Thursday, July 12, 2007

Pertamina Seeks 200,000 Barrels of Gasoline for Delivery in Late August

(Bloomberg) -- PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state-
owned oil company, is seeking to buy gasoline for delivery to
the country in late August, according to traders who received
offer documents.

Details of Pertamina's requirement are as follows:


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

MTR Seeks $1.3 Billion of Loans to Fund Hong Kong Rail Merger, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- MTR Corp., Hong Kong's subway
operator, plans to borrow HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) to take
over the city's other rail company, said two people with direct
knowledge of the deal.

MTR, 76 percent owned by the government, is seeking a loan
for three to five years after its merger plan with Kowloon-Canton
Railway Corp. won approval from lawmakers last month, said the
people, who declined to be named because the information isn't
public.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New Zealand's Dollar Climbs After May Retail Sales Rise More Than Expected

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar headed for a
seventh week of gains after a government report showed retail
sales increased twice as fast as expected in May, prompting bets
the central bank will boost interest rates again.

Retail sales rose 1.2 percent from April, when they fell 1.2
percent, adding to evidence the central bank's three increases to
the benchmark rate this year have failed to curb consumer
spending. The currency pared gains after the central bank said it
will make funds more easily available for intervention.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Says Small-Company Lending Is Rising Sharply

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong Tae
said lending to small enterprises is rising sharply, underlying
his concern that the funds are being used to fuel bubbles in the
stock and property markets.

Lee and his board colleagues increased the benchmark
interest rate by a quarter point to a six-year high of 4.75
percent yesterday, taking aim at record lending to small
companies that threatens to spur inflation. Bonds fell and the
Kospi stock index rose to a record.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Energizer Holdings to acquire Playtex Products

(Reuters) - The offer represents a 26 percent premium over Playtex's closing stock price on July 10, according to a joint statement from both companies.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Dollar near record low vs euro on subprime jitters

(Reuters) - Activity in the Tokyo market was subdued on Friday as dealers were reluctant to take fresh positions ahead of a three-day weekend. Japaneants continue to feel a vague anxiety about the subprime mortgage market," said a senior trader at a Japanese brokerage. "Given the dollar's weakness against European currencies, the market is more likely to react to negative news for the dollar."




San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Thursday that current U.S. interest rate policy should promote a gradual drop in inflation, but the recent rapid deceleration in price pressures could be hard to sustain.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

South Korea's Stocks Gain for Second Day; Samsung and Posco Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 2.15 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 729 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
41.06 to 1,950.81. Among the stocks in the index, 528 rose, 47
fell and 156 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Exxon Mobil Is First Company With Market Value of Exceeding $500 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the oil company
John D. Rockefeller formed in 1882, became the first publicly
traded company valued above half a trillion dollars.

Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 2.7 percent today, pushing the
market capitalization of the Irving, Texas, company to $504.9
billion. That's more than the annual economic output of
Argentina, Finland and Kazakhstan combined. A 40 percent gain in
the past 12 months has made Exxon Mobil 26 percent bigger than
General Electric Co., the next largest U.S. company.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 2-Fed's Yellen: Inflation decline to be bumpy ride

(Reuters) - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 12 - San Francisco
Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said on Thursday that
current U.S. interest rate policy should promote a gradual drop
in inflation, but the recent rapid deceleration in price
pressures could be hard to sustain.




Risks remain skewed toward higher prices, especially
because of the possibility of wage inflation, meaning an
"asymmetric policy tilt" is appropriate for now, Yellen said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Japanese Yen, South Korea's Won, THailnad's Baht: Asian Currency Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Countrywide sued for racial bias in mortgage loans

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 12 - Four black homeowners sued
Countrywide Financial Corp. on Thursday, accusing the
largest U.S. mortgage lender of racial discrimination in its
lending practices.




In a lawsuit seeking class-action status, the Massachusetts
homeowners accused Countrywide and several affiliates of
marking up interest rates or tacking on fees after agreeing to
lend based on objective criteria such as credit histories or
home values.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BHP, Billabong, Leighton Holdings, Rio Tinto: Australian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes
news announced after markets closed yesterday. Prices are from
yesterday's close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September rose
1.1 percent to 6435 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York
Australia ADR Index gained 2.8 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Mexico's Peso Gains Against Dollar on New Estimates of Higher U.S. Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's peso rose for a second day
after economists raised their forecasts for economic growth in
the U.S., the biggest buyer of Mexican goods sold abroad.

Mexican local-currency bonds of all maturities rallied as
economists at HSBC Securities USA Inc. and Morgan Stanley were
among those that raised U.S. growth estimate for the second
quarter. A report today showing exports rose to a record in May
suggested strong demand from U.S. consumers.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Mexico stocks up, driven by global mining gains

(Reuters) - The IPC stock index closed 1.08 percent higher at
32,261.10 points, while the peso currency firmed
0.42 percent to 10.7745 per dollar.




Shares in Grupo Mexico , Mexico's largest
copper miner, jumped 4.30 percent to 77.78 pesos after
Anglo-Australian aluminum firm Rio Tinto
agreed to buy Canadian firm Alcan Inc. for $38.1
billion. The deal, which will create the world's largest
aluminum company, boosted mining equities worldwide.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bonds slip as stock rally draws investors

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 12 - U.S. government bond prices
slipped on Thursday as a sizzling stock market rally convinced
investors to buy stocks instead of bonds.




Bond losses were modest, however, in the context of such
spectacular stock gains. As the Dow Jones industrial average
scored its first gain of more than 200 points in a year and its
biggest point climb since 2002, the benchmark 10-year Treasury
note gave up about a third of a point.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chile stocks slip, peso hits 14-mo high eyeing rates

(Reuters) - The Chilean Central Bank is widely expected to raise its
benchmark lending rate on Thursday afternoon to 5.25 percent
from the current rate of 5 percent.




The anticipated move, which has strengthened the peso and
dampened the stock market, is seen as the most likely response
to rising inflation.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-CanWest cuts costs, revenue up, but profit dips

(Reuters) - TORONTO, July 12 - CanWest Global Communications
Corp. reported lower third-quarter earnings on
Thursday, even though revenue and operating profit surged as it
continued to clamp down on expenses and increased its newspaper
revenues.




CanWest, which owns Canada's Global TV network and
publishes a chain of daily newspapers, said it earned C$8.4
million , or 5 Canadian cents a share, in the three
months ended May 31. That was down from a profit of C$13.2
million, or 7 Canadian cents a share, in the same period a year
earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Target soars after report of Ackman stake

(Reuters) - LOS ANGELES, July 12 - Target Corp shares rose as much as 7 percent Thursday afternoon after Bloomberg reported that activist investor William Ackman has taken a more than 5 percent stake in the discount retailer.



The report cited "a person with direct knowledge of his plans."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Visual Sciences to review potential sale; cuts Q2 view

(Reuters) - The provider of real-time analytics applications said it
has engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. as financial adviser to assist
in evaluating a potential transaction.




For the second quarter, the company now sees earnings of
about 11 cents to 12 cents a share, excluding certain items, on
total revenue of about $19.5 million to $19.8 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nymex to Start Trading New `Last Day' Brent Crude Oil Contract This Month

(Bloomberg) -- The New York Mercantile Exchange,
the world's largest energy-futures exchange, said it will start
trading a Brent crude oil ``last day'' futures contract in an
effort to revive its trade in the North Sea oil.

``The first listed month will be the September 2007
contract month, beginning on July 29 for trade date July 30,''
the exchange said in an e-mailed statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-SEC charges Ex-ESSI CEO and son with options fraud

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 12 - The former chairman of
defense contractor Engineered Support Systems Inc. and his son
were charged with stock options fraud on Thursday in a widening
U.S. securities investigation.




The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Michael F.
Shanahan Sr., who led ESSI's rapid rise as chairman and
co-founder, and his son, Michael F. Shanahan Sr., a former
director at the St. Louis-based company.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

SEC charges Ex-ESSI CEO and son with options fraud

(Reuters) - According to the complaint, employees and directors
received about $20 million in unauthorized and undisclosed
compensation as a result of backdating. Of that, $16 million
was received by top executives and directors.




The SEC alleged that from 1997 to 2002, Shanahan and his
son approved the issuance of backdated stock options that
coincided with historically low closing prices of the company's
stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Hog Futures Gain on Speculation China Imports Will Increase; Cattle Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures had the biggest one-day
gain since January in Chicago on speculation that China will
increase pork imports to offset tight domestic supplies. Cattle
also gained.

China has seen domestic pork prices surge on a pig shortage
linked to higher grain costs and the spread of so-called Blue Ear
disease, which affects hogs. The U.S. exported 164 million pounds
(74 million kilograms) of pork to China in 2006, making it the
sixth-largest U.S. export customer, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Hexion to buy Huntsman, trumps Basell

(Reuters) - Huntsman's board unanimously approved the $28 per share cash bid from Apollo, the private equity firm founded by Leon Black, after Basell said late on Wednesday it would not raise its earlier bid of $25.25 per share.




The Huntsman-Hexion tie-up would create a global specialty chemicals company with more than $18 billion in sales.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Coffee Falls in New York on Increasing Stockpiles, Dry Weather in Brazil

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee fell in New York as
stockpiles reached the highest since October 2005 and forecasts
for warmer weather eased concerns of frost in Brazil, the
world's largest producer.

Inventories in warehouses monitored by the New York Board
of Trade rose to 4.22 million bags as of July 10, the 10th-
straight gain. Supplies have swelled 27 percent in the past year
at the exchange's delivery points in New York, New Orleans,
Hamburg, Miami and Antwerp, Belgium.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Miners boost S.Africa stocks; outlook hits Angloplat

(Reuters) - South African shares muscled to a record high on Thursday as a stronger gold price and Rio Tinto's bid for Alcan powered mining stocks but Anglo Platinum sank on a disappointing trading update.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks rose 0.54 percent to 27,028.86 points, a historic closing peak, while the All-share index gained 0.49 percent to 29,789.95 points, also a record.


Read more at Reuters Africa

FCStone Q3 results above Street view, shares rise

(Reuters) - Shares of FCStone were up $4.22 at $59.91 in early morning
trade on the Nasdaq.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TVA to sell $1 bln 10-yr global power bond

(Reuters) - The joint book managers on the sale are Lehman Brothers and
Morgan Stanley.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Wall St advances on retailers; Alcoa gains

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 12 - U.S. stocks advanced on
Thursday, lifting the Dow to a record, after major retailers,
including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted surprisingly
strong monthly sales figures, boosting optimism about the
outlook for profits.




Shares of Alcoa hit a record high, rising after Alcoa was
outbid in its attempt to acquire rival Alcan Inc.



Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Fed's Kroszner mum on when Basel II regs ready

(Reuters) - By John Poirier



WASHINGTON, July 12 - U.S. regulators have made progress toward a final rule to implement an international capital adequacy plan for the biggest banks, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

3M agrees to buy UK's Rochford Thompson

(Reuters) - Terms of the deal for Rochford Thompson Equipment Ltd., based in Newberry, United Kingdom, were not disclosed. It is expected to close in the third quarter.



"The addition of Rochford Thompson ... will allow us to expand into transportation markets such as international airlines," Mike Delkoski, division vice president of 3M's security systems division, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Saskatchewan Refinery Workers Ratify Contract Agreement That Averted Stike

(Bloomberg) -- Workers at Federated Co-operatives
Ltd.'s oil refinery in Regina, Saskatchewan, ratified a new labor
agreement, averting a strike at the 100,000 barrel-a-day plant.

More than 90 percent of unionized workers voted for the
three-year contract, which will boost wages by 5 percent in the
first year and 4.5 percent in each of the next two years, the
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada said in
an e-mailed statement yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Ross same-store sales rise 4 pct in June

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, had been expecting the off-price
retailer to post a rise of 0.9 percent, according to Reuters
research.




Total sales rose 11 percent during the five weeks ended
July 7, to $545 million, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Canadian Stocks Climb to Record on Rio Tinto's Bid for Alcan; Teck Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, sending the
benchmark index to another record, after Rio Tinto offered to buy
aluminum maker Alcan Inc. for $38.1 billion, fueling takeover
speculation on other materials stocks.

A five-year rally in commodities that's lifted many metals
to records has spurred more than $106 billion of proposed takeovers
in the mining and metals industry so far this year, according to
Bloomberg data. Inmet Mining Corp. and Teck Cominco Ltd. gained
along with Alcan on the Toronto stock exchange today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JSE says has world's top single stock future market

(Reuters) - South Africa's JSE Ltd stock exchange has overtaken its Indian counterpart as the operator of the world's biggest single stock futures market, according to a report by the World Federation of Exchanges.

The JSE said in a statement on Thursday the report on derivatives showed the JSE traded 44 million contracts in the first quarter, up more than 200 percent versus the year-ago period and ahead of the 30 million traded on the National Stock Exchange of India.


Read more at Reuters Africa

REFILE-UPDATE 2-Canada trade data point to strong economy

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, July 12 - Canada's trade surplus was
virtually unchanged at C$5.9 billion in May after both imports
and exports retreated further from record levels set in March,
Statistics Canada said on Thursday.




The surplus, which indicated the economy is coping
moderately well with a rising Canadian dollar, was just above
analysts' average forecast C$5.5 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Wal-Mart June sales up more than expected

(Reuters) - "Consumers continue to be challenged financially, with more pressure on discretionary spending," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president and chief executive officer, in a statement.




He said gasoline prices are shoppers' chief concern, according to its latest survey.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Jobless claims fell 12,000 in latest week

(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices turned flat after the lower-than-expected weekly jobless claims data.




A Labor Department official said that temporary layoffs in the auto sector as plants typically shut down for retooling have started to show up in the unadjusted claims data, but that the department's seasonal factors have adjusted for this.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Atrium to buy Germany's Mucos for $175 mln

(Reuters) - Atrium said the purchase of the German drug maker will
immediately boost its earnings per share by about 45 percent.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Fastenal Q2 profit rises

(Reuters) - For the latest second quarter, analysts on average expected
the company to earn 39 cents a share, before exceptional items,
on revenue of $520.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Astral third-quarter results get lift from TV

(Reuters) - Astral, which is buying broadcaster Standard Radio Inc. for
about C$1.1 billion in cash and stock, said it earned C$35.9
million , or 67 Canadian cents per share, in the
three months ended May 31. That was up from a profit of C$33.2
million, or 61 Canadian cents per share, in the same period a
year earlier.




According to Reuters Estimates, analysts were expecting the
company to earn 67 Canadian cents per share before one-time
items on revenue of C$167.4 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Alcan, Alcoa, Bon-Ton, Century Aluminum, Motorola: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT US): The drugmaker and General
Electric Co. have broken off an agreement to sell Abbott's core
laboratory and point-of-care diagnostics businesses to GE. The
decision has no impact on Abbott's forecast earnings, excluding
items, for 2007 and 2008, the company said in a statement. Shares
rose 62 cents to $53.21 yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Futures flat before sales; Motorola down

(Reuters) - A forecast of a quarterly loss from mobile phone maker
Motorola Inc also generated caution, along with signs
the pace of deal-making may be slowing.




General Electric Co and Abbott Laboratories Inc
terminated a proposed $8 billion deal for GE to buy two
Abbott businesses because they couldn't agree on final terms.
For details, see [ID:nN11311265]. Abbott shares fell in
Europe, while GE's stock rose.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sharper Image June same-store sales fall 7 pct

(Reuters) - For the month ended June 30, total company sales fell 21
percent to $28.9 million from $36.4 million last year.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bon-Ton combined June same-store sales fall 8 pct

(Reuters) - In a statement, Inverness said it expects the proposed deal would immediately add to its cash-based earnings per share. immediately.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Gold Rises in London, Resuming Rally on Dollar's Decline; Silver Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose, resuming this month's
rally, as the dollar fell to a record low against the euro,
increasing demand for the metal as an alternative investment.
Silver also gained.

Bullion yesterday snapped a three-day advance on speculation
the dollar would halt its slide against the euro. Gold has
climbed 2.1 percent since the beginning of last week as the
dollar dropped 1.8 percent against the euro.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Oil Rises in New York After U.S. Crude Inventories Drop on Lower Imports

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to more than $73 a
barrel in New York after the U.S. government reported supplies of
oil dropped because of a decline in imports.

Crude-oil stockpiles dropped 1.5 million barrels to 352.6
million barrels last week, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
Imports fell 7 percent to an average 10 million barrels a day, the
lowest since the week ended April 13.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

S.African business feels impact of Zimbabwe controls

(Reuters) - South African companies with operations in Zimbabwe are struggling to comply with the government's new price freeze, a move many said made the crisis-hit country an even less attractive place to do business.

President Robert Mugabe's government has imposed tight profit margins for businesses, stepping up a price rollback drive that has led to empty store shelves, long petrol queues and renewed fears of a total economic collapse.


Read more at Reuters Africa

French CAC 40 Index Climbs, Led by Alstom on Sales; Schneider, Vinci Rise

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks rose, paced by Alstom
SA after the world's third-biggest maker of power plants said
fiscal first-quarter sales rose 27 percent.

Shares of Schneider Electric SA and Vinci SA also gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Geldof lends voice to green electricity for Africa

(Reuters) - Irish rocker and activist Bob Geldof has thrown his weight behind a new project aimed at producing electricity from plant seeds in Africa.

Geldof has joined Britain's Helius Energy Plc as a special adviser to support the company's renewable energy projects across the continent, which is seeing demand for power surge.


Read more at Reuters Africa