Copper sinks to five-week low on US growth fears

(Reuters) - Fresh signs of economic trouble in the United States beat copper down to five-week lows on Monday, but analysts expect strong demand from China to buoy the metal used widely in the construction and power industries.

London-listed miners were down on the back of broader market weakness. Britain's was down 0.2 percent while BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata were down between half a percent and 2.3 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Delphi reaches tentative deals with four unions

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, Aug 6 - Auto parts maker Delphi Corp. said on Monday it has reached tentative agreement on new contracts with four more unions, key steps in its plan to reorganize and exit bankruptcy.



Delphi said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the four unions covering work-force transition, pension and other issues. The company said it would not release details on the agreements until union members have voted on them.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Two-Year Treasury Note Yields Fall to 18-Month Lows as Global Stocks Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed, with
two-year note yields near the lowest in 18 months, as European
and Asian stocks dropped.

Two-year note yields declined 2 basis points, or 0.02
percentage point, to 4.4 percent at 8:30 p.m. in New York,
according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price of 4
5/8 securities due in July 2009 rose 1/32, or 31 cents per
$1,000 face amount, to 100 14/32. Bond yields move in the
opposite direction of prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Dexia to address investor concern on subprime

(Reuters) - Analysts have said that Dexia might be exposed through its
U.S. subsidiary Financial Security Assurance Inc .




"Dexia has received over the last days questions on the
issues of U.S. subprime mortgages and CDOs , and on the crisis' impact for FSA itself and for
Dexia as a whole," it said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Stock futures rise, suggest respite before Fed

(Reuters) - The Fed releases its decision on Tuesday and is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25 percent. Interest rate futures show traders are betting on the central bank delivering at least one rate cut by the end of this year.




By 0927 GMT September S&P futures were up 0.5 percent in Europe but still around their lowest in nearly five months.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

French Stocks Retreat; Axa and Credit Agricole Retreat as Natixis Jumps

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks declined for a
third day in four. Financial companies including Axa SA and
Credit Agricole SA led the retreat.

The benchmark CAC 40 Index dropped 29.47, or 0.5
percent, to 5568.42 as of 12:51 p.m. in Paris. The SBF 120
Index fell 0.5 percent to 4064.15.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oil Falls a Second Day on Concern Subprime Debacle Will Reduce U.S. Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a second day in
New York on concern the subprime-debt debacle will reduce U.S.
economic growth.

A U.S. slowdown may cut demand for oil, which has fallen 6
percent since reaching a record $78.77 on Aug. 1. Global stock
and metals prices fell today on concern the rout in U.S. debt
markets may erode growth. OPEC oil production rose last month by
the most since September 2004, a Bloomberg News Survey showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Orbotech to buy cardiac gamma camera maker; posts Q2 loss

(Reuters) - Excluding certain items, net income for the latest second
quarter was $6 million, or 18 cents per share.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Singapore's Stocks Decline by Most in Five Months: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's stocks declined by the
most in more than five months on concern losses in the U.S.
mortgage market will slow expansion in the nation's largest
export destination.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. posted its biggest fall in
almost six years, leading the decline among banks on concern they
may incur losses on their credit investments because of defaults in U.S.
subprime housing loans.
Creative Technology Ltd. fell to an 11 year-low after reports
showed U.S. employers added fewer jobs in July and growth in the
service industries slowed.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Fortis wins backing for ABN buy in Brussels

(Reuters) - Fortis is holding the shareholder meetings to secure backing
for its part of a 71 billion euro joint bid for ABN AMRO with
Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander .




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Credit, growth fears batter stocks, hit dollar

(Reuters) - European shares opened more than 1 percent lower before recovering slightly. Emerging market shares dropped around 1.8 percent and Japanese equities slipped 0.4 percent.




Heightened concerns for economic growth as a result of credit problems also knocked oil prices, which briefly dipped below $74.50, and dragged Shanghai copper futures down 3 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Dollar hits 15-year low vs basket of currencies

(Reuters) - The dollar fell to a 15-year low against a basket of currencies on Monday, as speculation mounted in financial markets that rising credit market risk and softening U.S. data will force a cut in U.S. interest rates.

The dollar index fell below the psychologically key 80.0 level, while the euro rose to within sight of its record high above $1.3850 struck two weeks ago.


Read more at Reuters Africa

AES, Suez sue Hungary over electric pricing-report

(Reuters) - AES is seeking 5 billion forints in damages
and Suez 7 billion forints, the paper said.




Officials at AES's plant, Tiszai Eromu and Suez's Dunamenti
Eromu were not immediately available to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

ICI tentatively agrees to sweetened Akzo offer: report

(Reuters) - If all goes well, a formal takeover agreement would be announced by August 9, the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel, the paper said.




ICI last week rejected an improved 7.8 billion pound , 650 pence-a-share cash takeover proposal by Akzo and refused to open its books for due diligence check, saying the offer undervalued the company. It had also previously rejected a 600 pence-a-share offer from Akzo in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Crude Oil Falls a Second Day on OPEC Output Boost, Concern Demand Abating

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, heading
for its biggest two-day decline since July 24, after OPEC
increased output and on concern losses in the U.S. mortgage
market will slow economic growth.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, excluding Angola, raised production last month by the
most since September 2004, a Bloomberg News survey showed.
Prices of commodities including copper in Shanghai and platinum
in Tokyo declined, and stocks in Asia fell, extending a global
slump, on speculation waning growth will slow demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Natixis sees little impact from IKB problems

(Reuters) - By Sudip Kar-Gupta



PARIS, Aug 6 - French bank Natixis said on Monday that current problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector would have a limited impact on the group, whose shares have slumped on fears over its subprime exposure.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa fuel industry strike could end soon

(Reuters) - South Africa's fuel industry strike could come to an end as early as Monday if the unions accept a revised offer, labour representatives said on Sunday.

Employers and unions have been locked in talks since the strike began last week, with unions demanding a 10 percent wage increase.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Falls, Heading for Biggest 2-Day Decline Since June, on OPEC, Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, heading
for its biggest two-day decline since June, after OPEC increased
output and on signs U.S. economic growth will slow, reducing fuel
demand.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,
excluding Angola, raised production last month by the most since
September 2004, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Asian stocks
dropped on renewed concern losses in the U.S. mortgage market
will trim growth in the world's biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Newcastle Coal Price Rises as Heavy Rainfall Disrupts Output in Indonesia

(Bloomberg) -- The price of power-station coal at
Australia's Newcastle port rose 5 percent last week on concern
Asian customers will need to buy in the spot market after heavy
rain led some Indonesian to warn they will miss deliveries.

Coal for immediate delivery at the world's largest export
harbor for the fuel, increased $3.27 to $70.08 a metric ton in
the week ended Aug. 3, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.
That's near the record level of $70.88 reached in June. Banpu Pcl
and Straits Asia Resources Ltd. both announced last week they
will miss contracted shipments after declaring force majeure
because of excessive rain.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Treasuries Little Changed on Signs of Slowing Expansion, Decline in Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed as
Asian stocks slid and speculation increased that losses tied to
subprime mortgages will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut
interest rates this year.

Ten-year notes may extend their gains into a fifth week
after reports showed employers added fewer jobs than expected
last month and bond investors are becoming less bearish.
Treasuries are on track to return 5.3 percent this year, the
most since 2002, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bank of Ningbo First-Half Audited Profit Jumps 41 Percent on Rising Loans

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Ningbo Co. Ltd., a Chinese
bank that raised 4.14 billion yuan ($547 million) in an initial
public offering last month, said audited first-half profit surged
41 percent on increased loans to domestic companies.

Net income rose to 382.8 million yuan, or 0.19 yuan a share,
in the six months ended June 30 from 271.6 million yuan, or 0.15
yuan a share, a year earlier, the Ningbo, Zhejiang province-based
bank said in a statement to Shenzhen's stock exchange, confirming
an earlier statement citing unaudited figures. Interest income
rose 39 percent to 1.38 billion yuan, Bank of Ningbo said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan Shares Drop on U.S. Economy Concern, Strong Yen; Toyota Profit Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined, paced by
exporters, on fear losses in the U.S. mortgage market may slow
the world's biggest economy and after the yen strengthened to a
four-month high against the dollar.

Banks including Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and brokerages
such as Nomura Holdings Inc. fell on worry the subprime problem
will erode their profits.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bank of Queensland Completes Its Biggest Sale of Debt Backed by Auto Loans

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Queensland Ltd., a regional
Australian lender, raised A$1 billion ($855 million) in its
biggest sale of bonds backed by automobile and equipment loans.

The bonds were sold to domestic and offshore investors in
nine parts, sale manager Macquarie Bank Ltd. said in an e-mailed
statement. The largest portion was A$717.5 million of AAA-rated,
August 2013 securities yielding 23 basis points more than the
benchmark swap rate.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bernanke May Alter Rhetoric, Not Interest Rates, After Market Turbulence

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.
Bernanke may respond to the latest squall in financial markets
the same way he did when turbulence hit four months ago: with a
change in words rather than policy.

Bernanke and his colleagues may suggest after their
meeting tomorrow that the risks to economic growth have
increased following the rout in stock and credit markets -- just
as they did after their March meeting.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New Zealand Dollar Falls a Second Day; Housing Woes Spur Carry Trade Exit

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar declined for a
second day as concerns U.S. subprime mortgage losses will slow
global growth deterred traders from buying riskier investments.

So called carry trades, where investors borrow cheaply in
yen to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere, have seen New
Zealand's dollar gain 25 percent against Japan's currency in the
past year. U.S. stocks dropped Aug. 3 after Samuel Molinaro,
chief financial officer at Bear Stearns Cos. called the current
crisis in fixed-income the worst ever.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

2008 sports events could benefit Adidas: Barron's

(Reuters) - Adidas should also benefit from British soccer star David Beckham's move to the United States. If Beckham does well for his new team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Adidas sales in the United States could climb, Barron's said.







Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Putin Favors Ruble Traders Over Oil Profits in Battle Against Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's
plan to keep inflation from accelerating depends on favoring
foreign-exchange traders over the country's oil and gas
companies.

Putin will probably allow the central bank to double the
ruble's pace of appreciation this year because he has few options
outside the foreign exchange market to rein in consumer prices,
according to strategists at Bank of America Corp. and UBS AG.
Russia's 8.5 percent inflation rate is three times faster than
any other Group of Eight country.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Qatar bank's $6.1 billion Ahli United bid stalls

(Reuters) - International Bank, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait , said shareholders were insisting that a third party and not the Qatari firm have access to the books of Bahrain's biggest lender, and that due diligence be limited to one month rather than three.




"IBQ confirmed that they have been in discussions with certain shareholders of AUB but these discussions have stalled," International Bank said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Qatar bank's $6.1 Ahli United takeover bid stalls

(Reuters) - International Bank, an affiliate of National Bank of Kuwait , said shareholders were insisting that a third party and not the Qatari firm have access to the books of Bahrain's biggest lender, and that due diligence be limited to one month rather than three.




"IBQ confirmed that they have been in discussions with certain shareholders of AUB but these discussions have stalled," International Bank said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

JPMorgan India loses 4 senior executives to rival

(Reuters) - "We reiterate that India continues to be a priority focus for JPMorgan. We propose to make additional announcements shortly," he said.




An Indian newspaper said the four executives -- Sameer Lumba, its head of equity sales; Rohit Shah, its head of sales and trading; Rajiv Gala and Manish Dabir -- were joining the institutional equities arm of JM Financial


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Barclays' ABN offer period set

(Reuters) - The RBS-led consortium's offer is worth 71 billion euros and 93 percent in cash, while Barclays 65-billion-euros offer is about 38 percent in cash.




ABN shareholders can tender shares under the Barclays offer from August 7 until October 4, Barclays said in a filing to U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

South Sudan awards gold, uranium mining contracts

(Reuters) - South Sudan has awarded two companies exploration licenses for gold and uranium in areas thought to be rich in minerals, an official from the semi-autonomous region said.

British/South African New Kush Exploration and Mining Company and the UK-listed Brinkley Mining Plc paid $5,000 for one-year exploration licenses in the area bordering Kenya.


Read more at Reuters Africa

South African Rand Climbs Against Dollar Over Week as Carry Trade Resumes

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand logged a weekly
gain against the dollar as global stocks rebounded, prompting
investors to resume buying emerging-market assets.

The rand also advanced as the cost of owning European
corporate bonds fell for the first week in seven. The South
African currency pared its weekly gain after Standard & Poor's
Corp. yesterday cut the credit outlook on Bear Stearns Cos.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Bonds Snap Three Weeks of Gains After ECB Indicates Higher Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds snapped
three weeks of gains after the European Central Bank indicated
it will raise interest rates further this year.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled rates may rise
from a six-year high of 4 percent as early as September, saying
``strong vigilance'' is needed to guard against price pressures.
Policy makers used the phrase a month before each of the ECB's
eight rate increases since late 2005. Trichet spoke on Aug. 2
after the bank kept borrowing costs unchanged, as forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Stocks Extend Weekly Decline on Concerns Over U.S. Subprime Loans

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a second week,
led by Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Taiwan Life Insurance Co., on
concern the U.S. subprime loans crisis is spreading to the
region's financial companies.

Macquarie Bank, Australia's largest securities firm, erased
its gains for the year after saying investors in some of its
funds may lose as much as 25 percent of their money. Taiwan Life
had its worst week in more than three years after reporting a
hedge fund loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Markets give short-sellers long-awaited gains

(Reuters) - And Friday's 7 percent slide in MBIA Inc and Ambac
Financial Group Inc , two of the world's biggest bond
issuers, stretches the gains for William Ackman, head of
Pershing Square Capital Management, who has been short both.




"Short-biased funds are going to prosper over the next few
months as the subprime problem takes its toll. We think the
problem is certainly going to continue," said Christopher Wolf,
managing partner at Cogo Wolf Asset Management LLC, which runs
a $100 million fund-of-hedge-funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Novastar suspends funding some loans

(Reuters) - The affected mortgages are wholesale loans that have not been locked in, according to the company's customer service center. The suspension of funding will last until Aug. 7. The company will then re-evaluate the temporary halt.






Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Orange Juice Rebounds on Forecast for `Active' Storm Season Near Florida

(Bloomberg) -- Orange juice rebounded to a seven-
week high after Colorado State University forecasters said the
tropical-storm period will be ``active,'' signaling a threat for
Florida citrus groves.

Conditions still favor an ``active season,'' scientists
Philip Klotzbach and William Gray said. Still, they cut the
number of major hurricanes expected in the Atlantic Ocean
through Nov. 30 to four from five projected in May. Florida is
the biggest orange producer behind Brazil.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Bear Stearns, Financials ETF, Emerging Markets: U.S. Equity Option Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
with unusual option trading in U.S. exchanges today. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Option trading
and stock prices are as of 4 p.m. in New York.

Each call option gives investors the right to buy 100 shares
of a company at a certain price, called the strike price, by a
given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BG Medicine files for $80 mln IPO

(Reuters) - The company said it is seeking to list its shares on
Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the symbol "BGMDX."





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Mortgage sector worry, data lead market lower

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U S. stocks declined on Friday
on weaker-than-expected economic data and evidence the
mortgage market's problems are taking a wider toll on financial
company shares, including Bear Stearns Cos. Inc.




Standard & Poor's said it changed its ratings outlook on
Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns to negative from
stable, indicating there is a better chance of a downgrade over
the next two years. Two Bear Stearns-managed hedge funds
collapsed last month on bad bets on subprime mortgage
investments.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nomura subprime bond "failed" 6 months after sale

(Reuters) - Bond collateral "performance generally should not be
expected to begin changing the baseline cashflow distributions
this soon," said Christopher Sullivan, chief investment officer
for pension funds at the United Nations in New York. Worse
performance in older ABX indexes makes this move less
surprising, however, he said.




The issue is one of 20 in the benchmark ABX-HE 07-2 index
that was launched last month. The ABX indexes have become
widely watched since they are the most transparent way of
gauging prices on the securities and can be used by investors
to hedge their holdings of debt backed by risky mortgages.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Agrium files shelf prospectus for $1 bln

(Reuters) - Calgary, Alberta-based Agrium said the filings would give
it the means to reduce debt and expand through acquisitions and
investments.







Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

REFILE-TREASURIES-Bond gains grow as stocks tank on Bear remarks

(Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes slid as much as 1.6 percent,
sending jittery investors scrambling for the safety of
Treasury securities, traders and fund managers said.




"Everyone's jumping on the bandwagon that the Federal
Reserve would have to ease with this subprime situation," said
Richard Schlanger, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investments
USA in Boston.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bond turmoil worse than Internet bubble: Bear CFO

(Reuters) - "So, yes, we would make that comparison" to market events
that also include the debt crisis of the late 1990s, he said.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Italy's Fiat latest foreign co to delist from NYSE

(Reuters) - MILAN, Aug 3 - Italian automaker Fiat said on Friday it planned to delist its stock from the New York Stock Exchange, the latest in a string of foreign companies to abandon the U.S. exchange this year.



Fiat has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to end its obligation to submit reports to the U.S. market regulator and would file for a delisting on Aug. 13, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Copper Futures Drops Most Eight Weeks on Signals U.S. Demand May Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Copper in New York dropped the most
in eight weeks on speculation that an economic slowdown in the
U.S., the world's second-largest consumer of the metal, will
reduce demand.

Growth in U.S. service industries slowed more than forecast
in July, and U.S. employers added fewer jobs last month than
projected, reports showed today. Copper, which sometimes moves
in tandem with economic expansion, dropped for the second
straight week on concern that losses in equity markets may
spread to commodities.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Brazil's Suzano says in sale talks with Petrobras

(Reuters) - Petrobras officials would not comment on
the possible acquisition. Local news agency Folha Online said
the value of the deal could be around 3 billion reais .







Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gazprom Postpones Sale of Bonds, Fitch Withdraws Credit Ratings on Debt

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas
monopoly, postponed a planned sale of bonds prompting Fitch
Ratings to withdraw assigned grades for the debt.

More than 50 companies from U.S. carmaker Chrysler to
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s Alliance Boots Plc postponed or
reworked debt sales since mid-June as investors shun riskier
assets amid concern that U.S. subprime mortgage-related losses
will spill into other parts of the debt markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Carl Zeiss Meditec mulls counter bid for WaveLight

(Reuters) - Carl Zeiss Meditec said in a statement on Friday it had acquired a 5 percent stake in WaveLight, which makes refractive laser and diagnostic systems for refractive eye surgery, used to correct vision and increasingly used in lieu of glasses.



"At this point in time the acquisition of stock demonstrates that we have an interest in WaveLight in principle," Carl Zeiss Meditec investor relations director Jens Brajer said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dillard's rebuffs shareholder group; stock tumbles

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, Aug 3 - A firm representing investors who hold 3.7 percent of Dillard's Inc's outstanding stock said on Friday it was rebuffed in its attempt to meet with the company's CEO, sending shares of the department store owner down 5 percent.



Barington Capital Group L.P. said its request to meet with Chairman and Chief Executive William Dillard II was met with an offer of a meeting with the company's investor relations director instead.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Italy's UniCredit clinches Polish sale to GE Money

(Reuters) - MILAN, Aug 3 - Italian bank UniCredit said on Friday it had agreed to sell to GE Money about 66 percent of its so-called New BPH bank, which comprises 200 bank branches from UniCredit's Polish unit, for 625.5 million euros



in cash.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Virtusa says IPO priced at $14/shr

(Reuters) - The Westborough, Massachusetts-based company said its
common stock has been approved for listing on Nasdaq under the
symbol "VRTU."





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-AFL-CIO seeks more disclosure for KKR, Och-Ziff

(Reuters) - In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
the AFL-CIO said KKR, a private equity firm, and Och-Ziff, a
hedge fund, clearly fall under the investment company act.




The firms have filed for IPOs after private equity firm
Blackstone Group LP successfully went public in late
June.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Samsung Electronics chip output hit by power cut

(Reuters) - The company said it did not expect the overall losses from the outage to exceed 50 billion won .




Analysts, however, put the potential losses much higher.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

P&G profit up but forecast pressures shares

(Reuters) - After spending the better part of the last two years integrating its acquisition of Gillette, the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers is now girding itself to compete with smaller rivals such as Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. .




That strategy includes accelerating its share buybacks, boosting sales in emerging markets, focusing on newer products such as Crest Pro-Health and shedding some of its businesses.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

IFC invests $32.5 mln in African cable project

(Reuters) - The World Bank's International Finance Corp. on Thursday said it was investing $32.5 million in a fiber-optic cable project that will provide Internet and international communication services for 21 African countries.

IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank that focuses on investing in emerging-market economies, said the cable project should improve telecommunications access for 250 million Africans and cut costs for individuals and businesses.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Miner Anglo to sell Tarmac; raises profit, buyback

(Reuters) - Anglo American put its Tarmac road-covering business up for sale on Friday as it met forecasts with a 22 percent rise in first-half earnings and pledged to return a further $4 billion to shareholders.

Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said the sale of UK-based Tarmac, which analysts believe could fetch over $6 billion, was the mining group's last major piece of restructuring as it moves to focus on its metals and minerals businesses.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Angola sees sustained economic boom, inflation cut

(Reuters) - Angola's prime minister said on Friday that his government would cut inflation despite an economic boom, whose benefits he insisted ordinary people would feel in a country still recovering from a devastating civil war.

"We are working very hard now and very soon we will bring it to a sustainable rate of a single digit, we are talking of about eight percent before the end of this year," Fernando da Piedade Dias Dos Santos told Reuters in an interview.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Canada June building permits 2nd highest on record

(Reuters) - Analysts had expected permits to retreat by 9.8 percent in
June after double-digit growth the previous month had taken
them by surprise. Statscan revised upward the May increase to
23.2 percent from the 21.4 percent reported last month.




"The back-to-back performances point to very busy
construction sites in the coming months," Statscan said in its
report.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-Brazil economy to grow 5 pct in 2007 - finance min

(Reuters) - Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, Mantega said large
investments in basic sanitation as well as roads and highways
were key to paving the way for sustained economic growth.




Government agencies had been predicting economic growth of
about 4.5 percent this year. Brazil, Latin America's largest
economy, expanded 3.7 percent in 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

British Airways says July traffic down 2.9 pct

(Reuters) - Its load factor -- a measure of how well it filled its planes -- fell by 1.5 percentage points to 81.2 percent.



There was a 2.9 percent fall in non-premium traffic and premium traffic fell by 2.6 percent, Europe's third-largest airline said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Ahold Q2 sales up, U.S. stores beat forecasts

(Reuters) - AMSTERDAM, Aug 3 - Dutch supermarket group Ahold NV said on Friday second-quarter sales rose 2 percent, thanks to favourable conditions in its main markets, but a revamp of U.S. stores would continue to hurt margins.



Net sales increased to 6.6 billion euros from 6.47 billion a year ago, matching an average forecast of 6.6 billion euros from 13 analysts polled by Reuters. Adjusted for currency effects, sales rose 5.6 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Hercules Offshore Q2 earnings rise

(Reuters) - The recent decline in the outlook for U.S. natural-gas
prices could delay the expected recovery in jackup rig demand
in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the company said in a statement.




Houston-based Hercules reported a second-quarter net income
of $23.5 million, or 72 cents a share, compared with $22.9
million, or 71 cents a share, a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

P&G not looking at big acquisitions: execs

(Reuters) - Chief Financial Officer Clayt Daley said P&G is more likely to sell businesses rather than buy businesses right now. He also said this year's earnings would be more volatile quarter to quarter as the company works on restructuring and other projects, such as bringing out concentrated versions of its laundry detergents.




Daley also said that raw material and energy costs should be up again this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Glaxo Avandia FDA Adversity Prompts Doubts of Revenue, Share Resurgence

(Bloomberg) -- GlaxoSmithKline Plc convinced a U.S.
regulatory panel this week to keep its best-selling diabetes
drug, Avandia, on the market. Now comes the hard part: persuading
doctors to use a medicine linked to heart attacks.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee of advisers
said this week that the diabetes pill should carry new warnings
about cardiovascular risks. Glaxo shares had their biggest gain
in two years yesterday after the advisory panel decided not to
recommend the withdrawal of Avandia, which brought in $3.3
billion in 2006 for the London-based company, Europe's largest
drugmaker.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

FCC's Martin May Fall Short of Spurring Wireless Internet Competition

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Kevin Martin may fall short of his goal of spurring a
historic shakeup of the mobile-phone market when the U.S. sells
airwaves worth as much as $15 billion next year.

The FCC adopted rules this week that will let consumers use
any kind of phone or wireless-enabled laptop on some airwaves,
not just the devices approved by their phone company. People may
be able to take an iPhone for example, which now runs only on
AT&T Inc.'s network, and use it on this new spectrum regardless
of who wins the bidding.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Mexican Bonds, Peso Drop After U.S. Jobs Growth Slows, Missing Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- Mexican peso-denominated bonds fell
on renewed concerns that weakness in the U.S. housing sector
will spread to the broader economy and crimp demand for Mexico's
exports.

Yields on the government's 30-year bond, its longest peso-
denominated maturity, touched a one-week high after a U.S.
government report said employers added fewer jobs than
economists expected last month. The U.S. buys 80 percent of
Mexican exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Fidelity Says Its U.S., Asia High-Yield Funds Have No Subprime Mortgages

(Bloomberg) -- Fidelity International Ltd. said its
U.S. and Asian high-yield funds have no U.S. subprime mortgage
investments or collateralized debt obligations.

Fidelity International, a unit of Boston-based Fidelity
Investments, the world's largest mutual-fund company, sees buying
opportunities in U.S. and Asian high-yield markets, portfolio
managers Harley Lank and Andrew Wells said in a market update
late yesterday titled ``Sub-prime or a prime opportunity?''


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Little subprime fallout for Asia banks, investors jittery

(Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said on Friday
that the impact of the subprime meltdown on Asia's lenders
would be limited, with the largest exposure among the biggest
banks through holdings of mortgage-backed securities and
collateralised debt obligations. [ID:nWNA7262]




Standard & Poor's said Japanese banks have about $8 billion
of subprime-related securities, according to the Japanese
Bankers Association, while a small number of financial services
firms in Taiwan have a much smaller combined level of exposure.
[ID:nSPWAcEJwa]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Float of U.S. shares shrank at record pace in July -TrimTabs

(Reuters) - "The lemmings who are panicking and selling are doing
exactly the opposite of what corporate America is doing," wrote
Charles Biderman, chief executive of TrimTabs. "Over the longer
term, the stock market's direction will be set by the
fundamentals of liquidity, not the panic that gripped the
market during the past two weeks."




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GE says to buy UniCredit's Polish banking unit

(Reuters) - U.S. conglomerate GE said in a statement its GE Money unit would acquire about 66 percent of the shares of the Polish bank for $854.9 million.



The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

IKB subprime shockwaves continue to rock Germany

(Reuters) - German commercial property financier Hypo Real Estate struggled to calm jittery investors by insisting it would be unaffected by the U.S. subprime fallout. Its shares still skidded more than 5 percent while Commerzbank -- which owns a property financier -- saw its stock fall 4 percent.




Investor confidence was further dented as it emerged that French insurer Axa had also temporarily closed two subprime funds after sudden losses.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Drop, Paced by Hypo Real Estate, Depfa, Total, BP

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell, led by energy
companies and banks, after Citigroup Inc. lowered its
recommendation for the oil industry and Union Investment, a
German mutual fund manager, halted redemptions from a fund.

The Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Oil & Gas Index dropped to the
lowest in two months, led by Total SA and BP Plc. Hypo Real
Estate Holding AG, the mortgage bank spun off from HVB Group, and
Depfa Bank Plc also declined.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News