuilders higher,
on speculation Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. may buy a
stake in the company.

``There's talk that Warren Buffett wanted to buy a stake,''
said Justin Wiggs, a trader at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in
Baltimore. ``People are extrapolating that Warren Buffett could
be trying to call the bottom of the homebuilder stocks.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

HeidelbergCement Raises $22 Billion of Loans to Finance Hanson Acquisition

(Bloomberg) -- HeidelbergCement AG, Germany's
largest cement maker, finished raising $22 billion of loans to
finance its acquisition of Hanson Plc.

HeidelbergCement started marketing the loans on June 7,
before global credit markets slumped as U.S. subprime mortgage
defaults increased. The financing drew 46 banks, including
arrangers Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Deutsche Bank AG.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasuries Little Changed as Concern Over Subprime Mortgage Losses Eases

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed as
stocks indexes extended records, suggesting concern over the
subprime mortgage crisis has eased.

U.S. notes pared earlier gains after a private report
showed confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly rose from a
10-month low. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the biggest
underwriter of mortgage bonds, said the worst of the global
credit market rout caused by subprime defaults is over and
investors should buy European investment-grade debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

GE says may sell some commercial finance units

(Reuters) - "Are we going to be opportunistic about value-creation
because of liquidity? I think it's a good time," Keith Sherin,
GE's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in
a phone interview. "That'll be more in the financial services
space today, where we may have things that are less strategic
that someone else may be able to do more with."




The timing appears good to try to sell off pieces of that
unit, said Matt Collins, capital goods analyst at Edward Jones
in St. Louis, Missouri.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S.Africa to raise nurses' pay by 20 percent

(Reuters) - AIDS-hit South Africa, which has seen many health workers leave for better pay overseas, will raise nurses' salaries by around 20 percent in an effort to keep more at home, the health minister said on Friday.

The announcement followed a pay strike by public servants last month which crippled operations in many public hospitals and schools. That strike ended when public service unions agreed to an increase of 7.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-NY Gov: Turn NYC railyard into a Rockefeller Center

(Reuters) - The Democrat, at a news conference, declined to estimate
what one of the largest blocks of open space left in Manhattan
might fetch. However, the mass transit agency has said it
expects to get $1 billion from the bids.




As much as 12 million square feet of offices, apartments, a
hotel and a cultural center can be built on the site.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Baker Hughes warns on Canada, hits oil svc co's

(Reuters) - But the Baker Hughes announcement, which sent its shares down more than 5 percent, surprised Pierre Connor, analyst with Capital One SouthCoast in New Orleans, who expected the Houston-based company's oil rig business to protect it from the weaker gas environment.




"It's obviously worse than expected," he added.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Gold, Silver Decline in New York on Speculation That Euro Rally Will Stall

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver fell in New York on
speculation that the euro's rally against the dollar will stall,
reducing the appeal of precious metals as alternative
investments.

Gold generally moves in tandem with the euro, which fell
after earlier reaching a record high against the dollar. Before
today, gold had gained 4.8 percent this year while the euro had
climbed 4.5 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Mexico stocks up on robust U.S. consumer sentiment

(Reuters) - The Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers said
its preliminary July consumer sentiment index came in at 92.4,
well above a median forecast of 86.0 and its highest since
January.




Mexico sends nearly 90 percent of its exports to the United
States, and its economy is tightly linked to the spending
habits of U.S. consumers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News