Broadcom gets Wells notice from SEC

(Reuters) - A Wells notice gives a company or individual a final chance to convince the SEC not to file charges.




Broadcom, which makes chips for networking gear, mobile phones, video equipment and other communications products, is among dozens of companies being probed by federal authorities for possible manipulation of stock option grant dates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan's Bonds Post Weekly Gain as Concern Rises About U.S. Subprime Losses

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds posted the first
weekly gain this month amid speculation investors sought the
relative safety of government debt because of losses on
securities tied to U.S. mortgages.

The 10-year yield fell to the lowest since July 11 as U.S.
investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. told investors in its two
failed hedge funds that they will get little or no money back.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on July 19 that
losses associated with the home loans to people with poor credit
may be as much as $100 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dr. Reddy's, Nanya, PICC Property, Playmates: Asia Ex-Japan Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in Asian markets, excluding Japan, on July 23. This preview
includes news that broke after markets closed. Prices are from
the local market's last close. Stock symbols are in parentheses
after company names.

Indonesian cigarette companies: The country increased the
maximum excise tax rate imposed on cigarette makers by two
percentage points to 57 percent from 55 percent, Finance Minister
Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Argentine First Lady Opens Campaign With Video of Hillary, Chavez, Shakira

(Bloomberg) -- Argentine First Lady and Senator
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner heads into her first day of
campaigning for president, pledging to extend the economic
agenda of her husband that she said rescued the country.

Fernandez, 54, kicked off her campaign last night before a
crowd of 2,000 supporters who watched a video of her featuring
U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez,
and the Colombian pop star Shakira. Later, the screen in the La
Plata theater displayed her slogan for the Oct. 28 election:
``The Change Has Just Begun.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Credit Risk Surges as Subprime Mortgage Concerns Sap Investor Appetites

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning bank
loans, corporate bonds and securities based on the riskiest home
mortgages surged as worries about accelerating subprime losses
caused investors to flee all but the safest assets.

Corporate bond risk rose to a two-year high in the U.S. and
Europe, according to credit-default swap indexes that allow
investors to speculate on the ability of companies to repay
their debt or hedge against the risk they won't. Indexes tied to
the risk of owning high-yield, high-risk loans fell to records,
suggesting demand is deteriorating for leveraged-buyout debt.
Indexes of credit-default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds also
plummeted to new lows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Canadian dollar sags in thin trade, bonds rally

(Reuters) - Domestic bond prices took advantage of the absence of any
Canadian data, which lately has painted a picture of a red-hot
economy, and followed U.S. treasuries higher.




The Canadian dollar closed at C$1.0485 to the U.S. dollar,
or 95.37 U.S. cents, down from C$1.0437 to the U.S. dollar, or
95.81 U.S. cents, at Thursday's close.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Citigroup profit up 18 pct, tops Wall St view

(Reuters) - Revenue rose faster than expenses for a second straight quarter. Credit losses soared, as they have at rival banks. Nearly half of profit and revenue came internationally, where Citigroup has made 10 acquisitions since October.




Chief Executive Charles Prince, nearing the end of his fourth year at the helm of New York-based Citigroup, has been trying to cut costs and boost revenue, especially overseas, amid pressure from shareholders demanding a higher stock price.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

BMC Software, Google, U.S. Steel, Whirlpool, Xilinx: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 3 p.m. New York time.

Actions Semiconductor Co. (ACTS US) dropped 99 cents, or 17
percent, to $5.01. The Chinese maker of chips for portable
electronics forecast profit of as much as 16 cents a share in the
third quarter. Six analysts on average estimated the company to
earn 17 cents, according to a Bloomberg survey. Analyst Tore
Svanberg at Piper Jaffray & Co. cut the stock to ``market
perform'' from ``outperform.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

WRAPUP 1-Citigroup, Wachovia profits top forecasts

(Reuters) - Profit rose 18 percent at Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank,
and 24 percent at Wachovia, the fourth largest.




Shares of both companies fell, however, as investors
worried that banks would get stuck with more soured consumer
loans or riskier corporate debt on their balance sheets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wendy's red-wig ads a hit with young customers

(Reuters) - The chain's ads have not taken off with customers since the
death of founder and pitchman Dave Thomas in 2002.




In the new ad, tree-kicking people are interrupted by the
man wearing a red pigtailed wig -- recalling the hairdo of the
young girl in Wendy's logo. The nonconformist cries out for a
"hot juicy burger" instead of one made from frozen beef,
rousing the crowd from its stupor.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Credit Risk Surges as Subprime Mortgage Woes Upset Investor Appetites

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning bank
loans, corporate debt and securities based on the riskiest home
mortgages surged as worries about accelerating subprime losses
curbed credit investors' appetites.

Corporate bond risk rose to a two-year high in the U.S. and
Europe, according to credit-default swap indexes that allow
investors to speculate on the ability of companies to repay
their debt or hedge against the risk they won't. Indexes tied to
the risk of owning high-yield, high-risk loans fell to records,
suggesting demand is deteriorating for leveraged-buyout debt.
Indexes of credit-default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds also
plummeted to new lows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-U.S. junk bonds fall on subprime concerns

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. junk bonds sold off
sharply on Friday, with some benchmark bonds collapsing to
their lows for the year, as worries about the subprime mortgage
crisis mounted, causing a broad repricing of risk.




"The market is in a really panicky state," said one trader.
"It's essentially been 40 straight days of lower levels and a
worsening environment."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Wall St falls on earnings misses and subprime woes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. stocks slid sharply on
Friday, after bellwether stocks such as Caterpillar and Google
posted disappointing earnings.




Worries over the impact of the housing slump and losses
from risky mortgages also weighed on stocks.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Autodesk, Brunswick, GPC, Google, Nucryst, Oak Hill: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Actions Semiconductor Co. (ACTS US) dropped 89 cents, or 15
percent, to $5.11. The Chinese maker of chips for portable
electronics forecast profit of as much as 16 cents a share in the
third quarter. Six analysts on average estimated the company to
earn 17 cents, according to a Bloomberg survey. Analyst Tore
Svanberg at Piper Jaffray & Co. cut the stock to ``market
perform'' from ``outperform.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Earnings misses dent indexes; Dow, S&P off 1 pct

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 128.52
points, or 0.92 percent, at 13,871.89. It slipped as low as
13,856.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down
12.21 points, or 0.79 percent, at 1,540.87. The Nasdaq
Composite Index was down 27.09 points, or 1.00 percent,
at 2,692.95.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Fed's Poole: Subprime losses due to poor practices

(Reuters) - ST. LOUIS, July 20 - Poor underwriting and
investment decisions in subprime mortgage markets have led to
the losses that are now even-handedly punishing lenders and
investors, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William
Poole said on Friday.




"I believe we should conclude that this year's markets
punished mostly bad actors and/or poor lending practices,"
Poole said in remarks prepared for delivery to a real estate
group.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Fed's Poole: Subprime losses punished poor lending

(Reuters) - "As is often the case, the market's punishment of unsound financial arrangements has been swift, harsh, and without prejudice," he said.




Poole said problems in subprime mortgage markets -- which Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday could add up losses of $50 billion to $100 billion -- may have been unavoidable given the clash of new financial products and a cooling housing market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Citigroup tops Wall St view

(Reuters) - Revenue rose faster than expenses for a second consecutive quarter. Credit losses soared, but were in line with increases at other banks. Nearly half of profit and revenue came from international operations.




Chief Executive Charles Prince has been under pressure from many shareholders to keep costs down amid disappointment with the bank's share price. "I am more and more confident of the path we're on," Prince said on a conference call.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Chrysler says closing of Cerberus deal very close

(Reuters) - LaSorda also said Chrysler, now the No. 4 automaker in the U.S. market, needs to close a gap in hourly labor costs with Japanese rivals making vehicles in the U.S. market.




Chrysler says its U.S. hourly labor costs, including health care, are some $30 per hour higher than equivalent costs for Japanese automakers led by Toyota Motor Corp. .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canadian Stocks Decline, Led by Biovail; Royal, Bank of Nova Scotia Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell, led by Biovail
Corp. after regulators rejected the drugmaker's application for
approval of an antidepressant.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped for the first time in four
days, falling 31.50, or 0.2 percent, to 14,594.26 in Toronto at
10:02 a.m. in Toronto.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Schlumberger CEO can't forecast Canada recovery

(Reuters) - Low prices for natural gas have caused exploration
companies to stop drilling in Canada, hurting profits at oil
service firms.




Earlier, Schlumberger said its second-quarter profit rose
47 percent, topping Wall Street estimates, as growth in its
international markets boosted results.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Fitzgerald Merits Top U.S. Law Job After Conrad Black Victory, Comey Says

(Bloomberg) -- Patrick Fitzgerald won the
convictions of four Osama bin Laden associates in May 2001. In
March, he got Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby. Last week, he nailed
Conrad Black.

Fitzgerald, 46, isn't saying what he'll do next in his
career. Friends and colleagues say he probably will remain a
prosecutor rather than join a law firm. One colleague says
Fitzgerald's destiny may include the top law-enforcement job in
the country: U.S. attorney general.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Freddie Mac sells $3 bln 10-year reference notes

(Reuters) - Freddie Mac on Friday will also sell $3.0 billion in new
three-year reference notes doe Aug. 23, 2010.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold Rises to Two-Month High, Silver Gains in New York on Dollar's Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose to a two-month high in New
York and silver gained as a decline in the value of the dollar
boosted the appeal of precious metals as alternative
investments.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the
dollar, which is headed toward the sixth straight weekly loss
against the euro. Before today, gold had gained 6.3 percent this
year while the euro climbed 4.6 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-WesBanco to buy Oak Hill Fincl for $201 mln

(Reuters) - Oak Hill shareholders will be entitled to receive either
1.256 shares of WesBanco common stock, or $38 a share in cash,
about 60 percent more than Oak Hill's Thursday close of $23.30.




WesBanco expects the combination to be break-even to 2008
earnings per share and to add more than 2 percent to 2009
earnings per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

JGBs climb on election jitters, gains in Treasuries

(Reuters) - Some market players were starting to fret that Japanese
equities could take a hit and give government bonds a boost if
the parliamentary election on July 29 deals the ruling coalition
of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a severe setback.




A telephone survey by the Asahi newspaper published on Friday
showed that Abe's coalition is likely to lose the upper house
election after government mishandling of pension records and a
series of gaffes by officials. [ID:nT194441]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Total lifts force majeure on Angola's Dalia oil

(Reuters) - France's Total said on Friday it had lifted the force majeure it declared on oil exports from its 220,000 barrel per day Angolan offshore platform Dalia.

The company was forced to cut output by half on Tuesday due to a technical problem at the platform.


Read more at Reuters Africa