Asian Currencies Decline as Global Investors Shun Emerging-Market Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies slid on speculation
investors were selling emerging-market assets as losses related
to U.S. subprime mortgages worsen.

The Philippine peso, the third-best performer in the region
this year after the Thai baht and Indian rupee, led losses as
Bear Stearns & Cos. yesterday halted redemptions from a third
hedge fund. The South Korean won weakened as Finance Minister
Kwon Okyu told CNBC its appreciation has affected the economy and
the government is ready to take action if necessary.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea's Exports Grow at Fastest Pace in Six Months on Cars, Phones

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's exports grew at the
fastest pace in six months in July, evidence that global demand
is robust enough to counter the effects of a stronger won.

Exports rose 20 percent from a year ago after climbing 15.3
percent in June, the commerce ministry said today in Gwacheon.
That compared with the 21 percent median estimate of 11
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Ten-Year Treasury Yields Hold Near Lowest Since May on Demand for Safety

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasury yields held
near the lowest since May as stock declines fed demand for the
relative safety of government debt.

Yields may fall for a second day on expectations a slump in
the housing market will curb demand for riskier assets. Treasury
rates mostly moved in the same direction as U.S. shares in the
last two weeks of July. The 10-year yield and the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index had a correlation of 0.85 in the last two weeks.
A figure of 1 would indicate they moved in lockstep.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New York state power grid CEO to step down

(Reuters) - In a statement, the NYISO said Lynch oversaw the successful
management of peak loads last summer without major service
interruptions, as well as adding renewable power sources and
"demand response" power conservation programs.




Lynch is NYISO's second president and CEO since it was
formed in 1999 to facilitate the restructuring of New York's
electric industry. NYISO operates the state's electricity grid
and administers the state's wholesale electricity markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

News Corp board OKs deal to buy Dow Jones

(Reuters) - Members of the Bancroft family holding at least 38 percent of Dow Jones' voting shares are in favor of the deal, a source familiar with the matter said after the News Corp board meeting ended.




That level of support represents more than half of the 64 percent voting shares held by the family.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

NEWSMAKER-Dow Jones sale to end Bancroft media reign

(Reuters) - The Bancrofts are among a group of centenarian newspaper
families that includes the Sulzberger clan, who run The New
York Times Co. , and the Chandlers, who cashed out of
Tribune Co. earlier this year.




In the sepia-toned years of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, these families were stewards of what many historians
characterize as the golden age of news.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 3-Whole Foods quarterly profit tops view, shares up

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - Whole Foods Market Inc.
posted quarterly profit on Tuesday that dropped less
than Wall Street anticipated as same-store sales stabilized and
margins improved, sending its shares up as much as 11 percent.




Whole Foods is trying to buy smaller rival Wild Oats
Markets Inc. . But the Federal Trade Commission is
challenging the deal in federal court on grounds that it would
hobble competition in the natural and organic grocery market.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Japanese Shares May Drop, Led by Exporters, on U.S. Concerns, Stronger Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may fall after American
Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said it lacks cash to fund new
loans, sending U.S. shares lower and reigniting concerns the
subprime rout will curb growth in the world's largest economy.

Exporters including Sony Corp. may pace declines after the
yen strengthened, cutting the value of their overseas sales in the
local currency. The U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index posted its
biggest monthly decline in three years.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Orange-Juice Futures Climb as Tropical Storm Chantal Forms in Atlantic

(Bloomberg) -- Orange-juice futures rose in New York
after Chantal, the third tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane
season, formed between Bermuda and Massachusetts.

Chantal probably won't threaten land and will likely die out
in the next day or two while moving to the northeast, according
to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Storm activity during the
Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through
Nov. 30, usually increases in late July.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Cephalon posts loss on legal cost, generic rivals

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - Cephalon Inc. reported a second-quarter loss on Tuesday as the biotechnology company was hit by legal costs and plunging sales of its cancer pain drug, Actiq, due to generic competition.



The Frazer, Pennsylvania-based company posted a net loss of $4.3 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $50.4 million, or 76 cents per share, a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Stratos moves to profit, ups outlook ahead of sale

(Reuters) - Stratos, which provides telecom services to customers in
remote parts of the world, said it earned $6.6 million, or 16
cents per share, in the three months ended June 30. That was up
from the loss of $4.1 million, or 10 cents per share, in the
second quarter of last year.




Stratos is being bought by CIP, an investment firm focused
on satellite services, for C$294 million .
Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal last month.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Enron plaintiffs ask Bush to back 3rd-party suits

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 31 - Former Enron Corp
shareholders called on the White House on Tuesday to support
efforts to hold third parties accountable when their actions
help a company defraud investors.




In a last-ditch attempt to get the administration to back
their effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court allow shareholders
to sue third parties, the group of former Enron shareholders
have written to President George W. Bush.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Yen Extends Gains Against Euro and the Dollar on Renewed Credit Risk

(Bloomberg) -- The yen gained, after posting its
biggest monthly advance in more than a year against the euro,
on concern that losses from U.S. subprime mortgages will push
investors to pare riskier investments funded by loans in Japan.

Traders pushed up the yen against all 16 major currencies
tracked by Bloomberg yesterday as they reduced so-called carry
trades after American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said it may
have to sell off assets. U.S. stocks slumped and a gauge of
corporate bond risk increased, prompting investors to trim their
appetite for higher-yielding assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Florida orders Progress to refund $13.8 mln

(Reuters) - After a four-hour discussion, the commission voted to
accept a staff recommendation that the St. Petersburg utility
was imprudent in purchasing coal for two units at its Crystal
River generating station in Citrus County.




The staff recommendation calling for a $12 million refund,
plus interest, was far short of a request from the state's
consumer advocate and the attorney general who sought refunds
and interest totaling $155 million, according to filings from
the agency's Web site.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Millipore quarterly profit falls

(Reuters) - Net sales rose 40 percent to $383.2 million for the
quarter.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

American Home says may liquidate assets

(Reuters) - The large U.S. mortgage provider and real estate investment trust said its lenders cut off access to credit, leaving it without cash on Monday to fund $300 million of loans it had agreed to make.




It also expected to be unable to fund $450 million to $500 million of loans on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

MetLife posts sharply higher 2Q net

(Reuters) - New York-based MetLife, which is also a home and car insurer, said operating earnings, which analysts use to measure performance because it excludes investments, were $1.31 billion or $1.72 a share.




Analysts, on average, had expected the insurer to earn $1.33 a share from operations, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Moody's Says Some `Alt A' Mortgages Like Subprime, Changes Ratings Methods

(Bloomberg) -- Moody's Investors Service described
some so-called Alt A mortgages as no better than subprime home
loans, saying it will change how it rates related securities
after failing to predict how far delinquencies would rise.

The ratings firm said today its expectations for losses on
Alt A mortgages will rise between 10 percent and 100 percent,
depending on whether a loan pool has a lot of debt extended to
borrowers with low credit scores and little money for down
payments. It's also raising loss expectations when borrowers
don't fully document their incomes.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bonds climb as stock markets tumble

(Reuters) - Bonds have closely mirrored stocks recently, gaining when
stocks fall as investors turn to the relative safety of bonds.




"Bonds are not leading, they are being led -- it's not much
more complicated than that," said David Ader, head of
government bond strategy at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich,
Connecticut.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Central Florida counties aboard for $615 mln rail project

(Reuters) - Volusia County, the last local signatory needed, on Tuesday
committed to helping pay the tab for the rail system, which
will be financed through 30-year fixed guideway bonds issued
through the state of Florida.




"The train is here. It's not coming. It's here," Volusia
County Councilman Jack Hayman said after a unanimous vote in
favor of the plan.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Avon quarterly profit falls on costs

(Reuters) - The world's largest direct seller of cosmetics said net income fell to $113 million, or 26 cents a share, from $151 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period.




Income included pretax costs of about $82 million on restructuring and revamping its products. Excluding the charges, the company earned 38 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates, missing Wall Street's forecast of 42 cents.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Teck Cominco says still in hunt for acquisitions

(Reuters) - "There are a number of opportunities that we have been
looking at but unable to conclude a deal at this
point," Don Lindsay, Teck's president and CEO, told a
conference call.




"We don't want to telegraph any moves in advance ... but we
are committed to diversification."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Rogers CEO shoots down talk of Shaw takeover

(Reuters) - His remarks came after a Canaccord Adams analyst published a research note last week in which he speculated the two big Canadian cable-TV and telecoms companies could be in talks for a deal that would value Shaw at as much as C$14.4 billion .




Rogers called the speculation "plain irresponsible" and also criticized the media for reporting on "some completely theoretical diatribe".


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Chile's Pinera quits as director of airline LAN

(Reuters) - In a brief statement to the Santiago stock exchange, LAN
said it was notified of Pinera's decision on Monday but gave no
further details.




In a telephone interview with Reuters, Pinera said he was
leaving the board at LAN to focus on politics.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks rally worldwide as credit markets calm

(Reuters) - Earnings from General Motors Corp. sharply exceeded
Wall Street's estimates, driving its stock up nearly 3 percent
and lifting the Dow industrials as it increased investor
optimism about U.S. corporate profits.




The broad market also was bolstered by an inflation
indicator that rose less than expected in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canada's April daily FX turnover rose nearly 13 pct

(Reuters) - In the survey of foreign exchange turnover in Canada, the
CFEC said average total daily turnover in the 20-business-day
April 2007 period was $55.5 billion.




That's up 12.8 percent from a $49.2 billion average daily
turnover during the 21-day period in October 2006, and 5.5
percent higher than $52.6 billion in April 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dow Jones, Faro, Fresh Del Monte, IndyMac, Midwest Air: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 1:10 p.m. in New York.

Aftermarket Technology Corp. (ATAC US) rose the most since
January 2001, jumping $6.75, or 25 percent, to $33.24. The car-
parts maker increased its 2007 forecast, saying it expects to
earn $1.55 to $1.70 a share. The company earlier predicted profit
of as much as $1.55.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oddo to Shut French CDO Funds `Caught Out' in U.S. Subprime-Mortgage Rout

(Bloomberg) -- Oddo & Cie, a French stockbroker and
money manager, plans to close three funds totaling 1 billion
euros ($1.37 billion), citing the ``unprecedented'' crisis in
the U.S. asset-backed securities market.

Oddo said it will wind down the funds within the ``shortest
possible time frame'' after struggling to value holdings of
collateralized debt obligations, notes backed by other bonds,
loans and their derivatives.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Wendy's shares up on hopes of near-term sale

(Reuters) - A Wendy's spokesman would not comment on the letter.




In a note to clients on Tuesday, UBS analyst David Palmer said Peltz's interest would renew investor hope of a near-term sale of Wendy's, which has been struggling to revitalize sales at its hamburger restaurants.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

RLPC-UPDATE 1-Myers Industries postpones $950 mln LBO financing

(Reuters) - Already this week, CW Media, Integra Telecom and Stoneridge
have been forced to postpone their financings due to weak debt
market conditions.




The financing, which was being arranged by Goldman Sachs,
consisted of a $685 million bank loan and $265 million in
senior subordinated notes.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Poised for Second Monthly Decline Against Euro and Pound on Risks

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar headed for a second
monthly decline against the euro and pound as strengthening
global equity markets eased concern that tightening credit
conditions will drive investors from riskier assets.

Investors sold the U.S. currency and the yen today to buy
higher-yielding assets in New Zealand and Australia. The risk of
owning corporate bonds fell by the most in at least three years,
according to traders of credit-default swaps.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-FirstService reports higher profit, ups outlook

(Reuters) - The company also raised its outlook for fiscal 2008.




The real estate and property services company earned a net
profit of $18.1 million, or 61 cents a share, in the three
months ended June 30, up from C$12.8 million, or 43 cents a
share, in the same quarter last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Bemis 2nd-quarter profit climbs, lowers forecast

(Reuters) - Quarterly net income was $49.5 million, or 47 cents a
share, compared with $48.9 million, or 46 cents per share, in
the year-ago period, the Neenah, Wisconsin-based company said.




The company's quarterly results for the year-ago period
included restructuring and related charges totaling 5 cents a
share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Arch Chemicals second-quarter net declines

(Reuters) - Net income was $22.8 million, or 93 cents a share, compared
with $29.5 million, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier, the
Norwalk, Connecticut-based company said.




Excluding one-time items, earnings from continuing
operations rose to $1.41 a share from $1.22 a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Agco profits beats forecasts, raises estimates

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - Agricultural equipment maker Agco Corp. said on Tuesday that its quarterly earnings surged a stronger-than-expected 56 percent, helped by robust sales in South America, especially Brazil.



The company also raised its guidance for the full year, sending its shares higher in early trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US FCC delays vote on wireless auction rules

(Reuters) - FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, has proposed
allowing requiring the winning bidders of some of the airwaves
-- to be sold by early next year -- to allow consumers to
connect using any device or software.




The airwaves to be sold in the 700-megahertz band can
travel long distances and penetrate thick walls. The auction
is seen as a last opportunity for a new player to enter the
wireless market.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Carrefour Lures Shoppers, Investors as Food Scares Grip China

(Bloomberg) -- Wang Daying no longer buys her pork
straight off the carcass. These days, the doctor shops at an
underground, air-conditioned Carrefour SA store in north Beijing.

``Big supermarkets have quality safeguards, particularly
foreign companies,'' said Wang, 69. ``I've become more
cautious.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-US July consumer confidence at 6-year high-Conf Bd

(Reuters) - The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment
rose to 112.6 in July, the highest reading since August 2001
and above an upwardly revised 105.3 in June.




"An improvement in business conditions and the job market
has lifted consumers' spirits in July," said Lynn Franco,
director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a
press release.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Midwest Air to start talks with AirTran

(Reuters) - The company said in a statement on Tuesday that while it had not changed its recommendation that shareholders reject the bid, it planned to start talks with AirTran.




Midwest said its board had formed a committee to explore strategic and financial alternatives, and that it would hold discussions with other parties that have recently expressed interest in the company.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Timken quarterly profit falls on weak auto demand

(Reuters) - Excluding special items, income from continuing operations
fell to 73 cents per share from 80 cents per share a year ago.




Analysts, on average, expected profit of 72 cents per
share, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Heidrick & Struggles profit boosted by tax credits

(Reuters) - Net income for the quarter rose to $21 million, or $1.11
per share, from $10.4 million, or 55 cents per share, in the
same period a year ago.




Excluding the $8.5 million tax benefit, earnings would have
been 66 cents per share, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-NEWSMAKER-"You're hired!" Murdoch tells Sugar

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 31 - Alan Sugar, the businessman
famous for telling aspiring entrepreneurs "You're fired!" on TV
reality show "The Apprentice," backed the sale of his Amstrad
electronics business to Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB on Tuesday.




And he gets to keep his job.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Coach quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - Net income for the fourth quarter ended on June 30 increased to $160.6 million, or 42 cents per share, from $117.6 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.



New York-based Coach had previously forecast quarterly earnings of 40 cents per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Suez First-Half Sales Rise 5.8 Percent on Higher Power Production, Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Suez SA, the French energy and water
group, reported an 8.5 percent increase in second-quarter sales
as higher electricity prices and output offset lower demand for
natural gas caused by above-average temperatures.

Sales climbed to 11.5 billion euros ($15.8 billion) from
10.6 billion euros a year earlier, Bloomberg calculated from
half-year figures published today by the Paris-based company.
Sales rose 5.8 percent to 23.7 billion euros in the first half.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Wall Street set for firmer start, key data eyed

(Reuters) - In focus will be a series of economic data, including
consumer confidence data fur July at 1400 GMT, June's personal
consumption expenditures data at 1230 GMT and July's
Chicago PMI at 1345 GMT as well as construction spending data
for June at 1400 GMT.




Investors hope to get an indication of whether the weakness
in the subprime mortgage sector has spread to consumers yet,
Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein from Germany's Postbank said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

France's CAC Rises; Vallourec, BNP and Rhodia Advance as Alcatel Slumps

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks climbed, paced by
Vallourec SA, Alstom SA and BNP Paribas SA.

Rhodia SA gained after reporting a second-quarter profit.
Alcatel-Lucent slid after reporting a wider-than-expected
quarterly loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Floods slash H1 Zambia copper output by 15 pct

(Reuters) - Zambia's finished copper output for the six months to June has declined by 15 percent to 229,102 tonnes compared with the first half of 2006, the central bank said on Tuesday.

The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) said most copper mines had not reached their normal production levels by June after experiencing floods earlier in the year and that an export ban for copper ore by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) authorities in March had also affected production.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Merger costs hit Alcatel-Lucent, shares drop

(Reuters) - Alcatel-Lucent, operating as a combined business since December 1 after the takeover of U.S.-based Lucent by Alcatel of France, has been struggling since then to keep customers spooked by uncertainty over the merged group's technology and product choices.




The group already warned in April that sales could fall short of earlier targets.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Trichet, Poised to Raise Rates, Upholds Bundesbank's Anti-Inflation Legacy

(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank might be run
by a Frenchman; its heart and soul belong to Germany's Bundesbank.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet faces political pressure to
stop raising interest rates, and some of his own policy makers
query the extent of the inflation threat in Europe. Still,
investors are betting he'll push borrowing costs higher, upholding
the legacy of Germany's central bank, which celebrates its 50th
anniversary tomorrow.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-CVC Asia Pacific agrees to buy Taiwan curtain maker

(Reuters) - TAIPEI, July 31 - Private equity fund CVC Capital
Partners Asia Pacific has agreed to buy Taiwan curtain maker Nien
Made for T$18 billion at a 13.6
percent premium, the Taiwan firm said on Tuesday.




CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific, whose investors include
CVC Capital Partners [CVC.UL] and Citigroup , will pay
T$41.28 a share for up to 100 percent ownership of the company,
Nien Made said in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil dips, investors brace for further crude draw

(Reuters) - Oil prices edged down on Tuesday, but U.S. crude stayed within sight of its record high as traders feared further declines in hefty crude stocks in the United States.

U.S. crude eased 22 cents to $76.61 a barrel by 0719 GMT, extending Monday's 19-cent drop after a day of volatile trade that saw prices swing between $76.05 and $77.33.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US, Britain optimistic for global trade

(Reuters) - The United States and Britain are optimistic that World Trade Organization members can reach a long-sought agreement soon in the Doha round of world trade talks, the two countries' leaders said on Monday.

"The president and I are one in seeking an early conclusion to a trade agreement," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at a joint news conference with Bush at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.


Read more at Reuters Africa