FACTBOX-Key developments for U.S. cell phone market

(Reuters) - * 1947, Bell Laboratories engineers Douglas H. Ring and W. Rae Young propose the idea of mobile communication through signals sent from hexagonal cells located on the corner of cell towers




* 1968, Bell Labs and AT&T propose a cellular system to the Federal Communications Commission featuring small broadcast towers covering a radius of a few miles. Collectively, the towers would cover a larger area and would pass calls along as a caller traveled


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Last state charges in HP spying case dismissed

(Reuters) - The dismissals on Thursday bring to an end the state's
criminal case arising from a scandal that ensnared one of
Silicon Valley's oldest and best-known technology companies
last year. Another private investigator, Bryan Wagner, pleaded
guilty to two federal counts of identity theft and conspiracy
and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3.




The state's criminal investigation helped bring attention
to the tactics used by the private investigators and led to a
California law making it illegal to obtain phone records
through fraud or misrepresentation, a technique known as
pretexting, Sivilla said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Tyco bondholders said they will continue litigation

(Reuters) - Tyco's bondholders argue that they are harmed by the
reorganization because the majority of the assets supporting
the debt is being transferred to new entities as part of spin
offs.




Tyco spokesman Paul Fitzhenry was not immediately available
for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-TOUSA to settle with lenders, buy Transeastern JV

(Reuters) - Shares of the company rose nearly 5 percent to close at
$4.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.




In August 2005, Technical Olympic acquired a 50 percent
ownership in a joint venture which bought Transeastern
Properties, and has been in trouble with lenders amid a slump
in the housing market in the United States.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Fannie, Freddie could have big subprime exposure: analyst

(Reuters) - "Looking only at their non-AAA positions, a write-down of 15 percent to 30 percent would mean a $1.8 billion to $3.6 billion hit for Fannie and a $1.5 billion to $3 billion hit for Freddie," the report said.




Neither government-sponsored enterprise has much of a cash reserve against losses of that size, and covering those costs could push the companies' capital below the levels agreed to with their regulator.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Bisys' No. 2 shareholder opposes Citigroup buyout

(Reuters) - Okumus Capital LLC, a New York-based investment firm, said
it owns about 10.9 percent of Roseland, New Jersey-based Bisys'
shares.




In a June 27 letter to Bisys Chief Executive Robert Casale,
President Ahmet Okumus wrote that "we strongly feel that the
price of $12.00/share offered significantly
undervalues the company."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. bonds rise, stocks fall on financial sector

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. bonds were higher Friday
and stocks fell as concerns about losses in the subprime
mortgage industry and financial sector dimmed optimism from
earlier economic data on tame inflation and steady growth.




In the currency market, the dollar extended declines
against the euro and fell against the yen as investors avoided
U.S. assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cocoa Rises to Four-Year High in New York After Attack on Ivorian Minister

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa rose to a four-year high in New
York after an attack on Ivory Coast's prime minister raised
concerns that fighting may resume and cut production in the
country, the world's biggest grower.

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro wasn't hurt when his plane was
attacked with rockets and small-arms fire after landing at an
airport in central Ivory Coast, spokesman Issa Doumbia said.
Soro, a former rebel leader, signed a peace accord with the
government of President Laurent Gbagbo in March that sought to
end a civil war that began in 2002.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US Senate OKs bill on foreign investment reviews

(Reuters) - The Senate approved legislation that would revamp takeover
reviews by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investments in
the United States .




The legislation is nearly identical to a bill endorsed by
the Senate Banking Committee in May and does not include some
provisions opposed by business groups that were contained in
last year's version.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RLPC-UPDATE 1-ServiceMaster lifts pricing again on LBO loan

(Reuters) - Additionally, the company has postponed pricing its $1.15
billion high-yield bond offering until Monday afternoon, as it
needs more time to gain investor interest.




Pricing on ServiceMaster's $2.85 billion term loan B was on
Friday increased by another 25 basis points to 300 basis points
over Libor. Earlier this week pricing was bumped up by 50 basis
points to 275 basis points over Libor from original price talk
of 250 basis points over Libor.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. mortgage bond issuance rises in 1st half '07

(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers underwrote 62 issues of mortgage-backed
bonds, totaling $59.6 billion, a 10.7 percent market share.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chilean Stocks Complete Quarterly Gain on Economic Growth, Takeover Talk

(Bloomberg) -- Chile's main stock index rose and
headed for its biggest quarterly gain in four years on speculation
that an accelerating economy will spur company profits and more
mergers and acquisitions.

The IPSA index of 40 stocks advanced 0.7 percent to 3464.39, a
record, at 2:03 p.m. New York time. Banco de Chile led today's
gains.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CBOE to offer options on Blackstone Group

(Reuters) - In a statement, CBOE said BX options will trade on the
March expiration cycle, with introductory expirations in July,
August, September and December. Initial strike prices have been
set at 25, 30 and 35, with position limits of 250,000
contracts. Group One Trading, LP has been named the Designated
Primary Market Maker in the options.




Other U.S. options exchanges are expected to follow suit,
since the majority of equity options are multiply listed.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Petroleum Development Q1 earnings fall

(Reuters) - The company recorded a loss of $5.6 million from its net
oil and gas price risk management activities for the first
quarter, compared with a gain of $4.9 million in the year-ago
quarter.




First-quarter general and administrative expense and
depreciation, depletion, and amortization almost doubled from
the prior-year period.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

ABS traders, dealers reject swap contract change

(Reuters) - Paulson's concern was that sellers of protection on
mortgages could buy delinquent loans underlying the contracts
to avoid triggering default payments and limit their losses.
For details, see [ID:nN07639106].




"The possibility that sellers could attempt to manipulate
these products to their economic advantage was articulated, but
the universal view was that firms are committed to the
integrity of the market and that fraud and manipulation are
unacceptable," the International Swaps and Derivatives
Association said in a release issued late Thursday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sanofi says no plans to list vaccines business

(Reuters) - Gupta was responding to a question from an analyst as Sanofi
held a conference call to discuss its Rimonabant product.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CBOT's Largest Holder Votes Against Merger With Merc, Seeking Higher Price

(Bloomberg) -- Chicago Board of Trade's largest
shareholder, Sydney-based hedge fund Caledonia Investments Ltd.,
has voted against the proposed sale to the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange because the price is too low.

Caledonia, owner of 6.6 percent of the shares of CBOT
Holdings Inc., wants Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. to
raise its $10 billion bid by about 14 percent, according to a
person at the fund who declined to be named. The Chicago Merc is
trying to fend off an unsolicited $11.2 billion offer from
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and get a majority of CBOT holders
on its side for a July 9 vote on the deal.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Zimbabwe gold firms working below fifth of capacity

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe's gold producers are operating below 20 percent of capacity while some have suspended operations over a deepening economic crisis and electricity cuts, the mining chamber said on Friday.

The news came after President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday threatened to seize and nationalise mines, especially gold producers he accused of smuggling the metal outside the country and stashing foreign currency earnings abroad as part of a campaign to undermine his government.


Read more at Reuters Africa

TREASURIES-Quarter-end buying lifts bonds,stocks cap gains

(Reuters) - That was comforting news to some investors, but a rise in
stocks reduced some of the safe-haven appeal of Treasuries.




Month-end and quarter-end buying kept bond prices, which
move inversely to yields, at higher levels.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.African stocks dip as rand hits miners, BCX drops

(Reuters) - South African stocks dipped on Friday as a firmer rand hit mining shares and IT outsourcing firm Business Connexion slid after a planned buy-out by Telkom fell through.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks slipped 0.40 percent to 25,564.57 points while the All-share index fell 0.23 percent to 28,337.22 points.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Antares to raise $15 mln from private placement

(Reuters) - The company said it will issue about 9.4 million shares at
$1.60 a share, together with warrants to purchase up to about
3.3 million additional common shares at $2.00 a share.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Share of Global Reserves Declines to Lowest Since 1999, IMF Says

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar's share of global
foreign-exchange reserves fell to the lowest level in at least
eight years as central banks accelerated purchases of euros, the
International Monetary Fund said.

Dollars accounted for 64.2 percent of reserves in the first
quarter, down from 64.6 percent in the prior three months, the
IMF said today in Washington. The share of euros climbed to 26.1
percent from 25.9 percent, reaching its highest proportion since
the single currency was introduced in 1999.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Hudson's shareholder sells 14.9 mln shares

(Reuters) - Fleming Funds, which are finite-life partnerships and have
been investing in Hudson for more than eight years, have
reached a point in the partnerships' term that makes it
necessary to seek liquidity of the partnerships' remaining
investments, Hudson said in a statement.




Hudson said it purchased and retired 5.7 million of its
shares from Fleming Funds, which previously owned 19.1 million
shares of the company, while certain executive officers and one
key employee of the company purchased the remaining 9.2 million
shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gauge of U.S. economy held flat in latest week-ECRI

(Reuters) - The index held steady as weaker housing activity offset
positive factors such as lower interest rates and jobless
claims, said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director at ECRI.




WLI annualized growth rate declined to 6.5 percent from 6.7
percent reported the prior week.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

US STOCKS-Indexes rise on tame inflation

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. stocks rose on Friday
after a inflation gauge watched by the Federal Reserve showed
its lowest reading since March 2004, putting the Dow
industrials on track to end the quarter on a strong note.




Among top gainers, shares of Research In Motion Ltd.
surged after the BlackBerry maker posted a
quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates and announced a
3-for-1 share split. The results triggered a flood of
brokerage upgrades. For details, see [ID:nN2838412.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US end-June consumer sentiment at 10-mo low-U.Mich

(Reuters) - The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer index was 88.3
at the end of May. It read 82.0 in August 2006.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil above $71 on drop in US fuel stocks

(Reuters) - Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Friday as investors focused on falling gasoline inventories in top consumer the United States and a regional drop in crude stocks.

A U.S. government report on Wednesday showed gasoline stocks fell 700,000 barrels last week and crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U.S. crude benchmark, dropped 1.4 million barrels.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Apollo, Ariba, Corn Products, CryoCor, Priceline: 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. Share prices are as of 8:30 a.m. New York time.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM US) fell $1.81,
or 8.7 percent, to $19.10 in trading before U.S. exchanges
opened. The lender specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages
withdrew its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance and said it will
likely have a second-quarter loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Bond prices rise on tame inflation data

(Reuters) - The positive inflation data added to month-end and
quarter-end buying, as well as a modest flight-to-quality bid
from weaker equities and news that British police had defused a
bomb left in an abandoned car in London's theater district.




""Bonds are doing a little better. We have a benign core
PCE deflator and another month of confirmation that consumer
spending is slowing down significantly in the second quarter
from its average pace of the first," said Josh Stiles, bond
strategist with IDEAglobal in New York.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Year-over-year core PCE index up 1.9 pct in May

(Reuters) - The core personal spending price index advanced by 0.1 percent from a month ago and that was exactly in line with economists' expectations. That was after the same advance a month earlier.




Personal income advanced by a lower-than-expected 0.4 percent in May after a 0.2 percent decrease in April that was revised from a 0.1 percent decrease. Economists were expecting a 0.6 percent gain.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

TREASURIES-Bond prices edge up ahead of inflation data

(Reuters) - "People yesterday were a bit concerned about the PCE
deflator that is coming out this morning," said Doug Roberts,
chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research in
Shrewsbury, New Jersey.




"Now they are realizing the Fed probably wouldn't have
moderated their statement if they thought the PCE was going to
come in somewhat ... massively different from what they
anticipated. Although it might not come out on target, probably
it will come in pretty close."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Symetra Financial files for $750 mln IPO

(Reuters) - In addition to the affiliates of White Mountains Insurance
Group Ltd. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., who led the investor
group that formed Symetra, others from the original investor
group may participate in this offering as selling stockholders.




The Bellevue, Washington-based company, which has applied
for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "SYA,"
told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a
preliminary prospectus that Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman,
Sachs & Co., among others, were underwriting the IPO.



Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-EU scraps competition exemption for some air fares

(Reuters) - Last October, the Commission said the International Air
Transport Association would have to justify why the
exemptions should continue.




"IATA has not supplied data that would allow the Commission
to conclude that an exemption would continue to benefit
passengers," the EU's executive arm said in a statement on
Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Hannover Re to help clients shift risk to markets

(Reuters) - "We feel that Swiss Re has not made money with that," Wallin
said.




"However, with the growth of the securitisation market we
feel that transforming might become a valuable business model
and we should be in at an early stage rather than a later
stage."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

China's CSI 300 Index Declines on Rate Concern: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks dropped, with the key
index posting its first monthly fall in almost a year, as the
central bank's latest economic forecasts fueled speculation the
government will raise interest rates to cool the economy.

Shanghai International Airport Co. and Citic Securities Co.
led declines among the country's most valuable companies.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Reverses Advance; Segro, Liberty, Drax Pace the Drop

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks erased gains, as Segro
Plc, Liberty International Plc and Drax Group Plc declined.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 19.4, or 0.3 percent, to
6551.9 at 9:02 a.m. in London, after rising as much as 0.3
percent earlier. The FTSE All-Share Index dropped 5.91, or 0.2
percent, to 3382.25. Ireland's ISEQ Index rose 17.19 to 9321.94.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Valeo, Cap Gemini, FKI: European Credit-Default-Swap Market Movers Today

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European
corporate bonds rose today, according to traders of credit-
default swaps.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index rose 2,000 euros
to 225,000 euros at 8:30 a.m. in London, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

France's CAC 40 Advances, Led by Cap Gemini, Air France-KLM Group

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks rose for a second day.
Cap Gemini SA, Europe's largest computer-services company, and
Air France-KLM Group paced the gains.

The CAC 40 Index added 17.39, or 0.3 percent, to 6023.70 at
9:07 a.m. in Paris. The broader SBF 120 Index rose 12.36, or 0.3
percent, to 4392.66.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BAE, Berkeley Group, HSBC, Cadbury Shares: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from yesterday's close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 43.70, or 0.7 percent, to
6571.30 in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 24.40, or 0.7
percent, to 3388.16.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News