U.K. Pound May Rise Against Dollar on Outlook for Rates in U.K., U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The pound may gain against the
dollar on speculation the Bank of England will keep raising
interest rates while the Federal Reserve stays on hold.

The U.K. currency rose to a 26-year high against the dollar
last week after Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's
warned about bonds backed by U.S. subprime mortgages, suggesting
a housing slowdown will worsen. The pound may be further buoyed
before a report tomorrow that's forecast to show that U.K.
inflation exceeded the BOE's 2 percent target for 14 months.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Polish Zloty to Advance This Week, According to Bloomberg Currency Survey

(Bloomberg) -- Six out of eight strategists, traders
and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News on July 13 recommended
buying the Polish zloty against the euro this week.

The zloty gained almost 1.1 percent over the past month on
growing expectations the central bank will raise interest rates
to stem accelerating inflation. Poland's main rate is currently
4.5 percent after quarter-point increases in April and June.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

RBS-led consortium makes 38.4 euro/shr ABN offer

(Reuters) - The consortium kept its offer for ABN at 38.4 euros per share, but raised the cash component of the offer to 93 percent from about 70 percent before. It said the remaining 5 billion euros of the offer will comprise new RBS shares.



The new offer from the consortium, which also includes Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch Fortis , is for ABN without its U.S. unit LaSalle, after a Dutch court on Friday allowed the disputed sale of that business to Bank of America .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Total sees Shtokman investment at $4-5 bln -report

(Reuters) - Gazprom chose Total as development partner on Thursday in a
sign of closer Moscow-Paris ties, but the move left questions
over how good a deal the French group had won.




Under the deal, Total will receive a 25 percent stake in the
company that will build and own the pipes, rigs and other
infrastructure for the first phase of Shtokman's development.
Asked whether not holding a stake in the production license
was risky, de Margerie said: "A group like ours wishes for a
remuneration that corresponds to the risks taken and the work
that has been made."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Bonds May Fall as Inflation Report Points to Interest-Rate Rise

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds may decline
on speculation a report today will show inflation held near the
European Central Bank's target last month, boosting the case for
higher interest rates.

The European Union will probably say consumer prices in the
13-nation euro region increased 1.9 percent in June from a year
earlier, the same as in May, according to economists in a
Bloomberg survey. ECB policy makers last week said benchmark
borrowing costs remain supportive of economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Currencies: Thai Baht Advances to Decade High; Taiwan Dollar Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's baht gained, heading for
the highest close in almost a decade in onshore and offshore
markets, as global funds bought more of the nation's equities.

The currency also gained as companies convert overseas
earnings to take advantage of its appreciation. Prime Minister
Surayud Chulanont today said the government is trying to
stabilize the baht to help exporters. It has stopped short of
tightening curbs on foreign investment, which created the dual
exchange rate system when they were introduced in December.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Xi'an Aircraft to Sell as Much as $872 Million of New Shares in Asset Swap

(Bloomberg) -- Xi'an Aircraft International Corp.
will raise as much as 6.6 billion yuan ($872 million) selling new
shares to its parent and other investors to help fund the
development of China's first commercial jet plane.

The company will sell 660 million yuan-denominated shares
for at least 9 yuan apiece, it said in a Shenzhen stock exchange
statement today. Its parent, Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Co.,
will buy at least 55 percent of the shares at 9.18 yuan each with
airplane-making assets, the statement said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Philips posts 22 pct rise in Q2 EBIT

(Reuters) - Its hospital equipment business, singled out by analysts
for lacklustre growth in the first quarter, showed comparable
sales growth of 4 percent in the second quarter.




Philips, Europe's biggest consumer electronics producer,
said it was on track for meeting its targets of 5 to 6 percent
of average annual sales growth and a margin of earnings before
interest, tax and amortization of at least 7.5 percent
of sales in 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Singapore Dollar May Be Next Carry Trade Funding Currency, Citigroup Says

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's dollar may be an
``attractive'' currency to fund carry trades as interest rates
fell below those of the Taiwan dollar, previously widely borrowed
to pay for higher-yielding assets, Citigroup Inc. said.

Singapore's benchmark interest rate for lending fell to 2.5
percent from 3.4 percent at the start of this year. That's lower
than Taiwan's 3.125 percent, making it cheaper for investors to
borrow Singapore dollars to take advantage of other currencies
with higher yields.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Australian Oil Stocks Rise, Led by Woodside on Higher Oil: Rio Tinto Slips

(Bloomberg) -- Australian oil stocks rose, led by
Woodside Petroleum Ltd. and Roc Oil Co. after crude climbed to an
11-month high on speculation maintenance closures in the North Sea
may limit global supplies.

Rio Tinto Group fell for a second day after announcing it had
agreed to buy Alcan Inc. for $38.1 billion, increasing its debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China's June Refined-Copper Imports Drop Less Than Expected, Traders Say

(Bloomberg) -- China's refined-copper imports, the
biggest in the world, fell 6.1 percent in June, declining less
than expected amid speculation that the country's stockpiling
agency might have bought the metal.

Refined copper and alloy imports were 121,991 metric tons
last month, the Beijing-based customs office said in a statement
today, citing preliminary data. That compares with 129,949 tons
in May and 69,715 tons in June 2006, according to Bloomberg data.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

EADS, Eiffage, Ubisoft, Credit Agricole and Suez: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or
fall on the Paris stock exchange today. Symbols are in
parentheses after company names. Prices are from the last close.

The benchmark CAC 40 Index gained 14.91, or 0.2 percent, to
6117.96. The broader SBF 120 Index climbed 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Eletropaulo, Marcopolo, Sonda, Telmex, America Movil: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil, Chile 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

Gold Trades in Asia Near a One-Month High on Dollar's Decline Versus Euro

(Bloomberg) -- Gold traded near a one-month high in
Asia as the dollar's decline boosted demand for the metal as an
alternative investment. Silver gained.

The dollar traded near a record low against the euro today
before U.S. reports on inflation and housing. Gold generally
moves in the opposite direction of the U.S. currency.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Pakistan Stocks May Open Lower After Militants Carry Out Suicide Attacks

(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan's stocks, which have risen
since the army raided the Red Mosque on July 10, may open lower
today after militants carried out two suicide bomb attacks over
the weekend.

Forty-two people died and 110 were injured in the attacks in
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province yesterday, one day after
24 paramilitary soldiers were killed in an explosion in a region
near the Afghan border.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UBS, Citigroup, Rivals Hire More Private Bankers to Serve Taiwan's Wealthy

(Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. said they
are hiring more private bankers to serve Taiwan, where the
richest citizens hold more wealth than in any Asian country
except for China and Japan.

UBS will add 30 private bankers in Taiwan this year for a
total of 80, said Dennis Chen, who oversees the company's
onshore private-banking business in Taipei, in an interview.
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas and ABN Amro Holding NV
say they will also add bankers to cater to Taiwan's wealthy.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Stocks in U.S. Poised to Decline at Least 10 Percent, Options Betting Show

(Bloomberg) -- Bets in the options market against
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index have exceeded wagers it will
rise by a 2-to-1 margin for a month, the longest since Bloomberg
began compiling the data in 1995.

That's seen as a warning sign the market is due for a
decline of 5 to 10 percent after the S&P 500 rose to two records
last week, say managers of almost $1 trillion at Morgan Stanley
Global Wealth Management, National City Private Client Group and
Russell Investment Group. The Leuthold Group, whose flagship
fund has beaten 99 percent of similar funds over the last five
years, expects the S&P 500 to slide as much as 19 percent by the
end of the year.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dow Jones board member moves to block News Corp: WSJ

(Reuters) - News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New York Post and a sprawling media empire, has offered $5 billion, or $60 a share, for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal.




Bancroft is trying to buy more "supervoting" shares from other Bancroft heirs who may be ready to sell their stakes but share his distaste for handing the family legacy to Murdoch, the Journal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Indonesia's Cikarang Listrindo to Sell $425 Million of High-Yield Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- PT Cikarang Listrindo, an independent
power producer in Indonesia, plans to sell $425 million of high-
yield, high-risk bonds, according to an e-mail sent to investors.

The power company, which supplies to state-owned utility PT
Perusahaan Listrik Negara, hired Morgan Stanley and UBS AG to
arrange the sale, the e-mail shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Orix Corp. to Gauge Interest in Its First Bond Sale in Australia

(Bloomberg) -- Orix Corp., Japan's largest non-bank
financial company, hired National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac
Banking Corp. to gauge interest in an Australian bond sale.

Investors will meet with Orix from Aug. 1 in Melbourne,
Sydney and Brisbane, the banks said in an e-mailed statement. It
follows Kaupthing Bank hf, Iceland's biggest lender, as the
second offshore firm this month to announce investor meetings. A
debt sale would be Tokyo-based Orix's first in Australia.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China's Refined-Copper Imports Decline in June From May, Customs Reports

(Bloomberg) -- China's copper imports, the biggest
in the world, fell 6.1 percent in June from May as rising prices
made shipments of the metal unprofitable.

Refined copper and alloy imports were 121,991 metric tons
last month, the Beijing-based customs office said in a statement
today, citing preliminary data. This compares with 129,949 tons
in May and 69,715 tons in June 2006, according to Bloomberg data.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

India's Rupee May Halt Advance on Speculation Reserve Bank to Curb Gains

(Bloomberg) -- India's rupee, Asia's second-best
performer this year, may end five weeks of gains on speculation
the central bank will sell it for dollars to protect exporters,
a survey of traders showed.

Dollar purchases by the Reserve Bank of India have helped
stem gains as the local currency last week failed to break 40.34
per dollar after retreating from a nine-year high touched on May
28. The biggest quarterly gain in more than three decades
prompted Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-biggest
software maker, last week to pare profit estimates for the year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea's Kospi Index Is Little Changed; Carmakers Rise, Samsung Falls

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's Kospi index swung
between gains and losses. Hyundai Motor Co. rose after Meritz
Securities Co. lifted its price estimates for some carmakers,
citing improved quarterly earnings on higher domestic sales.

Samsung Electronics Co. slid after chip prices fell by the
most in two weeks, triggering concern earnings may decline.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oversea-Chinese, Singapore Airport, Ascott: Singapore's Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in Singapore. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are
from the previous market close.

The Straits Times Index gained 0.8 percent to 3654.61. The
July futures contract rose 0.6 percent to 449.1.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Is Little Changed; Samsung Electronics, Kookmin Fall

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, fell 0.02 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 731 companies traded on the Korea Exchange
fell 0.32 to 1,962.61. Among the stocks in the index, 347 rose,
253 fell and 131 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BHP, Brandrill, National Leisure, Woodside: Australian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes
news announced after markets closed June 13. Prices are from the
July 13 close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September rose
0.1 percent to 6401 at 9:15 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York
Australia ADR Index dropped 0.5 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Uranium Short Sellers Make Record Bets Against Cameco Shares, Market Mania

(Bloomberg) -- An unprecedented number of short
sellers are attempting to exploit the uranium mania that prompted
more than 12 mining companies to quintuple their share prices
during the past four years.

Demand from utilities to fuel nuclear reactors has plunged
72 percent from an April 6 peak, according to TradeTech LLC,
which has tracked uranium prices since 1968. In the second week
of July, 3.4 million pounds of the metal was available, more than
three times the amount purchased by power companies.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australian Dollar Trades Near 18-Year High as Metals Prices Strengthen

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar traded near an
18-year high as prices of raw materials the country exports rose.

The currency touched the strongest since February 1989 on
July 13 as a measure of six metals on the London Metal Exchange
gained 0.2 percent and gold for immediate delivery climbed to
the highest in five weeks. Commodity exports add about 14
percent to Australia's economic growth. The nation's dollar also
strengthened after a U.S. government report on July 13 showed
retail sales dropped the most in almost two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Asian Stocks Rise in U.S. Trading; Posco, Alumina Shares Gain on Takeovers

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose in U.S. trading after
Posco bought its shares to fend off takeovers and Alumina Ltd.
gained amid speculation more acquisitions may take place in the
aluminum industry.

The Bank of New York Co.'s Asia ADR Index, tracking the
region's American depositary receipts, added 0.2 percent to 174.64,
rounding out the week with a 1.7 percent gain. That's the
benchmark's third consecutive weekly advance.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gasoline Pump Price in U.S. Rises 6 cents to $3.06, Lundberg Poll Finds

(Bloomberg) -- The price of gasoline at the pump in
the U.S. rose 6 cents during the past three weeks to an average
$3.06 a gallon, Trilby Lundberg said, citing her survey of 7,000
filling stations nationwide.

Gasoline is getting a boost from crude oil prices, which are
up 4.6 percent this month on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude oil for August delivery ended last week at an 11-month high
of $73.93 a barrel on the Nymex after Chevron Corp. and
ConocoPhillips said they lost output from North Sea fields
because of a pipeline shutdown.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

China, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia: 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 Agricultural Development Bank will sell 10
billion yuan ($1.3 billion) of five-year floating rate notes
tomorrow. The interest rate will be based on the one-year
deposit rate of 3.06 percent plus a spread that is to be
auctioned. The central bank sold 101 billion yuan of three-year
fixed rate notes on July 13 at a coupon of 3.6 percent. The
Ministry of Finance sold 38.38 billion yuan of three-year notes
at a coupon of 3.53 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

National Rural may be due rating downgrade-Barron's

(Reuters) - That agency, Egan-Jones, cites steadily declining net
interest income and scant provisions against loan losses.




National Rural's cooperative is known as CFC and mainly
extends low-cost credit to electric utilities, with a loan
portfolio of $17.5 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Catholic Church avoids abuse trial with LA deal

(Reuters) - Facing trial on Monday over abuse allegations dating as far
back as the 1940s, the Archdiocese agreed to pay 508 victims
the largest-ever group settlement.




The deal was the latest chapter in a clergy abuse scandal
that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church worldwide, damaging
its moral standing and forcing five U.S. diocese to seek
bankruptcy protection.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

WEEKAHEAD-Emerging debt to remain supported by inflows

(Reuters) - Emerging markets survived practically unscathed by the last
bout of subprime volatility last week, which led yield spreads
between emerging debt and U.S. Treasury notes to widen by 12
basis points in a single day, to 174 basis points.




Emerging debt spreads, considered to be an important gauge
of risk aversion, closed at 169 basis points on Friday, 8 basis
points wider for the week, but the overall market still posted
slightly positive returns of 0.3 percent in the period,
according to the benchmark EMBI+ index .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dubai stock market owner to bid for OMX: report

(Reuters) - Nasdaq's cash and stock offer was worth $3.7 billion when made in May and valued OMX at 208.1 crowns per share.




Bankers at UBS and Goldman Sachs are understood to have been asked to be on standby to launch a bid for OMX on behalf of the DIFC as early as next week, the website said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Qatar bank offers up to $6.1 bln for Ahli United

(Reuters) - International Bank of Qatar has offered to buy Ahli United Bank, Bahrain's largest lender by market value, for up to $6.1 billion in cash and stock, an Ahli United shareholder said on Sunday.

International Bank of Qatar, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait, is offering between $2.05 and $2.25 per share in cash for a 55 percent stake and the rest in stock, Kuwait's Tamdeen Investment Co. said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Sudan's Mobitel urges no more mobile licences

(Reuters) - Sudanese mobile company Mobitel urged the government on Sunday not to issue a further mobile phone licence, saying a new competitor might force it to reconsider a $690 million expansion plan.

Khaled Muhtadi, chief executive of Mobitel, wholly owned by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC), told Reuters he had received reports that the country's telecoms regulator was preparing to issue another nationwide licence in the next 12 months.


Read more at Reuters Africa

France hopes to get EADS deal, Germany not hurried

(Reuters) - France hopes to be able to announce an agreement about a simplified management structure for European defence group EADS at a summit meeting on Monday, but Germany is in no hurry to strike a deal.

"We have not finished yet," an official at the Elysee presidential palace said on Sunday. "But we are rather optimistic about the outcome of our discussions with Daimler, Lagardere and the German state," he added.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Stocks to ride robust earnings wave

(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 when 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 more signs of good news.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Average yield rises on 91-day Egypt T-bills

(Reuters) - The average yield on Egyptian 91-day treasury bills rose to 6.879 percent (CBEY) at an auction on Sunday, from 6.8 percent at the July 10 auction.

The Finance Ministry accepted bids for 500 million Egyptian pounds, the same amount it had requested.


Read more at Reuters Africa

EU offers to cut import duties from South Korea

(Reuters) - The European Union has offered to cut all its import duties on goods from South Korea as part of a free trade deal on condition that Seoul opens its economy to European investments, the EU executive said on Sunday.

EU and South Korean negotiators will hold on Monday in Brussels their second round of talks on a deal that could significantly boost their 60 billion euro bilateral trade.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Israel's ECI Telecom had further approach-paper

(Reuters) - ECI's consultant in the acquisition, Goldman Sachs,
approached various international funds to find out whether there
were other prospective buyers, and one of the funds expressed an
interest in submitting a proposal, the daily said.




The paper did not give any additional information on the
prospective buyer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Algeria seeks to trim diesel import bill

(Reuters) - OPEC-member Algeria sees as "inescapable" a planned decision to increase domestic diesel oil prices, a step aimed at easing the amount imported, Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on Saturday.

Raising prices is "a strategic and inescapable option," the official news agency APS quoted him as saying.


Read more at Reuters Africa