Sun Micro to revamp Solaris with Linux features

(Reuters) - Sun itself is known for its business computers that can handle major corporate loads and it long has courted programmers who cooperatively develop Linux and other so-called open-source software, with mixed success.




The revamped Solaris system will have features borrowed from Linux that could make it easier to use, correspondence on Sun's Web site shows.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

IPO-VIEW-KKR IPO seen heeding Blackstone lessons

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group sold $4.1 billion of stock last
month in the largest U.S. initial public offering in five
years. The sale generated big bucks for Blackstone's
principals, but at a cost.




Critics said Blackstone co-founders Stephen Schwarzman and
Peter Peterson were cashing out at the peak of the buyout boom.
The hype surrounding the Blackstone IPO may have attracted the
attention of legislators, who are looking at closing a tax
loophole for partnerships like Blackstone that sell shares to
the public.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-PSEG supports NJ carbon law, sees higher prices

(Reuters) - EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, July 6 - Public
Service Enterprise Group , owner of New Jersey's largest
utility, said on Friday it supports a new state law to cut
carbon emissions and believes customers are willing to
payhigher power bills to combat global warming.




PSEG Chief Executive Ralph Izzo said the utility plans to
ask state regulators later this year to approve measures to
allow it to pass on to customers the costs of the new programs
it hopes to implement to meet the state's environmental goals.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CORRECTED-OFFICIAL-Rice: China 'could play fairer' on trade

(Reuters) - U.S. officials have repeatedly said they believe the
Chinese currency is undervalued, giving an unfair edge to
Chinese manufacturers, and that the country needs to live up to
its obligations to reform the yuan and to open up its economy.




Asked if China played fair on trade and currency, Rice said
"China could play fairer" in an interview with CNBC's "Closing
Bell with Maria Bartiromo" program.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CBOT, Genzyme, Macy's, Mannatech, Parametric: U.S. Equity Movers Final

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares had unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are
as of 4 p.m. in New York.

CBOT Holdings Inc. (BOT US) rose $17.85, or 8.7 percent, to
$224. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (CME US) raised
its offer for the Chicago Board of Trade for a third time, to $11
billion, to fend off rival Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE
US) and form the world's largest futures exchange. Chicago Merc
shares rose $19.11, or 3.4 percent, to $574.80, and
Intercontinental shares gained $4.28, or 2.8 percent, to $156.09.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Rice: China 'doesn't play fair' on trade, currency

(Reuters) - Asked if China played fair on trade and currency, Rice said
"China doesn't play fair" said in an interview with CNBC's
"Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo" program. The network
released a transcript of interview, which was taped on Friday.




Rice said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has called
for greater access to the Chinese market, for "reform of the
currency to one that will be reflective of the market" and for
greater respect for intellectual property rights.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hilton's real estate secures rich deal price

(Reuters) - That's particularly true when the target owns appealing
properties, allowing the deal to be funded through commercial
mortgage-backed securities as well as corporate debt.




Add to the mix assets that line up well next to others
accumulated in the current buyout boom, and the case can be
made for Blackstone paying 25 percent above the record high for
a stock that had already roughly tripled in the previous five
years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Pricewaterhouse to pay $225 mln in Tyco settlement

(Reuters) - Pricewaterhouse could not immediately be reached for comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TREASURIES-Strong jobs data hits bonds, dims rate cut hopes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 6 - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell
on Friday, pushing yields to two-week highs, after strong jobs
data dashed some of the last remaining expectations that the
Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this year.




Unexpectedly robust job growth in June and upward revisions
to figures for April and May added to recent downward pressure
on bonds. Based on the rise in benchmark yields, the market was
nearing its biggest week of losses in just over a year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazilian Companies Agree to Limit Access, Monitor Trades to Control Leaks

(Bloomberg) -- Banco Bradesco SA and eight other
Brazilian companies agreed to limit employees' and executives'
access to confidential plans and monitor stock trades to ensure
that insider information isn't leaked.

The nine companies signed agreements to implement changes
recommended by the Brazilian association of publicly traded
companies, known as Abrasca. The group is attacking insider trading
through self-regulation, association President Antonio Castro said
at a presentation today at the Sao Paulo stock exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Government Bonds Post Weekly Decline on Outlook for ECB Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds fell this
week, extending the worst quarterly slide in almost eight years,
after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet
signaled policy makers may need to lift interest rates further by
year-end.

Benchmark debt dropped today, sending 10-year bund yields to
near a five-year high, after a report showed manufacturing orders
in Germany rose more than expected in May. Bonds fell yesterday
after Trichet said inflation in the region needs ``careful
monitoring,'' as the ECB kept its key rate at 4 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Aviva's new CEO must woo investors to boost shares

(Reuters) - Currently the group's finance director, Moss takes over as
chief executive of Britain's largest insurer next Thursday from
Richard Harvey, one of the longest-serving FTSE 100 bosses.




Moss has been part of the management team since he joined in
2004 and has effectively led the group's strategy since Harvey's
early retirement was announced in January.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nedbank issues $284 mln unsecured note

(Reuters) - South Africa's Nedbank has issued a 15-year 2 billion rand listed subordinated unsecured floating rate note, it said on Friday.

The coupon on the note is set at 3-month JIBAR plus 47 basis points. The bond was placed with the International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank in equal tranches of 1 billion rand each, Nedbank said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

BHP, Standard Bank, AngloGold lift S.Africa stocks

(Reuters) - BHP Billiton buoyed South African shares on Friday on firm base metal prices and lingering consolidation talk within the sector, and Standard Bank led banks higher on a positive research note.

Investors piled into index heavyweight BHP as companies in the mining sector approached the reporting season with a strong tail-wind of robust commodity prices, that would see their earnings and possibly dividends grow, traders and analysts said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Material Sciences posts quarterly loss; shares fall

(Reuters) - Chief Executive Clifford Nastas said he expects the
slowdown in the U.S. auto market to continue through the year.




Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which account for
about 45 percent of Material Sciences' sales, have been seeing
lower U.S. sales on high gas prices and a weak housing market.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Indexes slip on rate worries after jobs data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 6 - U.S. stocks fell on Friday on
concern about higher borrowing costs as bond yields rose after
stronger-than-expected jobs data reinforced the view that the
Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates this year.




The rate worries overshadowed news of corporate takeover
activity -- a proposed $4.2 billion purchase of eye-care
company Bausch & Lomb Inc. by Advanced Medical Optics
Inc. For details, see [ID:nN05385353].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Stocks Advance on Takeovers; Exxon Mobil Shares Rise as Oil Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose and the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index headed for the first back-to-back weekly gains
since May, helped by takeovers and improved earnings prospects
for energy companies.

CBOT Holdings Inc., owner of the third-biggest futures
exchange, climbed after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange raised
its buyout offer. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest energy
producer, gained after crude oil rose to a 10-month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Silence Therapeutics inks $400mln AstraZeneca deal

(Reuters) - By Ben Hirschler



LONDON, July 6 - AstraZeneca Plc became the latest big drugmaker to bet on the new science of RNA interference on Friday by signing a deal with Britain's Silence Therapeutics Plc worth up to 200 million pounds .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

California Surfers Raise Stink About Septic Tanks Polluting Their Waves

(Bloomberg) -- Something is fouling the water along
the Southern California coast, and it may be what's coming from
the toilets of the rich and famous.

Surfers and environmentalists blame the pollution along the
Pacific Ocean coastline on septic tanks, which are the preferred
method of waste disposal in exclusive beach communities such as
Malibu and Santa Barbara.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

TREASURIES-Bonds drop on stronger-than-expected payrolls

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 6 - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell
on Friday after stronger-than-expected June non-farm payrolls
dashed any lingering expectations of a cut in benchmark
interest rates from the Federal Reserve anytime soon.




In addition to June payrolls being stronger than expected,
the government also sharply revised higher the numbers for
April and May payrolls, adding to the pressure on bond prices.
Click on [ID:nL06351583] for details.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures fall after strong jobs data

(Reuters) - S&P 500 futures fell 0.60 point, roughly in line
with fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing
by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to
expiration on the contract.




Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 16 points,
and Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Wendy's 2nd-quarter same-store sales rise

(Reuters) - At U.S. franchised outlets open at least 15 months,
same-store sales rose 0.4 percent, Wendy's said.




The growth in the second quarter was not as strong as in
the first quarter as Wendy's worked on its pricing strategy,
Chief Executive and President Kerrii Anderson said in a
statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Treasury Bonds Decline After U.S. Adds More Jobs Than Forecast Last Month

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries fell, pushing yields
on benchmark 10-year notes to the highest in two weeks, after a
government report showed the economy created more jobs than
forecast last month.

Employers added 132,000 workers to payrolls, wages grew and
the unemployment rate held near a six-year low, signaling the job
market will continue to sustain growth and prevent the Federal
Reserve from cutting interest rates this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Alcan, Cygam, Onex, Osprey, Pizza Pizza, Progress: Canadian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets
today. This preview includes news that broke after markets closed
yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and
prices are from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 19.02, or 0.1
percent, to 14,079.41 in Toronto. The benchmark has gained 1.2
percent since June 29 may have the first weekly advance in three.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RPT-US STOCKS-Futures flat before payrolls, Bausch & Lomb up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 6 - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Friday before a key employment report that
could shed light on the economy and the profit outlook.




In deal news, Advanced Medical Optics Inc. offered
to buy larger eye-care company Bausch & Lomb Inc. for
$4.23 billion, topping a rival offer of $3.67 billion from
private equity firm Warburg Pincus [WP.UL], the two companies
said late on Thursday. For details, see [ID:nN05385353].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Romania plans to finalise Daewoo sale by Sept. 1

(Reuters) - The committee, which did not open Ford's financial bid, said
all required documents have been submitted and that negotiations
for an improved offer will begin on Monday.




Romania wants to sell a 72.4 percent stake in Daewoo
Automobile Craiova. Earlier this year, Romania said it had
received letters of intent from General Motors Corp. and
Russian Machines, as well as Ford.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Payrolls, Wages Probably Grew in June; Jobless Rate Near Six-Year Low

(Bloomberg) -- Employers in the U.S. probably
created enough jobs last month to keep wages growing and the
unemployment rate unchanged, economists said before a government
report today.

The projected 125,000 increase in payrolls is based on the
median estimate of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and
would follow a 157,000 gain in May. The jobless rate is forecast
to hold at 4.5 percent for a third month, near a six-year low.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Cairn Gets Approval for Indian Crude Pipeline, Partner Says; Shares Surge

(Bloomberg) -- Cairn Energy Plc won approval from
India's government to build a pipeline from an oil project in
western India, clearing the last hurdle before development of
the field, an official at partner Oil & Natural Gas Corp. said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas cleared the plan
by Cairn India Ltd., the Indian unit that raised $1.9 billion in
a December share sale, to build the pipeline from Rajasthan to
deliver the oil to markets, the official said in New Delhi today,
asking not to be identified because the government must announce
the decision.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

BHP May Expand Escondida Copper Project in Chile, Credit Suisse Reports

(Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's
largest mining company, may expand its copper and nickel
businesses in Latin America to meet Chinese demand and maintain
annual output growth of 8.3 percent, Credit Suisse Group said.

The Melbourne-based company could add a third concentrator
at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, in Chile, Credit
Suisse analysts Peter O'Connor, Jeremy Gray and Pablo Kohen said
in a report yesterday, citing a briefing with incoming Chief
Executive Officer Marius Kloppers.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Stocks Rise, Paced by Shell, BHP Billiton; UBS Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose after Deutsche
Bank AG increased price estimates for oil companies and Credit
Suisse Group said BHP Billiton Ltd. may expand in Latin America
to meet growing demand from China.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc lifted the Dow Jones Europe
Stoxx Oil & Gas Index to a record. BHP Billiton, the world's
biggest mining company, gained for the seventh straight day. UBS
AG rose after the largest money manager ousted Chief Executive
Officer Peter Wuffli.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Philips to take 35 mln euros charge on Medquist

(Reuters) - The non-cash impairment charge will not impact earnings
before interest, taxes and amortisation for Philips's Medical
Systems unit, the company said in a statement.




Philips added that it "may consider possible transactions or
other changes in its ownership stake in MedQuist," which
recently filed its results for 2003-2005 with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Vattenfall's Kruemmel Nuclear Plant Start Date Unknown, Checks Continue

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany's
fourth-largest utility, hasn't determined when its halted
Kruemmel nuclear plant will restart.

The company and regulators are still investigating the
plant, where a transformer fire broke out last week, Vattenfall
spokesman Ivo Banek said today by telephone.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.K. Natural Gas Gains After Supply Shortage Prompts Storage Withdrawals

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural-gas prices surged for a
third day after shippers withdrew stocks yesterday to help
satisfy demand, following a reduction in flows of the fuel at
British sub-terminals.

Gas for delivery today rose 13 percent from the last day-
ahead trade yesterday to 29.5 pence a therm, the highest price
for same-day deliveries of the fuel since Jan. 25. August gas
jumped 5.5 percent with energy broker Spectron Group Plc to a
record 27 pence a therm. That's equivalent to $5.43 a million
British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

India Panel Approves New Mining Policy to Boost Investment, May Aid Posco

(Bloomberg) -- An Indian panel of ministers approved
a new mining policy that aims to cut permit delays, boost output
and win investment, changes that may benefit overseas investors
such as South Korean steelmaker Posco.

The policy, which replaces a five-decade-old law, will be
presented to the cabinet in the next 15 days, said T. Subbarami
Reddy, the junior mines minister. The parliament may approve it
the monsoon session scheduled to begin next month, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Asian Stocks Fall as Bond Yields Rise; Tokyo Electric, Westfield Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for the first time
in seven days as higher bond yields sparked speculation that
investors will shift money from equities.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. and shopping-mall owner Westfield
Group led declines by companies that rely on paying high
dividends to attract fund managers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News