Yen May Rise to 116 Per Dollar; Abe Remains Prime Minister, Deutsche Says

(Bloomberg) -- The yen may rise to a four-month high
of 116 per dollar as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will
remain in office after his ruling coalition lost its majority in
upper house elections, according to Deutsche Securities.

Abe's decision to retain his post lessens political
instability that may have forced the Bank of Japan to delay an
interest-rate increase next month. The government is likely to
avoid raising sales taxes and close the income gap to appease
opposition parties, supporting consumer spending and the currency.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 2-ABN withdraws backing for Barclays bid, profit dips

(Reuters) - AMSTERDAM, July 30 - Dutch bank ABN AMRO
withdrew its recommendation for a takeover offer from Barclays
, leaving it neutral on the competing offers from the
British bank and the higher bid made by Royal Bank of Scotland's
consortium.




The Netherlands' biggest bank, which faces a a 65.6
billion-euro offer from Barclays and a 71
billion-euro offer from the consortium of RBS, Belgium's Fortis
and Spain's Santander , also reported a 7.1
percent decline in its second-quarter net profit on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Asian Stocks Rebound From 1-Month Low; JFE, Nippon Steel Rise, Canon Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rebounded from a one-
month low after higher profits at JFE Holdings Inc. and Nippon
Steel Corp. offset concerns of a drop in U.S. housing investment.

Canon Inc., the world's largest digital-camera maker, and
Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's biggest investment bank, led
declines on speculation the housing slump will slow U.S. consumer
spending and end a global boom in takeovers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gold on defensive, TOCOM platinum falls by limit

(Reuters) - Gold stayed on the defensive on Monday, with investment funds nervous about taking new positions due to recent losses in global equities markets, while Japanese platinum futures fell by 2 percent, hitting their daily limit.

Falling share prices have forced investors to lighten positions in risky assets, including commodities, until the situation in the stocks market stabilises, traders said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Akzo Nobel says ICI rejects its new takeover bid

(Reuters) - "Akzo Nobel continues to believe that ICI would represent a
highly attractive addition to its coatings business," Akzo said
in a statement. But it said there was no certainty it would make
another offer for ICI.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Barclays says will continue with ABN offer

(Reuters) - A recommendation from ABN had been a pre-condition of
Barclays' offer, but the British bank said in a statement it had
waived the precondition and instead made it a condition to the
completion of an offer.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japan's Topix Climbs on Earnings Reports, Led by Steelmakers; Canon Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Topix index climbed, led by
steelmakers after companies including JFE Holdings Inc. reported
increased profits and boosted earnings forecasts.

A measure of steel companies included in the Topix surged
3.8 percent, after earlier dropping as much as 0.9 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Malaysia's Naim Cendera Plans $144 Million Debt Sale to Help Fund Projects

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's government expects to
generate 177 billion ringgit ($51 billion) of investments
including manufacturing, agriculture and tourism projects in the
northern states till 2025 to spur economic growth.

It's a ``government initiative to drive economic growth and
raise income levels in the north of peninsular Malaysia,'' the
government said in a statement today. The state will spend one-
third of the investment, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

U.S. Treasuries Decline on Speculation Bonds Have Become Too Expensive

(Bloomberg) -- Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries
fell, snapping four days of gains, on speculation the securities
have become too expensive with yields near a 10-week low.

The yield on the 10-year note rose 2 basis points, or 0.02
percentage point, to 4.78 percent at 1:32 p.m. in Singapore,
according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price of the
4 1/2 percent note due May 2017 fell 5/32, or $1.56 per $1,000
face amount, to 97 26/32. Yields move inversely to bond prices.
Ten-year note yields fell 19 basis points last week, the biggest
decline since the period ended Sept. 22.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Australian and New Zealands Dollars Slump as Investors Reduce Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian and New Zealand
dollars slumped to a one-month low as declines in stocks
prompted investors to cut holdings in higher-yielding currencies.

The Australian dollar has fallen 4.1 percent against the
U.S. currency since reaching an 18-year high on July 25. New
Zealand's dollar plunged 6.1 percent since reaching the highest
since 1985 on July 24. They have been favorites for carry trades,
in which traders borrow cheaply in yen and seek higher returns
globally.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japanese Wheat Prices May Rise 10 Percent on Global Rates, Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's domestic wheat prices may
rise around 10 percent this year, the first annual gain in 24
years, hurting noodle makers which may not be able to pass on
the higher cost to customers.

The government may allow the increase as it seeks to bring
local prices more in line with world markets and after futures
in Chicago, the world benchmark for the commodity, soared to a
record, Hirotaka Mori, an agriculture ministry official who
oversees import policy, said in an interview in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

America Movil, Cosan, Femsa and Randon May be Active: 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

Dow Jones family owners face deadline on bid: source

(Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of Fox News, the New York Post and a sprawling global media empire, made its $60 a share bid for Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, on May 1.




The board of Dow Jones endorsed the offer two weeks ago, sending the deal to the Bancroft family for approval.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TIPS Prove Poor Tip for Bond Traders Anticipating Inflation's Acceleration

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury investors say inflation is
abating, even if the oil bulls are right and crude heads to $100
a barrel.

Pacific Investment Management Co. and Fidelity Investments
sold Treasury inflation-protected securities maturing next year,
confident that consumer prices will remain in check. Money
managers lost as much as $275 million on so-called TIPS in the
second half of 2006 because oil fell from record highs and
gasoline prices dropped.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Bonds Decline as Investors Avoid Yields Near Lowest in Eight Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds fell on
speculation investors will avoid buying 10-year securities with
the lowest yields in eight weeks.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond rose 2 basis points
to 1.8 percent as of 12:48 p.m. in Tokyo at Japan Bond
Trading Co., the nation's largest interdealer debt broker.
Yields earlier touched 1.78 percent, matching the lowest since
June 1.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Indian Oil Seeks to Buy Crude Oil for Loading in Late September or October

(Bloomberg) -- Indian Oil Corp., the country's
biggest refiner, is seeking to buy crude oil for loading in late
September or October, said traders who received offer documents.

Details of the refiner's planned purchase are as follows:


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japan Shares Fall on U.S. Subprime Concern, Ruling Party's Election Defeat

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks dropped after U.S.
residential investment slumped, raising concern the world's
largest economy will slow and Japan's ruling party lost control
of the upper house of parliament in an election.

Sony Corp. slid by the most since June 8 and Nintendo Co.
extended its two-day loss to 8.7 percent, leading exporters
lower after the yen advanced to the highest against the dollar
in more than three months, reducing the value of their overseas
sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's JBIC Plans Islamic Debt Backed by London Metal Exchange Contracts

(Bloomberg) -- Japan Bank for International
Cooperation, the government's main overseas lender, plans to sell
Islamic bonds backed by products traded on the London Metal
Exchange, an official said.

The Tokyo-based bank, known as JBIC, plans to sell Islamic
debt for the first time as early as in October, said Tadashi
Maeda, director general of the bank's energy and natural
resources finance department. JBIC will sell $200 million to $300
million of such securities, to be denominated in Malaysian
ringgit or dollars, in Malaysia, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil down on profit taking

(Reuters) - U.S. crude for September delivery fell 32 cents to $76.70 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 0130 GMT, trimming just a whisker of Friday's $2.07 or 2.76 percent surge that took oil to just one cent shy of its record-high settlement price of $77.03, marked on July 14, 2006.




London's Brent crude , which lagged the U.S. market with a gain of $1.08 on Friday, fell 44 cents to $75.82 after reverting last week to trade below U.S. crude, on signs of lower crude stocks in Oklahoma and recovering North Sea oil production.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

PetroChina's Shares Fall After Buffett's Berkshire Pares Stake in Company

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of PetroChina Co. fell after
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reduced its stake in the
nation's biggest oil producer.

The stock dropped 4.4 percent to HK$11.24 at 10:29 a.m. in
Hong Kong, headed for its biggest two-day decline since August
2005. Berkshire sold 16.9 million shares for $27 million,
PetroChina said in a July 27 filing to the city's stock exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Barclays China Deal Spurs U.S., Europe to Limit Government-Fund Investment

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S., France and Germany are
racing to draw up rules to govern developing nations' secretive
state-controlled investment funds, spurred in part by Barclays
Plc's use of Chinese and Singaporean money in its takeover bid
for ABN Amro Holding NV.

With no international body such as the World Trade
Organization to oversee such investment, officials in the U.S.
are pushing the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to set
guidelines. Germany and France, meanwhile, are urging a joint
European response.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Apache Plans to Triple Australian Oil, Gas Spending to $1 Billion by 2008

(Bloomberg) -- Apache Corp. plans to triple spending
in Australia next year from 2006 as it steps up drilling and
construction in a region that may rival Egypt and the U.S. Gulf
as the company's main oil and gas producers.

Capital investment in drilling and exploration will probably
reach $1 billion next year, up from about $300 million in 2006,
said Tim Wall, managing director of Houston-based Apache's
Australian unit.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Payrolls, Wages, Manufacturing Likely Grew in July, Tempering Housing Woes

(Bloomberg) -- Payrolls, wages and manufacturing in
the U.S. expanded in July, pointing to an economy that is
surviving a deepening slump in housing, economists project
reports this week will show.

Employers added 130,000 workers to payrolls this month,
about the same as in June, according to the median estimate of
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of a Labor
Department report Aug. 3. A private report Aug. 1 may show
manufacturing grew at close to the fastest pace in more than a
year.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Data Don't Support Sarkozy Gripes About Euro Impact on Region's Exports

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy
complains the euro's increase to a record against the dollar is
hurting European exports. So far, the numbers don't back him up.

Shipments from the 13-nation euro area rose 9 percent in
the five months through May from a year earlier, the second-
fastest pace in six years. That's because the euro has increased
less than half as much against the currencies of the region's 24
biggest trading partners as it has against the U.S. dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan Shares Fall on Ruling Party's Election Defeat, U.S. Subprime Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks dropped after
Japan's ruling party suffered a worse-than-expected electoral
defeat and U.S. residential investment slumped, raising concern
the world's largest economy will slow.

Sony Corp. slid and Nintendo Co. extended its two-day loss
to 9.6 percent, leading exporters lower after the yen advanced
to the highest against the dollar in more than three months,
reducing the value of their overseas sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian Stocks Drop to One-Month Low on U.S. Housing Concern, Japan Election

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, extending a $2.1
trillion global rout, on speculation the world's largest economy
will slow after a report showed a slump in U.S. housing investment.

Toyota Motor Co. and James Hardie Industries NV led declines
among companies that rely on U.S. sales. Canon Inc. and Nintendo
Co. paced a drop by Japanese exporters after the yen strengthened
against the dollar, eroding the value of their overseas sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australian Shares Extend Drop on U.S. Housing Concern; James Hardie Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index,
the S&P/ASX 200 Index, fell 0.08 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 201 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange fell 4.70 to 6,078.20. Among the stocks in the index, 32
rose, 160 fell and 9 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds May Rise on Concern Stocks to Decline on Election

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's bonds may advance for a
fourth day after the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe lost its upper house majority at elections, fueling
speculation that stocks will drop and spur demand for debt.

Benchmark bond yields, which move opposite to prices, are
also likely to extend their slide past an eight-week low after
the election results increased speculation the Bank of Japan
will hold off raising interest rates next month.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Topix Fall; Toyota and Canon Lead Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
fell 171.71, or 1 percent, to 17,112.10 at 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index dropped 16.48, or 1 percent, to
1,683.23.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc. led the declines.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Exporters, Hana Financial, Hynix, Hyundai: South Korea Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or
fall in South Korea. Prices refer to the July 27 close. This
preview includes news announced after markets shut. Stock
symbols are in brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index plunged 4.1 percent to 1,883.22, the
steepest fall since June 3, 2004. The Kosdaq slid 3.1 percent to
792.06. Kospi 200 futures expiring in September retreated 4.5
percent to 237.85, while the underlying index lost 4.2 percent
to 238.34.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

James Hardie, Santos, Woodside, Westfield: 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 on July 27. Prices
are from July 27's close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols
are in brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September
slumped 1.2 percent to 5990 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of
New York Australia ADR Index dropped 5 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Venezuela `Oil Socialism' Boosts Government Income by $5.8 Billion a Year

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's bid to nationalize its
energy industry has boosted government income by $5.8 billion a
year, fueling a new form of ``oil socialism,'' President Hugo
Chavez said.

The extra $5.8 billion, equal to 11 percent of Venezuela's
official 2007 budget, came through tax and royalty increases
phased in since 2004. The seizure on May 1 of four foreign oil
joint ventures in the country's eastern Orinoco Belt will provide
additional funds, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Strauss-Kahn lobbies South Africa for IMF candidacy

(Reuters) - Backed by European Union states, Strauss-Kahn, a former
finance minister, is seeking wider support at a time when many
developing countries are questioning a past practice under
which a European heads the IMF and an American heads the World
Bank.




His meeting in Pretoria was all the more important since
South Africa, which chairs the Group of 20 forum that includes
developing countries, had previously said it was disappointed
that the EU nomination of a candidate without more consultation
with others of the 185 countries that are members of the IMF.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Paulson Rejects Criticism, Says Talks With China Have Led to Stronger Yuan

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson, rejecting claims in Congress that he's too soft on
China, said negotiations rather than sanctions have led to a
faster appreciation of the yuan.

``We are getting results through this process that wouldn't
have been achieved without it,'' Paulson told reporters as he
traveled to China, where he arrived late yesterday. The Chinese
currency's ``rate of appreciation has gone up materially over
the past year,'' he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-American Home Mortgage says faces margin calls

(Reuters) - The company said in a statement released late Friday that
as a result of the margin calls from lenders, it has delayed
paying dividends on its common stock, and plans to delay
payments on its preferred shares.




Margin calls can create severe difficulty for a company
that depends on funds from its lenders to finance loans, and
can force the company to sell assets or seek other financing.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

OPEC not expected to discuss output change: Iran

(Reuters) - "There is a long time until then but if the market situation remains as now Iran will not have the view to increase production," Vaziri-Hamaneh said.




He also said the amount of oil reserves and production was high and that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would therefore not hold an emergency meeting before the Vienna meeting.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

ABN set to drop Barclays recommendation: sources

(Reuters) - ABN's managing and supervisory boards met on Friday and over the weekend, and an update on the takeover is expected alongside the bank's quarterly earnings, due to be published on Monday.




The Dutch bank's management originally supported Barclays, but the revised bid from the British bank no longer included the ABN boards' recommendation.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Egypt's indexes decline as CIB and OCI slide

(Reuters) - Egyptian indexes fell on Sunday as foreign investors sold big caps including Commercial International Bank (CIB) and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), brokers said.

"The decline in nearly all global markets led stocks with more foreign interest to go lower, creating a general bearish mood as buyers generally shied away," Mohamed Radwan of Delta Securities said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Egypt median o/n interbank rises to 8.7625 pct

(Reuters) - The median overnight interbank rate on Egypt's pound rose to 8.7625 percent on Sunday from 8.754 percent on Thursday, with the market liquid in the absence of auctions of certificates of deposits, dealers said.

"Many banks were offering money as they have a lot of liquidity available. I believe this will not change soon," one dealer said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Egypt's Alcotexa sells 2,965 T of cotton in two weeks

(Reuters) - The Alexandria Cotton Exporters' Association (Alcotexa) said on Sunday it had committed to sell 2,965.32 tonnes of cotton in the two weeks ended July 28.

An Alcotexa official broke down the sales included 0.66 tonnes of Giza 45, 661 tonnes of Giza 70, 0.66 tonnes of Giza 87, 604 tonnes of Giza 88, 1,355 tonnes of Giza 86, 275 tonnes of Giza 80 and 69 tonnes of export type.


Read more at Reuters Africa