Treasuries Rise Most Since March on Concern Subprime Crisis to Cut Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose the most in
more than four months on increased speculation losses in
securities backed by subprime mortgage loans may curb U.S.
growth.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testified
before Congress this week that inflation will recede and
housing market weakness may slow the economy. Reports next
week forecast by economists to show sales of new and
existing homes declined last month may extend a two-week
gain in Treasuries that's the biggest in more than three
years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 3-Brazil Lula tries to blunt crash criticism

(Reuters) - BRASILIA, July 20 - President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva expressed solidarity on Friday with the families of some
200 people killed in Brazil's worst air crash and promised a
thorough investigation in an effort to blunt criticism of his
handling of the disaster.




His nationally televised address, the first since the crash
on Tuesday, followed a flurry of complaints Lula had been
absent since the disaster in an attempt to avoid jeopardizing
his lofty approval ratings.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Capital Corp of the West to buy Bay View Funding for $14 mln

(Reuters) - Capital Corp. said it expects to acquire receivables of
about $26 million to $28 million and the deal to add modestly
to 2007 earnings, and about 6 cents to 8 cents a share to 2008
earnings.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED-Older drivers play safe on roads, U.S. study finds

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 18 - Young drivers between 15
and 24 years old are three times as likely to cause car
accidents as senior citizens, U.S. researchers said on
Wednesday, noting that the findings contradict policies that
make it harder for older drivers to renew their licenses.




People over the age of 65 make up 15 percent of drivers but
were responsible for only 7 percent of the 330,000 fatal
two-car crashes in the past 25 years, researchers at the Rand
Institute for Civil Justice found.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Finisar denies it is in default over notes

(Reuters) - The notices of default assert the company failed to timely
file its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2007,
with regulators and provide a copy to U.S. Bank Trust.




Finisar acknowledged it is only required to file its
financial reports to U.S. Bank Trust if it has actually filed
its financial reports to regulators, but that certain recent
reports have not yet been filed.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Earnings misses, subprime woes punish Wall Street

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. stocks tumbled on
Friday, battered by disappointing results from such
bellwethers as Caterpillar and Google, and more signals that
fallout from the risky subprime mortgage market may spread.




The day's losses were big enough to drag the major indexes
into negative territory for the week, snapping a three week
streak of gains for the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Constellation Energy, EDF in nuclear joint venture

(Reuters) - "They are also providing significant funding, as they are buying into the joint venture."




EDF, the world's largest nuclear operator, will invest up to $625 million in the venture, including an initial investment of $350 million. It plans to invest $175 million when the venture makes a regulatory filing for a construction and operating license at an existing Constellation nuclear site. The rest of the investment would be made based on pre-established


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wheat Falls as Rally, Gap With Corn, May Reduce Use in Livestock Feed

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell on speculation livestock
producers will use less of the grain in feed after the gap with
corn prices widened to a record.

September wheat futures yesterday rose to a premium of
$3.13 a bushel over corn for the same month in Chicago, more
than double the $1.37 average of the past year. Both grains can
be fed to livestock.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Mexico's Bolsa Posts Weekly Drop, Led by Cemex, on Earnings; Bovespa Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's main stock index fell and
headed for a second straight weekly decline, led by cement maker
Cemex SAB, on concern that slowing growth in the U.S. and domestic
economies will crimp profits.

The Bolsa index fell 1.5 percent this week, including a 0.8
percent decline today, to 31,884.88 at 2:05 p.m. New York time. The
index fell for the fourth time in five days after Caterpillar Inc.
said second-quarter profit fell 21 percent, as the U.S. housing
recession hurt demand for its construction equipment. Brazil's main
index headed for its first weekly decline in four.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Whirlpool profit rises but shares fall

(Reuters) - But sales missed expectations and Whirlpool shares fell about 4 percent amid a broader market sell-off.




Whirlpool backed its prior full-year profit forecast and said performance in North America, its largest market, is expected to improve in the second half as U.S. appliance demand rises.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US regulators reach agreement on Basel II bank plan

(Reuters) - The agreement for a plan was reached by the Federal
Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of
Thrift Supervision and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

RBS group launches $98 bln ABN takeover

(Reuters) - The consortium said its offer is equivalent to 38.40 euros per ABN share, of which the cash component is 93 percent.




The consortium's offer is about 10 percent higher than an all-share offer from Barclays, currently worth about 35 euros per ABN share.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

InterGen delays bond pricing to Monday -banker

(Reuters) - InterGen on Thursday boosted the yields on offer on the debt
and boosted investor protections in the deal.




Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank and Barclays
Capital are managing the bond sale.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Independence Hub begins US Gulf natgas shipments

(Reuters) - First production began on Thursday from the semi-submersible
platform, which sits in 8,000 feet of water 123 miles southeast
of Biloxi, Mississippi.




Companies involved called Independence the deepest
production platform ever installed and the largest offshore
natural gas processing facility.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RPT-UPDATE 1-JP Morgan sees rate reset, refi problems looming

(Reuters) - "We are really heading into the reset storm," said J.P.
Morgan analyst Chris Flanagan. "We are on the cusp of that."




Flanagan, J.P. Morgan's global head of asset-backed
securities and collateralized debt obligation research, spoke
during a conference call with clients on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Imax loss widens; strong film slate helps revenue

(Reuters) - Imax said it lost $4.9 million, or 12 cents a share, in the
three months ended March 31. That was worse than the $3.7
million, or 9 cents per share, that it lost in the same period
a year earlier.




But revenues rose to $27.2 million in the quarter, up from
$23.3 million a year earlier, helped by movies that included
300 and Spider-Man 3.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Nymex Gas Falls on Ample U.S. Inventories; Narrow Trading Range Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures in New York fell
as ample inventories of the power-plant fuel may trap prices in a
narrow range into August, according to a technical analysis.

Gas prices will settle into a range of $6.23 to $6.80 per
million British thermal units. Current prices appear to ``emulate
a zone of congestion from mid January,'' based on an analysis of
moving averages for the commodity, said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice
president for energy risk management at Man Financial Inc. in New
York.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Schlumberger tops expectations

(Reuters) - Investors pushed shares of Schlumberger up about 1.4 percent higher to $94.75 in pre-market trading.




Still, Schlumberger cautioned that the short-term outlook for its North American business was uncertain due to record imports of liquefied natural gas and continued weakness in Canada.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Orbitz shares fall 2 percent in NYSE debut

(Reuters) - Orbitz shares were down 45 cents at $14.55 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade, in a broadly lower market, after dipping as low as $14.25.




Blackstone's shares fell 4.3 percent to $26.16 after dropping to $26.05, their lowest point since the company's $4 billion initial public offering in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Most Wall Street Analysts Ignore Google Earnings Miss, Keep `Buy' Ratings

(Bloomberg) -- None of the 34 Wall Street analysts
who have ``buy'' ratings on Google Inc. downgraded the world's
most-popular Internet-search engine after it reported profit that
missed their estimates.

Bear Stearns & Co. analyst Robert Peck was the only one who
took any action at all, cutting his price estimate for Google to
$550 from $600 and saying the stock may languish through the
summer.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Citigroup profit rises 18 pct, tops Wall St view

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - Citigroup Inc. , the largest U.S. bank, said on Friday that second-quarter profit rose 18 percent, helped by record revenue growth, especially outside the United States, and tight cost controls.



Net income increased to $6.23 billion, or $1.24 per share, from $5.27 billion, or $1.05, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Medtronic Agrees to Pay $75 Million to End Defibrillator Cases, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Medtronic Inc., the world's largest
maker of electronic heart devices, has agreed to pay more than
$75 million to settle lawsuits claiming it hid defects in its
defibrillators, people with direct knowledge of the accord said.

The settlement will resolve about 2,000 claims over battery
defects in Medtronic's implantable defibrillators, which
automatically send electric jolts to correct heart rhythms that
are potentially fatal, according to three people familiar with
the agreement.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

US STOCKS-Futures fall as key earnings disappoint

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. stock index futures fell
on Friday, with the Dow poised to be knocked back below its
14,000 milestone, after bellwether stocks Caterpillar Inc.
and Google Inc posted disappointing earnings.




Caterpillar, the maker of heavy construction equipment,
said quarterly earnings fell more than expected due to a sharp
drop in sales of diesel truck engines and weakness in North
American construction. For details, see [ID:nL20191126].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper Rises to 2-Month High as Surging Chinese Economy Spurs Metal Usage

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a two-month high in
New York on speculation that demand will remain strong in China,
the world's largest consumer of the metal.

China's economy expanded during the second quarter at the
fastest pace in 12 years, the statistics bureau said in Beijing
yesterday. Rising demand from China has helped spur a 28 percent
rally in copper this year as imports of the metal used in pipes
and wires surged to record levels.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-PSS World Medical cuts FY2008 EPS view, stock falls

(Reuters) - Shares of the company fell more than 10 percent to $16.55
in early electronic trade, after closing at $18.49 on Thursday
on the Nasdaq.




The Jacksonville, Florida-based company cut its fiscal 2008
earnings view to 81 cents to 85 cents a share. In June, PSS had
forecast earnings of 86 cents to 88 cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Apple, Sony Adopt LEDs, Boosting Shares of Asia Producers Citizen, Epistar

(Bloomberg) -- Light-emitting diodes started as the
little red indicators on clock radios and are backlights in most
cell phones. Now the LEDs are helping Apple Inc. and Sony Corp.
slim down computers and televisions and cut power usage.

They're also enriching investors. Shares of manufacturers
Citizen Holdings Co., Toyoda Gosei Co. and Stanley Electric Co.
of Japan, and Epistar Corp. and Everlight Electronics Co. in
Taiwan have beaten global electronics stocks and their national
stock indexes this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Rand consolidates near 11-month high

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand edged lower against the dollar early on Friday but remained in sight of an 11-month high, and was likely to consolidate after sharp gains on Thursday.

The local currency was trading at 6.8695 to the dollar at 0625 GMT, 0.15 percent softer than its close in New York on Thursday, when it touched an 11-month peak of 6.8550.


Read more at Reuters Africa