Currency Bill Aimed at China's Yuan Approved by Senate Committee, 20 to 1

(Bloomberg) -- The Senate Finance Committee
approved legislation aimed at pressuring China and other
countries over their currency practices, in the first move to
toughen U.S. rules in this area in almost two decades.

The measure, approved in a bipartisan 20-to-1 vote, would
force the U.S. Treasury Department to overhaul how it looks at
currency policies of other nations and allow U.S. companies to
get higher anti-dumping duties to compensate for the effect of a
weak currency.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Microsoft CEO defends move beyond desktop

(Reuters) - Speaking on Thursday at an annual meeting with financial analysts, Ballmer acknowledged he had been "hammered" by investors who argued Microsoft should focus on its core desktop and server software business and forget businesses like digital music players and video games.




Microsoft aims to make software that integrates the best features of desktop software, higher-end corporate software, Web services and devices, and it needs to be in all of those areas to keep up with the pace of innovation, Ballmer said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wall St indexes sell off on housing, credit fears

(Reuters) - The S&P shed about $300 billion in market value in the worst single session since the February 27 global market sell-off, with surprisingly weak earnings reports also weighing on stocks. Even with the sharp decline, the Dow and S&P 500 are within 5 percent of their respective record highs.




A drop in quarterly profit at Exxon Mobil Corp., helped wipe out more than $16 billion in market value of the world's largest publicly traded company.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds May Rise as Stock Decline Spurs Flight to Safety

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds rose for a third day
after a slide in global stock markets and other riskier assets
spurred demand for the relative safety of government debt.

Japanese corporate bond risk rose to the most since May
2005, according to traders of default protection. Developing
nation debt fell yesterday in New York for the fifth day,
pushing the yield premium over U.S. Treasuries to the widest in
more than a year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus
index. A government report today showed Japan's consumer prices
declined for a fifth straight month.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Virginia Financial Group to acquire FNB Corp

(Reuters) - Current Virginia Financial President and Chief Executive
O.R. Barham will serve as president and CEO for the resulting
holding company, the companies said.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE1-Ceridian urges shareholders to accept buyout

(Reuters) - Hedge fund Pershing Square, Ceridian's largest stakeholder
with 14.9 percent, said on Tuesday it would soon ask
shareholders to vote against the planned takeover bid and to
fire the board.




Ceridian said it would consider any superior economic
proposal that Pershing Square may wish to make, but that the
hedge fund had failed to date to present any such offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Emerging-Market Bonds Fall as Argentina and Venezuela Post Biggest Losses

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds declined,
pushing yields over U.S. Treasuries to the widest in more than a
year, as investors reduced holdings of riskier securities.

Developing nation debt has declined for five days as growing
losses in so-called collateralized debt obligations backed by
subprime mortgages trigger risk aversion. Argentine and
Venezuelan bonds, among the riskiest in emerging markets, led
losses.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Asian Stocks May Join Sell Off on U.S. Housing Concern; New Zealand Slides

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks may slide on concern a
worsening U.S. housing slump will slow economic growth in the
world's biggest economy and prompt investors to shun equities.

Asian companies that rely on U.S. sales such as Honda Motor
Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. may lead losses.
James Hardie Industries NV may decline in Australia.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-FreightCar America profit falls on weak orders

(Reuters) - The Chicago-based company reported second-quarter net
income of $11.5 million, or 93 cents a share, compared with
$36.6 million, or $2.86 a share, a year earlier.




On average analysts had expected earnings per share for the
quarter of 92 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-UST profit up, beats estimates

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - UST Inc. posted
higher second-quarter profit on Thursday, beating analysts'
estimates, on increased sales of wine and smokeless tobacco,
and raised its full-year earnings forecast.




Net income climbed to $139.9 million, or 87 cents per
share, from $134.6 million, or 83 cents per share, a year
earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Sears Canada profit jumps on sales lift, cost cuts

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, July 26 - Sears Canada , the country's second-biggest department store chain, said on Thursday that second-quarter profit more than doubled on higher sales and reduced expenses.



Sears Canada, the target of a failed buyout by its U.S. parent late last year, said net earnings were C$47.7 million


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Mexico's Soriana 2d-qtr net up 16.8 percent

(Reuters) - Soriana , headquartered in the northern
industrial city of Monterrey, said it earned 687 million pesos
in the April-June period, up from 588 million
pesos a year ago.




Revenue came in at 15.116 billion pesos, up 7 percent from
a year ago while its operating profit rose 19 percent to 1.003
billion pesos.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Ballard Power trims loss on margin, forex gains

(Reuters) - Ballard reported a net loss of $11.1 million, or 10 cents a
share, for the period ended June 30, compared with a loss of
$17.3 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year-before
quarter.




Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates, on average had
expected a loss of 13 cents a share, before exceptions.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-LSI has loss in line with its lowered forecast

(Reuters) - LSI, a maker of chips used in networks and cell phones and
of data storage systems, said it had a second-quarter net loss
of $378 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a
year-earlier net profit of $53.8 million, or 13 cents per
share.




Excluding items, LSI said it had a second-quarter loss of 2
cents per share. Last month, LSI said it expected a net loss
per share of 43 cents to 52 cents per share and revenue of $650
million to $670 million. Excluding items, it said it expected a
loss of 3 cents per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-ICT Group posts Q2 loss, again cuts 2007 outl

(Reuters) - BANGALORE, July 26 - ICT Group Inc. on
Thursday reported a second-quarter loss and cut its 2007
outlook for the third time this year as the business process
outsourcing company saw offshore expansions slowing revenue
growth and increasing costs.




ICT is expanding its operations in the Philippines, India
and Latin America while reducing its North American capacity.
It expects the changes to add additional costs in the second
half of 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

PerkinElmer 2nd-quarter profit rises

(Reuters) - Excluding items, the company had adjusted earnings of 30
cents per share. Analysts on average expected 28 cents per
share, according to Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

YRC Worldwide 2nd-quarter profit falls

(Reuters) - Excluding a net gain of 4 cents a share from property
disposals, reorganization charges and settlement of
obligations, YRC said it earned 91 cents a share.




Wall Street analysts, on average, expected earnings per
share of 82 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Embarq quarterly profit, revenue rise

(Reuters) - Operating revenue rose to $1.605 billion from $1.589
billion a year earlier.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

VeriSign quarterly profit meets Wall St consensus

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time items, VeriSign had a profit for the
latest quarter of $62 million, or 25 cents per diluted share,
in line with Wall Street's consensus forecast.




The year-ago results included tax benefits of $327 million
and a charge of $13.2 million in stock option expenses.
Excluding these items, the earlier profit was 20 cents or 24
cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Six Flags posts wider loss as costs rise

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - Theme park operator Six Flags Inc. said on Thursday its quarterly net loss widened on higher costs, bigger losses on discontinued operations and a one-time charge for paying down debt.



The company, which has been selling off some parks and restructuring since investor Daniel Snyder won control of the company in 2005, is spending more on marketing as it promotes its parks as more family friendly, and is working to shore up its financial position.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Kenneth Cole posts lower 2nd-quarter net profit

(Reuters) -



LOS ANGELES, July 26 - Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. , which designs and markets shoes, handbags and accessories, posted lower quarterly profit on Thursday, but matched expectations, as sales decreased and expenses related to its men's sportswear line rose.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Republic Services 2nd-qtr earnings rise

(Reuters) - Revenue grew to $808.4 million from $779.8 million.




Analysts, on average, expected Fort Lauderdale,
Florida-based Republic to earn 39 cents per share, according to
Reuters Estimates.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UDATE 1-Federated Investors report higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn 54 cents,
according to Reuters Estimates.




Total revenue rose 17 percent to $276.5 million as fees the
company earns for managing portfolios rose 21 percent to $177.4
million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Sierra Wireless profit rises 76 pct, revenue jumps

(Reuters) - Sierra said it earned $6.7 million, or 25 cents a share,
for the three months ended June 30. That was up from a profit
of $3.8 million, or 15 cents a share, in the same period a year
earlier.




Adjusted earnings were 30 cents a share, excluding
stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquisitions,
it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Celanese posts second-quarter $117 million loss

(Reuters) - Excluding items, the company posted quarterly earnings of
84 cents a share, up from 71 cents a share, in the year-ago
quarter.




Celanese withdrew its full-year outlook last week and said
it would inform its acetic acid and derivatives customers that
the force majeure at the Texas facility would continue, as
repairs made to the plant had been unsuccessful.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-Hartford posts higher 2nd quarter net, exceeds view

(Reuters) - The property and life insurer said net income was $627
million, or $1.96 a share, up from $476 million, or $1.52 a
share, in the year-earlier quarter.




Hartford also said it had received a subpoena from
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal related to
reinsurance.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

ConocoPhillips Cuts Runs at Germany's Wilhelmshaven Refinery, Mulva Says

(Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips, the third-largest
U.S. oil company, has reduced runs at its 227,000 barrel-a-day
Wilhelmshaven refinery in Germany after high oil prices made
refining uneconomic, the company's Chief Executive Officer Jim
Mulva said.

``We've taken an economic decision to cut back runs at the
Wilhelmshaven refinery,'' said Mulva in a conference call with
analysts and reporters yesterday. ``The less sophisticated
refineries such as Wilhelmshaven obviously are subject to, for
economic reasons, some cutbacks in runs.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Apache doesn't want Shell, Exxon N. Sea assets-CEO

(Reuters) - In June, Shell and Exxon put North Sea oil and natural gas
fields with around 74,000 barrels per day of production up for
sale.




Farris also said he had not heard "an awful lot of
whispers" about potential mergers in the exploration and
production sector.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Bush signs law bolstering reviews of foreign deals

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 26 - U.S. President George W.
Bush on Thursday signed legislation to bolster oversight of
acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign firms, a move to
address national security concerns about several deals raised
by Congress.




The new law requires regulators to spend more time vetting
deals, holds regulators more accountable for their actions and
keeps Congress better informed about the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United States , which reviews deals.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Indexes fall 2 pct on housing, oil concerns

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 275.97
points, or 2.0 percent, at 13,509.10. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index was down 33.79 points, or 2.23 percent, at
1,484.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 60.79
points, or 2.30 percent, at 2,587.38.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

MBIA says likely to sell hybrid bond

(Reuters) - Rival bond insurer Ambac Financial sold a $400
million 30-year hybrid bond in February.




While MBIA has "no specific plans at the moment" for such a
sale, the company did include hybrids in its shelf registration
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "so we would
be able to have access to the market in pretty quick time,"
Chaplin said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bond prices surge on stock market plunge

(Reuters) - The bond market rally drove the benchmark 10-year note's
yield to a two-month low and pushed yields on two-year notes to
their biggest drop since 2004. Treasuries were little moved by
the auction of $13 billion worth of five-year paper, which
traders described as poor.




"Flight-to-quality is what we are seeing right now. For the
first couple of days went to gold and right now
it is moving to Treasury bonds and particularly to the shorter
maturities," said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist with
Channel Capital Research in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-H&R Block says Breeden role at KPMG poses conflict

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - H&R Block Inc. said
on Thursday it has contacted federal investigators about a
possible conflict of interest involving dissident shareholder
Richard Breeden, the former U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission chairman who is seeking three board seats.




Breeden was appointed by the Justice Department in 2005 to
monitor KPMG LLP's compliance with a $456 million settlement of
a probe accusing it of setting up fraudulent tax shelters for
wealthy clients.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

LA airport scare over, item found harmless

(Reuters) - "It has been determined that that it was a nonexplosive device and no one was in danger," Long Beach Police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said.




Pratt said she could not describe the item that had raised suspicions but Fox News said it was a hand-held game.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Ten-year note up a full point in price

(Reuters) - The benchmark notes were yielding 4.78 percent,
down 12 basis points on the day and more than a half percentage
point from a June peak.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Benchmark yields fall in flight to quality

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - U.S. government bond prices
surged on Thursday, driving benchmark yields to two-month lows,
as investors bailed out of stocks and other riskier assets on
deepening worries of a global credit crunch.




Surprisingly weak economic data also added to a flight to
safety bid for Treasuries, giving the benchmark 10-year
Treasury notes their best daily performance since Feb. 27 and
putting two-year notes on track for their biggest one-day drop
in yields since 2004.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 3-Bunge profit soars, Chinese venture formed

(Reuters) - The oilseeds processor and fertilizer maker also said it
formed a joint venture with Sinograin, the Chinese state-owned
grain company, to build and operate a soybean processing plant
in Dongguan, China.




Bunge expects solid agribusiness and fertilizer market
conditions for the rest of the year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bush, Congress leaders to meet on spending showdown

(Reuters) - Both sides are uneasy about what lies ahead. Only two months remain before the start of a new fiscal year and Bush has threatened to veto several of the dozen annual spending bills that would pay for programs ranging from weapons and foreign aid to retiree benefits and domestic security.




A failure by Congress and the White House to work out these kinds of disagreements led to government shutdowns at least five times over the past 26 years, the most serious coming in late 1995 and early 1996, generating voter backlash.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 3-US mortgage delinquencies seen peaking in 2008

(Reuters) - Delinquencies will peak at 3.6 percent of all mortgage debt
outstanding in the summer of 2008, up from 2.9 percent in this
year's first quarter, according to the study by the consulting
firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.




"This will result in substantial financial damage," Mark
Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, said during a
teleconference after the release of the study.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Wall St indexes plunge on housing, credit fears

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - U.S. stocks plummeted on
Thursday, with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 300
points, on signs of further weakness in the housing market and
deteriorating conditions for corporate buyouts.




The S&P shed about $300 billion in market value in the
worst single session since the Feb. 27 global market sell-off,
with surprisingly weak earnings reports also weighing on
stocks. Even with the sharp decline, the Dow and S&P 500 are
within 5 percent of their respective record highs.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. environment chief draws fire on global warming

(Reuters) - Stephen Johnson, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has said the government will decide this question by year's end, two years after California's first request to set state air quality standards stricter than national rules.




Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who heads the Environment and Public Works Committee, told Johnson at a hearing she found the delay incomprehensible.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wal-Mart apparel faces back-to-school test

(Reuters) - The world's largest retailer has struggled with poor apparel sales after its efforts to compete with Target Corp. and sell hipper clothes, like skinny jeans and velvet blazers, backfired with its shoppers, who were looking for basic, classic and affordable clothing.




For the past year, Wal-Mart has been trying to fix its mistakes and has marked down unsold clothing, scaled back its trendy Metro 7 apparel line and said last week that Claire Watts, who oversaw its apparel merchandising, had resigned.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Regulators fine natgas market manipulaters

(Reuters) - In its first enforcement action using new authority provided by Congress, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says it will seek $458 million in penalties and the return of unjust profits from the two companies.




In the bigger case, FERC charged Amaranth Advisors, a collapsed hedge fund, its former head trader, Brian Hunter, and fellow trader Matthew Donohoe with manipulating natural gas prices last year and called for $291 million in penalties. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed similar charges on Wednesday, though it did not specify any fines or penalties.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

HSBC braces for $9 billion in mortgage price hikes

(Reuters) - Most of HSBC's reset activity, which increases the chances of defaults by triggering sharply higher monthly mortgage payments, will take place in the second half of the year.




The London-based bank's HSBC Finance Corp. set aside $1.7 billion for loan losses in the first quarter, but that may not be enough, analysts say. HSBC reports interim results for the first half of the year on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Dell to expand Linux PC offerings, partner says

(Reuters) - Dell, the world's second-largest PC maker after Hewlett-Packard Co , now offers three consumer PCs that run Ubuntu Linux.




"What's been announced to date is not the full extent of what we will see over the next couple of weeks and months," Shuttleworth said an interview late on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Gold Falls on Concern Housing Report Signals Slowing Economy; Silver Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell from a three-month high in
New York on concern U.S. economic growth will slow, reducing
demand for precious metals as a hedge against inflation. Silver
futures also declined.

Purchases of new homes fell 6.6 percent in June, more than
economists predicted, and orders for durable goods unexpectedly
fell for a second month, the Commerce Department said today. Some
investors buy gold to preserve purchasing power in times of
accelerating price increases.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Treasuries Surge; Yields Lowest Since May as Investors Flee Stocks, Risk

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose, pushing yields on
10-year notes to the lowest since May, after global stock markets
tumbled and investors retreated from riskier assets to the safety
of government debt.

The difference between yields on two-year notes and 10-year
securities touched the widest since October 2005 as the more than
one-month rout in subprime mortgages extended to other credit
markets. Prices to insure debt against default using credit-
default swaps jumped to the highest in more than two years. About
40 companies reworked or abandoned deals in the past three weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

HMOs to start ad blitz against Medicare cuts

(Reuters) - U.S. health insurers will launch one of their biggest campaigns ever on Thursday to stem the loss of billions of dollars in Medicare payments and they will feature seniors, like Harry and Louise a decade ago, fretting over their benefit coverage.




The deep-pocketed industry is on defense as the U.S. House of Representatives considers slashing $47 billion in payments to private health plans in Medicare, the federal insurance for the elderly and disabled, to help expand a popular children's health program.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Wall Street's "fear" meter hits 13-month high

(Reuters) - The rise in the index indicates investors are willing to pay higher premiums for protective put options on the Standard & Poor's 500 index . The S&P was down 2.4 percent.




Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Treasury's Paulson plays down market volatility

(Reuters) - Global stock markets fell sharply on Thursday as investors fled risky assets for safe havens while tightening credit markets threatened to make it increasingly difficult to finance corporate deals, and the dollar fell sharply against the yen.




Paulson said the U.S. economy was healthy and global expansion was strong and said that was comforting but suggested it also had led investors to be less cautious.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News