Exxon Says Operations at U.K.'s Fawley Refinery Are Resuming After Fire

(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. said refining
operations are resuming at its 300,000 barrel-a-day refinery at
Fawley, the U.K.'s largest, after a fire at one of the steam
units halted operations on July 25.

``The refinery is continuing to restart operations at this
time,'' said spokeswoman Sophie Foale in a telephone interview
today. ``We aim to bring the refinery up as safely as possible.''
She gave no timetable for its return to full production.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Foot Locker sees quarterly loss, retains advisor

(Reuters) - The New York-based company, which could put itself up for sale according to a recent media report, is trying streamline operations and the increased markdowns were to improve its inventory position before the start of the fall season.




Apollo Management is said to be mulling an offer of $29 per share, the paper said, and Michael Ashley, the billionaire behind British retailer Sports World International, has also expressed an interest, the New York Post newspaper said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

S.Africa antitrust body says MTN overcharged Cell C

(Reuters) - South Africa's Competition Commission said on Monday mobile operator MTN had discriminated against rival Cell C by charging it higher interconnect fees than competitor Vodacom in some areas.

The Commission said MTN's pricing was uncompetitive but referred the long-running dispute between the two firms to the Competition Tribunal, which has the final say on antitrust issues.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Government Bonds Advance as Subprime Losses Spread Beyond U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds rose for a
fifth day, pushing 10-year yields to the lowest in more than two
months, as the risk of owning corporate debt soared to a record.

Benchmark bunds headed for their longest run of gains since
March as Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG said it had
losses on U.S. subprime mortgages. Investors sold company debt
in favor of safer government securities as IKB's report added to
signs that the U.S. subprime debacle is spreading.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S., European Stocks Rebound on Earnings; Ingersoll-Rand Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, extending the worst
decline for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in 4 1/2 years, on
concern rising mortgage defaults will spur banks to curb lending.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.39, or 0.1 percent, to 1457.56 as of
11:25 a.m. in New York. The index, which lost 4.9 percent last
week in its steepest retreat since September 2002, earlier today
rose as much as 0.6 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Swiss Franc Gains on Speculation Investors Are Unwinding Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc advanced on
speculation widening losses on bonds backed by subprime mortgages
prompted investors to unwind so-called carry trades funded by
borrowing in the currency.

The franc gained against 15 of the 16 most-actively traded
currencies after Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG reported
losses on U.S. subprime mortgages and the risk of holding
corporate debt surged to a record. The Swiss currency rose to the
highest in more than three months against the euro.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL) PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 3

(Reuters) - * Adobe Systems Inc. faces a wave of criticism
from printing companies for a deal that gives FedEx Corp.'s
Kinko's copy stores a link on some Adobe software. The
flap could hurt Adobe's standing with smaller print-shop
customers.




* Dow Jones & Co. Inc.'s controlling shareholders,
the Bancroft family, were still deliberating late Sunday
whether to sell to News Corp. , which has offered $5
billion for the publisher.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-RESEARCH ALERT-BofA hikes equity allocation by 5 pct

(Reuters) - The brokerage cut its bond weightage by 5 percent to fund
the hike, and said bond positions should be protected against
rising inflation expectations, BofA's Thomas McManus said in a
note to investors.




The brokerage was utilizing Treasury inflation-protected
securities for this purpose, he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

German Stocks Including Linde, Volkswagen Rise; Deutsche Bank, IKB Gain

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks including Linde AG
advanced after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Volkswagen AG gained after analysts raised their price estimates
on the stock.

IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG led financial shares lower as
the lender, which invested in U.S. subprime mortgages, cut its
profit forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nordstrom, RadioShack, Rural Cellular, ValueClick: U.S. Equity Movers

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

Home Depot Inc. (HD US) rose the most since June 20, gaining
61 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $37.36. Shares of the world's
largest home-improvement retailer could double in the next three
years, Barron's said, citing no one.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Carolina Group 2nd-quarter profit rises

(Reuters) - After deducting profit attributable to parent Loews,
earnings were $1.30 per share, up from $1.09 cents per share.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Wrigley posts higher 2nd-quarter profit

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 30 - Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. on Monday posted higher second-quarter profit, boosted by sales gains in Asia and Europe, and the weakness of the U.S. dollar.



The world's largest chewing gum maker said earnings rose to $169.8 million, or 61 cents a share, from $140.6 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Yen climbs as risk aversion stays elevated

(Reuters) - The yen rallied against most currencies in volatile trade on Monday as concerns about the U.S. mortgage market sparked investors to unwind risky bets such as carry trades funded by the Japanese currency.

Fears that turmoil in the U.S. subprime sector have spilled over into the wider credit markets prompted traders to close carry trades, in which low-yielding currencies were used to buy high-yielding assets. The U.S. and New Zealand dollars slipped as a result.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 3-KPN to buy Getronics for $1 bln, core profit flat

(Reuters) - AMSTERDAM, July 30 - Telecoms group KPN
has agreed to buy struggling information technology services
company Getronics for 766 million euros ,
making it the Dutch market leader in IT services.




KPN , which also beat analysts' expectations by
posting flat second-quarter core earnings on Monday, said the
cash takeover offer at 6.25 euros per Getronics share was part
of its strategy to move from providing communications links to
more value-added services in the business market.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bancrofts face deadline on bid for DJ

(Reuters) - The Bancrofts control 64 percent of the voting shares of Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal. Slightly less than half of the family's votes favored the deal as of late Sunday, the Journal reported, citing a source close Dow Jones' board. This accounts for 28 percent of the overall voting shares.




That's just shy of the 30 percent voting approval that would give News Corp a comfortable margin to win support from outside shareholders, who hold about 29 percent of voting shares and are expected to largely back the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Gold Rises in New York as Euro Rebounds Against the Dollar; Silver Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose in New York as the
dollar's decline against the euro boosted the appeal of the
precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver also gained.

Gold generally moves in tandem with the euro, which
rebounded against the dollar after dropping 1.4 percent last
week. Before today, gold had gained 5.4 percent this year, while
the euro climbed 3.3 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Humana quarterly revenue rises 19 percent

(Reuters) - Net income rose to $216.8 million, or $1.28 per share, compared with $89.5 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier.




The Louisville, Kentucky-based company on July 18 announced the same earnings-per-share figures, but did not provide aggregate net income and revenue numbers.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Cameroon cocoa farmers should cut contamination

(Reuters) - Cocoa farmers in Cameroon could double their earnings if they improve drying methods to avoid contamination which reduces the quality of their beans, a senior scientist in one of the world's biggest growers said.

Many farmers in Cameroon dry their beans over simple wood or coal fires, often by the side of the road, risking contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pollutants formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-US credit default swaps open 20 bps wider- Barclays

(Reuters) - The main index of investment-grade credit default swaps was
20 basis points wider at 98 basis points, while the
high-volatility index was also 20 basis points wider at 210.




Subprime mortgage concerns last week caused the credit
default swap index to widen by 26 basis points, or about 50
percent, the biggest weekly percentage move in the history of
the index, research firm Credit Derivatives Research said on
Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Loews profit climbs 15 pct

(Reuters) - Profit attributable to Loews shareholders rose to $511.7 million, or 95 cents per share, from $474.9 million, or 85 cents a share.




Excluding investment losses, profit attributable to shareholders was $599.2 million, or about $1.11 per share, based on reported shares outstanding.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Bausch & Lomb allows rival bidder to show info

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 30 - Eye-care products group Bausch & Lomb Inc. said on Monday it has agreed to allow rival Advanced Medical Optics Inc. to provide certain information about its $4.23 billion takeover offer to some of Advanced Medical's large shareholders.



Advanced Medical wants to wrest Bausch & Lomb away from its existing agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Warburg Pincus for $3.67 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE1-Industrial Distribution forms panel for strategic review

(Reuters) - Second-quarter revenue is expected to be $132.6 million.




The company said internal process challenges related to its
recent IT system conversion continued to hurt its customer
service and sales.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canadian Dollar Falls for Fourth Day on U.S. Subprime Impact Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar fell for a
fourth day as investors sold commodity-linked currencies on
speculation U.S. subprime mortgage losses will slow the world's
largest economy.

The Canadian currency fell 0.3 percent to 93.69 U.S. cents
at 8:58 a.m. in Toronto, extending the decline last week when it
dropped 1.45 percent. One U.S. dollar buys C$1.0674. Canada's
dollar fell 0.42 percent against the yen to 111.03.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Futures point to jumpy trading

(Reuters) - Tightening lending standards threaten to slow or halt the heavy pace of corporate buy-outs that have fueled a rally in equities.




In the latest sign of problems in the home lending market, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said its banks were demanding that it put up more cash after the mortgage lender was forced to write down the value of its mortgage and security portfolios. The shares fell more than 45 percent to $5.74 in electronic composite trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures point to flat open, jumpy trading

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 30 - Wall Street was set to open
flat on Monday but trading was expected to be very volatile as
worsening sentiment about the global credit environment made
investors wary about the outlook for stocks.




Tightening lending standards threaten to slow or halt the
heavy pace of corporate buy-outs that have fueled a rally in
equities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Germany's DAX Index Falls, Led by Allianz, Deutsche Bank; IKB Plummets

(Bloomberg) -- Germany's benchmark DAX Index
declined for a fifth day, led by financial shares after IKB
Deutsche Industriebank AG, which invested in U.S. subprime
mortgages, cut its profit forecast.

Linde AG paced rising shares after reporting earnings that
beat analysts' estimates. Volkswagen AG gained after analysts
raised their price estimates on the stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Russia's CTC Media Q2 earnings fall 10 pct

(Reuters) - MOSCOW, July 30 - Russian entertainment TV network
CTC Media on Monday posted second-quarter earnings
below analysts' expectations and 10 percent short of results a
year ago that were boosted by a hit serial.




Net profit reached $30.7 million compared with analysts'
average forecast of $36.2 million and a $34.1 million result in
the same period a year ago, when CTC's "Born Not Pretty" soap
was pulling in viewers.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Cosan sees IPO of 100 mln Class A common shares

(Reuters) - The Sao-Paulo Brazil-based company said it applied for a
New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "CZZ."





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Verizon Wireless to buy Rural Cellular

(Reuters) - Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications
and Vodafone Group Plc , said Rural Cellular
shareholders would receive $45 per share in cash, a 16 percent
premium to the average closing price for the last 10 trading
days and 41 percent above Friday's close of $31.88.




The deal is worth $2.67 billion including the assumption of
net debt, according to Verizon Wireless. It said it expects
more than $1 billion in savings from reduced roaming fees and
operating expenses as a result of the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TREASURIES-Prices rise on stocks, credit fears

(Reuters) - Benchmark yields reached two-month lows last week on
tumbling stocks and worsening sentiment about the credit
environment.




"It's just the continuation of flight to quality," said
Georges Yared, chief investment officer of Yared Investment
Research in Wayzata, Minnnesota.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Rising liquidity helps boost Audi H1 net profit

(Reuters) - FRANKFURT, July 30 - First-half net profit at
Volkswagen's premium unit, Audi , rose 67
percent to 679 million euros , the maker of the
TT sports coupe and Q7 luxury SUV said on Monday.




The gain in bottom-line earnings, exceeding the already
reported 40 percent increase in operating profit, was helped
mainly by interest income from the investment of rising net
liquidity, coupled with higher income from the valuation of
commodity futures, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Humana quarterly revenue rises 19 percent

(Reuters) - Second-quarter revenue rose to $6.43 billion from $5.41
billion.




Net income rose to $216.8 million, or $1.28 per share,
compared with $89.5 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CV hires Lehman Vice Chairman to review options

(Reuters) - In May, CV announced a plan to cut jobs and reduce the
number of sales territories to lower operating expenses.




"CV Therapeutics is in a unique position with a deep R&D
pipeline, global rights to a growing, first-in-class product in
Ranexa, and the potential 2008 approval of a second unique
compound in regadenoson. I am looking forward to helping the
company build value for these assets," Frank said in the brief
statement Monday.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Taiwanese Banks With Weak Ratings May Face Higher Funding Costs, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwanese banks with weak credit
ratings will probably face rising funding costs because of
``rising risk awareness in the debenture market,'' said Taiwan
Ratings Corp., a subsidiary of Standard & Poor's.

Taiwan's banks, which have largely been absent from the debt
market since 2006, are expected to issue more debentures to boost
capital and lock in lower long-term funding costs anticipating
more interest-rate increases, Taiwan Ratings said in a statement
on its Web site. It is 51 percent owned by Standard & Poor's.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Monster profit falls, announces restructuring

(Reuters) - The company said net income was $28.6 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $39.6 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Futures point lower as credit worries persist

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 30 - Wall Street looked set to add
to last week's sharp losses on Monday, reacting to worsening
sentiment about the global credit environment.




Tightening lending standards threaten to slow or halt the
heavy pace of corporate buy-outs that have fueled an rally in
equities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Los Angeles, Denver, New Jersey to Borrow for Schools, Airport, Housing

(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles Unified School District,
Denver, New Jersey and Maryland will offer the largest of $5
billion of U.S. municipal bond issues planned for this week.

The Los Angeles school system, the second-biggest in the
nation after New York City, plans to borrow $1 billion to build
new schools and repair older ones. Denver will sell debt to
expand its airport and New Jersey will offer bonds to replenish
a trust fund for special-needs housing in two deals totaling
$860 million. Maryland will auction $375 million of debt for
schools, colleges, jails and other state building projects.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China raises banks' reserve requirements again

(Reuters) - The 0.5 percentage point increase in the reserve
requirement ratio would take effect on August 15, the People's
Bank of China said on its Web site, www.pbc.gov.cn. That takes
the ratio for big banks to 12.0 percent.




Many economists were not surprised by the move, though it
is uncommon for the central bank to announce such policy moves
on a Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Decline; Vodafone and DaimlerChrysler Pace the Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell. Vodafone Group
Plc, the world's biggest mobile-phone company, and DaimlerChrysler
AG, the fifth-largest carmaker, paced the decline.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.4 percent to 371.35 at
11:36 a.m. in London after climbing as much as 0.5 percent
earlier. The Stoxx 50 also decreased 0.4 percent, and the Euro
Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, fell 0.6
percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper bounces as spotlight falls on tight supplies

(Reuters) - Copper prices bounced on Monday as the spotlight switched to tight supplies and equities firmed, but fears about economic and demand growth could return to spook the market.

Recovering confidence in metals and equity markets helped London-listed miners such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Anglo American to rise between 0.6 and 2.3 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Botswana stock index slightly lower

(Reuters) - Domestic share prices on Botswana's stock exchange ended marginally lower last week, official data showed on Monday.

The Bank of Botswana said the Domestic Company Index (DCI) of the Botswana Stock Exchange fell 0.1 percent in the week to July 27, ending at 9,859.46 points.


Read more at Reuters Africa

German Benchmark Stocks Including Linde, Henkel Advance; IKB Plummets

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks including Linde AG
climbed after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Volkswagen AG gained after analysts raised their price estimates
on the stock.

IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG tumbled after the lender that
invested in U.S. subprime mortgages cut its profit forecast,
pushing banking stocks lower.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. FTSE 100 Rises for First Time in Five Days; HSBC, ICI, BHP Pace Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks including HSBC Holdings
Plc advanced. The world's fourth-largest bank reported profit
that topped analysts' estimates.

Imperial Chemical Industries Plc and BHP Billiton Ltd. also
rose. Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile-phone
company, fell.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Corporate Bond Risk Surges as Germany's IKB Reports Subprime-Loan Losses

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European
corporate bonds soared to the highest in at least three years
after Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG reported losses on
U.S. subprime mortgages, credit-default swap prices show.

Contracts on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies increased 34,000 euros to 478,000 euros at 10:35 a.m.
in London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Credit-default
swaps are used to speculate on the ability of companies to repay
debt and an increase indicates worsening perceptions of credit
quality.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Johncom rejigs management after M-Net sale

(Reuters) - South African media firm Johnnic Communications has rejigged management as it focuses on expanding its media and entertainment business after selling its stake in pay-TV channels M-Net and Supersport.

Johncom said in a statement on Monday the restructuring would help the company sharpen its focus as it expands its core media and entertainment business. The firm said last year it was selling its stake in M-Net and Supersport to Naspers.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Pound Resumes Rally Against Dollar on View Interest Rates to Rise Further

(Bloomberg) -- The pound resumed its rally against
the dollar today on expectations the Bank of England will raise
interest rates further this year to curb inflation.

The U.K. currency rose after the Centre for Economic and
Business Research yesterday said Britain's flood crisis could
force inflation to quicken to a decade-high, rather than decline
as forecast by the BOE. Policy makers will raise borrowing costs
to 6 percent by year-end after holding them at 5.75 percent at
their Aug. 2 meeting, Bloomberg News surveys predict.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

HSBC says profits up 13 pct

(Reuters) - Pretax profit rose to $14.16 billion for the half-year from $12.52 billion a year ago and ahead of an average forecast of $13.27 billion from a Reuters Estimates poll of nine analysts.




The bank said its result benefited from a gain of $1 billion from the dilution of a holding in its mainland China associates and that pretax profit was up 5 percent excluding that gain.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

KPN to buy Getronics for $1 bln, core profit flat

(Reuters) - By Niclas Mika



AMSTERDAM, July 30 - Telecoms group KPN agreed to buy struggling information technology services company Getronics for 766 million euros , making it the Dutch market leader in IT services.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Italy's Fiat bidding for TK Aluminium - report

(Reuters) - MILAN, July 30 - Italy's Fiat has made an offer to buy TK Aluminium, another of its auto parts suppliers that is in deep financial trouble, the Financial Times reported on Monday.



Fiat may learn as early as Monday if its offer has been accepted, the newspaper said, citing people close to the talks. A failure by TK Aluminium could disrupt car production at the Italian industrial group.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sanyo Q1 oper profit down 72 pct,outlook unchanged

(Reuters) - Operating profit came to 732 million yen in
April-June, down from 2.57 billion yen a year earlier. Net
profit totalled 2.57 billion yen, in a turnaround from a 9.67
billion yen loss, Sanyo said on Monday.




"We saw strong digital camera demand in overseas markets ...
but mobile phone sales shrank substantially in Japan because of
fierce competition," Sanyo Executive Vice President Koichi Maeda
told a news conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

French Stocks Advance; France Telecom Gains as Morgan Stanley Lifts Rating

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks rose, paced by
Michelin & Cie. and France Telecom SA.

The CAC 40 Index advanced 37.44, or 0.7 percent, to 5681.40
at 9:54 a.m. in Paris. The SBF 120 Index also added 0.7 percent.
The CAC sank 5.3 percent last week for its biggest weekly loss
since the five days ending March 28, 2003.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asia shares trim falls on solid earnings

(Reuters) - Asian markets opened sharply weaker and the yen gained after the S&P 500 index suffered its worst week in nearly five years on worries that tighter credit would cause takeover activity to slow.




With earnings season in full swing, there were a raft of positive results to support the market, from firms such as Fujifilm Holdings and Fanuc Ltd. .


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

KPN to buy back Getronics debt, prefs for 415 mln euros

(Reuters) - KPN is planning to make a cash offer for struggling IT
services company Getronics of 6.25 euros per share.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CEDC to buy Polish alcohol distributor, raises outlook

(Reuters) - It now expects to post 2007 profit per share of $1.57 to
$1.73, a cent higher than its previous forecast range.




It increased its forecast for 2008 net sales to $1.26
billion to $1.36 billion, from $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion, and
its profit per share forecast for that year by 3 cents to $2.03
to $2.13.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil falls on profit taking after closing near record

(Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday, as investors took profit after U.S. crude prices leapt more than $2 to their second-highest close on record, fuelled by upbeat signals on the U.S. economy and nagging supply worries.

U.S. crude for September delivery fell 31 cents to $76.71 a barrel in Globex electronic trading by 0733 GMT, trimming Friday's $2.07, or 2.76 percent, surge that took oil to just a cent shy of its record-high settlement price of $77.03, marked on July 14, 2006.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Germany's DAX Shares Including Linde, Volkswagen Increase; TUI Retreats

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks including Linde Group
and Volkswagen AG gained, while TUI AG paced falling shares.

The benchmark DAX Index was little changed at 7449.64 as of
9:08 a.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the country's 110
biggest companies was also little changed at 3842.16.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Alibaba Plans Hong Kong Initial Public Offering for Online Wholesale Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Alibaba.com Corp., operator of Yahoo!
Inc.'s Web site in China, said the company plans a Hong Kong
listing for a subsidiary that helps businesses buy and sell
products over the Internet.

Chief Executive Officer Jack Ma told employees at a July 28
meeting in East China's Hangzhou city, where Alibaba is based,
that the company had taken the first steps for listing its so-
called business-to-business e-commerce unit, Porter Erisman, a
spokesman for Alibaba.com, said today by telephone from Beijing.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Melco PBL Hires Merrill Lynch to Sell $200 Million of Exchangeable Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Melco PBL Entertainment (Macau) Ltd.,
a Macau casino venture between Lawrence Ho and Australian
billionaire James Packer, plans to raise $200 million selling
bond exchangeable into its shares, according to a sale document.

The Nasdaq-listed company plans to allow investors to
convert the bonds into its American depositary receipts at a
premium of between 40 percent and 50 percent to the closing price
of $12.28 on July 27, the document, which was sent to investors,
shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Statoil Q2 tops fcast, keeps 2007 production target

(Reuters) - The result beat a 27.4 billion crown average forecast in a
Reuters poll of 19 analysts, whose estimates had ranged from
22.4 billion to 31.7 billion crowns.




"The 11 percent increase in net income from the second
quarter of 2006 to the second quarter of 2007 was mainly due to
lower income taxes and higher sales volumes of natural gas,"
Statoil ASA said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Statoil Q2 tops forecast, keeps '07 output target

(Reuters) - Pretax profit fell to 28.3 billion crowns in
the second quarter to end-June, beating a 27.4 billion average
forecast in a Reuters poll of 19 analysts, whose estimates had
ranged from 22.4 billion to 31.7 billion crowns.




Revenues at the Nordic region's biggest industrial company
by turnover rose 1 percent to 108.9 billion, beating the average
forecast of 105.7 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News