PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - July 4

(Reuters) - * Less than two weeks after the Blackstone Group ,
its archrival, started trading as a public company, Kohlberg
Kravis [KKR.UL] filed documents late yesterday to raise $1.25
billion.




* The Detroit automakers' share of the American car market
fell to a record low in June, statistics showed on Tuesday,
foreshadowing another summer of deep discounts, cheap car loans
and deals on leases.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dutch Endemol says Q1 profit was 22.5 mln euros

(Reuters) - A buyout group including Italy's Mediaset said on
Wednesday it is making a public offer for shares in Dutch
television production company Endemol for 24.55 euros
each.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Copper Little Changed in Asia Amid Labor Disputes in Chile; Zinc Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices were little changed in
Asia amid concern that labor disputes in Chile, the world's
largest source of the metal, will disrupt supplies and deplete
global stockpiles.

Codelco, the world's biggest copper producer, will meet with
contract workers today in a bid to end a strike, which began June
25 and cut the company's output last week. Inventories monitored
by the London Metal Exchange dropped for a sixth straight day by
0.5 percent to 112,025 metric tons, the exchange said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 3-U.S. auto sales wobble in June, GM plunges

(Reuters) - TOKYO/DETROIT, July 4 - General Motors Corp.
on Tuesday posted a steeper-than-expected 24 percent drop in June
sales, as U.S. automakers lost share to Japanese brands and
overall vehicle sales sputtered in the face of high gas prices
and a weak housing market.




Shares of GM dropped more than 4 percent after the
holiday-shortened close of trade on the New York Stock Exchange
in reaction to the sales shortfall and indications the largest
U.S. automaker would have to respond with bigger discounts.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

JSW, Ispat Reduce Hot-Rolled Steel Prices in India to Match Global Rates

(Bloomberg) -- JSW Steel Ltd., India's fourth-
largest steelmaker, and Ispat Industries Ltd. cut prices of hot-
rolled products to match global rates.

JSW cut prices by as much as 800 rupees ($20) a metric ton
to about 26,500 rupees a ton, Seshagiri Rao, finance director,
said today by telephone in Mumbai. Ispat lowered the rate by 500
rupees to 800 rupees a ton to about 26,000 rupees, spokesman
Suman Das Sharma said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Indian Oil Offers Four Fuel Oil Cargoes for Loading From August to October

(Bloomberg) -- Indian Oil Corp., the country's
biggest refiner, offered to sell 120,000 metric tons of 380-
centistoke fuel oil in four cargoes for loading between August
and October, said a trader who received the documents.

Details of the refiner's offer are as follows.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Buy Euro Call Options as Rates to Rise, Yield Premium Shrinks, Quaesta Say

(Bloomberg) -- Investors should buy call options to
bet that the euro will rise against the dollar as the interest-
rate spread between the 13-nation region and the U.S. narrows,
according to Quaesta Capital AG.

The European Central Bank will probably raise its benchmark
lending rate to 4.5 percent by the start of 2008 from 4 percent,
according to the median forecast of 31 economists in a Bloomberg
News survey published yesterday. The Federal Reserve will likely
keep its benchmark rate of 5.25 percent until the end of the
first quarter of next year, a separate survey shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Azgard Nine, Neo-China Group, Nissan Financial, Tunisia: Asia Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales
in Asia expected in the coming days and weeks.

Investment Grade


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

South Korean Won Declines on Speculation Central Bank Will Sell Currency

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won fell on speculation
the central bank will sell the currency to aide exports after it
closed yesterday at a seven-month high.

The currency snapped a four-day, 1.1 percent rally after
the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Korea yesterday said in a
joint statement they're ``worried'' by movements in the won that
aren't in line with the economy's performance. A rising won may
threaten growth by making Korean goods more expensive abroad,
reducing demand for the nation's exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korean Stocks Advance, Led by Kookmin, Hynix Semiconductor, Samsung

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 0.61 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 731 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
10.95 to 1,816.45. Among the stocks in the index, 381 rose, 146
fell and 203 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds May Fall as Yields Near 1-Month Low Deter Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds may fall on
speculation 10-year yields near the lowest in almost a month
will deter some investors from buying.

Bonds in Japan may follow a slide in U.S. Treasuries
yesterday after a report showed factory orders fell less than
forecast, fueling optimism manufacturing will help overcome a
housing slump in the world's largest economy. Bank of Japan
Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto yesterday said keeping interest
rates low for too long could hurt growth in Japan.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japanese Automaker Shares May Advance on Rising U.S. Sales, Factory Orders

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese automotive-related stocks
may climb after the country's three biggest carmakers boosted
their U.S. sales by at least 10 percent last month.

Toyota Motor Corp., which recorded its 23rd consecutive
monthly U.S. sales increase, and Nissan Motor Co., which
increased the number of cars sold by 23 percent from the
previous year, may pace advances.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Buyout firm KKR files for $1.25 bln IPO

(Reuters) - The planned IPO follows the high profile listing of buyout
firm Blackstone Group LP last month, which raised $4.13
billion and ushered in a new era for an industry that has come to
dominate financial markets worldwide by pursuing ever-larger
takeovers and raising record amounts of capital.




But unlike the Blackstone IPO, KKR's owners are not selling
any common units or receiving any net proceeds from the offering.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Regal Beloit acquires certain businesses from Tecumseh

(Reuters) - The acquisition will add about $290 million of sales and
about 10 cents to 15 cents a share to earnings in 2008, the
maker of motion control and power generation products said in a
statement.




In a separate statement, Tecumseh said the sale composed of
the residential & commercial motors and Asia Pacific divisions
of its Fasco business unit. It plans to use the proceeds to
repay debt.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Fitch cuts, Moody's may cut Kraft's debt rating

(Reuters) - Fitch cut its rating on Kraft to "BBB-plus," three levels
above junk, from "A-minus."




Moody's Investors Service also said it may cut its rating
of Kraft, while Standard & Poor's changed its outlook on Kraft
to negative from stable, indicating a downgrade is more likely
over the next two years, which could raise borrowing costs.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CME chides ICE for "spoiler" role in CBOT deal

(Reuters) - "Having been rejected by CBOT's board not once but twice,
ICE has yet to address the fundamental strategic and
operational flaws in its proposed transaction," CME said in a
statement.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Crude Oil Is Little Changed, Close to a 10-Month High, on Refinery Closure

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil is steady, after touching
a 10-month high in New York, on speculation U.S. gasoline
production will fall after refineries unexpectedly shut units.

Flint Hills Resources LP, a unit of Koch Industries Inc.,
shut a gasoline-producing unit at its refinery in Corpus Christi,
Texas, according to a report on a state Web site today. A
refinery in Kansas was shut on July 1 because of flooding. Crude-
oil prices often follow gasoline during the driving season, which
lasts from late May to early September.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-FDA adds black box to Genentech asthma drug Xolair

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had proposed the
so-called black box warning about anaphylaxis in February but
announced final wording of the new label on Monday.




Xolair, given as an injection and known generically as
omalizumab, is approved to treat adults and adolescents age 12
and above for moderate to severe asthma.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Copper Futures Rebound in New York on Concern Strikes Will Grow in Chile

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose in New York,
erasing earlier losses, on concern striking workers will increase
protests in Chile, the world's largest source of the metal.

Contract workers at Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's
largest copper producer, said yesterday that protests will worsen
unless the company negotiates. The price of copper gained
2 percent last week as labor unrest that began June 25 cut
Codelco output.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Emerging debt-Prices track stocks higher, spreads tighten

(Reuters) - Emerging debt markets started their recovery on Monday,
after losses of more than 2 percent in June, as yields of the
benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell below the key level of 5
percent, encouraging investors to take on risk.




The upward trend remained on Tuesday, even as 10-year
Treasuries yields rose slightly to about 5.04 percent. Trading
volumes were light, though, as the debt market will have an
early close before the U.S. Independence Day holiday on
Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Ford U.S. sales fall 8.1 pct in June

(Reuters) - Ford said car sales fell 24.6 percent while truck sales rose 2.9 percent.




Results for Ford -- which had sought to curb its lower-margin fleet sales to car rental companies -- include its import brands and some medium- and heavy-duty trucks and are not adjusted for an extra selling day in June 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Euro Little Changed on View Recent Gains Reflect Outlook for Interest Rate

(Bloomberg) -- The euro was little changed, after
earlier reaching an all-time high versus the yen, on speculation
recent gains already reflect expectations the European Central
Bank will raise interest rates this year.

The 13-nation currency also retreated from its two-month
high against the dollar as investors cut risks before the U.S.
Independence Day holiday tomorrow and the ECB's interest-rate
meeting. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast policy
makers will hold borrowing costs at 4 percent on July 5.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Continental Air shares rally on revenue gain

(Reuters) - If the gains hold out until the market closes, it will have been the biggest one-day gain for Continental since November.




"We view this unexpected strength as sufficient not only to potentially boost Continental consensus estimates but legacy equities as well," said JP Morgan airline analyst Jamie Baker.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

African Diamonds sees late 2009 Botswana mine start

(Reuters) - AIM-listed diamond explorer African Diamonds expects to start production at the AK6 project in Botswana in late 2009, the company said on Tuesday.

"AK6 is a done deal. It will happen," John Teeling, the company's executive chairman, told delegates at the Numis Metals and Mining Conference in London.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Ford shares slide after debt plan

(Reuters) - Ford shares were down 34 cents to $9.30 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange after reaching a session low of $9.26.




The stock had gained 13 percent in the last four weeks.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Chile Peso Strengthens on Expectations the Central Bank Will Boost Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Chile's peso strengthened on
speculation the central bank to increase rates next week, making
the currency more attractive for investment.

The central bank has held the benchmark rate steady at 5
percent since dropping to that level in January. Four analysts in
a Bloomberg survey expect the central bank to maintain rates at 5
percent while three expect the rates to rise to 5.25 percent when
policy makers meet July 12.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Chrysler, China's Chery to seal vehicle alliance

(Reuters) - DETROIT, July 3 - Chrysler Group and China's Chery Automobile Co. will finalize a groundbreaking alliance on Wednesday in Beijing that could result in the first Chinese-made vehicles being exported to the U.S. market.



The Chinese government has cleared the deal, a spokesman for Chrysler said on Tuesday. A formal signing ceremony in Beijing featuring Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda is scheduled for Wednesday, he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

World stocks hit new record high

(Reuters) - World stocks hit a new all-time high on Tuesday as equity investors put June's worries about higher interest rates and greater borrowing costs behind them.

MSCI's main world stock index rose as high as 406.08, eclipsing the previous high of 405.99 reached a month ago on June 5.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Gold Futures May Decline on Speculation Euro Rally to Stall; Silver Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Gold, little changed in New York, may
fall on speculation the euro's rally against the dollar will
stall, reducing the appeal of the precious metal as an
alternative investment. Silver fell.

Gold generally moves in tandem with the euro, which was
little changed against the dollar after climbing 1.3 percent in
two previous sessions. Before today, gold had climbed 3.3 percent
this year and the euro had risen 3.2 percent against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

ICE says CBOT proposal binding through July 12

(Reuters) - CME shareholders and CBOT shareholders and members will
hold separate votes on the merger deal on July 9. CBOT's board
has rejected ICE's takeover proposal.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Copper gains as dollar buckles, lead hits high

(Reuters) - Copper prices jumped to fresh seven-week highs on Tuesday as the dollar tumbled and the market worried about supply disruption, while lead hit a record peak on concerns about Chinese output.

Copper for three months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,735 in the official rings. up from $7,710 at the close on Monday. It touched $7,805 -- its highest since May 14.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Late payments up on home loans, down on credit cards

(Reuters) - In its quarterly study of U.S. consumer borrowing, the American Bankers Association said late payments rose in the first quarter from the fourth quarter in every category related to home ownership.




Delinquencies rose to 2.15 percent from 1.92 percent on home equity loans, to 2.94 percent from 2.82 percent on mobile home loans, and to 0.60 percent from 0.57 percent for home equity lines of credit.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Corrected: Wall St set to open higher on M&A

(Reuters) - NEW YORK - Wall Street was set to start a shortened session higher on Tuesday, helped by the latest merger and acquisition news and before data on the manufacturing and housing sectors.




Kraft Foods is in exclusive talks to buy Danone's biscuit and cereal unit for 5.3 billion euros in cash, the companies said. Kraft's shares rose 0.8 percent in Europe.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

U.K. Natural Gas Day Ahead Reverses Decline After Fuel Supply Forecast Cut

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for next-day
delivery was little changed after revised forecasts showed a
decline in expected supplies of the fuel.

Day-ahead gas traded at 24.2 pence at 12:16 p.m.,
equivalent to $4.88 a million British thermal units. Earlier, it
had fallen as much as 2.5 percent to trade at 23.9 pence a therm
at 8:27 a.m. in London, according to prices on Bloomberg from
the broker ICAP Plc. A therm is 100,000 Btus. Gas for intraday
delivery rose 0.4 percent to 24.85 pence a therm.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gold Falls in London as Dollar Halts Decline Against Euro; Silver Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell as the dollar halted
declines against the euro, slowing demand for precious metals as
an alternative investment. Silver also dropped.

Gold has climbed 3.2 percent this year as the dollar dropped
against the euro and crude oil advanced. The dollar today snapped
two days of losses against the euro and New York crude oil
futures fell for the first day in a week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Gold May Rise in London as Higher Oil Price Spurs Demand; Silver Is Steady

(Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise in London as oil price
gains spur demand in the Middle East, the third-biggest region
for gold use. Silver was unchanged.

Oil is correlated to gold mostly because it affects the
incomes of people in the Middle East, Natalie Dempster,
investment-research manager of the producer-funded World Gold
Council, said in London yesterday. Gold has climbed 3.3 percent
this year and oil is up 16 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

BladeLogic sees IPO of 5 mln shares at $12-$14 each

(Reuters) - The Lexington, Massachusetts-based company said it applied
for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol "BLOG" .





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.K. Stocks Rise, Paced by Anglo American, Xstrata; Greene King Rallies

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, paced by mining
companies as metal prices rose. Xstrata Plc, Anglo American Plc
and Kazakhmys Plc gained.

Greene King Plc rallied the most in more than a year after
the pub owner said profit jumped 21 percent and it would sell
some property. Enterprise Inns Plc and Punch Taverns Plc also
gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Bonds Trade Near Three-Week High Before German Coupon Payments

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds traded near the
highest in three weeks on speculation coupon payments to holders
of German debt due tomorrow will be reinvested in fixed-income
securities.

Yields on 10-year bunds, the benchmark for Europe, were
little changed today. Germany, Italy and Finland are scheduled
to pay 13 billion euros ($18 billion) of interest coupons this
week, according to Bloomberg data. The majority of the payments
are due tomorrow from Germany, the region's largest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Gold creeps up, Tokyo up 1 pct, subdued trade seen

(Reuters) - Trading was likely to be subdued ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday, when U.S. financial markets will be closed, market participants said.




Spot gold stood at $657.50/658.25 an ounce as of 0634 GMT, versus $656.70/$658.20 in late New York.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Portugal Telecom Plans to Issue 750 Million Euros of Convertible Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, the
country's biggest telecommunications company, plans to sell 750
million euros (1.02 billion) of bonds convertible into stock, its
first sale of equity-linked debt since 2001.

The seven-year notes will pay interest of 3.875 percent to
4.375 percent and can be handed over for stock when the shares
rise by 35 percent to 40 percent from the average market price
today, the company said in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Zhongjin Says First-Half Profit May Surge as Much as 60 Percent on Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet
Co., China's fifth-biggest zinc producer by output, said it
expects first-half profit to rise between 50 percent and 60
percent on higher prices of the metal.

The forecast, in a statement to Shenzhen stock exchange
today, implies second-quarter profit of as much as 376.7 million
yuan ($49.6 million), up 27 percent from a year ago, according
to Bloomberg calculations. The figure was derived by subtracting
Zhongjin's reported first-quarter profit of 276.2 million yuan
from the upper end of the half-year forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News