Paulson to make his currency case to China's Hu

(Reuters) - Paulson and other top Bush aides are trying to head off several trade-focused bills that are aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate more quickly to ease trade imbalances.




"At a time when U.S. exports are growing globally, such legislation also exposes the United States to the risk of 'mirror legislation' abroad and could trigger a global cycle of protectionist legislation," Paulson, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a joint letter to senior senators.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Yen holds gains, supported by risk aversion

(Reuters) - Traders said the yen took its cue from U.S. share prices, which slid on Tuesday after mortgage lender American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said it could not fund home loans and might have to liquidate assets.




Risk aversion stemming from such falls in equities and worries about the U.S. housing and credit markets could prompt the dollar to eventually break below 118.00 yen, said a trader for a major Japanese trading house.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Japan Facing Pressure From Asia-Pacific Ministers Over Yen Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Finance Minister Koji Omi is
likely to face pressure over the value of the yen from economies as
diverse as South Korea and New Zealand at a meeting of 21 Asia-
Pacific policy makers in Australia starting today.

Money borrowed in Japan, where the benchmark interest rate is
0.5 percent, is being invested in economies offering higher returns.
New Zealand, where the key rate is 8.25 percent, has seen its
currency driven to a 22-year high by the so-called yen carry trade.
Thailand's baht has surged to its highest since the Asian financial
crisis a decade ago, as has the South Korean won.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Asian Stocks Decline, Led by Macquarie Bank, Sony on U.S. Subprime Rout

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell after a U.S. lender
said it lacks cash to fund new loans, reigniting concerns that a
decline in the country's subprime loan industry will curb growth
in the world's largest economy.

Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's largest securities firm,
plunged after it said investors in some of its high-yield funds
may lose as much as 25 percent of their money amid the fallout in
U.S. subprime mortgages. Sony Corp. led declines among exporters
on concern the U.S. housing rout will dent consumer spending.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australian Stocks Fall, Led by Macquarie on U.S. Subprime Mortgage Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index, the
S&P/ASX 200 Index, fell 0.44 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 201 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange fell 27.10 to 6,117.10. Among the stocks in the index,
25 rose, 96 fell and 80 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Murdoch looks to legacy with Dow Jones bid

(Reuters) - Now the 76-year-old media mogul aims to redeem his legacy in the business he loves most with the anticipated $5 billion purchase of Dow Jones & Co. Inc., owner of The Wall Street Journal, Barron's financial weekly and Dow Jones Newswires.




Dow Jones looked set to agree on Tuesday to the buyout later on Tuesday, regarded as one of the most audacious yet for the consummate dealmaker.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Equity Residential FFO down, but beats analyst view

(Reuters) - The investment trust founded by real estate mogul Sam Zell
said second-quarter FFO fell to 60 cents a share from 61 cents
per share a year earlier, but still beat analysts' average call
for FFO of 56 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




FFO removes the profit-reducing effect of depreciation -- a
noncash accounting item -- on earnings, and it is a performance
measure commonly used by real estate investment trusts.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Millipore quarterly profit falls

(Reuters) - Excluding items, the company's earnings topped Wall Street
estimate.




The Billerica, Massachusetts-based company reported
second-quarter net income of $28.4 million, or 52 cents a
share, compared with $29.1 million, or 54 cents a share, a year
ago. Net sales rose 40 percent to $383.2 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Paulson Calls Legislation Aimed at Boosting the Yuan the `Wrong Approach'

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
said legislation to force China to raise the value of its
currency is the ``wrong approach'' and risks provoking a
protectionist reaction from other countries.

Paulson and other administration officials said measures
proposed by the Senate Finance and Banking Committees could
jeopardize U.S. exports by starting a trade war, won't help
persuade China to open its economy and risk undermining ``market
confidence'' in the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-First Solar posts 2nd-quarter profit vs loss

(Reuters) - Net income was $44.4 million, or 58 cents a share, compared
with a loss of $2.5 million, or 3 cents a share, a year
earlier.




The second quarter included a tax benefit of $39.2 million,
or 51 cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

U.S. July auto sales seen down, housing woes key

(Reuters) - Dealer groups and analysts say early indications show July
sales failed to break free of a second-quarter slump,
ratcheting up the pressure for production cuts and stepped-up
incentive spending by the embattled U.S. auto industry.




"Housing worries and relatively high gas prices are
weighing on consumers," Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold said
in a note for clients.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-US panel backs Biogen, Elan MS drug for Crohn's

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration usually follows
advisory panel recommendations. A final decision is expected by
mid-October.




Tysabri sales were suspended in 2005 because of a rare but
potentially fatal brain infection known as progressive
multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML. Two of three patients
who developed PML died.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. to be in Iraq years, says Bush military nominee

(Reuters) - Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, picked as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned U.S. lawmakers unhappy with the conflict against seeking a rapid pullout from Iraq, saying it could turn the country into a "caldron."




While prudence dictated planning for an eventual pullout, Mullen said that under one scenario it could take three to four years just to halve the 160,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq. Many Democrats want to pull out combat troops by April.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Penford files $100 mln mixed shelf offering

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-RealNetworks profit falls

(Reuters) - Second-quarter net income was $1.3 million, or 1 cent per
diluted share, compared with $38.9 million, or 22 cents per
diluted share, in the year-ago period.




In the year-ago quarter, the company benefited from the
proceeds of a $57.9 million settlement of litigation against
Microsoft and commercial agreements with the world's largest
software maker.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Corn Futures Rise After Warm, Dry Weather Damages Crops in U.S. Midwest

(Bloomberg) -- Corn rose for the sixth straight
session in Chicago after U.S. crops deteriorated for a fourth
week because of unusually dry weather.

An estimated 58 percent of the corn crop was in good or
excellent condition as of July 29, down from 73 percent a month
earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. About
25 percent of the crop was starting to fill kernels with starches
and sugars, better than the five-year average of 20 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

AmerisourceBergen and Kindred form PharMerica

(Reuters) - PharMerica will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PMC." AmerisourceBergen and Kindred stockholders each will hold about 50 percent of the PharMerica shares, the companies said.



) Keywords: PHARMERICA/


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Whole Foods posts lower 3rd-quarter profit

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, expected Whole Foods to earn 33 cents
per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Whole Foods is trying to buy smaller rival Wild Oats
Markets Inc. . But the Federal Trade Commission is
challenging the deal in federal court on grounds that it would
hobble competition in the market for natural and organic
groceries.



Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Indexes end down for day;S&P worst month since '04

(Reuters) - All three indexes also ended the month of July lower, with
the S&P 500 booking its worst monthly percentage decline since
July 2004. For the month, the Dow was down 1.5 percent, the
S&P was down 3.2 percent and the Nasdaq was down 2.2 percent.




The Dow Jones industrial average was down 146.32
points, or 1.10 percent, to end unofficially at 13,211.99. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 18.64 points, or
1.26 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,455.27. The Nasdaq
Composite Index was down 37.01 points, or 1.43
percent, to close unofficially at 2,546.27.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bond prices rise as stock market turns lower

(Reuters) - Bonds have been closely mirroring stocks recently, gaining
when stocks fall as investors turn to the relative safety of
bonds.




"Bonds are not leading, they are being led," said David
Ader, head of government bond strategy at RBS Greenwich Capital
in Greenwich, Connecticut. "Stocks were up and now they are
close to the lows of the day, while bonds were lower and now
they are higher on the day. It's not much more complicated than
that."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sugar Rises Most in Six Weeks Before Russia Decides on Raising Tariffs

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar futures rose the most in six
weeks in New York as processors bought contracts in anticipation
that Russia will raise import tariffs.

Russia may decide early in August to boost the duty from
$140 a metric ton, said Bernard Isler, an analyst with Trendex
Commodity Corp. in Plantation, Florida. President Vladimir Putin
wants a decision by tomorrow, said James Kirkup, a sugar broker
at Fortis in London, citing a Reuters report.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Barclays deal would boost ABN board pay -SEC data

(Reuters) - The Netherlands' biggest bank is the target of a 65 billion euro offer from Barclays and a rival 71 billion euro bid from Royal Bank of Scotland , Belgium's Fortis and Spain's Santander .



ABN's management and supervisory board withdrew its recommendation to merge with Barclays on Monday, but ABN Chief Executive Rijkman Groenink said ABN still supported Barclays' offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Rogers CEO shoots down talk of Shaw takeover

(Reuters) - "We do not have any active file on Shaw," Ted Rogers said
in response to an analyst's question during the company's
earnings conference call. "We have not had any discussions with
Shaw on putting the companies together."




His remarks came after a Canaccord Adams analyst published
a research note last week in which he speculated the two big
Canadian cable-TV and telecoms companies could be in talks for
a deal that would value Shaw at as much as C$14.4 billion
.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Shorter-Term Treasuries Fall as Demand for Safety of Government Debt Wanes

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries maturing in five years or
less dropped as investors returned to riskier bonds and stocks
after abandoning them the past two weeks.

Two-year notes weakened as traders pared bets the Federal
Reserve will cut interest rates this year to blunt the impact of
higher borrowing costs for homeowners and companies. Yields rose
from near a four-month low even as one of the first reports for
July, the National Association of Purchasing Management-
Chicago's business barometer, fell more than forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bond dip on firmer stocks, credit markets

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. Treasuries eased on
Tuesday as stocks rose for a second day and credit markets
rallied on waning fears over tighter access to funding.




Government bonds were little moved by mixed economic data
that painted a picture of benign inflationary pressures and
slower economic growth, but surprisingly upbeat consumer
sentiment. For details, see [ID:nN30403317], [ID:nN30443227]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-American Home can't fund loans, may liquidate assets

(Reuters) - The Melville, New York-based real estate investment trust
is one of the largest U.S. lenders to struggle with a U.S.
housing slump that has caused home prices to stall, borrowing
costs to rise and defaults to soar.




American Home shares closed Friday at $10.47. They have not
traded since trading was halted on Monday morning.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Qatar Was OPEC's Wealthiest Per-Capita Exporter Last Year; Nigeria Poorest

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar earned $28,576 per citizen last
year from oil and gas exports, while Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation, made $391, annual OPEC data shows.

The range reflects large differences in populations among
members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Nigeria's petroleum-export revenue of $52.5 billion was twice that
of the tiny Persian Gulf emirate.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Lehman Brothers Offers New Muni Derivatives for Institutional Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
tomorrow will introduce derivatives that track the value of
benchmark five- and 10-year municipal bonds, in an effort to
provide a way for investors to protect against price swings.

The Lehman Municipal Index Swap, comprised of general
obligation bonds rated AA- or better, will also allow investors
to bet on the performance of municipal bonds relative to taxable
yields without buying tax-exempt debt. Currently, municipal
investors use the Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association Municipal Swap Index or Thomson Financial's
Municipal Market Data index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bancroft family accepts News deal - DJ executive

(Reuters) - Prestbo told Reuters the information came from an internal company memo.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wheat Falls as Harvest Pace Increases in U.S. Great Plains, Adds to Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell for a second-straight day
in Chicago as the U.S. winter-crop harvest in the southern Great
Plains neared completion and farmers to the north sped up
spring-crop cutting, increasing supplies.

About 88 percent of the winter crop was harvested as of
July 29, up from 81 percent a week earlier, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture said in a report yesterday. Ten percent of the
spring crop was collected compared with 2 percent the previous
week, the USDA said. Growers probably will sell wheat to make
room for corn, which will be collected starting in late August.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

European Stocks Rise, Led by Aviva; Lloyds, Ryanair, GlaxoSmithKline Rally

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rebounded from a
five-day plunge on waning concern that the U.S. subprime-credit
crisis will damp economic growth.

Aviva Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG paced gains by
financial stocks. Lloyds TSB Group Plc rallied on earnings that
topped analysts' estimates. Ryanair Holdings Plc and MAN AG led
airline and auto stocks higher after raising profit forecasts.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc jumped the most in two years after a panel of
doctors said its Avandia drug should remain on the U.S. market.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Health Management net tumbles, forecast is weak

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - Hospital chain Health Management Associates posted an 85 percent plunge in quarterly profit Tuesday, citing difficulties in collecting on hospital bills, and forecast 2007 profit significantly below Wall Street estimates.



HMA, whose shares fell 9 percent in pre-market trade, said second-quarter earnings fell to $11.9 million, or 5 cents a share, from $77.3 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Rogers reports loss, ups dividend, forecasts

(Reuters) - But the company said 2007 revenue and operating profit would be at the top end of its previous ranges. It raised its annual dividend to 50 Canadian cents a share, from 16 Canadian cents a share, and reported strong subscriber growth.



Rogers said it lost C$56 million , or 9 Canadian cents a share, in the three months ended June 30. That comes on a profit of C$279 million, or 44 Canadian cents, in the same period a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Scotiabank sees Mexico unit adding C$100 mln

(Reuters) - Scotiabank said in a brief statement the Mexican unit's earnings were driven by continued asset and deposit growth, improving margins and continuing stable credit quality.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

GM trounces 2nd-qtr estimates, shares surge

(Reuters) - By Jui Chakravorty



DETROIT, July 31 - General Motors Corp on Tuesday said it posted a quarterly profit that trounced Wall Street estimates as it benefited from cost-cutting and growing sales overseas, sending shares up as much as 6 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Enron plaintiffs ask Bush to back 3rd-party suits

(Reuters) - In a last-ditch attempt to get the administration to back their effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court allow shareholders to sue third parties, the group of former Enron shareholders have written to President George W. Bush.




"As victims of the Enron fraud, the worst in American history, we respectfully ask for your support at a critical moment in our pursuit of justice," says the letter signed by more than a dozen former shareholders.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. construction spending fell 0.3 pct in June

(Reuters) - Private nonresidential construction rose 0.3 percent to a
$347 billion annual rate, a record high.




But private residential construction slipped 0.7 percent to
a $544 billion annual rate, the lowest level since March 2004.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

US STOCKS-Indexes add to gains on consumer confidence

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was up 126.89
points, or 0.95 percent, at 13,485.20. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was up 12.93 points, or 0.88 percent, at
1,486.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 21.79
points, or 0.84 percent, at 2,605.07.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Jones Apparel gets new offer from Fast Retailing

(Reuters) - Jones said it was in talks with Fast regarding its proposal. Jones would be required to pay a break-up fee of $22.7 million if it terminated its existing agreement to sell Barneys to Dubai-owned private equity firm Istithmar for $825 million.




Jones, which owns clothing, shoes and accessories brands such as Nine West, Gloria Vanderbilt and Jones New York, put itself up for sale last year but failed to find a buyer. It agreed to sell Barneys in June after several months of negotiations.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-AEP second-quarter earnings rise

(Reuters) - Second-quarter profit rose to $180 million, or 45 cents per
share, from $175 million, or 44 cents per share, a year
earlier.




Excluding special items, which included a $77 million hit
from the impact of Virginia's return to regulated markets, AEP
said earnings increased to 64 cents per share from 44 cents per
share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Futures rise before inflation, other data

(Reuters) - Shares of fast-food chain Wendy's International Inc.
will likely be in the spotlight after billionaire
Nelson Peltz said his Triarc Cos. Inc. could offer up
to $41 a share for the company. For details, see
[ID:nN30445780].




The core personal consumption expenditure index, the
Federal Reserve's favorite inflation indicator, is forecast to
have risen 0.2 percent in June, according to economists polled
by Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

"You're hired!" Murdoch tells Sugar

(Reuters) - And he gets to keep his job.




The 125 million pounds deal with Murdoch's pay-TV group ends Amstrad's roller-coaster ride as an independent company, which has seen it both soar to a billion-pound market leader and plunge towards the status of a penny stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

GM flipped to second-quarter profit

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $2.48
a share.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

German Stocks Advance, Led by MAN on Earnings; DaimlerChrysler, BMW Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Germany's benchmark DAX Index rose,
heading for the biggest one-day gain in more than two weeks. MAN
AG shares paced the advance after Europe's third-largest
truckmaker reported its 16th consecutive profit increase.

Shares of DaimlerChrysler AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG, the world's biggest luxury carmakers, also climbed.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CDM Resource Partners files for $169.1 mln IPO

(Reuters) - The company said it plans to list its units on the New York
Stock Exchange.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Corporate Bond Risk Declines by Record In Europe, Halting Three-Day Rout

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European
corporate bonds dropped by a record today, halting a three-day
credit market rout.

Credit-default swaps on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of
debt included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50
European companies tumbled as much as 60,000 euros to 402,000
euros, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rally sharply as credit market calms

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 31 - Stocks around the world bounced
back sharply on Tuesday as volatile credit markets stabilised
and after Wall St took heart from still-brisk corporate earnings
growth and the smooth wind-up of another troubled hedge fund.




Europe's benchmark index rebounded after five
straight days of losses and gained more than one percent in the
first few minutes of trading. Bourses in London ,
Frankfurt and Paris added 1 percent or more.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Clinphone warns on full-year profits, shares dive

(Reuters) - Shares in the Nottingham-based firm, which helps researchers
conduct clinical trials, dropped 36.4 percent to 79.5 pence,
valuing the company at 52.8 million pounds .




Clinphone said service levels dropped during June and July
because of outages from third-party telecoms suppliers as well
as internal data processing problems.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

German Stocks Advance; Deutsche Bank, MAN AG, DaimlerChrysler Lead Gains

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks advanced, led by
Deutsche Bank AG, MAN AG and DaimlerChrysler AG.

The benchmark DAX Index added 92.86, or 1.3 percent, to
7549.17 as of 9:10 a.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the
country's 110 biggest companies climbed 1.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Sumitomo Chem to buy Cambridge Display for $285 mln

(Reuters) - The acquisition is expected to close during the third or the
fourth quarter.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Australian Proposed Carbon Price Cap Threatens Plan, Deutsche Bank Says

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's proposal to set a price
cap in its carbon trading system threatens the effectiveness of
the plan to reduce emissions blamed for global warming, said
Deutsche Bank AG's global head of carbon trading research.

Prices for carbon emissions allowances probably need to be
about A$55 ($47.31) a metric ton to ensure switching to cleaner
technologies, rather than a potential A$15 should a price cap be
set, Paris-based Lewis said today in an interview in Sydney.
Fifteen Australian dollars a ton is ``way too low'' to lead to
the development of technologies such as clean-coal power, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

EU will not cover Chinese loans to Africa

(Reuters) - The European Union warned China on Monday of the dangers of lending money to Africa and said it was not willing to write off any unrepaid debt to Beijing from Europe's former colonial backyard.

Europe remains by far Africa's bigger trading partner and aid donor, but recent years have seen a surge in soft loans from energy-hungry China to finance projects in Africa ranging from roads to telecoms networks.


Read more at Reuters Africa