Newmont sees gold price approaching $750/ounce

(Reuters) - Newmont Mining said on Monday that strong demand from the jewelry sector was set to push gold prices up to around US$750 an ounce in the northern autumn.

"There is very strong demand right now so we are setting ourselves up for an attack on the US$750 per ounce level in early fall this year," said Newmont vice chairman Pierre Lassonde on the sidelines of the annual Diggers and Dealers conference.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Bonds Gain for Second Day; 10-Year Yield Declines to 4.30 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds advanced for
a second day in London, pushing yields down to their lowest in a
week.

The yield on the German 10-year bund, Europe's benchmark,
fell 2 basis points to 4.30 percent by 7:05 a.m. in London, its
lowest since Aug. 1.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

S.Africa fuel industry strike could end soon

(Reuters) - South Africa's fuel industry strike could come to an end as early as Monday if the unions accept a revised offer, labour representatives said on Sunday.

Employers and unions have been locked in talks since the strike began last week, with unions demanding a 10 percent wage increase.


Read more at Reuters Africa

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business - Aug 6

(Reuters) - * Robert Nardelli, recently ousted amid shareholder
discontent as chief executive of Home Depot Inc. , has
been picked to lead Chrysler by its new owners, Cerberus
Capital Management [CBS.UL].




* The complex design of mortgage securities is confounding
homeowners struggling to avoid defaulting on their loans.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

IFC Plans Record India Lending as Rising Rates Lure Power, Oil Companies

(Bloomberg) -- The World Bank arm that invests in
companies said funding for India, its biggest recipient, will
surpass last fiscal year's record $1 billion as interest rates
at a five-year high deter companies from borrowing at home.

The International Finance Corp. will commit $500 million of
the funds in the year ended June 30 to infrastructure, focusing
on oil, transportation, power and gas projects, said Anita
George, chief investment officer of the World Bank division that
lends to companies in emerging markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Indonesia's Mobile-8 says may defer dlr bond issue

(Reuters) - "We have not decided yet, Lehman is still studying whether
we should go ahead or not," Merza Fachys, Mobile-8's corporate
affairs director, told Reuters.




"This week we may come up with a conclusion," Fachys added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Volkswagen cuts prices on China-made cars

(Reuters) - Although China's auto market is growing strongly, car makers have been cutting prices, especially on older models, to attract buyers.




In March, the top European auto maker lowered the price of several locally made cars by up to 11 percent, including Santana and Polo models.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.K. Pound May Fall as Traders Trim Bets on Further Interest-Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound may fall as investors
lower expectations the Bank of England will raise interest rates
again this year.

Interest-rate futures trading shows investors have scaled
back their forecasts for how high the U.K. central bank will lift
rates on concern borrowing costs at a six-year high of 5.75
percent will begin to slow economic expansion. A report today may
show industrial production growth slowed in June.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Newcastle Coal Price Rises as Heavy Rainfall Disrupts Output in Indonesia

(Bloomberg) -- The price of power-station coal at
Australia's Newcastle port rose 5 percent last week on concern
Asian customers will need to buy in the spot market after heavy
rain led some Indonesian to warn they will miss deliveries.

Coal for immediate delivery at the world's largest export
harbor for the fuel, increased $3.27 to $70.08 a metric ton in
the week ended Aug. 3, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.
That's near the record level of $70.88 reached in June. Banpu Pcl
and Straits Asia Resources Ltd. both announced last week they
will miss contracted shipments after declaring force majeure
because of excessive rain.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Chicago Soybeans, Corn Fall on Rain, Equity Concern; Wheat Price Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Soybean futures in Chicago fell after
favorable rain over the weekend benefited crops in the U.S.
Midwest and on speculation a drop in global equity markets will
dent buying interest in commodities. Corn and wheat also declined.

There was rain over the weekend in parts of the Midwest,
including Iowa and Illinois, which may help growth of the soybean
crop, said Kenji Kobayashi, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset
Management Co. Asian stocks fell on concern losses in the U.S.
mortgage market may slow the world's biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Sanofi, Areva, Ilog, Eiffage, Thomson and Korian: French Equity Preview

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

The CAC 40 Index fell 84.18, or 1.5 percent, to 5597.89. The
SBF 120 Index fell 1.4 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper Futures Tumble in Shanghai on Concern U.S. Economic Growth May Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices fell the most in more
than two months in Shanghai amid speculation that an economic
slowdown in the U.S., the second-largest consumer of the metal,
will reduce demand. Zinc and aluminum futures also dropped.

Growth in U.S. service industries slowed more than forecast
in July, and U.S. employers added fewer jobs last month than
projected, reports showed Aug. 3. Stockpiles of copper, which
sometimes moves in tandem with economic growth, also increased
last week as summer holidays and maintenance hurt demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Gold Little Changed in Asia as Dollar Weakness Boosts Appeal; Silver Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Gold in Asia was little changed near a
one-week high, supported by investors demand for the precious
metal as an alternative asset after the dollar weakened on signs
the U.S. economy might slow. Silver rose.

Gold usually moves in the opposite direction to the dollar,
which fell to a four-month low against the Japanese yen and also
traded near a record low against the euro today. Speculation that
a slowing U.S. economy may keep the Federal Reserve from raising
interest rates also weakened the dollar and boosted the appeal of
the precious metal as alternative investment.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Hynix, Toshiba Shares Rise on Outage at Samsung Electronics Chip Factory

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and
Toshiba Corp. rose, bucking declines across Asia, on speculation
a power outage at Samsung Electronics Co. may spur increased
orders for the two smaller memory chipmakers.

Hynix's stock gained as much as 2.8 percent in Seoul and
Toshiba shares climbed 1.8 percent in Tokyo as benchmark indexes
in Asia fell. On Aug. 4, South Korea's Samsung said it resumed
production at the six production lines that were halted a day
earlier because of a power outage, estimating 40 billion won ($43
million) in lost sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

JGBs surge on Treasury gains due to subprime woes

(Reuters) - Such concerns battered U.S. stocks late last week, when
Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index
on Friday posted their worst one-day percentage drops
since a global sell-off in equities in late February.




"JGBs are at the mercy of external factors," said Tetsuya
Miura, bond strategist at Shinko Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Indian Rupee May Gain to 39 This Year as Intervention Will Fail, HSBC Says

(Bloomberg) -- India's rupee may strengthen to 39 by
the end of the year, the strongest since February 1998, because
the central bank will fail in its efforts to stem both currency
gains and inflation, HSBC Holdings Plc said.

The Reserve Bank of India is selling rupees so fast that it
can't mop up the cash injected into the economy, causing
overnight interest rates to fall to near zero, Robert Prior-
Wandesforde, a Singapore-based economist, and Pieter Van Der
Schaft, a Hong Kong-based strategist, wrote in a research note.
That rate is too low for an economy growing at 9 percent a year,
they wrote.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Treasuries Advance on Signs of Slowing Economic Growth, Decline in Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose on speculation
slowing economic growth and losses related to subprime mortgages
will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.

Ten-year notes extended their gains into a fifth week after
reports showed employers added fewer jobs than expected last
month and bond investors are becoming less bearish. Treasuries
are on track to return 5.3 percent this year, the most since
2002, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nissan to launch diesel SUV in Japan in 2008

(Reuters) - The introduction of the diesel X-Trail, due out in the autumn of 2008, could mark the first diesel passenger car launched in Japan by a local brand in years after the powertrain all but disappeared in the 1990s due to its poor image as dirty and loud.




Diesel cars' weakness has been higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide and pollutants, but they are slowly gaining traction around the world following their success in Europe since they can get 30 percent better mileage than gasoline engines and emit less carbon dioxide.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

JGBs surge on Treasuries, futures hit 10-week high

(Reuters) - "JGBs are at the mercy of external factors," said Tetsuya
Miura, bond strategist at Shinko Securities.




The benchmark 10-year yield dropped 5 basis
points to 1.730 percent, hitting its lowest level since late May,
as a 1.5 percent tumble in the Nikkei stocks average also
helped to push JGBs higher.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

ONGC Videsh Offers 700,000 Barrels of Sokol Crude for Loading in October

(Bloomberg) -- ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas unit
of India's state-run explorer, offered 700,000 barrels of Sokol
crude oil from the Sakhalin-1 project for loading in October,
the company said in an offer document e-mailed to Bloomberg News.

Details of the offer are as follows:


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Asian Stocks Decline on U.S. Housing Concerns; Sony, BHP, Macquarie Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by Macquarie
Bank Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co., on concern losses in the
U.S. mortgage market may slow the world's biggest economy.

Sony Corp. and Canon Inc. led Japanese exporters lower
after the yen rose to a four-month high against the dollar,
eroding the value of their dollar-denominated sales. BHP
Billiton Ltd. and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. slid along with
prices of metals and oil.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times, Wall St Journal Asia editions

(Reuters) - --World markets face a nervous start to the week following
the plunge in stocks in the United States on Friday as concerns
mounted about fallout from the US mortgage market turmoil. The
late sell-off in New York followed comments by the chief
financial officer of Bear Stearns , who said credit
markets were as bad as he had seen in 22 years.




--Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe,is expected to
reshuffle his cabinet and convene an extraordinary session of
parliament at the end of the month to try to keep his job after
his party's trouncing in upper house elections.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-Bear president resigns; casualty of credit crisis

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 5 - Bear Stearns Cos
President and co-Chief Operating Officer Warren Spector
resigned on Sunday, becoming a casualty of a credit risk crisis
at the investment bank.




Spector's departure follows Bear Stearns' assertion on
Friday that it is weathering the worst storm in financial
markets in more than 20 years after a major rating company
warned mortgage credit problems could hurt the investment
bank's profits.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Taiwan's Consumer Prices Probably Increased for a Second Month on Energy

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's inflation probably rose for
a second month in July, stoking expectations that consumer
prices will jump in the second half of this year and add
pressure for interest-rate rises.

Prices climbed 0.3 percent from a year earlier, after
rising 0.1 percent in June, according to the median estimate of
15 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The statistics bureau
will release the report at 4 p.m. today in Taipei.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah: Asian Currency Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Indonesia Will Probably Keep Interest Rate Unchanged as Inflation Picks Up

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's central bank will
probably leave interest rates unchanged after 13 cuts from May
2006 because inflation is accelerating.

Bank Indonesia will keep the reference rate for bill sales
at 8.25 percent, according to 17 of 19 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg. The decision is due tomorrow. Two economists expect a
drop to 8 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Rises to Four-Month High Against Dollar as Appetite for Risk Reduces

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose to a four-month high
against the dollar as a slide in U.S. stocks encouraged
investors to sell higher-yielding assets funded by loans in
Japan.

The yen gained to 117.33 per dollar at 7:15 a.m. in Tokyo
from 118.05 on Aug. 3 and reached 117.19, a level it last traded
at on March 29. It was also at 162.30 per euro from 162.58.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

ICI tentatively agrees to sweetened Akzo offer--WSJ

(Reuters) - If all goes well, a formal takeover agreement would be
announced by Aug. 9, the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel,
the paper said.




ICI last week rejected an improved 7.8 billion pound , 650 pence-a-share cash takeover proposal by Akzo and
refused to open its books for due diligence check, saying the
offer undervalued the company. It had also previously rejected
a 600 pence-a-share offer from Akzo in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bear Stearns co-president Spector resigns: WSJ

(Reuters) - Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Journal said directors agreed that Alan D. Schwartz will for now be sole president of Bear.




The article also said that Samuel Molinaro, the firm's longtime chief financial officer, will assume the role of chief operating officer and that Jeffrey Mayer, co-head of fixed income, will take Spector's seat on the executive committee.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Northwest Airlines' pilot union approves deal

(Reuters) - The agreement makes contractual changes on several work
rules pertaining to international flying and settles an
outstanding grievance. In exchange, Northwest will reinstate
premium pay of 50 percent for all pilots flying more than 80
hours a month.




The airline said the pact was "economically neutral" with
the premium-pay costs offset by the work rule changes and the
grievance settlement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Mortgage stress to spur more stock volatility

(Reuters) - Widening fallout from the U.S. housing slump has rattled credit markets, putting investors on edge about the outlook for corporate takeovers and share buybacks -- two catalysts of the market's recent rally to record highs.




On Friday, Standard & Poor's cut its ratings outlook on the debt of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos., fanning concern that troubles in the subprime mortgage market are spreading, which could threaten the economy's health.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Mortgage stress to spur more volatility

(Reuters) - Widening fallout from the U.S. housing slump has rattled credit markets, putting investors on edge about the outlook for corporate takeovers and share buybacks -- two catalysts of the market's recent rally to record highs.




On Friday, Standard & Poor's cut its ratings outlook on the debt of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos., fanning concern that troubles in the subprime mortgage market are spreading, which could threaten the economy's health.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

RPT-Wall St Week Ahead: Mortgage stress to spur more volatility

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 5 - More signs of weakness in the
mortgage market, another surge in oil prices and a Federal
Reserve rate decision could create more turbulence for Wall
Street this week.




Widening fallout from the U.S. housing slump has rattled
credit markets, putting investors on edge about the outlook
for corporate takeovers and share buybacks -- two catalysts of
the market's recent rally to record highs.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

IKB owner plays down talk of higher subprime losses

(Reuters) - "Talk of bigger numbers is complete speculation," said a
spokesman for the bank, which owns 38 percent of IKB.




IKB, which lends to small- and mid-sized firms, has become
Europe's highest-profile casualty so far of the crisis in U.S.
subprime mortgage market.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

China says food safety needs global cooperation

(Reuters) - A range of Chinese exports, from fish and toys to pet food and toothpaste, have been found to be mislabeled, unsafe or dangerously contaminated, creating an international backlash.




But the government has hit back, saying the problems of a few small, rogue companies should not besmirch the whole made-in-China label, insisting it does take effective action to guarantee safety.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Sudan, China to build $630 mln Mauritania railway

(Reuters) - Sudan's Danfodio Holding and China's Transtech Engineering have signed an agreement to build a 460 million euro railway linking Mauritania's capital Nouakchott with southern phosphate deposits at Bofal.

The deal for the 430 km (290 mile) line, which will run close to the Islamic Republic's southern frontier with Senegal, was signed late on Friday in Nouakchott with private Mauritanian investors and Transport Minister Ahmed Ould Mohameden.


Read more at Reuters Africa