WRAPUP 1-Israel plans funding clampdown on Hamas-ruled Gaza

(Reuters) - Israel and the United States want to isolate Hamas
economically, diplomatically and militarily in the Gaza Strip,
which the Islamist group seized by force last week.




Israel and its Western allies have decided to open the
financial taps to support the Western-backed emergency
government set up in the West Bank by Abbas, the Fatah leader.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold near one-week high, Tokyo futures drop

(Reuters) - Gold was little changed on Tuesday but within sight of a one-week high hit the previous day, while Tokyo futures shrugged off a weak yen and dropped on profit taking.

Spot gold was at $656.40/657.90 an ounce, unchanged from late New York levels on Monday, when it rose to its highest level in a week at $659.05 an ounce on dollar weakness, tensions in the Middle East and strong oil.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Philips to buy Color Kinetics for 592 mln euros

(Reuters) - The Dutch company said the deal valued Color
Kinetics at $34 per share, with an implied enterprise value of
516 million euros which includes about 76 million euros of cash
on the balance sheet as of March 31.




Boston-based Color Kinetics, which makes lighting systems
based on LED technology, had sales of about $65 million in 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sterlite Raises $1.75 Billion In Biggest U.S. Stock Sale by Indian Company

(Bloomberg) -- Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd.,
the copper and zinc producer controlled by billionaire Anil
Agarwal, sold $1.75 billion of stock in the U.S., the biggest
overseas share sale by an Indian company.

Sterlite, based in Mumbai, sold 130.44 million American
depositary receipts at $13.44 apiece, the company said in a
statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. One ADR is equal
to one local share.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Swedish Central Bank May Raise Benchmark Interest Rates to Curb Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden's central bank probably will
raise its benchmark interest rate tomorrow for the eighth time as
rising employment and slowing productivity growth threaten to
stoke inflation, a survey of economists shows.

The Riksbank will raise the repurchase rate a quarter-point
to 3.5 percent, after keeping it unchanged for two consecutive
meetings, all 27 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said. The
decision will be announced at 9:30 a.m. in Stockholm.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Pound May Rise for Third Day Versus Dollar as Interest Rates Lure Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound may gain for a third
day against the dollar, its longest winning run in almost two
weeks, on speculation the highest interest rates among the Group
of Seven nations will keep attracting investors.

The currency of Europe's second largest economy has risen
0.8 percent since June 12, when Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King signaled the bank would need to lift rates further to
contain inflation. It's near its highest since 1992 versus the
yen, the currency of the country with the lowest interest rate of
the major economies.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Arch Coal, Abraxis, Epix, Peabody, Tower, Yahoo!: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names.

Abraxis Inc. (ABAX US) dropped 8 cents to $22.98 in trading
after the official close of U.S. exchanges yesterday. The maker
of blood analysis systems said Chief Operating Officer Robert B.
Milder is retiring effective June 29.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Citigroup keen to sell stake in India BPO arm: paper

(Reuters) - A private equity investor was most likely to emerge as the buyer with IBM Corp. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. "likely to drop out of the race over terms being proposed by the seller", the bankers told Mint.




Citigroup officials could not be reached immediately.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japanese Retail Investors Buy More New Zealand Dollars After RBNZ Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese retail investors stepped up
purchases of the New Zealand dollar yesterday on speculation the
Reserve Bank of New Zealand pushed down its currency.

Japan's foreign-exchange margin traders' net long positions
in the New Zealand dollar against the yen increased by nearly 40
percent yesterday to $279 million from $203 million on June 15,
according to data from Tokyo Financial Exchange. Long positions
are bets that a currency will rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

BHP Credit-Default Swaps Rise on Reports of Possible Bids for Alcoa, Alcan

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning BHP
Billiton Ltd. bonds rose on concern the world's largest mining
company may need to borrow to finance any bid for aluminum
producers Alcoa Inc. or Alcan Inc.

Shares of New-York based Alcoa yesterday rose to a six-year
high after the Times of London said Melbourne-based BHP is
reviving plans for a $40 billion takeover. Merrill Lynch & Co.
has been hired to advise BHP on a possible bid for Montreal-
based Alcan, Reuters said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil Trades Near Nine-Month High on Possible Disruption to Nigerian Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after rising to a nine-month high yesterday as attacks on
pumping stations in Nigeria underlined the risks to output in
Africa's biggest oil producer.

Chevron Corp. and Eni SpA yesterday reported attacks on
facilities in the West African nation, where the two main oil
unions plan to join an indefinite general strike. Workers have
been directed to take the broadest measures ever and oil output
will be affected, a senior union official said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-UAL expects higher revenue, narrows cost estimate

(Reuters) - The airline estimated in a U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission filing that mainline unit revenue is expected to
increase between 2.75 and 3.25 percent overall compared with
the same period in 2006.




United's revenue guidance is the first for the quarter,
usually a busy period for airlines. The carrier echoed what
other airlines have told investors recently: yields are strong
internationally but under pressure domestically, partly due to
slowing revenues for domestic travel.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Brocade ex-CEO approved options to lure staff-lawyer

(Reuters) - In the first criminal trial against U.S. executives who
backdated stock options, former Brocade CEO Gregory Reyes'
defense disputed government fraud charges and stressed that he
did not personally profit from such practices.




"No one at Brocade was trying to criminally defraud the
shareholders or anyone else," Reyes' attorney, Richard Marmaro,
told jurors on the trial's first day of testimony in U.S.
District Court in San Francisco.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Brazil's CVRD says to offer ADS-convertible notes

(Reuters) - Citigroup Global Markets Inc and J.P. Morgan Securities
Inc. will be underwriting the offer, CVRD said in a statement.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Yahoo sees Q2 revs in lower-half of prior outlook

(Reuters) - Susan Decker, the company's newly named president and former chief financial officer, told investors on a conference call that it expected revenue for the current second quarter at the low to middle of the range of its previous outlook.



Co-founder Jerry Yang, who was named chief executive earlier on Monday, said the company's board of directors believed that the company should remain independent rather than considering possible Internet industry mega-mergers.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CanWest plans to take control of Network Ten

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 18 - CanWest Global Communications Corp. intends to take control of Australia's Network Ten television group, it said on Monday, as rumors swirled that CanWest had failed to find a bidder for its stake.



The Canadian firm said it will exchange shares and convertible debt of The Ten Group Pty Ltd. into shares of Ten Network Holdings Ltd. The latter company owns the majority of the shares of the former.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Carnival, Harvest Natural Resources, Symantec: U.S. Equity Option Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
with unusual options trading in U.S. exchanges today. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Options trading
and stock prices are as of 3:15 p.m. in New York.

Each call option gives investors the right, without the
obligation, to buy 100 shares of a company at a specified price
by a given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

State, county union backs US private equity tax bill

(Reuters) - A Senate bill to tax these firms as corporations when they
go public was introduced late last week as private equity firm
Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL] prepares for an offering worth
about $4 billion.




Blackstone, the country's largest private equity firm, is
expected to go public the last week in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Most U.S. Stocks Decline, Led by Homebuilders; Centex, Wendy's Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks fell for the first
time in four days after confidence in the homebuilding industry
dropped to a 16-year low, renewing concern that the worst of the
housing slump isn't over.

Centex Corp., Toll Brothers Inc. and Lennar Corp. led
retreats among 15 of 16 homebuilders in Standard & Poor's indexes.
Wendy's International Inc., the third-largest hamburger chain,
slipped after the company cut its full-year earnings forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Treasuries Advance as Report Shows Homebuilder Confidence Declined in June

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries advanced, pushing 10-year
yields down from near the highest in five years, as an industry
report showed confidence among U.S. homebuilders dropped this
month to the lowest since February 1991.

Traders said the rise in yields over the past three months
will only prolong the housing slump. A Commerce Department
report tomorrow is forecast by economists to signal housing
construction fell to a four-month low.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Chile's Currency Rises to Two-Week High as Copper Gains Amid Strike Threat

(Bloomberg) -- Chile's peso rose to its highest in
two weeks as threats of strikes in the state-owned Codelco
copper mine pushed the price of the metal to a one-month high.

Copper, Chile's biggest export, rose as strike prospects
raised supply concerns. Miners at Codelco, the world's biggest
copper producer, plan to walk off the job on June 20 without a
wage agreement this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Canada Dollar Falls to Almost 3 Week Low on Speculation of Less Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar fell to an almost
three-week low on speculation inflation may have eased, reducing
the likelihood the Bank of Canada will increase borrowing costs
twice this year.

``There's a bit of concern that the consumer prices may be
weaker than expected,'' said Matthew Strauss, senior currency
strategist at RBC Capital Markets Inc. in Toronto, a unit of
Canada's biggest bank by assets. ``The Canadian dollar may be
topped for the time being.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Alcoa stock hit 6-year high on takeover report

(Reuters) - The difference now is that Alcoa is in the middle of a hostile takeover battle for Canada's Alcan , which has rejected its U.S. rival's $28.4 billion offer.




Sources familiar with Alcoa's hostile offer for Alcan and the strategies of other mining companies that may mount a bid for either aluminum company said that Alcan was a more likely target.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Energy Systems says exploring strategic options

(Reuters) - BANGALORE, June 18 - U.S. Energy Systems Inc.
will explore strategic options over the next six
months, a company spokesman said.




When asked if the options would include a possible sale of
the company, the spokesman told Reuters by phone, "We are
exploring all kinds of strategic alternatives to increase
shareholder value in the near-term."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Ten-Year Treasury Yield Trades Near Five-Year High Before Housing Reports

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed, with
yields near the highest in five years, before U.S. reports
forecast to show the housing market is slowing down.

Industry data today will show sentiment among homebuilders
matched the lowest since 1991, and a separate report tomorrow
will signal housing construction fell to a four-month low,
according to Bloomberg surveys of economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BP inches towards Kovykta deal, asset swaps seen

(Reuters) - Such a deal would transfer control of Russia's Kovykta, a
vast but largely untapped field on the Chinese frontier, from a
company controlled by BP's Russian venture, TNK-BP, to
state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom .




But, rather than selling out entirely, British oil and gas
group BP would retain a significant interest in Kovykta by
offering Gazprom the chance to take a stake in some of its
international operations.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Immtech malaria drug gains U.S. orphan drug status

(Reuters) - Pafuramidine, Immtech's experimental oral drug, is in Phase
II clinical trials in patients with malaria.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

AVX to buy American Technical for $231 mln

(Reuters) - Shares of American Technical hit a new year-high of $24 in morning trade on the American Stock Exchange.




AVX said its acquisition of American Technical broadens its offering of high-reliability products, which includes ceramic and tantalum capacitors that store, filter, or regulate electrical energy in electronic devices.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wheat Falls as Drier U.S. Weather May Speed Harvest Slowed by Heavy Rains

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell in Kansas City and
Chicago on speculation that drier weather later this week in the
Great Plains will allow U.S. farmers to collect more grain than
expected after too much rain slowed the early harvest.

Less moisture is expected in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and
Texas, according to Woburn, Massachusetts-based forecaster
Meteorlogix LLC. The region had as much as three times normal
rainfall in the past 30 days. About 5 percent of the winter-
wheat crop was harvested as of June 10, compared with 17 percent
a year earlier, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Cadence Design buyout talks stall-report

(Reuters) - Cadence, which makes software for designing computer chips,
has held talks with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts [KKR.UL] and
Blackstone Group [BG.UL], but discussions have been suspended,
according to the report, which cited people close to the
matter.




Neither Blackstone, KKR nor Cadence immediately returned
calls seeking comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Possible Pearson FT sale seen in Dow deal

(Reuters) - The world's largest educational publisher, London-based Pearson has long been under pressure from investors and analysts to dispose of the high-profile newspaper, a notion that has firmly been rejected by Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino.




The two business newspapers reported on Monday that Pearson was working with General Electric Co. to make a bid for Dow Jones & Co. Inc. in a deal that would place GE's CNBC business television channel, the FT and Dow's Wall Street Journal in one privately held joint venture.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

FACTBOX: Alitalia's spluttering bid process

(Reuters) - That has led to speculation the auction might fail, given the choice of bidders is now between Air One, a domestic airline whose revenues scarcely match Alitalia's losses, and another state-owned airline.




Following are details of the bid process, Alitalia and its suitors, who must submit binding offers by July 2:


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Nabi cuts 32 jobs; still exploring options for sale of co

(Reuters) - The company also said it expanded the role of Jordan Siegel
to senior vice president, finance and administration, chief
financial officer and treasurer.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TREASURIES-Bonds gain before U.S. home builder data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 18 - U.S. Treasury debt prices
were mostly higher on Monday ahead of data on U.S. home builder
sentiment that could reinforce the view the housing sector
remains a drag on economic growth.




The bond market also enjoyed safe-haven bids on renewed
worries about problems in subprime mortgages amid reports of
heavy selling by a mortgage hedge fund, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Blockbuster favors Blu-ray DVDs to HD DVD

(Reuters) - Of some 8,000 stores worldwide, about 250 of them carry both formats, and Blu-ray rentals are "significantly outpacing HD DVD rentals," the company said in a statement.




Blockbuster rivals such as Movie Gallery Inc. and online rental company Netflix Inc. also offer both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Angola crude exports steady at 1.65 mln bpd in Aug

(Reuters) - OPEC member Angola is set to export 1.65 million barrels per day of crude oil in August, matching its record volume in July, traders said on Monday.

Increased loadings in Xicomba crude helped offset declines in Girassol and Nemba.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Gain on Acquisitions; Alcoa Shares Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose on
takeover speculation, including a report that BHP Billiton Ltd.
may bid $40 billion for Alcoa Inc.

CBOT Holdings Inc., the owner of the second-largest futures
market, gained after two suitors said they may raise their
offers for the company. Dow Jones & Co. may advance after the
Wall Street Journal reported General Electric Co. and Pearson
Plc are in talks to make a joint offer for the publisher,
possibly beating out News Corp.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Euro Gains to Record Against Yen, Rises Versus Dollar Before Trichet Talks

(Bloomberg) -- The euro gained to a record against
the yen and a one-week high versus the dollar on speculation
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will today
signal policy makers will keep pushing interest rates higher.

Europe's currency rose against the yen as the extra yield
on German two-year debt over Japanese notes widened to the most
in five years, boosting the appeal of euro-denominated assets.
Interest-rate policy in Europe is ``accommodating'' for further
economic growth, ECB official Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said
today, signaling borrowing costs have room to rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Rosneft First-Quarter Net Income Falls 25 Percent on Higher Taxes, Costs

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Rosneft, set to become Russia's
largest oil producer, said profit declined 25 percent in the
first quarter on higher export taxes and a weaker dollar.

Net income declined to $602 million from $802 million a
year earlier, state-run Rosneft said in an e-mailed statement
today. That is 7.5 percent higher than the $560 million estimate
in a Bloomberg survey of seven analysts. Revenue advanced 12
percent to $8.2 billion, more than the $8 billion in the survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Yuan Closes Near Its Highest Since July 2005; China May Allow More Gains

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan closed near its highest
since the end of a dollar link in July 2005 on speculation China
will allow appreciation to cool exports and investment.

Premier Wen Jiabao last week signaled more interest-rate
increases are needed to cool the economy after reports showed
exports and factory production surged in May and inflation
exceeded the government's 2007 target. The yuan had the biggest
weekly gain since the end of the peg.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Elbit Medical to sell 530 mln shekels of bonds

(Reuters) - It did not offer any further details on the offering.




Shares of Elbit Medical, which invests in shopping malls and
hotels as well as ultrasound systems, were down 0.2 percent at
midsession in Tel Aviv, against a loss of 0.6 percent on the
broader bourse.



Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Akzo Nobel, Pearson, Altadis: European Credit-Default Swap Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning
European corporate bonds fell the most in two months today.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of
credit-default swaps included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7
Index dropped 3,500 euros to 190,500 euros at 9:50 a.m. in
London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices on Bloomberg.
The index is at a two-week low.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Australian Mortgage-Backed Bond Sales Set To Rise to a Record, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of bonds backed by Australian
mortgages are set to rise to a record this year because of demand
from foreign investors and a recovery in the housing market,
according to Standard and Poor's.

Sales of the securities in the world's fourth-largest home-
loan securitization market will likely reach A$60 billion ($50.6
billion) by year-end, Alistair Ingram, credit analyst at S&P in
Melbourne, said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Europe shares rise, move on ICI ignites chemicals

(Reuters) - European shares rose early on Monday to hit fresh 6-1/2 year highs after news that ICI rejected a $14.3-billion takeover approach from Akzo Nobel lifted chemical stocks and the euro hit a new high against the yen.

At 0819 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.24 percent at 1,629.86 points, after earlier hitting 1,630.69, its highest since November17, 2000.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Dollar's Rise to 4 1/2-Year High Versus Yen to Stall, Daiwa's Kameoka Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar's rally to a 4 1/2-year
high against the yen may stall, according to a technical
indicator traders use to predict currency movements.

The dollar's 14-day relative strength index was 75.53
against the yen today. A level above 70 signals a reversal is
likely.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Chemical Stocks, ICI Rally on Bid; Sainsbury Gains, Pearson Falls

(Bloomberg) -- European chemical makers gained after
Akzo Nobel NV made an offer for Imperial Chemical Industries Plc,
fueling speculation of more acquisitions in the industry.

Sainsbury Plc rose on a report that a Qatar-backed
investment group is considering making a bid for the supermarket
chain. Pearson Plc fell after the Wall Street Journal said the
company was in talks with General Electric Co. to make a joint
offer for Dow Jones & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News