LG hopes to sell C-C Amatil unit shrs to Coca-Cola

(Reuters) - South Korean online news provider EDaily quoted an LG
source as saying later in the day that the company was planning
to sell some shares in the unit to Coca-Cola, once the deal
closed, to secure basic liquids from the U.S. company.




"Once the acquisition is completed and Coca-Cola wants such
a deal, we can consider selling part of the shares," said a
spokesman at LG Household. "We have sought investment by
Coca-Cola from the very initial stage."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Qantas increases order for 787 by 20 planes

(Reuters) - The 787, a mid-sized aircraft made predominately of
carbon-composite materials, is Boeing's first all-new
commercial airliner in more than a decade.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Argentina stocks up, bonds slip amid select trade

(Reuters) - The MerVal index of 21 leading stocks gained 0.08
percent to close at 2,249.01 points. In the session's first
hour of trade, it reached a record intraday high of 2,263.27
points after rising 0.72 percent.




"The selectivity was total," said Mariano Tavelli, trader
with Tavelli and Company brokerage. "The market's weakness is
related to bank stocks, which have been hurt by lower bond
prices, and industrial stocks, hit by the energy crisis."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Buyouts push 'fallen angels' jump in 2007 - S&P

(Reuters) - "Acquisition-related factors are playing a key role in the
crossover of companies to speculative grade from investment
grade," S&P said. About 67 percent of issuers downgraded to
junk were involved in acquisition activity, the agency said.




By number of issuers, fallen angels have declined to 18
from 24 in the same period last year, S&P said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cattle Gain Most in Nearly Four Months on Asian Beef Demand; Hogs Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose the most in almost
four months as a weekly export sales report indicated strong
demand for U.S. beef. Hog prices fell.

U.S. exporters reported net sales of 11,300 metric tons of
beef for the week ended June 28, including 1,300 tons for Japan
and South Korea, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Exports to those two nations, largely closed to U.S. beef since
December 2003 over mad-cow disease concerns, indicate longer-term
demand, said Troy Vetterkind, a trader at e-Hedger in Chicago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Ohio atty gen probes rating agencies' subprime role

(Reuters) - She pointed to a recent presentation by Joshua Rosner, a
managing director at investment research firm Graham Fisher &
Co., that tied a misapplication of agency ratings to many of
the problems in mortgage-backed securities and collateralized
debt obligations.




Brindisi said of particular interest was the assertion the
rating agencies may have a role in creating these securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Italy postpones Alitalia bid deadline again

(Reuters) - The treasury, which is selling at least 39.9 percent of the
unprofitable airline in the hopes of turning it around, did not
specify what additional information was now available.




All other terms of the sale remain unchanged, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Constant Contact files for $86 million IPO

(Reuters) - The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company intends to list its
stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "CTCT" .




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-JetBlue says estimated June revenue rises 9 pct

(Reuters) - JetBlue's load factor -- a measure of aircraft occupancy --
was up 1.7 percent to 83.8 percent and preliminary revenue per
available seat mile was up 9 percent over June 2006.




Some airline experts had forecast weaker revenue for major
airlines this summer, especially domestically, but Continental
Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. reported
modest increases systemwide this week.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Soybeans Rise on Forecasts for Hotter Weather That May Damage Midwest Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose, heading for a second
straight weekly gain, on speculation that unusually hot, dry
weather may damage U.S. crops west of the Mississippi River.

Little rain is expected the next two weeks from western
Nebraska to Minnesota, with brief periods of above-normal
temperatures likely to increase stress on crops that received
less than 25 percent the normal rain in June, said Tim Bowden, a
meteorologist for Planalytics Inc. in Wayne, Pennsylvania.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Brazil's Real Advances as Inflation Report Bolsters Rate Cut Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's real rose after a report
showed inflation was slower than economists expected in June,
bolstering speculation the central bank will keep cutting
interest rates.

The real rose 0.7 percent to 1.9002 per dollar at 11:40 a.m.
New York time amid optimism that more rate cuts will boost
growth, helping lure investment to Latin America's biggest
economy. The real is the top performer this year among the 16
most-actively traded currencies against the dollar, gaining 12.4
percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

REFILE-Mexico stocks up, led by America Movil gains

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index was up 0.90 percent at
32,467 points, while the peso currency rose 0.19
percent to 10.786 per dollar.




Mexican lawmakers are debating changes to President Felipe
Calderon's tax reform proposal that was unveiled last month.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Rationing looms in Africa energy crisis

(Reuters) - Sub-Saharan Africa must urgently impose power rationing on companies and populations to limit the effects of a worsening energy crisis, industry and government experts said.

Decades of underinvestment in electricity networks and growing populations mean the poorest 20 percent in the region has no access to electricity.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Hurricane center in eye of own storm

(Reuters) - The newly installed director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Proenza, had launched a high-profile campaign to replace an aging weather satellite he said was crucial for accurate forecasts and publicly criticized his superiors for spending money on public relations.




He won the backing of several Florida politicians who portrayed him as a whistle-blower shedding light on the failings of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , which runs the Miami-based hurricane center.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

South Africa's Rand Gains for Second Week on Views Rates Will Keep Rising

(Bloomberg) -- The South African rand gained for a
second week, rising with other emerging market currencies on
speculation their relatively high interest rates will continue to
attract investors.

The rand strengthened beyond the 7-per-dollar level this
week for the first time since May as investors bet the Reserve
Bank will maintain the yield advantage of local assets by
continuing to raise interest rates. The yield gap between South
African benchmark 10-year debt and similar-maturity Treasuries
has widened more than 30 basis points in the past month.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Meritage Homes sees revenue drop, to take charges

(Reuters) - BOSTON, July 6 - Meritage Homes Corp. said on Friday it expects second-quarter revenue to be down about 37 percent from a year ago and to record more than $100 million in charges as it struggles in a weak U.S. housing market.



The home builder said it has been particularly hard hit in the area of Fort Myers and Naples, along Florida's Gulf coast.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Genzyme's diarrhea drug Tolevamer fails trial

(Reuters) - The results represent a blow to Genzyme, one of the world's biggest biotechnology companies, as tolevamer had been considered one of the more promising drugs in its pipeline.




"These are disappointing results that alter our expectations about the potential for commercializing tolevamer in the near future," said Henri Termeer, Genzyme's chief executive, in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CME beefs up CBOT bid, gets Caledonia nod

(Reuters) - CBOT shareholders would own about 36 percent of the
outstanding shares of the combined company after the deal, CME
said, terming Friday's move its "best and final" offer. CME has
been fighting off a competing bid for CBOT by
IntercontinentalExchange Inc. .




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Honeywell's Penny-Pinching Top Lawyer Uses Volume Discounts to Lower Fees

(Bloomberg) -- Peter Kreindler, the top lawyer at
Honeywell International Inc., likes to buy his briefs in bulk.

Kreindler said he hopes to trim work from hundreds of law
firms in Europe this year to gain volume discounts. In the U.S.,
he has already cut the number of firms he uses for litigation,
employment and intellectual property issues to about 20 from 60.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Raises CBOT Offer a Third Time, to $11 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised
its offer for the Chicago Board of Trade for a third time, to $11
billion, to fend off rival Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and
form the world's largest futures exchange.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. is now offering
0.375 of its shares for each CBOT Holdings Inc. share, increasing
the value of its offer by 7.1 percent, according to a statement
today from the exchange. A vote on the merger, which the two
exchanges first agreed to in October, is set for July 9.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

TREASURIES-Bonds fall after stronger-than-expected payrolls

(Reuters) - "This was a very strong number today and with revisions up
in May. Fears of a slowdown in the economy forcing the Fed to
lower rates should be off the table for everybody this year,"
said Andrew Richman managing director of SunTrust's personal
asset management division in West Palm Beach Florida.




Benchmark 10-year notes were trading 11/32
lower in price for a yield of 5.19 percent -- the highest in
two weeks -- from 5.14 percent late on Thursday. Bond yields
move inversely to prices.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sudan asks Britain's White Nile to leave oil block

(Reuters) - Sudan has asked Britain's White Nile Plc to withdraw from a disputed oil block in the south and will assess compensation to the firm, south Sudan's industry minister said on Friday.

"White Nile is to pull out from Block B, and its properties will have to be assessed by a technical committee appointed by the ministry of energy and mining to be refunded," Albino Akol Akol told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stock Futures Pare Gain After Growth in Employment Exceeds Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures pared gains
after employers hired more workers than economists forecast and
wages grew last month, spurring concern that an expanding economy
will stoke inflation.

U.S. companies added 132,000 workers to payrolls in June
while average hourly earnings advanced 0.3 percent. The increase
followed a 190,000-job gain in May that was larger than
previously forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CME to sweeten bid for CBOT: report

(Reuters) - The move is a sign the CME is feeling pressure from IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s unsolicited bid for the CBOT. CME shareholders and CBOT shareholders are separately scheduled to vote on a tie-up on Monday.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Travelers in $449 mln asbestos settlement

(Reuters) - The case involves ACandS Inc., a former insulation
installing unit of Armstrong World Industries Inc., which filed
for bankruptcy protection several years ago under the weight of
about 270,000 asbestos-related injury claims. ACandS had looked
to insurers such as Travelers to help cover many of those
claims.




St. Paul, Minnesota-based Travelers said the trust will be
established as part of ACandS' reorganization plan. It expects
net settlement costs of $365 million after passing $84 million
of the total cost to its reinsurers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-India's Wipro buys Singapore's Unza for US$246 mln

(Reuters) - BANGALORE, July 6 - India software provider Wipro
Ltd. has acquired Singapore's Unza Holdings Ltd.,
which makes personal care products, for about US$246 million,
as it continues on a buying spree in search of stronger growth.




The cash acquisition lifted shares of Wipro, which has a
market value of $18 billion, to end over 3 percent higher at
519.45 rupees in a firm Mumbai market.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

New Century Financial Says SEC to Step Up Investigation of Subprime Loans

(Bloomberg) -- New Century Financial Corp. said the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its probe
of the subprime mortgage lender, the largest to file bankruptcy.

The commission told the Irvine, California-based lender's
lawyers on June 21 that a preliminary probe started in March will
become a formal investigation, New Century said in a regulatory
filing yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Total renews long term deal with Gabon

(Reuters) - Total said on Friday it has renewed a 25-year deal covering its operations in Gabon, which the French oil and gas giant said defined the legal and tax system governing its work there.

"It covers 17 concessions and operating licenses representing an area of nearly 1,500 square kilometres and more than 60 percent of Total's share of output in Gabon," Total said in a statement, adding this represented more than 50,000 barrels per day in 2006.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Polish Bond Yields Rise to Two-Year High on View Interest Rates to Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Polish government bonds were set for
their fifth weekly drop on speculation the central bank will
raise interest rates twice more this year to stem inflation.

Bonds fell, sending yields to the highest in more than two
years, as traders raised bets interest rates could rise as much
as a half-point to 5 percent by year-end. Yields had their second
biggest weekly gain this year after the Finance Ministry said
price growth breached the central bank's target for the first
time since 2005.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 2-LG Household to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Korea unit

(Reuters) - SYDNEY, July 6 - Australian soft drinks firm Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. said on Friday it had chosen LG Household and Health Care Ltd. as the preferred bidder for its South Korean operations.



Amatil, 35 percent-owned by Coca-Cola Co. , said the purchase price would be in the range of A$520 million to A$545 million , including debt, and it expected the deal to be completed in three months.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold, Silver Little Changed in Asia as Investors Awaiting U.S. Jobs Data

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver were little changed in
Asia as investors awaited U.S. Labor Department payroll data,
which may affect the value of the U.S. dollar and the appeal of
the metal as an alternative investment.

The department will later today say payrolls increased last
month by 125,000, after a gain of 157,000 in May, according to a
Bloomberg News survey of economists. The report is due at 8:30
a.m. Washington time.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

European Carbon Emission Permits Rise After Oil Rises to a 10-Month High

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
rose after crude oil reached a 10-month high yesterday, boosting
today's natural-gas prices for delivery next year.

Emission permits for delivery in December 2008 added 22
cents, or 1 percent, to 21.70 euros ($29.19) a metric ton,
according to prices from the European Climate Exchange in
Amsterdam. They earlier today traded as high as 21.89 euros.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Cairn Energy Shares Rise on Speculation Indian Pipeline Will Be Approved

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Cairn Energy Plc, an oil and
gas explorer in Asia, rose on speculation the company's India unit
had a pipeline project approved by the government in New Delhi.

``The speculation in the market is that we may soon hear
confirmation that Cairn has finally got approval for the 600-
kilometer pipeline from its oilfields direct to the refineries,''
said Andrew French, a sales trader at E*Trade Securities in
London.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Palm Oil Price in Malaysia Gains on Outlook for China Food, Biofuel Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures in Malaysia rose for
a second day on optimism of rising demand for vegetable oils in
cooking and to make biofuels.

The price reached a record last month on surging demand,
led by China and India. Kim Eng Research Sdn. raised its average
price forecast by 4.5 percent for 2008.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Indonesia Asks European Union to Send Team to Evaluate Airlines' Safety

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia asked the European Union to
send a team to inspect safety standards of its airlines as the
Southeast Asian country tries to reverse a ban on its carriers
from flying to Europe that took effect today.

Indonesia's Transport Ministry requested that the EU to
send a team at a meeting with Jean Breteche, the EU's ambassador
to the country. The EU's decision announced on June 28 is based
on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's April move to cut
Indonesian airlines safety standards category to two, indicating
they don't meet requirements set by the International Civil
Aviation Organization and ICAO's reports, Breteche said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News