Friday, June 29, 2007

NETeller founder pleads guilty in gambling case

(Reuters) - Stephen Lawrence, 47, during a hearing before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan, also agreed to cooperate with the government.




Lawrence, who is also a former chairman of the company, faces a maximum sentence of five years on the conspiracy charge for his role in the operation of the payment processor.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Apple iPhone launch draws gadget geeks, hired help

(Reuters) - "It's the newest toy. I'm 62 -- I don't have much time left to buy toys," said Livingstone, who stood in line with his friend Mark Stevenson, 50. They rented a room across the street and took turns to sleep.




The pair were among hundreds of people who lined up -- some for up to five days -- outside Apple stores and outlets of AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier for the next two years, for the launch at 6 p.m. local time in each U.S. time zone.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Savvis cuts '07 revenue view; prepays $342.5 mln debt

(Reuters) - Microsoft has been the sole customer in the data centers
under a colocation contract due to expire at the end of 2010.
This contract generated about $16.5 million of revenue for the
first half of 2007, the telecommunications carrier said.




For 2007, the company now sees total revenue of $805
million to $820 million, down from its prior view of $820
million to $835 million. Analysts on average expect $827.6
million, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

EFI restructures board after internal options probe

(Reuters) - The committee also said Joseph Cutts, chief financial
officer from April 2000 to April 2006 and more recently chief
operating officer will no longer continue in any top executive
office. EFI said Coutts is staying with the company in a lesser
role, with new responsibilities to be determined.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Hogs Fall to Three-Month Low on Corn's Plunge; Cattle Are Little Changed

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago fell to the
lowest in more than three months as corn prices plunged,
reducing the likelihood that farmers will thin herds to save on
feed costs. Cattle prices were little changed.

Corn has fallen 16 percent in the past two weeks, or about
68 cents a bushel. It takes about 12 bushels, or 670 pounds (304
kilograms), to fatten a 40-pound feeder pig to a slaughter
weight of 250 pounds.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US STOCKS-Indexes end down as financial shares drag

(Reuters) - For the week, stocks also advanced. The Dow rose 0.4
percent, the S&P 500 inched up 0.05 percent and the Nasdaq
gained 0.6 percent.




The Dow Jones industrial average was down 13.66
points, or 0.10 percent, to end unofficially at 13,408.62. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.36 points, or
0.16 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,503.35. The Nasdaq
Composite Index was down 5.14 points, or 0.20 percent,
to close unofficially at 2,603.23.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TBS International files for $300 mln mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

IPO-VIEW-MF Global poised for $4 billion IPO

(Reuters) - The offering could raise about $3.8 billion, putting it in
a league with Blackstone Group's high-profile $4.13
billion IPO earlier this month. But investors are likely hoping
that MF Global's debut won't mirror the rocky entry of
Blackstone into the public markets.




The offerings come amid new headwinds affecting private
investment funds, including the possibility of higher taxes and
lower returns. There are also market worries about a fallout in
the securitized debt markets, reflected by the recent implosion
of two Bear Stearns hedge funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Bain Capital to buy Brakes for $2.8 bln

(Reuters) - They did not specify the purchase price, but a source
familiar with the transaction said the price was 1.4 billion
pounds .




CD&R bought Brakes in 2002 for about 430 million pounds.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Mexico Jan-May fiscal surplus 138 bln pesos

(Reuters) - Mexico's Congress approved a balanced budget for 2007 in
December, the second balanced fiscal plan in two years, after a
long history of overspending.




President Felipe Calderon hopes to put Mexico's accounts
further in order with a fiscal reform plan that is being
debated in Congress and could be approved by September.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US federal agency debt issuance rose in first half

(Reuters) - A total of $665 billion was issued for all of 2006, an
increase of 6.7 percent from 2005, Thomson Financial said at
the end of last year.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil Rises to 10-Month High on Expectations of Stronger Demand for Gasoline

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high in
New York and gasoline extended its three-day climb on
expectations that demand will accelerate with the summer travel
season.

Prices climbed above $70 for the first time since September
yesterday after an Energy Department report showed that U.S.
gasoline supplies fell last week as refinery operations rose.
Pump prices climbed to a record in May because of lagging fuel
supplies. Oil stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, where oil traded
in New York is delivered, plunged 5.7 percent, the report showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Emerging-Market Bonds Reverse Gains to Tumble on Subprime Mortgage Fears

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds fell, sending
yields over Treasuries to their widest in more than three
months, as investors pared holdings of risky securities.

The declines erased gains the bonds posted after a U.S.
government report showed the inflation measure most watched by
the Federal Reserve eased in May. Emerging-market debt has
slumped this week on concerns that losses linked to subprime
mortgages may spread, increasing aversion to high-risk assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-A. Schulman posts Q3 results, revamps operations

(Reuters) - The Akron, Ohio-based company posted sales of $467 million,
a 9.3 percent increase from a year earlier.




Shares of the company rose 10 percent, or $2.24, to $24.71
on Nasdaq early Friday afternoon.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise on inflation data,security threat

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. government bond prices
rose on Friday as U.S. data showed benign inflation and
security concerns in Britain drove some investors into the
relative safe-haven of Treasuries.




But a slightly-stronger-than-anticipated report on business
activity in the U.S. Midwest region and firmer equities eroded
some of the gains. Month-end and quarter-end buying kept bond
prices, which move inversely to yields, at higher levels.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FACTBOX-Africa's trading blocs

Pound Posts Sixth Quarterly Gain on Speculation Rates Will Keep Rising

(Bloomberg) -- The pound posted a quarterly gain,
its sixth in a row, after a rise in consumer and mortgage lending
supported the view that the Bank of England will keep raising
interest rates to curb inflation.

Data showed consumer credit growth almost doubled in May and
mortgage approvals unexpectedly rose to a three-month high,
suggesting the BOE must do more to cool price growth. Policy
makers next decide on interest rates on July 5, and economists
surveyed by Bloomberg News expect them to lift the main benchmark
a quarter-point to 5.75 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Stocks Advance in Quarter; DaimlerChrysler, LVMH, Swatch Rise

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose, posting a
fourth consecutive quarterly advance, after reports in the U.S.
signaled the world's biggest economy will keep growing without
stoking inflation.

DaimlerChrysler AG and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA
led gains today by companies most dependent on the U.S. for
sales. Swatch Group AG rallied after Deutsche Bank AG recommended
buying shares in the watchmaker because revenue and profit
margins may increase. Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc rose as
oil climbed to a 10-month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

SAfrica ANC opens door for Mbeki to remain leader

(Reuters) - Although Mbeki must step down as the country's president in
2009, the ANC's constitution does not prevent him from staying
on as its leader, and he has not ruled out making another bid
for the job.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Rand gains from trade, bonds consolidate

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand gained on the dollar on Friday after a smaller than expected trade deficit, while bonds firmed in step with the currency.

The rand was trading at 7.0425 against the greenback, 0.75 percent above its New York close after touching a five-week high of 7.0280.


Read more at Reuters Africa

CHC Helicopter wins C$1.1 bln in Statoil contracts

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, June 29 - CHC Helicopter Corp. said on Friday it has been awarded two contracts by Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA for helicopter services in the Norwegian Sea valued at about C$1.1 billion .



CHC, a provider of helicopter services to the global offshore oil and gas industry, said the five- and seven-year contracts, each with options to extend for up to four years, represent the largest bundle of helicopter service contracts ever awarded.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Falls to Lowest Level in More Than Three Weeks Versus Euro on Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to the lowest level
in more than three weeks against the euro after reports showed
the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation slowed in
May and consumer spending rose less than economists' forecasts.

The data may raise speculation the Fed will keep interest
rates unchanged this year while other central banks extend
increases, dimming the allure of dollar-denominated assets. The
U.S. currency fell to the lowest level in 22 years against the
New Zealand dollar and the weakest since 1989 versus the
Australian dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Banco de Chile soars on Citigroup alliance talks

(Reuters) - SANTIAGO, June 29 - Shares of Chile's second-largest bank, Banco de Chile , jumped on Friday after its majority shareholder said it had reopened talks with giant U.S. bank Citigroup about a strategic alliance.



The shares were up 9.1 percent after earlier registering a rise of 11.9 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Shares of RIM jump 18 pct after strong earnings

(Reuters) - Analysts at UBS, Bear Stearns, Banc of America, Credit Suisse and Morgan Keegan all upgraded RIM shares.




Though some analysts have raised concerns that competition from Apple Inc.'s iPhone could hurt sales of RIM smartphones, RIM forecast higher-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Midwest expansion slows in June but still strong

(Reuters) - The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago
business barometer eased to 60.2 from 61.7 in May.




Economists had forecast the index at 58.0. A reading above
50 indicates expansion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-U.S. consumer sentiment ends June at 10-month low

(Reuters) - The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers
said its final June figure on consumer sentiment was 85.3,
above a median forecast of 84.0 and the preliminary June
reading of 83.7.




The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer index was 88.3
at the end of May. It read 82.0 in August 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Aveng says CEO to retire in 2008

(Reuters) - South African construction and engineering firm Aveng on Friday said chief executive officer, Carl Grim, would retire in 2008.

Aveng said a process to select a replacement for Grim -- who has been CEO since the company's formation in 1998 -- from either inside or outside the group had been initiated.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Albania Gets First Credit Rating From Moody's, Equal to Ukraine, Jamaica

(Bloomberg) -- Albania, the former communist nation
where a quarter of the population lives in poverty, received its
first credit rating, with Moody's Investors Service ranking the
country on a par with Ukraine, Indonesia and Jamaica.

The B1 rating is four steps below the investment-grade level
of Baa3 assigned to Balkan neighbors Croatia and Bulgaria. It
reflects Albania's journey from an ``isolated, administered''
system toward a market economy, New York-based Moody's analyst
Jonathan Schiffer wrote in a report published today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, bonds turn higher after U.S. data

(Reuters) - "It's good news for the bond market, and so that means bond
yields will come down, and lead to a firmer tone in stock
data... This suggests that core inflation is moderating, but as
the Fed said, it isn't conclusive yet," said Scott Brown, chief
economist at Raymond James & Associates in Florida.




The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European companies
pared losses, down 0.2 percent at 1,592.28.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa May trade deficit narrows to 2.7 bln rand

(Reuters) - South Africa recorded a trade deficit of 2.67 billion rand in May, compared to April's 5.67 billion rand shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday.

Analysts polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of 4.8 billion rand, but the data is notoriously volatile and difficult to predict.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US STOCKS-Futures fall as inflation data awaited

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. stock index futures
declined on Friday before data on a key measure of inflation, a
day after the Federal Reserve reaffirmed that rising price
pressure was its top economic concern.




Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. rose before the
opening bell after the maker of the Blackberry reported results
that beat analysts' estimates and received brokerage upgrades.
For details, see [ID:nN29283948]. Research in Motion surged
20.2 percent to $199.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Indonesia Telkom mulls acquisition, pays dividend

(Reuters) - State-run Telkom, the biggest company on the Jakarta Stock
Exchange with a market capitalisation of around $21 billion, did
not provide details on the target or the value of the potential
deal in its letter to the exchange on Friday.




"Telkom is reviewing and discussing the possibility of an
acquisition, in line with its strategic roadmap to achieve a
target of $30 billion market capitalisation by 2010," the
company said in the letter.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dolan Media sees IPO of up to $172.5 million

(Reuters) - The company expects to list its stock on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol "DM" .





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US stocks set to fall post Fed, price data looms

(Reuters) - By 0916 GMT, September Dow Jones futures fell 0.1
percent, while S&P 500 futures eased 0.07 percent, and
Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.05 percent.




U.S. indexes ended little changed on Thursday as the Fed's
post-meeting statement acknowledged a recent easing in the rate
of core consumer inflation, but insisted price pressures were
the central bank's main policy concern.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Decline; Palm Shares Drop, Apple Gains in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell before
a government report that may show a price gauge tied to consumer
spending rose due to higher energy prices.

``Inflation remains the main concern,'' said Carsten Klude,
who helps manage $20 billion as head of investment strategies
at M.M. Warburg & Co. in Hamburg. ``Yesterday's Fed statement
was neither fish nor fowl. Today all eyes are on the economic
reports.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks Erase Earlier Gains; AstraZeneca, Fortis Shares Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks erased earlier gains
as shares of AstraZeneca Plc and Fortis declined.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was little changed, slipping
less than 0.1 percent to 391.38 as of 9 a.m. in London. The index
earlier rose as much as 04 percent. The Stoxx 50 and the Euro
Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, were also little changed.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European shares rise, economic data eyed

(Reuters) - European shares tracked Asian markets higher early on Friday, supported by banks and oil stocks, as investors trained their sights on a raft of economic data after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates steady.

At 0704 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.36 percent at 1,601.57 points.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Gains, Led by BT Group, William Morrison, Antofagasta

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced for a second
day, paced by BT Group Plc, William Morrison Supermarkets Plc
and Antofagasta Plc

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 15, or 0.2 percent, to
6586.3 in London at 8:03 a.m. The FTSE All-Share Index added
9.37, or 0.2 percent, to 3397.53. Ireland's ISEQ Index gained
26.05 to 9330.80.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks May Rise; BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Cadbury May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may gain, led by BHP
Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, after copper prices rose.

Cadbury Schweppes Plc will probably rally on a report that
India's Tata Group may be prepared to invest more than $2 billion
in a bid with Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital LLP for a
stake in Cadbury's U.S. drinks unit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News