Babcock revises $2.2 bln NorthWestern bid

(Reuters) - BBI shares rose as much as 3.5 percent on Tuesday,
outperforming a decline in the broader market , with
some traders expecting the modified bid to win the support of
regulators in the western state of Montana, giving the company
a foothold in the U.S. gas and electricity transmission market.




Still, the deal was far from done.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Malaysian Palm Oil Prices Drop for a Fifth Day on Improved Supply Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures, on the Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange, which trades the benchmark contract, fell
for a fifth day as some investors judged the prices to be high
given a forecast rise in supply of vegetable oils.

Argentina, the third-biggest soybean producer, may have a
record harvest, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said June 22.
Soybean oil is the second most consumed cooking oil after palm
oil, the supply of which typically rises in the second half.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

SEC Rifts Over Hedge Funds, Suits May Be Exposed in U.S. Congress Hearings

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission's five members will testify together before Congress
for the first time in a decade, in a hearing that may expose
rifts over the agency's role in regulating financial markets.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank
called the hearing to examine such topics as securities lawsuits
and the right of shareholders to nominate corporate directors,
after investor advocates accused the SEC of favoring companies.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Platinum Futures Drop in Tokyo; Spot Price Up on South Africa Wage Talks

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures fell in Tokyo as
the Japanese currency strengthened against the dollar. Metal for
immediate delivery gained on concern wage talks in South Africa,
the world's biggest producer, will lead to supply disruptions.

The yen increased to 123.45 per dollar at 12:10 p.m. in
Singapore from 123.67 late in New York yesterday, after reaching
a 4 1/2-year low of 124.13 on June 22.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

BA, GlaxoSmithKline, Thomas Cook Group, Ultra: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from the June 25 close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 21.00, or 0.3 percent, to
6588.40 in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 8.12, or 0.2
percent, to 3398.38.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China Cosco's Shanghai Shares Double on Debut After Drawing Record Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of China Cosco Holdings Co.,
Asia's largest container line, as much as doubled on their
Shanghai trading debut after the company's 15.1 billion yuan
($1.98 billion) stock sale attracted record demand.

The shares rose as high as 17.15 yuan, a premium of about
63 percent to the Hong Kong-listed stock, and traded at 16.68
yuan at 10:57 a.m. The Tianjin-based company sold 1.78 billion A
shares, or a 20 percent stake, at 8.48 yuan each to buy new
ships and a stake in a logistics company.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan Shares Drop, Led by Exporters, Nissan, Komatsu, on Subprime Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares fell on lingering
concern that losses tied to U.S. subprime mortgages will curb
growth in the world's biggest economy. Nissan Motor Co. and
Komatsu Ltd. which rely on sales there, paced losses.

U.S. stocks declined for a second day yesterday on
speculation hedge fund losses are greater than forecast and after
a report showed sales of previously owned homes declined in May.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-S.Korea pension fund denies interest in buying KEB

(Reuters) - SEOUL, June 26 - South Korea's national pension
fund denied on Tuesday a report that it was seeking to form a
consortium to buy Korea Exchange Bank from U.S.
private equity fund Lone Star [LS.UL].




But the fund said that KEB could be an alternative investment
target to boost returns but that it has not yet considered a
purchase of the bank.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Toyota, Matsushita in cross-shareholdings -paper

(Reuters) - Matsushita, which had a 0.57 percent stake in Toyota in the
year ended in March 2006, has raised that holding by investing
tens of billions of yen, it said, without specifying the size of
the new stake.




The two firms together own Panasonic EV Energy Co., a maker
of batteries for Toyota's hybrid vehicles.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japan's Industrial Production Probably Rose for First Time in Three Months

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's industrial production
probably rose for the first time in three months as demand for
the country's automobiles and electronics increased.

Production climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent in May
from a month earlier, according to the median estimate of 46
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Trade Ministry is
scheduled to release the report on June 28 at 8:50 a.m. in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

AMA to seek regulation of retail health clinics

(Reuters) - The AMA said it opposes the clinics, which they said do not offer comprehensive care and might put patients at risk.




"Our concerns are very simple: safety and patient care," said Dr. Rodney Osborn, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, who practices in Peoria, Illinois.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Roche makes hostile offer to buy Ventana

(Reuters) - PHILADELPHIA, June 25 - Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Monday it would launch a tender offer to acquire Ventana Medical Systems Inc. for about $3 billion, or $75 per share in cash, after its efforts to negotiate a merger were rebuffed.



The offer represents a 45 percent premium to Ventana's closing stock price of $51.74 on Monday on Nasdaq. Trading in shares of Ventana was halted for the announcement. When extended trading resumed, Ventana's share jumped 52 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sprint using Qualcomm patch to workaround ITC ban

(Reuters) - The International Trade Commission on June 7 banned the
import of new high-speed wireless phones containing Qualcomm
chips that the ITC said infringed a patent owned by Broadcom
Corp. . The ban exempts phones already being imported.




Because Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless service, depends on
devices with Qualcomm chips for virtually all its phones with
high-speed Web links, analysts had said it could be prevented
from launching new phone models as a result of the ban.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

LivePerson agrees to acquire Israel's Kasamba

(Reuters) - LivePerson expects a decrease in fourth-quarter earnings
primarily due to deal-related amortization and additional stock
compensation expense of 1 cent a share to 2 cents a share. The
company also sees an increase in monthly revenue of about $1
million upon closing, it said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bondholders effort to block Tyco breakup gains support

(Reuters) - Tyco is planning to spin off its electronics and
health-care divisions into independent companies by the end of
June. The remaining Tyco International will consist of the
company's fire and security and engineered products divisions.




The bondholders believe that Tyco failed to obtain bondholder
consent for the proposed breakup.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Delphi-UAW pact paves way for plant sales, cuts

(Reuters) - By David Bailey



CHICAGO, June 25 - Delphi Corp.'s deal with the United Auto Workers details plans for four plants it will keep and 17 it will shed along with wage reductions seen as crucial to the auto parts maker's exit from bankruptcy.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bear may have to bail out second fund: analyst

(Reuters) - But at current valuations, Bear Stearns offers an excellent
value, he added.




Bear Stearns' shares fell as much as 5.3 percent on Monday.
They have fallen about 9 percent since the end of the second
week of June, when talk of trouble at the fund began to arise.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TREASURIES-Bonds climb on safety bid as stocks stumble

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - U.S. Treasury debt prices
rose on Monday, driven by falling stock markets and investors'
concerns that problems in hedge funds with large subprime
mortgage holdings could spill into financial markets.




Bond prices opened higher after foreign bond markets firmed
in reaction to stock weakness overseas. Although U.S. stock
markets opened higher, squeezing bond gains, they suddenly
turned lower in mid-afternoon trade as subprime woes bubbled to
the surface again.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Perceived Risk of Subprime Loans Increases After Housing and Payment Data

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning low-
rated subprime mortgage bonds from 2006 increased amid data
showing further weakness in the housing and mortgage markets,
according to derivatives.

The ABX-HE-BBB- 06-2 index of credit-default swaps on
20 securities rated BBB- and created in the first half of 2006
fell about 1.8 percent today to 62, surpassing a February low
for the first time, according to Deutsche Bank AG. The ABX-HE-
BBB- 07-1 index of bonds from the second half of 2006 fell about
3.3 percent to 56, the seventh new low reached since June 12.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Mexico stocks fall, hurt by losses in Walmex

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index slipped 0.43 percent
to 31,507.54 points. The peso was up 0.19
percent to 10.814 per dollar.




Retail sales rose a less-than-expected 0.7 percent in April
over then same month a year ago, according to government data
released during the final minutes of stock trading on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Indexes rise as bond yields fall

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as
a drop in benchmark bond yields and oil prices below $70 a
barrel calmed inflation concerns, while data tempered worries
about the housing market.




The retreat in yields of U.S. government debt helped buying
of interest-rate sensitive stocks, including shares of
utilities companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Microsoft expects Google complaint over desktop fix

(Reuters) - A spokesman for Microsoft told Reuters that lawyers representing Google had indicated a complaint would be filed shortly before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the judge overseeing Microsoft's 2002 antitrust consent decree.



) Keywords: GOOGLE MICROSOFT/


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

News Corp, Dow Jones near editorial pact-sources

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - Advisers to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Dow Jones & Co. Inc. could reach a pact on editorial independence as early as Monday, a source familiar with the situation said, heightening expectations a takeover deal could soon be reached.



A pact to protect the journalistic integrity is seen as the biggest hurdle to Murdoch's unsolicited $5 billion offer to buy the publisher of the venerable Wall Street Journal newspaper and owner of the Dow Jones Newswires.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

REFILE-Almost half of Canadians oppose BCE-Telus merger

(Reuters) - The Angus Reid Strategies poll, released on Sunday, found
48 percent of respondents believe the federal government should
not approve the merger if it were to occur, while only 27
percent think the deal should get a go-ahead from Ottawa and 25
percent are unsure.




Last week, Telus touted the creation of a "national
champion" by proposing a takeover of BCE, Canada's largest
telecom company. Telus became the fourth party interested in
mounting a bid for Montreal-based BCE. The other three are
buyout consortiums that each include a different U.S.
private-equity firm.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

John Hancock settles SEC probe, to pay $21.2 mln

(Reuters) - John Hancock did not admit or deny the SEC findings, but will pay $21.2 million, including disgorgement, prejudgement interest and civil monetary penalty, the agency said.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US STOCKS-Indexes climb on lower bond yields

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 25 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as
data on existing-home sales were in line with analysts'
forecasts, allowing investors to focus on the recent pull-back
in bond yields and the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting
this week.




General Motors Corp. gave a boost to the Dow after
Goldman Sachs lifted its rating on shares of the largest U.S.
automaker.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Existing home sales down slightly in May

(Reuters) - Sales were off 0.3 percent in May and hit their lowest level since June 2003 when the pace was 5.94 million units.




The inventory of homes for sale rose 5.0 percent to 4.43 million units at the end of May which represents 8.9 months' supply at the current sales pace. That is the highest months' supply since June 1992, although the 1992 figure only includes single-family homes while the current data also includes condos.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

AmTrust Financial to buy workers-compensation manager

(Reuters) - The close of the deal is subject to regulatory approval, AmTrust Financial said in a statement.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Fannie Mae's portfolio grew 13.8 pct in May

(Reuters) - The retained, or investment, portfolio has shrunk by 2.0
percent so far this year.




Gross mortgage portfolio growth was driven by purchases of
$21.8 billion. Into the month of June, option-adjusted spreads
have continued to widen, the company said in its May monthly
summary.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Europe approves once-daily Cialis for impotence

(Reuters) - The drug's maker, Eli Lilly and Co. , said on Monday that the green light from the European Commission meant Cialis was the first erectile dysfunction medicine cleared for continuous use.



Until now, drugs such as Cialis and Pfizer Inc.'s rival product, Viagra, have been taken as needed.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Yen Rebounds From a Record Low Against the Euro as Investors Reduce Risks

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rebounded from a record low
against the euro and rose for the first time in four days versus
the dollar after the Bank of International Settlements warned
about the risks of betting against Japan's currency.

Investors also exited the so-called carry trades, in which
they buy higher-yielding assets funded by loans in the yen, after
Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said he didn't rule
out further interest-rate increases, pushing down stocks in Asia
and Europe. Concern over losses from Bear Stearns Cos. hedge
funds also led people to reduce risks, adding to yen buying.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Fannie Mae's portfolio grew 13.8 pct in May

(Reuters) - Fannie Mae's duration gap, an interest rate risk measure,
stayed at zero months, unchanged from the previous month.




A zero duration gap indicates that Fannie Mae's payments to
its debtholders matches income the company receives on its
assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold, Silver Futures Fall in New York on Speculation Dollar to Strengthen

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver fell in New York on
speculation the dollar will strengthen, reducing the appeal of
precious metals as alternative investments.

Gold usually moves in the opposite direction of the
dollar, which today traded higher against a basket of six major
currencies. Before today, gold had gained 3 percent this year,
while the dollar index had fallen 1.6 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Walgreen profit rises

(Reuters) - Walgreen is on track to surpass its goal of having 7,000 stores in 2010, Chief Executive Jeffrey Rein said in a statement.




Profit was $561.2 million, or 56 cents per share, in the fiscal third quarter, compared with $469.2 million, or 46 cents, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Zambia Konkola miners reject 15 pct pay rise - source

(Reuters) - Unions leaders for miners at Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) have rejected a 15 percent pay rise offered by management and are demanding a 40 percent increase, a management source told Reuters on Monday.

The source said KCM management had declined to award workers more than 15 percent in salaries and wages citing huge expenditure on upgrades at its Nkana Smelter and the new Konkola Deep Mine Project (KDMP), where more than $400 million will be spent to develop the mine.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Ness Technologies to fund Nesspro Global expansion through debt

(Reuters) - Ness will fund the expansion and other planned acquisitions
through a $50 million credit facility from commercial banks,
the technology services provider said.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

LSE confident of shareholder support for Italy deal

(Reuters) - LSE shares fell as much as 8 percent in early trade, amid concerns its biggest shareholder, U.S. rival Nasdaq , might oppose the all-share deal, or might abandon its interest in a bid for the LSE and sell its 30 percent stake.




Some analysts also said the LSE was paying a high price to strengthen its position as Europe's biggest stock market.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Persian Gulf Crude Oil Tanker Rates May Decline for Sixth Day on Ship Glut

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of hiring supertankers to
transport Middle East crude oil on the busiest shipping route to
Asia, which fell every day last week, may extend its decline as
demand for July cargoes fails to cut an oversupply of vessels.

Refineries still need to hire about 60 percent of the
vessels they need to ship cargoes from Persian Gulf ports next
month. A glut of carriers ``appears to be keeping a cap on
things at the moment,'' said Simon Chattrabhuti, an analyst at
London-based shipbroker Galbraith's Ltd., in an e-mailed note.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Asian Shares Decline on Concern Over U.S. Home Sales; China Stocks Plunge

(Bloomberg) -- Asian shares fell, led by Sony Corp.
and BHP Billiton Ltd., on concern figures this week will show a
drop in U.S. home sales, signaling declining demand in the
region's largest export market.

``Stocks globally take a fall every time there's more bad
news on U.S. housing-related or lending data because there's a
threat that this may spill over into other parts of the
economy,'' said Eric Betts, a strategist at Nomura Australia Ltd.
in Sydney. ``This wouldn't be good for companies that depend on
the U.S. consumer.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Blackstone Sparks Lobbying `Battle Royale' Over Hedge-Fund, Buyout Profits

(Bloomberg) -- Stephen Schwarzman, the founder of
Blackstone Group LP, stood beaming before 600 Champagne-sipping
investors in the baroque ballroom of New York's Pierre Hotel,
transformed into a black and white palace for the occasion.

At that moment, on June 14, Schwarzman was the master of
the financial universe, fresh from a blitz of media attention
and about to launch the most anticipated initial public offering
of the year. An hour later, his victory lap was thrown off
course by word of a bill in the U.S. Senate to more than double
Blackstone's tax burden -- the first of what are likely to be a
slew of proposals and regulations aimed at hedge funds and
private-equity firms.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Borsa Italiana says "no doubt" over MTS option

(Reuters) - The Financial Times reported on Monday that NYSE Euronext
was looking closely at the legal terms of the MTS option.




Separately, London Stock Exchange Chief Executive
Clara Furse told analysts the LSE would continue its policy of
reducing fees in the wake of the Borsa Italiana deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Tyson, Syntroleum set to announce new plant: report

(Reuters) - Neither company was immediately available for comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Universal Cuts World Burley Tobacco Estimate on Mozambique and Malawi

(Bloomberg) -- Universal Corp., the world's biggest
tobacco-leaf merchant, slashed its forecast for global
production of burley tobacco by 5.9 percent after reassessing
crop estimates for Malawi and Mozambique.

The company, based in Richmond, Virginia, forecast a world
burley tobacco crop of 657 million kilograms (1.45 billion
pounds) this year in an e-mailed report on June 22. That
compares with a forecast of 698 million kilograms made last
month.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Indonesia's Lippo Plans to Sell Shares in $5 Billion of Real Estate Trusts

(Bloomberg) -- Lippo Group plans to sell shares in
real estate investment trusts that will buy as much as $5 billion
of its Asian assets, freeing up capital to invest in higher-
yielding projects including Singapore residential developments.

The Jakarta-based company, which set up its first property
fund in Singapore last year, plans to sell shares of trusts
backed by shopping malls and office buildings, Chief Executive
Officer James Riady said in an interview yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-SK Telecom to combine Web arms, won't buy hanarotel

(Reuters) - SEOUL, June 25 - SK Telecom Co. will
combine its Internet portal unit SK Communications Co. with
affiliate Empas Corp. as South Korea's top mobile
operator seeks to beef up Web and e-commerce businesses.




SK Telecom Chief Executive Kim Shin-bae also reiterated on
Monday that the company had no intention to buy local fixed-line
and broadband company hanarotelecom .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News