Australian Dollar Climbs to 16-Year High Versus Yen, U.S. Dollar on Yield

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar rose to the
highest in 17 years against the U.S. currency and in almost 16
years against the yen as investors were lured to the nation's
higher-yielding assets.

So-called carry trades have lifted Australia's currency,
known as the Aussie, 23 percent against the yen the past year,
with investors attracted to a benchmark rate 5.75 percentage
points higher than Japan's, the lowest of major economies. The
Bank of Japan left borrowing costs unchanged last week and said
in its May minutes any increases would be ``gradual,'' spurring
bets the key rate won't be boosted this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Deutsche Telekom AG, Gazprom, Siemens AG, Pernod: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or
fall in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 1 percent to 393.70. The
Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index dropped 1.1 percent to 3933.98. The
Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the
euro, lost 1.3 percent to 4488.66.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TIMELINE: Lone Star sells stake in S.Korea's KEB

(Reuters) - Here is a chronology of events since Lone Star bought a 50.5 percent stake in KEB for $1.2 billion in August 2003:




- February 28, 2004: KEB absorbs KEB Credit Service Co. Ltd. Prosecutors will later charge Lone Star of manipulating the stock price of the card unit to lower the price.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Bear Stearns May Assume $3.2 Billion of Loans to Hedge Fund, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos. may take over about
$3.2 billion of loans that banks and securities firms made to one
of its money-losing hedge funds to prevent creditors from seizing
more assets, according to people with knowledge of the plan.

Bear Stearns, the biggest broker to hedge funds, offered to
assume the loans after Merrill Lynch & Co. took assets that
backed $850 million in credit lines, said the people, who
declined to be named because the proposal is confidential. Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also put some of
their collateral up for sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Copper Falls in Asia on Concern China May Raise Interest Rates; Zinc Down

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices fell in Shanghai for
the first day in three amid speculation that China will raise
interest rates to cool economic growth, curbing demand in the
world's biggest user of the metal.

Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange, which
had dropped to their lowest since October, jumped 4.7 percent to
119,600 metric tons yesterday, the exchange said. Still, strike
threats in Chile, the largest source of copper, and in other
producing countries limited losses.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Japanese 10-Year Bonds Gain as Declines in Stocks Boost Demand for Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bonds rose, heading
for a weekly gain, on speculation a decline in local stocks
boosted demand for government debt.

Bonds were set to snap their longest weekly losing streak
since October after a government report showing manufacturers
turned pessimistic fueled expectations the central bank's Tankan
survey of business sentiment due next month will be weaker than
some traders expect. Signs of slower growth may attract
investors to bonds with 10-year yields near the highest since
February relative to two-year securities.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Sri Lanka's Central Bank May Keep Key Rate Unchanged for a Fourth Month

(Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka's central bank will
probably keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fourth
straight meeting to push inflation lower while supporting growth.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nivard Cabraal will
leave the repurchase rate at 10.5 percent, the highest level in
Asia, according to 10 of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
One economist expected a 25 basis point increase. The decision
is expected on June 25 at 7.30 a.m. in Colombo.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 2-US Senate approves sharply higher auto-mileage plan

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 21 - The U.S. Senate approved
legislation on Thursday that would for the first time in 30
years force automakers to produce vehicles that get sharply
higher fuel mileage.




In a surprise voice vote, senators approved a compromise
amendment to an energy bill that would require an improvement
in the average efficiency of the new U.S. vehicle fleet from 25
miles per gallon now to 35 mpg by 2020, about a 4 percent
annual increase.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

South Korean Won Heads for Weekly Gain on Fund Inflows as Stocks Advance

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won headed for a
second weekly gain on speculation overseas investors will put
more money into the nation's assets.

Demand for the currency may increase after overseas
investors took 48 percent of the shares sold by the government
in Woori Finance Holdings Co., the nation's third-largest
financial firm. State-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.
yesterday sold 5 percent of Woori Finance, raising $989 million.
The won today reached the highest in almost 10 years to the yen.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Hexcel to sell some U.S. assets to JPS Industries

(Reuters) - Hexcel said it expects the initial cash purchase price,
excluding the potential additional payments, to result in a $2
million to $3 million after-tax loss. The company said
additional payments would be recorded as income when received.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Exporters, Shipbuilders, Korea Exchange Bank: South Korea Stock Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or
fall in South Korea. Prices refer to the previous close. This
preview includes news announced after markets shut yesterday.
Stock symbols are in brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index rose 0.6 percent to 1794.24. The Kosdaq
gained 1.6 percent to 310.36. Kospi 200 futures expiring in
September added 0.8 percent to 229.50, while the underlying
index advanced 0.5 percent to 227.81.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Covidien, Discover and Tyco Electronics Shares to Join S&P 500, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Covidien Ltd., Tyco Electronics Ltd.
and Discover Financial Services will join the Standard & Poor's
500 Index, S&P said today in a statement posted on its Web site.

The S&P 500 change will take place after the close of
trading on June 29, S&P said. Covidien and Tyco Electronics are
being spun off from Tyco International Ltd., while Morgan Stanley
is spinning off Discover.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Canada's Red Chris mine faces court challenge

(Reuters) - MiningWatch Canada says the government erred in giving the
go-ahead to the Red Chris open pit mine in 2005 because it did
not follow environmental protection laws that stipulate public
consultations as part of the approval process.




The mine, which is owned by Vancouver-based Imperial Metals
Corp., would turn local waterways into a soup of mine waste and
destroy local fish habitats, and the public should have been
given a chance to provide its input, the group says.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Americans still confident in home values: survey

(Reuters) - A poll conducted by the Boston Consulting Group found that 55 percent of Americans believe their house would sell for more money now than last year, compared with 59 percent who felt the same way last summer. Eighty-five percent expect their home to be worth even more in five years than it is now.




"It's a reasonable expectation. Markets neither boom nor bust forever," said David Berson, the chief economist with mortgage finance company Fannie Mae. "We're in a down period now, and I don't think it's going to end any time soon, but it will end long before five years is up."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Peltz's Trian owns 3 percent of Kraft -- source

(Reuters) - Based on Kraft's current market capitalization of about
$55.6 billion, the 3 percent stake held by Peltz's Trian Fund
Management LP would be valued at about $1.7 billion.




Kraft, the maker of Oreo cookies, Jell-O and Oscar Mayer
hot dogs, declined to comment. Trian could not be immediately
reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

McMoRan Agrees to Buy Newfield Assets in Gulf of Mexico for $1.1 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- McMoRan Exploration Co. agreed to buy
oil and natural-gas properties in shallow waters of the Gulf of
Mexico from Newfield Exploration Co. for $1.1 billion in cash,
extending its operations in the region.

The properties include 125 fields on 146 offshore blocks
with current daily oil and gas production equivalent to about 270
million cubic feet of gas, New Orleans-based McMoRan said in a
statement today. Natural gas accounts for 70 percent of the
output, the company said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 2-GE, Pearson drop Dow Jones takeover pursuit

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 21 - General Electric Co.
and Pearson Plc said on Thursday they will not pursue
a joint offer for publisher Dow Jones & Co. Inc. ,
removing a potential challenge to a $5-billion bid by Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp. .




GE, the world's second-largest company by market
capitalization, and Pearson, publisher of the Financial Times,
said they had held exploratory talks about combining their
financial news outlets with Dow Jones.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Platinum Falls From Two-Week High as Dollar Strengthens; Palladium Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum fell from a two-week high
in New York as a stronger U.S. dollar reduced the metal's appeal
as a hedge against inflation. Palladium also dropped.

The dollar rose against the euro and traded near a four-
year high versus the yen earlier today. A Federal Reserve report
showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia area accelerated in
June at the fastest pace in more than two years. Platinum, which
is mostly traded in dollars, generally moves in the opposite
direction of the U.S. currency.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Senate close to deal on auto fuel efficiency

(Reuters) - Negotiators haggled over final details of an agreement based on a bi-partisan proposal that still left automakers and their allies in Congress dissatisfied, according to lawmakers familiar with the talks.




Struggling General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group lobbied fiercely for compromise legislation that would reform the 30-year-old Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, program.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Eaton to buy Schneider's small systems business for $570 mln

(Reuters) - For the 12-month period ending May 31, the small systems
business of MGE had sales of about $218 million, the company
added.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Demand heavy for Blackstone IPO despite tax bill

(Reuters) - Demand for the shares comes even as lawmakers step up pressure on raising the firm's tax bill after the stock's debut.




Several fund managers said the deal appears to be heavily oversubscribed after Blackstone mounted lavish and extremely well attended marketing presentations. The bulk of the interest is from hedge funds, investors say.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

GE says will not pursue Dow Jones takeover

(Reuters) - GE controls NBC Universal, which operates top U.S. business cable news channel CNBC.




"Following these discussions, GE and Pearson have decided not to pursue this combination," GE said in a statement. "Pearson and NBC Universal continue to discuss cooperative agreements between CNBC and the Financial Times Group."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Tower Automotive proceeding with sale to Cerberus

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, June 21 - Tower Automotive Inc. said on Thursday it would proceed with its planned sale to Cerberus Capital Management [CBS.UL] after the bankrupt U.S. auto parts maker received no competing offers.



Tower expects to seek approval of its reorganization plan and the sale to Cerberus in a deal valued at about $1 billion from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on July 11. The Novi, Michigan-based producer of automotive body structures and assemblies filed for bankruptcy in February 2005. Management aims to complete the sale to Cerberus affiliate TA Acquisition Co. LLC and exit bankruptcy by the end of July.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

OPEC's El-Badri Rejects European Union Demand to Increase Oil Production

(Bloomberg) -- OPEC, the producer of about 40 percent
of the world's crude oil, rejected a European Union call to pump
more oil so consuming nations can replenish stockpiles and ease the
impact of supply disruptions from the Middle East and Africa.

``There is no shortage of oil, there is plenty of oil in the
market, the stocks are very high, they are above the five-year
average,'' Abdalla el-Badri, the secretary general of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said during a
meeting with EU officials at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna today.
``If we add more oil, it will not go to the refineries.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

S.African gold miners, unions to resume wage talks

(Reuters) - Unions representing thousands of gold miners and the Chamber of Mines will resume wage talks on July 2, when the chamber will make a new offer to workers, trade union Solidarity said on Thursday.

Solidarity said in a statement that talks between employers and workers would resume after the Chamber of Mines, which negotiates on behalf of AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, Gold Fields Ltd and Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd, requested fresh talks.


Read more at Reuters Africa

China, Russia Sovereign Funds Will Buy Corporate Debt, Stocks, Lowery Says

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese and Russian sovereign wealth
funds intend to invest primarily in corporate bonds and stocks,
said Clay Lowery, the U.S. Treasury's top international official,
citing feedback from the governments of both countries.

``When asked about the possibility of foreign direct
investment acquisitions, officials in both countries indicated
that isn't in their current planning,'' Lowery said today in the
text of a speech on sovereign wealth funds in San Francisco.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Must take care in determining FX misalignments-IMF

(Reuters) - Under its new surveillance framework, fundamental
misalignment of a currency could lead the IMF to scrutinize a
country's exchange rate policies more closely.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Tower Auto has no bids to rival Cerberus offer

(Reuters) - Tower, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2005, expects to seek approval of its reorganization plan and sale to Cerberus from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on July 11. It hopes to complete the transaction by the end of July.






Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Egyptian shares dip on profit taking, housing up

(Reuters) - Egyptian shares fell on Thursday from profit taking on EFG-Hermes and Mobinil, dealers said, one day after the benchmark Hermes index reached an all-time closing high.

"The whole market fell on profit taking today. A lot of retail investors cashed out before the weekend," said Mohamed Radwan of Delta Securities.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Luxottica targets 5.7 bln euros sales after Oakley deal

(Reuters) - Luxottica, whose brands include Rayban and Prada, said it would buy Oakley in an all-cash deal worth about $2.1 billion. It is to buy all the outstanding shares of Oakley for $29.30 per share.




Luxottica expects the deal -- which is likely to close in the second half of the year -- to lead to operating synergies of about 100 million euros over the next three years.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Calpine, Compuware, Equity Inns, J.M. Smucker, Sonic: 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 10:15 a.m. New York time.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD US) gained 31 cents, or 2.3
percent, to $13.95. The second-largest maker of personal-computer
processors after Intel Corp. (INTC US) was upgraded to ``short-
term trading buy'' from ``hold'' by Stifel Nicolaus analyst Cody
Acree, who wrote that the company may have increased market share
by ``at least a couple of percentage points'' while second-
quarter revenue may exceed analysts' forecasts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RPT-MasterCard, FIFA settle World Cup sponsor fight

(Reuters) - Financial terms of the settlement were not immediately
disclosed.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

American Greetings, Calpine, Cheesecake Factory, Sonic: 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 9:30 a.m. New York time.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(AMD US) gained 32 cents, or 2.4
percent, to $13.96. The second-largest maker of personal-computer
processors after Intel Corp. (INTC US) was upgraded to ``short-
term trading buy'' from ``hold'' by Stifel Nicolaus analyst Cody
Acree, who wrote that the company may have increased market share
by ``at least a couple of percentage points'' while second-
quarter revenue may exceed analysts' forecasts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

ISS says Icahn's Lear bid not high enough

(Reuters) - A special committee of the Lear board supports the bid, while one of Lear's largest shareholders, Pzena Asset Management, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Icahn offer was too low.




Lear was not immediately available for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canada Stocks May Rise, Led by BCE; Rate Sensitive Shares May Limit Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise on takeover
speculation after BCE Inc., Canada's largest phone company, said
it's in talks about a possible sale to Telus Corp., the fourth
party to consider what would be the country's biggest buyout.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. may lead energy shares higher,
after crude oil prices approached $70 a barrel. Gains in the market
may be limited as interest-rate sensitive financial shares decline
on rising bond yields in the U.S., the world's largest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Prices mixed after jobless claims data

(Reuters) - A larger-than-expected 10,000 rise in weekly data for
jobless claims benefits fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve
would trim interest rates later this year, lifting
shorter-dated Treasuries which are more sensitive to the
market's outlook on Fed policy.




"It was a little higher than expected," John Jansen,
director of fixed-income sales at CastleOak Securities in New
York, said of the latest claims report. "There's a bit of risk
aversion going on."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

McMoRan Exploration to buy Gulf of Mexico assets from Newfield

(Reuters) - The transaction is effective July 1, and is expected to
close in the third quarter, the energy company said in a
statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Cardinal completes initial tender offer for Viasys

(Reuters) - Cardinal, one of the top three U.S. drug distributors, said more than 80 percent of the outstanding shares of Viasys have been tendered. The Dublin, Ohio-based company said in May it would pay about $1.42 billion to acquire Viasys, which makes medical products for respiratory care and other uses.



Cardinal said it expects to acquire the remaining shares and complete the acquisition by June 30.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RayBan owner Luxottica to buy Oakley for $2.1 bln

(Reuters) - Luxottica will buy all the outstanding shares of Oakley for $29.30 per share, the companies said in a joint statement.




The offer represents a 16.1 percent premium to Oakley's Wednesday close of $25.23 on the New York Stock Exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CORRECTED-AES posts quarterly loss due to Venezuelan sale

(Reuters) - AES posted a loss of $455 million, or 67 cents per share,
compared with a year-earlier profit of $348 million, or 52
cents per share, which were restated because of problems with
the company's reporting controls.




AES earlier this year agreed to sell its 82 percent stake
in a 2,600 megawatt generation plant in Caracas for $740
million its 82 percent stake in a Caracas-based business that
included 2,600 of megawatt generation capacity for $740 million
to the government of Venezuela as part of President Hugo
Chavez's drive to nationalize the country's electricity and
telecommunication companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Gold Falls a Second Day as Dollar Gains on U.S. Growth; Silver Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell a second day in London as
expectations of U.S. economic growth buoy the dollar, reducing
demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.
Silver also declined.

Gold dropped the most since June 8 yesterday on speculation
higher U.S. bond yields will boost the dollar. The dollar gained
for a second day today before U.S. reports on manufacturing and
the future direction of the economy that are expected to signal
growth, Bloomberg surveys of economists show.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CHRONOLOGY-Recent consolidation moves by stock exchanges

(Reuters) - April 11, 2006 - Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. buys a 15
percent stake in the London Stock Exchange . Nasdaq
subsequently raises its stake to just below 30 percent in a
failed takeover bid.




June 2 - NYSE Group Inc. reaches agreement to buy
Paris-based European exchange operator Euronext in a
pioneering transatlantic deal. The merged exchange NYSE Euronext
makes its market debut on April 4, 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Pakistan to Set Monetary Policy Based on July Inflation Data, Akhtar Says

(Bloomberg) -- State Bank of Pakistan Governor
Shamshad Akhtar said July inflation data will be vital for
deciding her monetary policy guidance over the next six months.

``Data of July 2007 will be critical for us to determine
whether our current monetary policy stance is appropriate,''
Akhtar said in an interview in London, before the policy review
at the end of next month. ``Clearly, we have to keep the
monetary policy in its existing, current tight phase.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Hong Kong Airlines to buy 51 Airbus planes

(Reuters) - Hong Kong Airlines -- in which global financier George Soros
owns an indirect stake -- signed a memorandum of understanding to
buy 30 A320-family narrowbody planes, 20 A330 widebody aircraft
and a corporate jet, Airbus told reporters at the Paris air show
on Thursday.




The new aircraft will help position Hong Kong Airlines among
the leading carriers in the Asia Pacific, Chairman Ren Wei Dong
said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Government Bonds Drop on Concern Global Inflation Is Quickening

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds fell for a
second day as central banks in the U.K. and Sweden indicated they
will raise interest rates further, adding to concern global
inflation is quickening.

Debt's slide sent 10-year yields to near a five-year high as
investors reassess the outlook for global borrowing costs.
Interest-rate futures suggest the European Central Bank will keep
raising lending rates this year, while Sweden's Riksbank said
yesterday it'll lift rates twice more and minutes of the Bank of
England's last rate-setting meeting showed more policy makers
backed higher borrowing costs than forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Currencies Drop as Yield Advantage Narrows; Taiwan Dollar Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Southeast Asian currencies, including
the Indonesian rupiah and the Philippine peso, dropped because
investors cut holdings of emerging-market assets as U.S. bonds
extended declines.

The rupiah and the peso had their biggest slide in a week as
rising Treasury yields narrowed the premium investors receive for
holding emerging-market debt. Fund managers get 3.62 percentage
points more by keeping Indonesian 10-year bonds instead of
similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries, down from 3.85 percentage
points at the beginning of June.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UK stocks fall as rate worries hit markets

(Reuters) - British shares kicked off Thursday on a weaker note, tracking losses in European markets as a slide on Wall Street due to rising government bond yields reignited concerns about interest rates.

Retailer DSG International fell 3 percent after declining as much as 4 percent on Wednesday when some analysts downgraded it following its full-year results.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. Pound Advances to Four-Month High Versus Euro on Speculation to Rise

(Bloomberg) -- The pound climbed to the highest in
almost four months against the euro on speculation investors will
keep increasing bets on higher interest rates in Europe's second-
largest economy.

The currency has risen almost 1 percent versus the euro this
week as minutes of the Bank of England's June policy meeting
yesterday showed Governor Mervyn King and three other policy
committee members backed higher borrowing costs. That prompted
HSBC Plc and JPMorgan Chase Co. to bring forward their forecasts
of the next interest-rate rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Malaysia's Palm Oil Little Changed After Two-Day Decline on Export Figures

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures on the Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange, which trades the benchmark contract, were
little changed after falling for two days on reports that
exports from the country have been declining this month.

The price dropped 3.3 percent on June 19 and yesterday
after Intertek Malaysia, an independent cargo surveyor, said the
Southeast Asian nation exported 15 percent less of the commodity
in the first 20 days of this month compared with May.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News