Indonesian Rupiah Stays Lower After Central Bank Cuts Rate a Quarter Point

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's rupiah stayed lower after
the central bank cut interest rates for a 13th time in more than
a year, making local currency deposits less attractive.

Bank Indonesia reduced its reference rate for bill sales by
a quarter-percentage point to 8.25 percent, as expected in a
Bloomberg News survey of economists. The rupiah is the worst
performer among 10 of Asia's most-active currencies this month,
dropping 2.5 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

BAE, Cadbury, Ladbrokes, Lloyds and Xstrata: 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 market close yesterday.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index advanced 33.30, or 0.5 percent,
to close at 6673.10 in London as 80 stocks rose, 21 fell and one
was unchanged. The FTSE All-Share Index gained 18.04, or 0.5
percent, to 3445.33.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Indonesian Rupiah Says Lower After Central Bank Cuts Rates a Quarter Point

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's rupiah stayed lower after
the central bank cut interest rates.

Bank Indonesia, as expected, reduced its benchmark rate by a
quarter-percentage point to 8.25 percent to accelerate economic
growth after inflation eased. It was the 13th cut since May last
year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Telekom Malaysia Gets 98% Acceptance for Islamic Debt Swap, Arranger Says

(Bloomberg) -- Telekom Malaysia Bhd. said 97.5
percent of investors agreed to its offer to accept new Islamic
securities in place of existing conventional debt, according to
the deal's arranger Citigroup Inc.

The acceptances mean Southeast Asia's second-biggest phone
company will convert about 2.93 billion ringgit ($848 million)
of debt into the form of Islamic bonds, Citigroup said in an e-
mail today. The swap will be completed on July 6, the bank said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BAE Systems, Cadbury Schweppes and Xstrata: 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 market close yesterday.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index advanced 33.30, or 0.5 percent,
to close at 6673.10 in London as 80 stocks rose, 21 fell and one
was unchanged. The FTSE All-Share Index gained 18.04, or 0.5
percent, to 3445.33.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds May Drop as Rally in Stocks Pares Demand for Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bonds may decline for
a second day on speculation a gain in stock prices will curb
demand for government debt.

Benchmark bonds are poised to drop as shares advanced for a
sixth day on speculation profit of exporters will increase,
aided by a weak yen. An industry report this week showed U.S.
manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in 14 months, boosting
speculation the world's largest economy is gaining momentum.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Minsheng Bank Forecasts Profit to Surge More Than 60 Percent in First Half

(Bloomberg) -- China Minsheng Banking Corp., the
nation's first privately owned bank, said first-half profit
surged more than 60 percent as it extended more loans and demand
for services such as wealth management increased.

The bank, in a statement to the Shanghai exchange, didn't
provide a figure for first-half profit and said its growth
estimate was based on unaudited numbers. Minsheng posted a profit
of 1.73 billion yuan ($228 million) in last year's first half.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Dollar near 26-year low vs sterling

(Reuters) - The Bank of England is widely expected to lift rates by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent after a two-day meeting that ends on Thursday, taking them further above the Federal Reserve's 5.25 percent rate.




Also on Thursday, the European Central Bank and its president, Jean-Claude Trichet, are seen reinforcing expectations for higher rates in the euro zone eventually, while keeping them on hold for now at 4.0 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Australia Stocks Advance, Led by BHP Billiton, Rio on Higher Metals Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index, the
S&P/ASX 200 Index, rose 0.13 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 201 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange rose 8.50 to 6,307.10. Among the stocks in the index, 65
rose, 50 fell and 86 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Algeria's Oil Minister Says Crude to Rise to $72, OPEC Won't Cut Output

(Bloomberg) -- Algeria's Oil Minister Chakib Khelil
said he expects oil prices to rise to $72 a barrel as consumption
increases over the summer months and said OPEC won't cut
production at its forthcoming meeting.

``The increasing demand for refined products will lead to
more tension on refineries and crude oil,'' Khelil said to
reporters in Algiers today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australian Dollar Near 18-Year Peak on the Nation's High-Yielding Assets

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar traded near an
18-year high against the U.S. currency and the strongest in 16
years versus the yen on the nation's higher yielding assets.

Asian stocks rose to a record yesterday, suggesting
investors are prepared to buy higher returning assets overseas.
The currency has advanced 8.8 percent against the U.S. dollar
and 12 percent versus the yen this year as the Morgan Stanley
Capital International Asia Pacific Index of shares gained 11
percent. Australia's 6.25 percent interest rate compares to 5.25
percent in the U.S. and 0.5 percent in Japan.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Hilton Stock, Options Trading Surged Before Blackstone Takeover Announced

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp. shares rose the
most since the end of 2005 before the second-largest U.S. hotel
chain announced its agreement to be acquired by New York-based
Blackstone Group LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Shares of Hilton climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded buyout firm, will
pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills, California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Yamana may have to fight for Meridian -analysts

(Reuters) - Speaking a day after Meridian said Yamana's unsolicited
proposal "does not reflect the value" of the company, analysts
also said rival bids could be a possibility, as gold companies
rush to add reserves and production.




Yamana announced last week it had struck a deal to acquire
small-cap gold player Northern Orion Resources and
that the two would team up to bid for Meridian for about C$3.1
billion in cash and stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oracle faces long, hard road to prove SAP charges

(Reuters) - A day after SAP unexpectedly admitted in a court filing that a subsidiary had improperly downloaded software from Oracle, computer security experts said Oracle would need to do much more to push its case far further.




SAP said on Tuesday its TomorrowNow subsidiary, which provides services for customers using Oracle legacy software, had in some cases carried out "inappropriate" downloads of support materials from an Oracle site using customer log-ins.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Kenya says 06/07 tax revenues up by 20 pct

(Reuters) - Kenya's tax revenue in the 2006/07 fiscal year rose by 20 percent to 360.2 billion shillings, compared with the amount collected a year before, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said on Wednesday.

The government had planned to collect 356.1 billion shillings in 2006/07.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Ready to Sell Shares to the Public, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's
Kingdom Holding Co. plans to sell shares to individuals in an
initial public offering that values the company at as much as
$17.6 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Kingdom will sell shares for 10.25 riyals ($2.73) to 10.5
riyals each, after money managers sought more than twice the
stock offered to them, said the people, who declined to be
identified because the information is private. Shares in
Kingdom, set to become the country's fifth-largest publicly
traded company, will go on sale to Saudi individuals from July
10 to July 18, the Capital Market Authority said today on its
Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Canada Stocks Poised to Extend Gains on Buyouts; Telus Shares May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise for a third
day after Blackstone Group LP's buyout of Hilton Hotels Corp.
spurred more takeover speculation.

Telus Corp. may pace gains in Canada on speculation it will
either seek to top the offer accepted by BCE Inc. from Ontario
Teachers' Pension Plan, or become the target of a buyout itself.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Brazil's FIPE inflation rises 0.55 pct in June

(Reuters) - Food prices accelerated from May, pressured by a seasonal
decline in output of certain crops and higher dairy and beef
costs. Clothing costs and personal care expenses also rose at a
faster pace from May, the Fipe said.




The Fipe index is closely watched by economists for trends
in Brazil's benchmark IPCA inflation index, which is used by
the central bank to set interest rates.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Latvia's Economy to Slow as Credit Restrictions Start to Work, Fitch Says

(Bloomberg) -- Latvia's economy, the fastest growing
in the European Union, will slow as government restrictions on
credit begin to take effect, Fitch analyst David Heslam said.

The economic growth rate, which expanded by 11.2 percent in
the first quarter, will gradually decline as credit becomes more
difficult to get, Heslam, a director in Fitch's Emerging Europe
Sovereign team, said by telephone from London yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Barclays says progress on ABN deal shows certainty

(Reuters) - "The progress which Barclays and ABN AMRO have made with
these filings continues to demonstrate the straightforward
nature of the Barclays offer. This gives ABN AMRO shareholders a
high degree of certainty and deliverability."




ABN has agreed to an all-share takeover by Barclays
worth about 63 billion euros , but a consortium of
three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland is attempting
to gatecrash that deal with a higher offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sumato Energy Wins Tender for 1 Million Barrels of Azeri Light Crude Oil

(Bloomberg) -- Sumato Energy Group Ltd., a New
Zealand oil trader, won an auction to buy 1 million barrels of
Azeri Light crude, Azerbaijan's state oil company Socar said.

Sumato Energy will load the oil in Ceyhan, a Turkish port on
the Mediterranean, between July 24 and July 26, Baku-based Socar
said in a statement on its Web site today. The crude is pumped
from the Chirag and Gunashli fields.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

French PM sees no problems with Danone asset sale

(Reuters) - "French companies buy lots of companies in the United States
and there is no reason to put up the barriers if U.S. companies
do the same thing ," Fillon told BFM television when asked
about Danone's planned sale.




The French food giant announced on Tuesday it was in
exclusive talks to sell its biscuit and cereal snack unit for
5.3 billion euros to Kraft Foods Inc , the
world's biggest cookie maker.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Crude Oil Declines From Near 10-Month High to $71.02 a Barrel in New York

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from near a 10-month
high in New York.

Crude oil for August delivery fell as much as 39 cents, or
0.6 percent, to $71.02 a barrel in after-hours electronic
trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded
at $71.03 at 8:57 a.m. in London.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Rexam to buy Russian drinks can maker Rostar

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 4 - British packaging firm Rexam Plc
has agreed to buy Russian drinks can maker Rostar for
149 million pounds in cash, including debt, as
part of a drive to expand in emerging markets.




Rexam, the world's biggest maker of drinks cans, said on
Wednesday it was buying the business from En+ Group Limited, the
parent of Russian aluminium group Rusal.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Shanghai copper steady, LME up as strike looms

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper was steady on Wednesday after gains in the previous five sessions, while London futures pushed higher supported by threats to supply in North and South America.

Shanghai September copper drifted 30 yuan lower to 66,400 yuan a tonne at midday after jumping by its 4 percent daily limit on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa