Algeria H1 trade surplus down on lower oil revenue

(Reuters) - OPEC member Algeria posted a $14.30 billion trade surplus in the first six months of 2007, a fall of $3.4 billion compared with the same period last year due to lower oil and gas earnings, official figures showed on Monday.

The data, issued by customs centre CNIS and published by Algeria's official news agency APS, showed the value of oil and gas exports, which accounted for 98 percent of total sales abroad, shrank by 4.0 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

JKX agrees to buy Russian gas field for $50 mln

(Reuters) - The group said the deal would increase its proved and
probable oil and gas reserves by approximately 85 percent.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Baoshan, Angang Shares Surge After Brokerages Raise Steel-Price Forecasts

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese steel shares, including
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. and Angang Steel Co., rose for a third
day after brokerages including JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised
forecasts for steel prices.

Shares of Baoshan Iron & Steel, China's largest steelmaker,
rose as much as 5.2 percent to 12.70 yuan, the highest since May
29, and traded at 12.61 at 10:38 a.m. in Shanghai. Angang Steel
surged as much as 19 percent to HK$21.70 in Hong Kong. Its yuan-
denominated shares rose as much as 9.4 percent to 21.38 yuan in
Shenzhen.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

PRESS DIGEST - Washington Post Business - July 24

(Reuters) - Determined to keep its promise to the state's public
employees, teachers, police officers and firefighters, the
Montana pension system may venture into a high-stakes corner of
the investment world: hedge funds.




---


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

KKR, Homeowners Face Funding Drain as CDO Money-Making Machine Shuts Down

(Bloomberg) -- The Wall Street money-machine known
as collateralized debt obligations is grinding to a halt,
imperiling $8.6 billion in annual underwriting fees and reducing
credit for everyone from buyout king Henry Kravis to homeowners.

Sales of the securities -- used to pool bonds, loans and
their derivatives into new debt -- dwindled to $3.7 billion in
the U.S. this month from $42 billion in June, analysts at New
York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. said yesterday. The market is
``virtually shut,'' the bank said in a July 13 report.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China Aviation Oil's Shares Increase by 10 Percent to Record in Singapore

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of China Aviation Oil
(Singapore) Corp. rose to a record in Singapore.

The jet-fuel trader's shares jumped as much as 29 cents, or
10 percent, to S$3.12 ($2.07) apiece on the Singapore exchange.
That was the biggest one-day increase since July 9. The stock
traded at S$3.06 at 10:02 a.m. local time.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan Corporate Bond Risk Highest Since August, Credit-Default Swaps Show

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese corporate bond risk rose to
the highest since August, according to traders of credit-default
swaps.

Credit-default swaps based on 1 billion yen ($8.3 million)
of debt included in the iTraxx Japan Series 7 index of 50
investment-grade Japanese companies increased by 175,000 yen to
2.78 million yen in Tokyo, according to prices from Credit Suisse
Group.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Wall Street indexes rise on M&A news, profits

(Reuters) - Merck, a Dow component, posted quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations while Halliburton Co. , the world's No. 2 oil services company, also topped forecasts and its shares rose to their highest since June 2006.




Also on Monday, Transocean Inc. , the world's largest offshore driller, said it had agreed to buy drilling rig operator GlobalSantaFe Corp. for $18 billion. That proposed merger and other smaller deals showed the Wall Street takeover spree still had legs, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Dollar Declines to Lowest in Two Months on U.S. Subprime Mortgage Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to the lowest in two
months against the yen on concern U.S. subprime mortgage losses
will worsen.

The U.S. currency weakened for a third day on prospects a
National Association of Realtors report tomorrow will show U.S.
existing-home sales dropped last month to the lowest in four
years. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified before
Congress last week that there will be ``significant'' losses on
loans to homeowners with poor credit.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Australia's HFA to buy U.S. fund Lighthouse

(Reuters) - The merged companies will have assets under management of
about US$8 billion, HFA said.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Mexico's Televisa net falls less than expected

(Reuters) - Results were above analyst estimates of 1.884 billion
pesos.




Consolidated net income was 2.247 billion pesos in the April-June quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Japanese Stocks May Climb on Higher Earnings; KDDI Corp., Toshiba May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares may gain on optimism
companies will report higher earnings for the fiscal first quarter.

KDDI Corp., Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone carrier, may
gain after saying its profit rose 9 percent from a year earlier
after winning customers from its rivals. Toshiba Corp. may advance
after the Nikkei newspaper said the company, which had forecast a
profit decline, may report a 3 percent increase in net income.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Steel Dynamics' second-quarter profit slips

(Reuters) - In May, Steel Dynamics warned that second-quarter earnings
would be at the low end of its forecast range due to softness
in the flat-rolled steel market. The company had in April
forecast earnings of 95 cents to $1 a share.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Netflix reports first drop in subscriptions

(Reuters) - The company also cut its forecasts for subscribers, revenue and profit for the year on Monday, and its shares fell 4.5 percent further in extended trading. The stock had already closed the regular trading session 12 percent lower after the company cut prices on two of its subscription plans.




Net income for the second quarter was $25.6 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $17 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier, boosted in part by a $4.1 million settlement of a patent dispute.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US's Paulson says backs strong U.S. dollar

(Reuters) - He added that he felt the same way about the value of other
currencies.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Maximus to explore strategic alternatives; sees Q3 loss

(Reuters) - Maximus said it retained UBS Investment Bank to assist it
in the process.




In a separate statement, Maximus said it expects to post a
loss in the third quarter due to a charge related to the
settlement of an investigation into its Medicaid-claiming work.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Emerging-Market Bonds Fall Amid Growing Concern of Spreading Suprime Woes

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds fell as
concern about widening losses related to subprime mortages led
investors to shun riskier, higher-yielding assets.

Developing nation debt has slumped in recent weeks on
speculation of greater losses linked to bad bets on securities
backed by mortgages to people with poor credit. An index that
measures the risk of owning corporate bonds rose to the highest
in at least two years in the U.S. and Europe on concern hedge
funds may sell assets to cover losses.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

TI quarterly profit, revenue fall

(Reuters) - The world's biggest maker of chips for mobile phones said
profit from continuing operations fell to $614 million, or 42
cents per share, from $739 million, or 47 cents per share, a
year earlier. Revenue fell to $3.42 billion from $3.7 billion.




On June 11, TI forecast second-quarter earnings per share
of 40 cents to 44 cents on revenue of $3.36 billion to $3.51
billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Low expectations for CIT, GE subprime sales

(Reuters) - Analysts say GE and CIT Group Inc. probably will get
far less for their respective subprime franchises than those
sold less than a year ago. The value of subprime assets have
tanked amid a rising wave of delinquencies and defaults on
loans to people with weak credit.




In contrast, Cleveland, Ohio's National City Corp.
looks pretty smart for locking up a deal for its First Franklin
Financial subprime franchise. Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.
agreed in September to pay $1.3 billion for First Franklin.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Iraq oil exports to U.S. second lowest in near 4 yrs

(Reuters) - The Energy Department said it was Iraq's second smallest volume of crude sent to the United States since September 2003, a few months after American forces removed Saddam Hussein from power.




The United States imported an average 553,000 barrels of oil a day last year from Iraq, making it America's sixth largest foreign oil supplier.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-DSP Group gives Q3 sales outlook below market view

(Reuters) - DSP shares fell about 8 percent and were trading at $18.41
in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.




Earlier, the Israel-based maker of chips to convert audio
data into digital mode for telephones and computers reported
second-quarter results slightly ahead of analysts' estimate but
well below prior-year numbers.
"As a result of increased price sensitivity in the U.S.
market, we are seeing an increase of sales of analog systems on
account of digital systems. This trend may continue until the
introduction of our next wave of multimedia products in 2008,"
Eli Ayalon, chief executive officer, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Calpers reports 19.1 pct return, assets of $247.7 bln

(Reuters) - The Sacramento, California-based pension fund, best known
as Calpers, said in a statement that over the 12 months ended
in June its assets increased by $36.5 billion to $247.7
billion.




"This is good news for our members because these gains will
carry many Calpers plans to 100 percent full funding of our
retirement obligations as of June 30, 2007," Charles Valdes,
chair of the Calpers Investment Committee said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

NY agency says Kawasaki opts to build subway cars

(Reuters) - If Kawasaki decided not to use that option, Alstom would
have built all the cars ordered by the MTA under the contract's
first option.




"They opted in," said a transit official, who
spoke to reporters after a board meeting.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RLPC-SABIC launches $5.4 bln loan for GE Plastics buy-source

(Reuters) - The debt is being raised on a non-recourse basis at the
target level through a Sabic entity, Sabic Innovative Plastics
Holding BV.




The loan is split between a $1.1 billion, term loan A,
which carries a margin of 125 basis points over LIBOR,
and a $4.3 billion term loan B that pays 250 bps.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Treasury 10-Year Securities Decline as U.S. Stock Market Indexes Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell amid a rise in stocks
as traders speculated that individual investors had yet to
participate widely in equity increases, suggesting potential for
further gains.

Traders sold Treasuries after purchases motivated by hedging
and concerns about riskier markets waned, blocking the 10-year
note yield from falling below 4.93 percent. Treasuries rose last
week as traders canceled bets on riskier securities as credit
spreads widened. Fully hedged market participants had less need
to buy Treasuries leading to a loss in momentum, traders said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Hartford settles market timing case for $115 mln

(Reuters) - The case dates back to the mid-1990s, when the insurer paid
hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden or "contingent"
commissions to brokers who steered business to Hartford.




The Connecticut insurer also allowed certain people to make
rapid trades in and out of mutual funds, harming others,
according to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal,
who announced the settlement.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks advance on results, M&A deals

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
as better-than-expected profits from Merck & Co. and a nearly
$18 billion takeover in the oil services industry reassured
investors, while Treasuries eased on the respite from risk
aversion over fears about the subprime credit market.




The fall in U.S. government bond prices pulled benchmark
yields back from recent six-week lows, while the dollar was
little changed and within striking distance of a record low
against the euro hit overnight.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bausch & Lomb board to weigh bids Tuesday: sources

(Reuters) - A special board committee for Bausch & Lomb is meeting today, and the full board is to meet Tuesday, one source said. A final decision on the two offers is unlikely on Tuesday, but Bausch & Lomb's board is expected to decide whether to continue talks with Advanced Medical, sources said.




Advanced Medical , Bausch & Lomb and Warburg Pincus could not be immediately reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

AMR rises after Goldman Sachs ups target

(Reuters) - Barry raised the share price target to $26 from $22, although AMR shares were trading at $28.01 on the New York Stock Exchange in late morning trade.




He linked the higher target to an assumption that the price of jet fuel will fall relative to price of crude oil in the fourth quarter of 2007 and all of 2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

CanArgo Energy to sell its interest in Tethys Petroleum

(Reuters) - CanArgo intends to use the net proceeds to pay back debt.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canada has no plan to move on strong C$ -Flaherty

(Reuters) - "Part of the strength in the Canadian dollar relates to the
weakness of the U.S. dollar, but part of it relates to the fact
that our economic fundamentals are so strong."




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Lee Enterprises profit falls, says Web growth strong

(Reuters) - Lee attributed the decline in profit and revenue to a slump
in real estate, automotive and national advertising at its
daily newspapers.




But the company pointed to 60 percent online growth during
the quarter as a bright spot, saying the Internet now accounts
for nearly 8 percent of advertising revenue and had surpassed
the contribution of national advertising.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CSN, Sabesp, Tecnisa, Usiminas and Vale do Rio Doce: Brazil Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index rose for the
second time in three days, led by mining company Cia. Vale do Rio
Doce.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange gained 239.50, or 0.4 percent, to 57,682.24 as of 9:42
a.m. New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Arch Coal second-quarter profit declines

(Reuters) - Net earnings were $37.5 million, or 26 cents per share,
compared with $69.6 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same
quarter last year, the St. Louis-based mining company said.




Quarterly revenue declined to $598.75 million, from $637.48
million a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bausch & Lomb withdraws EU product application

(Reuters) - Baush & Lomb applied to the agency for marketing
authorisation in September 2006.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Turkish Stocks Jump After Elections, Led by Banks: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's benchmark stock index was
headed for the biggest one-day gain this year after voters re-
elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, giving him the go-
ahead for European Union membership talks and policies that have
resulted in five years of economic growth.

Akbank TAS and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS, among the
nation's biggest banks, paced the advance.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GlobalSantaFe, GPC Biotech, Merck, Opsware, Tellabs: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 8:10 a.m. in New York.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN US) rose 82 cents to $57 in trading before
U.S. exchanges opened. The company's anemia drugs will be
restricted at high doses for patients on kidney dialysis
treatment, according to a statement from the U.S. health program
for the elderly and disabled. The policy will provide greater
restrictions on dosages when a patient's level of hemoglobin
exceeds 13 grams per deciliter of blood, the Medicare agency
said. The stock rose 61 cents to $56.18 Friday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Northam Platinum sees FY headline EPS up 80-93 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's Northam Platinum expects its headline earnings per share for the year just ended to have risen by up to 93 percent due to high metals prices, the firm said on Monday.

The company said in a trading update that it expected headline EPS for the year to end June to have increased to between 540-580 cents from the 300.9 cents made the previous year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Norway oil rig firms jump on rival US merger news

(Reuters) - Volume in the stock also surged, making Seadrill the most
traded share on the Oslo bourse and helping push the benchmark
index into positive territory from minor losses.
"It is the same phenomenon on the other Norwegian drilling
stocks now too," Fondsfinans analyst Kjetil Bakken said,
pointing also to steep gains in shares of Songa Offshore
, Ocean Rig , Awilco Offshore and
Fred. Olsen Energy .




The stocks rose from 2.7 percent for Awilco to 4.6 percent
for Songa. Energy infrastructure supplier Aker Kvaerner
traded up 2.4 percent, rising with the rig companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Merck profit jumps, raises forecast

(Reuters) - Excluding special items, Merck earned 82 cents per share.
On that basis, analysts' average forecast was 72 cents per
share, according to Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Insurance Stocks Gain; Hypo Real Estate, Nestle Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European insurance stocks rose, led
by Friends Provident Plc and Resolution Plc, after the companies
said they are in talks for a merger that would create the U.K.'s
fifth-biggest insurer.

Friends Provident Plc jumped the most in more than two
months. Hypo Real Estate Holding AG paced declining shares after
the German real-estate financing company agreed to buy Depfa Bank
Plc for 5.7 billion euros ($7.9 billion).


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

French Foie Gras Makers Flourish, Dismissing Protests of Pope, Terminator

(Bloomberg) -- Remi Olivier pins a trusting goose
under his arm and thrusts a tube down its throat to pump a day's
worth of food into the bird in three seconds.

``If it's well prepared and knows you, it just comes right
up to you to be fed,'' the 22-year-old says as he stuffs 250 gram
(8.8-ounce) portions of polenta and corn grains into 100 geese at
a farm in Coulaures, southwestern France.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

European Stocks Erase Gains; Hypo Real Estate, Nestle Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks erased an earlier
advance as shares of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and Nestle SA
declined.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell less than 0.1
percent to 392.53 at 11:24 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 added
less than 0.1 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the
euro region, lost 0.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Barclays gets nod to buy stake in China trust firm

(Reuters) - London-based Barclays Bank Plc will be allowed to buy a nearly 20 percent stake in New China Trust & Investment Co., one of the country's oldest trust firms, after negotiations for more than one year between the two companies, the sources said.




The purchase will make Barclays the first foreign bank with a stake in a Chinese trust firm, while others, including Morgan Stanley and UBS , are still in talks with potential Chinese partners.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

EnBW's Philippsburg-2 Nuclear Reactor Returns to Service After Repair Work

(Bloomberg) -- Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG,
Germany's third-biggest utility, said it began power generation
at its Philippsburg-2 nuclear reactor which had been halted for
annual maintenance.

The unit, which has a capacity of 1,458-megawatts, was
stopped at the beginning of the month, the company said in a
statement. It was restarted over the weekend.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Falls a Second Day After Reuters Reports OPEC May Raise Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after Reuters reported
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was concerned
about high oil prices and their impact on the world economy.

The group may pump more oil to increase supplies, though it's
unclear whether extra production will be needed this year, OPEC
President Mohamed al-Hamli said, according to Reuters. Reports that
Chevron Corp. started its refinery in El Segundo, California, last
week helped pull oil prices lower.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.K. Natural Gas Declines as on Forecast That Supplies May Outstrip Demand

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas costs fell as
forecasts indicated supplies may outstrip expected consumption of
the fuel today.

Gas for same-day delivery declined as much as 2 pence, or
5.9 percent, to 32 pence a therm, according to prices on
Bloomberg from the broker ICAP Plc. It traded at 32.50 pence at
8:31 a.m. London time. That's equivalent to $6.70 a million
British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European Stocks Erase Earlier Gains; Credit Suisse, Nestle Shares Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks pared earlier gains,
paced by Credit Suisse Group and Nestle SA.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.1 percent to
392.18 at 8:51 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 slid 0.1 percent,
while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, declined
0.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Corn, Soybean Futures Fall in Chicago on Improved Weather; Wheat Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybean futures in Chicago
fell on speculation that wetter and cooler weather in crop
growing areas in the U.S. will boost yields. Wheat futures gained.

Weather forecasts showed the corn belt is expected to
receive up to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain with 20 percent
coverage on July 23-24. The 6-10 day forecast indicated normal
precipitation in the far western and eastern corn belt, with
below-normal falls in the central corn belt, Dan Cekander, senior
grain analyst for Fimat USA, wrote in a report on July 20.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Singapore's Temasek says to buy stake in Barclays

(Reuters) - "We are pleased to have this opportunity to invest in
Barclays," said Frank Tang, senior managing director at
Temasek.




"We look forward to supporting them in their strategy to
create opportunities for a higher level of sustainable
growth."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index Slips From Record, Led by Banks, Oil Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell
from a record. U.S.-linked shares such as James Hardie Industries
NV and lenders including National Australia Bank Ltd. dropped
after U.S. banks increased reserves for bad loans.

``The continued fallout from the subprime issue in the U.S.
is tempering people's enthusiasm for financial stocks,'' said
Angus Gluskie, who helps manages the equivalent of about $380
million at White Funds Management in Sydney.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News