Etisalat unit to discuss Benin mobile network spat

(Reuters) - Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat) said on Monday its African unit would open talks with Benin's government this week to try to resolve a dispute that forced it to suspend its mobile phone services.

Benin's telecoms regulator suspended the networks of two of the country's four mobile phone operators on Thursday, including that of Atlantique Telecom, a 70-percent-owned subsidiary of Etisalat, the third-largest Gulf Arab telecom firm by market value.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Bankruptcy German Style: Schefenacker Reorganizes as an English Company

(Bloomberg) -- When Schefenacker AG, a German auto-
parts maker, faced a default on bond debt last year, it fled the
country where it was founded in 1935, moved its headquarters to
England and filed for bankruptcy in London.

The maneuver allowed Schefenacker, after relocating on Feb.
11, to complete a 500 million-euro ($680 million) restructuring
last month that company lawyers said would have been impossible
under Germany's more stringent insolvency law.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Air France KLM says will look at Iberia

(Reuters) - In a statement released on Monday, Air France KLM said it would look at Iberia in the context of consolidation within the sector.



"Air France KLM, the world's leading airline group in terms of turnover, once again confirms its intention to take an active part in the consolidation process in the air transport industry," it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Treasuries Little Changed Before Report That May Show Foreign Demand Waned

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury notes were little changed
before a government report that economists said will show waning
demand for U.S. securities from investors outside the nation.

A two-day slide in yields has pushed 10-year rates to about
20 basis points less than the Federal Reserve's target for
overnight bank lending. Two-year yields are 38 basis points
below the target, too low for traders betting the Fed will
refrain from reducing interest rates this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Abitibi-Consolidated, Cameco, Zarlink Semiconductor: Canada Equity Preview

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

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index dropped 158.25, or
1.1 percent, to 14,338.25.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bocom to Raise $307 Million Selling Certificates of Deposit in Hong Kong

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Communications Ltd., part
owned by HSBC Holdings Plc, plans to raise HK$2.4 billion ($307
million) by selling certificates of deposit, according to sale
documents.

China's sixth-largest bank, known as Bocom, plans to sell
the floating-rate certificates this month, HSBC, which is
arranging the sale, said in an e-mail today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Karachi Stock Exchange May Sell 10 Percent Stake to International Bourse

(Bloomberg) -- The Karachi Stock Exchange,
Pakistan's biggest stock market, may sell a 10 percent stake to
an overseas bourse before its initial share sale to help spur
trading on a market that has risen 14-fold in six years.

``I have received interest from a number of regional, even
European exchanges, including the Dubai International Financial
Exchange,'' Razi-ur-Rahman Khan, chairman of the Islamabad-based
Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, said in an
interview in Karachi on July 16. ``My vision is that a foreign
stock exchange could take a five or 10 percent stake, become an
active partner and play an active role in management.''


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Nikkei down 0.3 pct; Toyota, auto shares fall

(Reuters) - "Investors are somewhat inactive following a slightly stronger yen, yesterday's fall in Asia stocks and the three-day weekend," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Shinko Securities.




Asian shares mostly eased on Monday with South Korea retreating from record highs on fears the government may move to cool the market.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Edmi, Enzer, Labroy Marine, Singapore Airlines: Singapore's Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in Singapore. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from
the previous market close.

The Straits Times Index slid less than 0.1 percent to
3653.23. The July futures contract rose 0.2 percent to 450.2.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Equity Lifestyle 2nd-qtr funds from operations up

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, were expecting funds from operations
of 58 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Net income rose to $1.6 million, or 7 cents a share, for
the quarter ended June 30, up from $1.2 million, or 5 cents a
share a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Australian Dollar at 87.16 U.S. Cents, Near 18-Year High, in Sydney Trade

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar traded at 87.16
U.S. cents as of 7:38 a.m. in Sydney, compared with 87.51 in late
Asia yesterday, when it touched 87.60 cents, the strongest since
February 1989.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Young in Sydney at
cyoung12@bloomberg.net .


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Cameco may bid for Australian miner Paladin-paper

(Reuters) - The mine, which sits on one of the world's richest uranium
deposits, flooded last year, putting additional pressure on
global uranium supply as demand has soared.




The paper said a drop in Paladin's share price has made it
a possible takeover target. The Australian company cut its
production forecast for its main Namibian mine last month.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Italy's Edison boosts stake in Edipower

(Reuters) - The transfer will be carried out on July 31.




Edison bought an equal amount of shares from Unicredit
under a put option executed by the Italian bank, it
said. The transfer will be carried out by the end of January
2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

California Blue Shield limits anemia drug payments

(Reuters) - The move by Blue Shield, a nonprofit insurer with 3.3
million members, follows a proposal from the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services in May that would limit use of the
drugs.




Blue Shield's policy change was sent out in a notice to
physicians on July 2, according to Salina Wong, director of the
organization's clinical pharmacy programs, in an interview on
Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Crude Oil Rises to 11-Month High in New York as Refinery Demand May Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to an 11-month high
in New York on expectations of increased demand, as U.S.
refineries raise gasoline production.

BP Plc and Valero Energy Corp. started units at refineries
in Texas over the weekend. U.S. refineries may have operated at
90.4 percent of capacity last week, up 0.2 percentage point from
the week before, according to a Bloomberg News survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Coffee Rises Most in Five Weeks in New York as Exchange Inventories Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee rose the most in five weeks
in New York as stockpiles fell, indicating demand for the beans
may be picking up.

Inventories in warehouses monitored by the New York Board
of Trade stood at 4.23 million bags on July 12, down 0.2 percent
from a day earlier. The decline was the first since June 25 at
the exchange's delivery points in New York, New Orleans,
Hamburg, Miami and Antwerp, Belgium.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise on subprime fears, rate-cut hopes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 16 - U.S. Treasury debt prices
rose on Monday on worries that the deterioration in the
subprime mortgage sector will spill over to the broader market
and prompt the Federal Reserve to trim interest rates.




The benchmark ABX index, used by investors to hedge
subprime mortgage risks, sank to a fresh intraday low. This led
investors skittish about securities backed by subprime loans --
made to homeowners with blemished credit histories -- to buy
less-risky U.S. government bonds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Peru miner Volcan's 2nd-qtr net profit surges

(Reuters) - The company said its quarterly net totaled $110.7 million,
compared with $47.75 million in the same period last year.




Volcan, one of Peru's largest zinc producers, said in a
statement to market regulator Conasev that its sales in the
second quarter jumped to $278.4 million from $164.9 million
last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Perceived Risk of Subprime-Loan Bonds Surges, Derivatives Contracts Show

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of subprime-
mortgage bonds surged today, prices of benchmark derivatives
contracts show.

An index of credit-default swaps linked to 20 securities
rated BBB- and created in the second half of 2006 fell about 8
percent today to a new low of about 45, according to Deutsche
Bank AG. The ABX-HE-BBB- 07-1 index has dropped by more than half
since January, reflecting growing expectations of defaults on the
bonds. Most other ABX indexes also hit new lows, traders said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Lear shareholders reject Icahn bid

(Reuters) - Lear's board of directors had recommended that shareholders approve the sweetened $3 billion, or $37.25 per share, offer. But it met opposition from influential advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services as well as Lear's second-biggest shareholder, Pzena Investment Management LLC, and the California State Teachers' Retirement System.




"We respect the stockholder majority," Bob Rossiter, Lear chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Orange Juice Futures Rise on Concern That Tropical Storms May Hit Florida

(Bloomberg) -- Orange-juice futures rose in New York
on speculation that tropical storm activity will increase by
month's end and may damage groves in Florida, the biggest
producer after Brazil.

The third named tropical storm of the U.S. hurricane season
usually occurs around July 30 and the first hurricane often
develops by Aug. 1, said Stephen Strum, president of Frontier
Weather Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two named storms have already
occurred this season, Strum said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 3-Emaar misses Q2 forecasts on costs, U.S. slowdown

(Reuters) - DUBAI, July 16 - Emaar Properties missed
analysts' second-quarter profit forecasts as expansion costs
surged, land sales fell in its home market of Dubai, and
mortgage turmoil hurt operations in the United States.




The largest Arab property developer by market value said it
hoped to conclude a deal to give the Dubai government a majority
stake, possibly this year, after months of uncertainty that have
weighed on its stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Stocks Advance, Led By ABN Amro, Banks; Saipem, Technip Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose, led by ABN Amro
Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sweetened its
71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the Dutch lender.

ABN Amro jumped the most in three months to its highest
since at least August 1990. BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest
phone company, and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc climbed after
brokerages lifted their recommendations on the shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

OptionsXpress rises on buyout talk, profit views

(Reuters) - OptionsXpress has "better organic growth, making it a logical candidate," said Fox-Pitt, Kelton analyst Edward Ditmire.




Paul Foster, an options strategist at theflyonthewall.com, said the brokerage's stock and call volume were up on renewed buyout speculation.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Rise on Manufacturing Expansion; United Technologies Advances

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained as speculation
Verizon Communications Inc. may be bought and a better-than-
expected manufacturing report carried benchmark indexes to
records for a third day.

Verizon, the second-biggest U.S. phone company, led the
Dow Jones Industrial Average higher after the Financial Times
said Vodafone Group Plc may pursue a takeover even as Vodafone
denied the report. Industrial shares, paced by United
Technologies Corp., climbed to an all-time high after the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index rose
to its highest since June 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Grainger profit beats but shares fall on outlook

(Reuters) - "The stock has pushed very hard, up to Friday we had the biggest demand for that stock that we've seen for 3-1/2 years," said John Gunthorp, equity portfolio manager with Hester Capital Management in Austin, Texas, which owns about 150,000 Grainger shares.




Morningstar analyst Matthew Warren said the stock was down on disappointment Grainger did not raise its outlook more, and because the company seems to be buying back less stock after a run-up in its price.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Corn, Soybeans Plunge as Rain May Aid U.S. Crops Hurt by Midwest Dry Spell

(Bloomberg) -- Corn plunged the maximum allowed by
the Chicago Board of Trade and soybeans fell from a three-year
high on speculation that rains will help to replenish Midwest
soil moisture after two months of unusually hot, dry weather.

Some fields from Minnesota to Ohio may get as much as 3
inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain in the next five days, while
the driest parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa may receive
up to 1 inch beginning on July 18, said John Dee, president of
Global Weather Monitoring in Mohawk, Michigan.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Earthquake Hits Central Japan, Killing Seven People: Nuclear Plant Is Shut

(Bloomberg) -- An earthquake struck central Japan
near Niigata, toppling houses, causing a fire at a nuclear power
plant and suspending bullet train services. Seven people were
killed and more than 800 were injured, NHK television reported.

The magnitude 6.8 quake, centered off the Japan Sea coast,
triggered a tsunami warning that was later lifted, the country's
meteorological agency said on its Web site. The quake's epicenter
was about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Tokyo, where
buildings swayed for several minutes around 10:15 a.m.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Mexico's Aeromexico jumps on privatization talk

(Reuters) - Its shares were up 4.62 percent at 2.49 pesos.







Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

US STOCKS-Wall Street indexes open little changed

(Reuters) - Deal speculation involving companies such as Verizon
Communications could help cushion the market.




The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.71
points, or 0.11 percent, at 13,921.96. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 0.56 point, or 0.04 percent, at
1,551.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.07
points, or 0.08 percent, at 2,704.93.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Egypt c.bank sees inflation below 7 pct by year-end

(Reuters) - Egyptian Central Bank Governor Farouk el-Okdah said on Monday he expected a further drop in the country's rate of inflation by the end of 2007.

"The inflation rate is now 8 percent and is expected to drop to 7 percent in August and under that by the end of the year," Okdah told a news conference. "This signals the success of our monetary policy."


Read more at Reuters Africa

GM's $1,000 Per Silverado Health-Care Tab Gives Advantage to Toyota Tundra

(Bloomberg) -- The $40,000 blue Chevy Silverado
pickup that Justin Crenshaw bought last month in Oklahoma City
had one built-in feature that Kent Hickman's new Toyota Tundra
lacked: the health-care tab for retired factory workers.

Paying the retiree health benefits adds about $1,000 to the
cost of each Silverado made by General Motors Corp. Toyota Motor
Corp., which will overtake GM this year as the world's largest
automaker and is boosting Tundra sales in the U.S., is spared
almost all such expenses, according to auto industry analysts.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Morgan Stanley Says Time to Sell European Stocks as Inflation Quickens

(Bloomberg) -- Investors should sell European
equities as rising inflation starts to affect global economic
growth, according to Morgan Stanley strategists.

``We take no comfort from the fact that stock markets have
been resilient in the face deteriorating fundamentals,'' London-
based strategists including Teun Draaisma wrote in a note to
clients today. ``When the market does not react to bad news it
is a selling opportunity.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Eletropaulo, Embraer, Marcopolo and America Movil: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols are
in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are from
the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded class
of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Concourse at Miami airport briefly evacuated

(Reuters) - Miami's WSVN television said the all-clear was given after
a little over an hour.




The TV station said a screener saw what might have been an
explosive device in a bag but it was a false alarm. Hundreds of
passengers at the airport's concourse F, which serves mainly
Latin American and Caribbean airlines, had to wait outside.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Quandts vehemently deny mulling sale of BMW shares

(Reuters) - Dealers earlier said shares in BMW had risen by 2.5 percent on rumors that the Quandts, who hold 46.6 percent in the company, were talking to investors from China and the Middle East about a potential sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

N.Y. Fed manufacturing index rises in July

(Reuters) - The inventories component fell to -19.75 in July from 3.19
in June, while the prices paid component eased to 34.57 in July
from 42.55 in June.




The survey of manufacturing plants in the state is one of
the earliest monthly guideposts to U.S. factory conditions.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

ING reiterates no plan to pursue merger with ABN AMRO

(Reuters) - That has triggered speculation that ING or another large
banking and financial group could enter the bidding war for ABN
being fought between the consortium and Barclays , but a
a spokesman for ING said the group would not respond to rumours.




"We stay with the statement that we looked at ABN, we did
our homework, we did not move and we feel comfortable with that
decision," the ING spokeswoman said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Futures slip on higher oil, Verizon rises

(Reuters) - The second-quarter earnings season picks up steam this week, with blue-chip fast food chain McDonald's Corp. set to reveal its second-quarter results before the opening bell.




Deals hatched over the weekend include a plan to sell real estate investment trust Mission West Properties to a private equity fund for $1.8 billion. IHOP Corp. proposed to buy casual-dining chain Applebee's International Inc. in a $2.1 billion deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

US STOCKS-Futures slip on higher oil; Verizon rises

(Reuters) - The second-quarter earnings season picks up steam this
week, with blue-chip fast food chain McDonald's Corp.
set to reveal its second-quarter results before the opening
bell.




Deals hatched over the weekend include a plan to sell real
estate investment trust Mission West Properties to a
private equity fund for $1.8 billion. For details, see[ID:nN16311807]. IHOP Corp. proposed to buy
casual-dining chain Applebee's International Inc. in
a $2.1 billion deal. [ID:nWNAS6007].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Delek U.S. to buy minority stake in Lion Oil

(Reuters) - The transactions are expected to close in the third quarter
and are subject to regulatory and other approvals.




Privately held Lion Oil owns and operates a 75,000 barrel
per day, high conversion crude oil refinery in Arkansas, as well
as three crude oil pipelines and two refined petroleum products
terminals in Tennessee that supply some of Delek's 188
convenience stores in Tennessee.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED - RBS-led consortium makes 38.4 euro/shr ABN offer

(Reuters) - The consortium kept its offer for ABN at 38.4 euros per
share, but raised the cash component of the offer to 93 percent
from about 79 percent before. It said the remaining 5 billion
euros of the offer will comprise new RBS shares.




The new offer from the consortium, which also includes
Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch Fortis , is
for ABN without its U.S. unit LaSalle, after a Dutch court on
Friday allowed the disputed sale of that business to Bank of
America .


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

German 2008 Power Falls for Third Day as Carbon Emission Permit Costs Drop

(Bloomberg) -- German electricity for delivery next
year fell to the lowest in more than 11 weeks as a reduction in
carbon-emission permit prices cut the cost of power generation at
plants that burn fossil fuels.

Next-year baseload power prices in Germany, Europe's biggest
electricity market, slid for the third session, falling as much
as 0.3 percent to 54.95 euros ($75.76) a megawatt-hour at 10:40
a.m. in Berlin, according to broker GFI Group Inc. That's the
lowest since April 27, when the contract sank to 54.80 euros a
megawatt-hour. Baseload refers to electricity delivered around
the clock.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Polish Zloty Rises to Near Two-Month High Versus Euro Before Wages Report

(Bloomberg) -- The Polish zloty advanced to near a
two-month high against the euro before a report on wage growth
that may add to the case for a third increase in interest rates
this year.

Economists predict average gross wages grew 8.8 percent in
June, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg News. Higher
wages, coupled with accelerating inflation, may prompt the
central bank to raise borrowing costs to cool the economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Refco's Banker Elsner Moves From Cote d'Azur to Vienna Jail on Bawag Loss

(Bloomberg) -- Helmut Elsner didn't hesitate to bend
the rules.

Rushing to get to a ski race, the future chief executive
officer of Austria's Bawag P.S.K. Bank once sped past dozens of
cars backed up on a road in the Tyrolean Alps, then told police
he was a translator for the French team. After discovering he
hadn't been invited to a prestigious golf tournament, Elsner
gained entry by calling up organizers and offering to sponsor a
reception.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Alcon offers 10 euros/shr for Germany's WaveLight

(Reuters) - Alcon's offer is 10 euros per WaveLight share, it said in a statement.



The offer, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, has the support of WaveLight's executive committee, Alcon said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

German DAX Benchmark Index Advances; Infineon, Bayer, BMW Pace Increase

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks advanced, led by
Infineon Technologies AG, Bayer AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG.

The benchmark DAX Index rose 23.41, or 0.3 percent, to
8116.18 as of 9:08 a.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the
country's 110 biggest companies climbed 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News