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