Venezuela says some oil majors reject takeovers

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil , ConocoPhillips , Chevron Corp. , Norway's Statoil , Britain's BP Plc and France's Total are the targeted companies in projects valued above $30 billion and capable of producing 600,000 barrels per day.




"It seems there are some transnational companies that do not want to accept ," said Chavez, who met his energy minister to review the progress in negotiations earlier on Friday.


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UPDATE 1-Jones Apparel agrees to sell Barneys for $825 mln

(Reuters) - PHILADELPHIA, June 22 - Jones Apparel Group Inc. said on Friday it has agreed to sell Barneys New York, the luxury department store chain, for $825 million to a Dubai-based private equity firm while considering other offers for the chain or entire company.



Under the agreement with Istithmar, Jones Apparel can weigh other offers made for Barneys by July 22, and it can explore bids for the whole company through August 11.


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Chile stocks eke out new record high, peso falls

(Reuters) - The all-market IGPA index gained 0.48 percent to
14,892.61 points, while the trade weighted blue-chip IPSA index
rose 0.47 percent to 3,447.45 points.




The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.37 percent
on Friday amid concerns about credit markets, but the Chilean
bourse turned positive in late trade, led by steel and iron ore
producer CAP and shipping company Vapores.


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First Albany says closes fixed income middle markets group

(Reuters) - The proceeds will be used to repay short-term bank loans.





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Canada PM, opposition agree: no election please

(Reuters) - Harper has been in office for about 18 months and on Friday
the Conservatives' second budget was passed by Parliament, a
feat he boasted had not been achieved by a minority government
in four decades.




But polls show his party does not have enough support to
win more than half of the seats in Parliament if a vote were
held now. In fact, one poll this month put support for the
Conservatives three percentage points behind the Liberals.


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Jones Apparel agrees to sell Barneys for $825 mln

(Reuters) - Jones Apparel said it expected to report a net gain from the deal of about $290 million. It may use the proceeds to return cash to shareholders, repay some short-term debt or other uses.



) Keywords: JONESAPPAREL DEAL


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UPDATE 1-Fitch may cut BSAM CDO rating

(Reuters) - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. on Friday said it would
provide up to $3.2 billion in financing for a struggling hedge
fund it manages. But sources said a second fund is still
working out a restructuring plan with creditors. For details,
see [ID:nN22483393]




Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest U.S. investment bank, has
held tense negotiations with creditors for more than a week
after two funds suffered big losses from bad investments in
securities linked to subprime mortgages and other forms of
debt.


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GM, Ford to offer month-end showroom discounts

(Reuters) - The plans are expected to include some zero-percent-financing offers for GM buyers, they said. The terms of the competing Ford discounts were not immediately available but were expected to be broadly similar, one of the persons said.




Both GM and Ford have held incentive spending largely flat this year as part of an attempt to move away from the kind of blowout sales and volatile monthly sales tallies that dogged results for the Detroit automakers earlier this decade.


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UPDATE 2-Bear Stearns bails out hedge fund

(Reuters) - By Dan Wilchins



NEW YORK, June 22 - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. on Friday said it would provide up to $3.2 billion in financing for a struggling hedge fund it manages, but sources said a second fund is still working out a restructuring plan with creditors.


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UPDATE 1-Canada telecoms merger up to regulators - Harper

(Reuters) - Harper told reporters he would ensure that any deal between
BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. would undergo a fair
and thorough regulatory review under existing laws, but said
politicians would keep their hands off.




"This government would want to consider a combination of
forces in the market but obviously the requirements of the law
as it exists," Harper told reporters in Ottawa.


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Icahn says has no plans to raise Lear bid

(Reuters) - Icahn's offer for Lear has faced criticism from some shareholders who have said the price was too low.




Lear shares were recently trading unchanged at $36.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.


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FX OUTLOOK-U.S. yields may keep fueling dollar rise

(Reuters) - The benchmark yield on the 10-year Treasury note exploded
above 5 percent two weeks ago as signs of strength in the U.S.
economy sharply reduced expectations for Fed interest rate cuts
this year, in turn supporting the dollar.




"Yields will continue to either hold their ground or push a
little higher and that will be dollar supportive," said Matt
Kassel, director of foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets.


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Hogs Futures Drop to 12-Week Low on Weak Pork Demand; Cattle Price Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago fell to a
12-week low, heading for the biggest weekly decline since
December, as pork demand weakened. Cattle also declined.

Meatpackers have already purchased the hogs they need to
meet orders for the U.S. Independence Day holiday on July 4,
and demand will fall after that, according to Allendale Inc.
livestock analyst Rich Nelson. Prices for pork loin, the source
of most chops, were headed for their fourth weekly decline in
five weeks, signaling shrinking demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Fitch may cut CDO ratings linked to subprime loans

(Reuters) - Collateralized debt obligations are bonds backed by other
debt including corporate bonds, subprime mortgage securities
and junk bonds.




Securities from "three 2003 diversified CDOs and one high grade CDO issued last year may be
downgraded," Fitch said in a statement.


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Nordic Shares Slide, Paced by A.P. Moeller-Maersk, Carlsberg; Aker Jumps

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks fell, led by A.P.
Moeller-Maersk A/S after the shipping line said its chief
executive officer quit and is being replaced by Carlsberg A/S's
Nils Smedegaard Andersen. Shares in the beermaker also slid.

Aker ASA, the investment company of billionaire Kjell Inge
Roekke, limited declines in Norway.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Adelphia releases Time Warner Cable shares

(Reuters) - The Time Warner Cable shares were held in reserve, or a
True Up Holdback account, since the reorganization became
effective in February. The shares of Class A common stock were
valued at about $37.80 for purposes of the plan.




Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. spun off 16
percent of its cable division in March at a value of around
$5.5 billion. The move enabled Time Warner Cable, the No. 2
U.S. cable operator, to use the stake to buy some of Adelphia's
cable system assets last year.


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Delta Air raises domestic fares $5 each way

(Reuters) - But this time could be different.




"Given the continued rise in jet kero prices, we ascribe a greater than usual probability of competitive matching," JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker said in a note.


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FACTBOX-Expected timetable in battle for ABN AMRO

(Reuters) - A Dutch court is due to rule on the sale of LaSalle. Here is
an expected timetable of events, based on information from the
companies, court, analysts and sources familiar with the
situation:




In next week -- Dutch advocate general expected to provide
opinion to Supreme Court on the contested sale of LaSalle to
Bank of America, which will be made public.


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UPDATE 1-ACE Aviation to sell 70 pct of maintenance unit

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 22 - ACE Aviation Holdings Inc . said on Friday it agreed to sell a 70 percent stake in its maintenance division to a U.S. private equity consortium.



ACE, the parent company of Air Canada , said it sold the interest in Air Canada Technical Services to private investment firm Sageview Capital LLC and KKR Private Equity Investors L.P., the publicly traded fund of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.


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Oil Rises as Nigerian Strike Moves Into Third Day, Spurring Supply Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose as a general strike in
Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, continued for a third day
after the government and unions failed to reach an agreement over
an increase in fuel prices.

Yesterday, oil unions withdrew workers from export terminals
in a bid to halt shipments and intensify pressure on the new
administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua. About a third of the
nation's output was already halted by political and criminal
violence. The strike comes during the summer driving season, when
U.S. fuel consumption peaks.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Congo to cancel logging deals to protect forests

(Reuters) - Congo is ready to cancel more than half its timber contracts to protect the world's second biggest tropical forest but it wants more aid from foreign governments to help do so, the environment minister said.

Democratic Republic of Congo is carrying out a World Bank-sponsored review of 156 logging deals, most of them issued during the vast country's 1998-2003 civil war and a subsequent three-year transitional government.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Thomson Learning Drops $540 Million in Notes From LBO Bond Offering

(Bloomberg) -- Thomson Learning, the textbook and
educational testing unit of Thomson Corp., cut its bond offering
by $540 million to $1.6 billion and eliminated so-called toggle
notes from the sale, said KDP Investment Advisors Inc.

Proceeds are being used to finance the leveraged buyout of
the Thomson Learning and Nelson Canada assets by London-based
buyout firm Apax Partners and the Ontario Municipal Employees
Retirement System.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Weyerhaeuser to shut Alberta joists plant; cut 85 jobs

(Reuters) - Weyerhaeuser said the move comes after a strategic review of its TJI joist business, and the decline in housing starts in the North American market provided the impetus for the decision.






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Nigerian inflation climbs to 4.6 pct in May

(Reuters) - Nigerian year-on-year consumer price inflation climbed to 4.6 percent in May from 4.2 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

The composite consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent to 161.9 in May compared to 161.1 percent in April, the bureau said in its latest monthly report.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Pianalto-Fed wants efficient,effective credit flow

(Reuters) - "It is important to keep in mind the overall outcome we are
trying to achieve, which is the efficient and effective flow of
credit and capital," Pianalto said in remarks prepared for
delivery at a Cleveland Fed conference on community
development.




While Pianalto focused on troubles in the subprime mortgage
market, she did not discuss the outlook for the U.S. economy or
monetary policy. A copy of her remarks was made available ahead
of delivery.


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FACTBOX: The Blackstone Group-key facts

(Reuters) - --Founded by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman in 1985.
Started with $400,000, after the two left brokerage Lehman
Brothers.




--Office: 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York


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UPDATE 1-Care Investment Trust IPO raises $209.8 million

(Reuters) - The 15 million share offering priced at $15 per share,
compared with a forecast range of $15 to $17.




The offering price gives the company an initial market
capitalization of $350.7 million.


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AIRSHOW-EADS says not planning Dassault Aviation stake sale

(Reuters) - "Contrary to the information published today in the Financial Times, the CEOs of EADS, Tom Enders and Louis Gallois, want to clarify that the sale of EADS' stake in Dassault Aviation is neither presently being studied by the EADS board nor is on its agenda," EADS said in a statement.



) Keywords: EADS DASSAULT/


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European Stocks Decline on Ifo Report; BHP Billiton, Julius Baer Slide

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped for a second
day after German business confidence fell more than economists
forecast in June, adding to signs that growth in Europe's largest
economy may slow.

BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining shares lower on concern China
will raise interest rates to cool the economy. Julius Baer
Holding AG declined the most in a year after UBS AG sold part of
its stake in the Swiss Bank, thwarting takeover speculation.
Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc led a decline by banks on
concern that losses in the U.S. mortgage market may grow.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kenya tea production up 21 pct in May to 32 mln kg

(Reuters) - Kenya's tea output rose by 21 percent in May to 32 million kg compared with 26 million kg produced during the same period last year, due to improved weather, the Tea Board of Kenya said on Friday.

Production in April was 30.6 million kg.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Shares set for weak start; eyes on Blackstone

(Reuters) - Investor focus is likely to be on private equity group Blackstone , which makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange after its initial public offering at $31 a share valued it at $33.48 billion and marked a watershed for the booming private equity industry.




"The Street is talking of an opening $2 to $3 higher, and it's clear that those who got in early will make money," Steve Previs of Jefferies International said.


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Siemens in talks with Areva over Framatome stake

(Reuters) - German industrial conglomerate Siemens has a 34 percent
stake in Framatome. French state-controlled nuclear group Areva
has an option until 2011 to buy Siemens out.




Asked whether it was to be expected that Areva would
exercise its option, Voges said: "That's it."


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EU body to expand Web search probe, write to Google

(Reuters) - The European Union's data watchdog said on Thursday it will expand its investigation of how Web search engines retain information on Internet surfers to other companies beyond sector leader Google.

The body last month questioned Google's privacy policies and will now "deal with search engines in general, and scrutinise their activities from a data protection point of view," it said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Greek OTE's Vourloumis re-elected as CEO

(Reuters) - The government picked Vourloumis shortly after winning
elections in 2004, with a brief to streamline OTE, cut waste and
lower labour costs in order to make the telecom more attractive
to a potential foreign partner.




The changes have been met with continued opposition from
unions and opposition political parties and have led to rolling
strikes.


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U.K. Stocks Including National Grid Decline; Pearson, Kingfisher Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks including National Grid
Plc dropped. Pearson Plc, Kingfisher Plc and Unilever rose.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index was little changed, slipping
8.5, or 0.1 percent, to 6587.5 in London at 8:32 a.m. The FTSE
All-Share Index lost less than 0.1 percent. Ireland's ISEQ Index
declined 0.1 percent to 9489.57.


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Lone Star says sold stake in KEB for $1.29 bln

(Reuters) - Grayken added Lone Star was "actively looking" for a
strategic investor for the majority stake it will retain in KEB.




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