Areva to pay Niger $32 mln dividend advance - government

(Reuters) - French nuclear group Areva will pay Niger a 15 billion CFA franc advance on dividend payments after a dispute over allegations it funded rebels, the West African country's government said.

"Areva has agreed to pay us an advance on dividends which amounts to 15 billion CFA," Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou said late on Sunday. The dividends will be paid by two Areva subsidiaries in which the Niger government has stakes.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Temple-Inland to sell timberland for $2.38 bln

(Reuters) - The company then expects to use some of its expected $1.8
billion in sale proceeds to pay a special dividend estimated at
$1.1 billion, or $10.25 per share. The remaining $700 million
will be used to reduce debt.




The Campbell Group is a timberland investment management
company headquartered in Portland, Oregon.



Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Berkshire, Merrill Lynch, Royal Dutch Shell, Sasol: U.S. Stock Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. in New York.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A US): The investment company
run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett said second-quarter
profit from continuing operations increased to $1,625 a share,
helped by gains from insurance and investments. The result topped
the $1,436 estimate of Charles Gates, an analyst at Credit
Suisse. The stock fell $100 to $109,900 in regular trading.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Prices slip as safe-haven bid wanes

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures rose on Monday as losses from the
subprime mortgage industry stoked speculation that the Federal
Reserve might adopt a policy statement that reassures investors
worried about a weakening economy. The Fed is expected to leave
its benchmark target range steady at 5.25 percent, but most
investors expected a rate cut by the Fed later this year.




"Equities caught a bid in Europe and bonds have sold off,"
said Andrew Brenner, a market analyst at Man Financial Inc.
"The bond market will stay rangebound until the Fed releases
its statement tomorrow."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-UnitedHealth raises outlook on Medicare adjustment

(Reuters) - The insurer earned 2 cents per share more in the second
quarter than it stated in its preliminary results reported on
July 19, when it raised its full-year forecast by 2 cents to
$3.43 to $3.48 per share.




Analysts expect the top U.S. health insurer by market value
to earn $3.46 per share this year, according to Reuters
Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Lion Capital to buy Russian juice maker Nidan Soki

(Reuters) - "The transaction is a leveraged buyout of a 100 percent of
Nidan," Maxim Arefiev, executive director at the investment and
banking department of Troika Dialog investment company, told
Reuters.




Troika Dialog advises Nidan shareholders in the deal. Lion
Capital is being advised by Goldman Sachs, which also provides
financing.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US growth fears sink copper to 5-week low

(Reuters) - Fresh signs of economic trouble in the United States beat copper down to five-week lows on Monday, but analysts expect strong demand from China to buoy the metal which is used widely in the construction and power industries.

Weaker base metals and equity prices hit London-listed miners including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Anglo American, which were all down around 1.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Alliant Energy Q2 profit up

(Reuters) - Income from continuing operations was 40 cents a share,
compared to 39 cents a share a year earlier.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Nordic Stocks Decline, Paced by Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Nordea Bank, Boliden

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks fell for a second day,
led by Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA, Norway's largest oil
producers, as crude oil prices dropped in New York.

Nordea Bank AB, the region's largest lender, also slipped
after Goldman, Sachs & Co. downgraded the stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CHRONOLOGY-Key events so far in the battle for ABN AMRO

(Reuters) -




Following are key events so far in the battle for ABN AMRO.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

German 2008 Power Falls From Seven-Week High as Carbon Emission Costs Drop

(Bloomberg) -- German electricity for next year fell
from a seven-week high as emission-permit prices declined,
potentially reducing the cost of generating electricity at
plants that burn fossil fuels.

Electricity for delivery next year fell after two days of
gains, slipping 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, to 56.65 euros
($78.28) a megawatt-hour at 10:15 a.m. in Berlin, according to
GFI Group Inc. prices on Bloomberg. September prices dropped 1
percent to 34.90 euros.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Credit, growth fears batter stocks, hit dollar

(Reuters) - European shares opened more than 1 percent lower before
recovering slightly. Emerging market shares dropped around 1.8
percent and Japanese equities slipped 0.4 percent.




Heightened concerns for economic growth as a result of
credit problems also knocked oil prices, which briefly dipped
below $74.50, and dragged Shanghai copper futures down 3
percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Securitas buys cash handling unit in Great Britain

(Reuters) - It said the unit will be consolidated in Loomis as of August 6.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wal-Mart, India Bharti set to announce India deal

(Reuters) - "Today's press conference is to announce a joint venture with Wal-Mart for cash-and-carry," a spokesman for Bharti Enterprises said.




A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said a senior official from Wal-Mart and the head of Bharti Retail Ltd., Rajan Mittal, would address the media.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

JGB futures hit 10-wk high as investors seek safety

(Reuters) - September futures surged 0.55 point to 133.97, the
highest since late May, after Treasuries rose late last week on
persistent worries about problems in the U.S. subprime market.




Such concerns battered U.S. stocks then and Standard &
Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index
on Friday posted their worst one-day percentage drops since a
global sell-off in equities in late February.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Fall on Speculation Yields Near Three-Month Low to Deter Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell on speculation yields
near the lowest in three months overstated concern that the
weakness in the U.S. subprime mortgage market will spread.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose 2 basis points,
or 0.02 percentage point, to 4.7 percent at 7:01 a.m. in London,
according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price of the
4 1/2 percent notes due May 2017 fell 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000
face amount, to 98 15/32.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dollar, kiwi fall vs yen on credit worries

(Reuters) - The dollar tumbled to a four-month low against the yen while the New Zealand dollar fell sharply versus the Japanese currency on Monday as worries about a credit crunch prompted an unwinding of risky carry trades.

The dollar fell to 117.19 yen on electronic trading platform EBS, its lowest level since late March, due partly to stop-loss position unwinding by Japanese retail investors.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Volkswagen cuts prices on China-made cars

(Reuters) - Although China's auto market is growing strongly, car makers have been cutting prices, especially on older models, to attract buyers.




In March, the top European auto maker lowered the price of several locally made cars by up to 11 percent, including Santana and Polo models.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Suzano Petroquimica, Telmex, Tenaris, Bancolombia: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia
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

Asian stocks hit by U.S. economic worries

(Reuters) - Oil prices slid briefly below $74.50 a barrel amid heightened concerns for economic growth, but flight to safety helped gold stay near one-week highs and kept the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield pinned near 2-½ month lows.




Data last Friday showing U.S. employers added jobs at the slowest rate in five months and weaker growth in the U.S. service sector all added to concerns about the world's biggest economy, Asia's top export destination.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Chinese Government Hasn't Decided on $40 Billion Agricultural Bank Bailout

(Bloomberg) -- Central Huijin Investment Co., a
government investment arm, said it hasn't decided on the bailout
of Agricultural Bank of China, weakest of the four-biggest
state-owned banks, according to a senior official.

Beijing-based Agricultural Bank may receive a $40 billion
capital injection from Huijin, the Economic Observer newspaper
reported today, without citing anyone.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Intel, Cisco, J&J Lure Value Funds as Price Ratios Converge Most in Decade

(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and
Johnson & Johnson, perennial favorites of money managers seeking
U.S. stocks with the fastest profit growth, are becoming staples
for so-called value investors.

Shares of growth companies in the Standard & Poor's 500
Index trade at an average 16.3 times estimated earnings, while
value stocks, those priced at a discount to the market or their
historical average, trade at 14 times profits. The gap between
them, now 2.3 points, has narrowed from 25.5 at the beginning of
the decade, data compiled by Bloomberg show.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bear Stearns Ousts Co-President Warren Spector After Hedge-Fund Losses

(Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos. ousted Co-President
Warren Spector after credit-market losses and eroding investor
confidence increased pressure for management changes at the
second-largest underwriter of securities tied to the slumping
U.S. housing market.

The board of the nation's fifth-biggest securities firm
agreed today that Alan D. Schwartz, 57, will become sole
president, the company said in a statement. Spector, 49, was
responsible for fixed income and asset management and was viewed
by analysts as the top candidate to succeed 73-year-old Chief
Executive Officer James E. Cayne.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Singapore Petroleum Enters Oil, Gas Exploring Venture With China National

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore Petroleum Co., the only oil
refiner traded on the city state's stock exchange, will explore
for oil and gas with China National Offshore Oil Corp. in its
first venture off the Chinese coast.

Singapore Petroleum will operate and own 100 percent of
Block 26/18 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea,
while China National has the right to take a stake of as much as
51 percent should a discovery be made, the Singapore company said
today in a statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah: Asian Currency Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Rises to Four-Month High Against Dollar as Appetite for Risk Reduces

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose to a four-month high
against the dollar as a slide in U.S. stocks encouraged
investors to sell higher-yielding assets funded by loans in
Japan.

The yen gained to 117.33 per dollar at 7:15 a.m. in Tokyo
from 118.05 on Aug. 3 and reached 117.19, a level it last traded
at on March 29. It was also at 162.30 per euro from 162.58.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Gold May Extend Rally on More Demand for Dollar Alternative, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a second straight
week on speculation that a weaker dollar will boost demand for
the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Seventeen of 27 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg from Sydney to Chicago on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 advised
buying gold, which rose 1.8 percent last week to $684.40 an ounce
on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. One
respondent said to sell, and nine were neutral.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Mortgage stress to spur more volatility

(Reuters) - Widening fallout from the U.S. housing slump has rattled credit markets, putting investors on edge about the outlook for corporate takeovers and share buybacks -- two catalysts of the market's recent rally to record highs.




On Friday, Standard & Poor's cut its ratings outlook on the debt of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos., fanning concern that troubles in the subprime mortgage market are spreading, which could threaten the economy's health.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Edison to invest "well above" 4.5 bln euros by 2013

(Reuters) - "We forecast that investments over 2008-2013 will be well above the 4.5 billion euros of our previous business plan."




Quadrino said the investments would help Edison reduce its dependence from gas imports.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

India's Maruti offers discounts to boost car sales

(Reuters) - Maruti, in which Suzuki Motor Corp. owns 54.2 percent, has said it would limit the impact of high interest rates with dealer incentives and customer discounts. It ran a discount offer in June.




The "Smile India Smile" offer, which runs from August 1-15, offers discounts ranging from 7,000-30,000 rupees on several models, including its best-selling Alto and the Esteem sedan, the advertisements showed.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Freddie CEO wary of more subprime loans - NYT

(Reuters) - With credit pools drying up "there are some loans that are
in difficulty," the Times quoted Syron as saying in a telephone
interview.




"There are other loans that probably should never have been
made and providing more liquidity will make that situation
worse in the long term," Syron told the Times.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canada's Dollar Strengthenens as Crude Oil Surges, Growth Accelerates

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar rose, ending its two-
week losing streak, as crude oil prices touched a record high,
and economic growth accelerated in May.

Canada's currency has gained this year as the Bank of
Canada raised interest rates to stem inflation and cool the
expanding economy. The currency, up more than 11 percent against
the U.S. dollar this year, is the second-best performer among 16
most actively traded currencies, trailing only Brazil's real.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Exporter Stocks Decline on U.S. Growth Concern; Siemens, BP Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of European exporters fell this
past week after reports signaled the U.S. economy is slowing and
oil companies dropped as Citigroup Inc. analysts cut their
recommendation on the industry.

Siemens AG, the region's biggest engineering company, and
consumer-goods maker Philips Electronics NV paced a decline by
companies that generate at least one-fifth of their sales in the
world's largest economy. BP Plc led the Dow Jones Stoxx Oil & Gas
Index to a two-month low. Nokia Oyj, France Telecom SA and
British Airways Plc lifted technology, phone and airline stocks
after reporting profit that beat analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - Washington Post Business - Aug. 4

(Reuters) - NEW YORK - Slowing job growth and increasing credit worries
about a Wall Street firm hit by losses in mortgage investments
sent stocks tumbling Friday, capping a tumultuous week of
trading during which jumpy investors tried to assess just how
much more damage the housing downturn would unleash.




---


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japanese Five-Year Bonds Complete Longest Weekly Advance Since May 2005

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's five-year notes advanced for
a fourth week on speculation any slowdown in the U.S., the
country's biggest export market, will make it harder for the
Bank of Japan to raise interest rates this month.

Five-year notes had their longest weekly advance since May
2005 on concern riskier assets such as corporate bonds and
stocks will extend losses. Bear Stearns Cos., the manager of two
hedge funds that collapsed last month, said this week that it
blocked investors from pulling money out of a third.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S. MMS seeks lease sale in Alaska's Chukchi Sea

(Reuters) - The proposed sale area sprawls over 29 million acres
located between 25 and 200 miles from the northern and
northwest coastline of Alaska, the MMS said.




The ice-choked Chukchi is believed to hold 15 billion
barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas,
according to Interior Department estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Wall St sinks on credit worries after Bear talks

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U.S. stocks slid sharply on
Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their
worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further
concerns about weakness in the economy.




Bear Stearns Cos. stock fell 5.9 percent as
mortgage jitters drove a broad market sell-off with the three
major indexes falling more than 2 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sugar Closes Unchanged, Erasing Gains, as India Loosen Rules on Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar closed unchanged in New York,
erasing earlier gains, after changes in export rules made it
more likely that shipments will increase from India, the world's
second-largest producer.

Indian exporters can ship to all markets, except the U.S.
and European Union, without seeking government approval until
September next year, the food ministry said in a notice dated
July 31. India may produce a record 30 million tons in the year
through Sept. 30, 2008, up from 28 million this fiscal year,
said the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Charter, Health Management, Washington Post: U.S. Equity Movers Final

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

Alkermes Inc. (ALKS US) rose the most since February,
climbing $1.85, or 13 percent, to $16.63. The maker of a once-
monthly injection to treat alcoholism reported profit of 8 cents
a share in the fiscal first quarter. That beat the 4-cent average
estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Ford recalls 3.6 mln vehicles over switch

(Reuters) - The highway safety agency said in a notice that the switch
problem could result in a fire under the hood.




The Ford vehicles being recalled are F-Series and Ranger
pickup trucks, Explorer, Bronco and Mountaineer SUVs, Econoline
vans and some Crown Victoria, Town Car, Grand Marquis, Capri,
Mark VII and Taurus Sho cars with model years ranging from 1992
to 2004, depending upon the particular vehicle.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Mexico markets down on weak U.S. job data

(Reuters) - The price of the benchmark 10-year peso bond
fell 0.062 point to bid 101.149 points, with a yield of 7.81
percent.




The U.S. July jobs report showed non-farm payrolls rose by
92,000, below expectations of 139,000. That suggested a
weakening U.S. economy, which buys most of Mexico's exports.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Court says rights violated FBI during raid

(Reuters) - The unanimous three-judge panel ordered the FBI to give Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson back all privileged legislative files, including copies, taken from his office during the unprecedented raid on May 20-21 of last year.




It was the first time law enforcement agents had raided or searched the office of a member of Congress.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RPT-Agrium files shelf prospectus for $1 bln

(Reuters) - WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 3 - Agrium Inc. ,
the world's third-largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer, said
on Friday it would file a shelf prospectus allowing it to issue
up to $1 billion of debt, equity and other securities over 25
months.




Calgary, Alberta-based Agrium said the filings would give
it the means to reduce debt and expand through acquisitions and
investments.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US CREDIT-Boston Scientific's debt suffers from lack of sale

(Reuters) - The medical device maker said on Thursday it decided to
retain its endosurgery business after looking into selling a
minority stake through an initial public offering. For details,
see [ID:nN02444446]




Saddled with debt after its $27 billion acquisition of
Guidant Corp and hampered by slowing sales of its most
lucrative heart devices, the company said in March it was
exploring the partial sale for more than $1 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Richards Bay Coal Exports Fell 3 Percent in July After Train Derailment

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's Richards Bay Coal
Terminal, the world's biggest coal-export terminal, shipped 3
percent less coal in July than a year earlier after a derailment,
an official familiar with the matter said.

The terminal shipped 5.57 million metric tons of coal, the
official said, compared with 5.74 million tons a year earlier. On
July 16, the terminal said a derailment on a line transporting coal
to the port on South Africa's northeast coast delayed the delivery of
150,000 tons. In June, the port shipped 5.45 million tons.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Telus files $2.8 bln mixed shelf offering

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

South African Rand Posts Weekly Advance as Investors Return to Carry Trade

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand logged a weekly
gain against the dollar as global stocks rebounded, prompting
investors to resume buying emerging-market assets.

The rand also advanced as the cost of owning European
corporate bonds fell for the first week in seven. The South
African currency pared its weekly gain after Standard & Poor's
Corp. today cut the credit outlook on Bear Stearns Cos.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

C-BASS retains Blackstone to seek more capital

(Reuters) - C-BASS said in a statement that it has been working
"diligently" with a number of investors to resolve the
liquidity problem and create a long-term partnership.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Union Investment Halts Bond Fund Withdrawals After $137 Million Pulled

(Bloomberg) -- Union Investment Asset Management
Holding AG, Germany's third-largest mutual fund manager, halted
redemptions from a fund holding subprime mortgages after clients
withdrew about 10 percent of the assets in the past month.

Investors redeemed 100 million euros ($137 million) from the
950 million-euro ABS-Invest Fund, spokesman Markus Temme said
today. The fund, sold to institutional investors across Europe,
has about 6 percent of its assets in securities related to
subprime mortgage loans, Temme said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

MOL still wants INA stake, won't go hostile

(Reuters) - "After we will sit down with the Croatian government again," MOL's Chief Executive and Chairman Zsolt Hernadi told web portal Index www.index.hu on Friday.




"It is for certain that we will not make an unsolicited public bid on the Croatian stock exchange, although we could do it," Hernadi added.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RBS says "bemused" by ABN CEO's remarks on Fortis

(Reuters) - "We're a little bemused by some of the comments, today's in
particular," said Fred Goodwin, chief executive of RBS, which is
leading a 71 billion-euro bid for ABN by a trio
of banks that also includes Fortis and Spain's Santander
.




On Monday ABN formally withdrew its recommendation for the
Barclays offer, although Groenink later said he still preferred
it because it was better for all ABN stakeholders.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Health insurers' subprime exposure limited: analyst

(Reuters) - Several health insurers report holding more than 20 percent of their portfolios in mortgage loans, but most companies have almost no exposure to subprime loans, CIBC analyst Carl McDonald said in an analysis published on Friday.




"Our work in the past couple days suggests that the recent issues in the mortgage market will have very little impact on the investment portfolios held by managed care plans," McDonald said in his report.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Virtusa says IPO priced at $14/shr

(Reuters) - The company said it expects net proceeds of about $53
million, of which it plans to use about $30 million to fund the
construction and build-out of a facility on its planned campus
in Hyderabad, India.




The remainder of these proceeds will be used to finance the
expansion of its global delivery centers or capacity in
Chennai, India and Colombo, Sri Lanka, the hiring of additional
personnel, sales and marketing activities, capital expenditures
and the costs of operating as a public company.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Canada deregulates big-city phone markets -telcos

(Reuters) - Bell Canada , Canada's biggest phone company, said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has deregulated Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City. As well, Hamilton and London in Ontario have been deregulated, in addition to other cities and communities in the province and in neighboring Quebec, it said.



"Competition in the local phone market is going to heat up," Kevin Crull, Bell's president of residential services, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Ford aims to sell Land Rover, Jaguar by September 30: report

(Reuters) - A Ford spokesman called the report "speculation" and would not comment further.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wall St shaken by late-day market surges

(Reuters) - U.S. stock prices jumped in the last half hour of trading on both Wednesday and Thursday, surprising traders as major market indexes had traded up and down through most of the two sessions.




The late surges have surprised traders, who don't see a catalyst for the jump. The gains may falsely indicate in easing in investor skittishness over a tightening of credit, when in fact concerns may still abound.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wall St jumps late on profits, credit concerns nag

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday in another late-day rally as enthusiasm about strong earnings tempered nervousness about more weakness in credit conditions with news another mortgage lender may fold.

Pharmacy chain CVS Caremark Corp. and MTV networks owner Viacom Inc. were among companies that posted results that topped Wall Street's expectations, sending their shares higher. CVS shares climbed 3.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Woolworths raises year earnings outlook

(Reuters) - South African fashion, food and homeware group Woolworths Holdings Ltd raised its outlook for full-year headline earnings per share on Friday, saying it expected an increase by as much as 30 percent.

Woolworths said it expected headline earnings and headline EPS -- the key profit measure for South African firms which excludes non-trading, capital and certain extraordinary items -- to rise by 20-30 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa fuel strike into 5th day, motorists queue

(Reuters) - A strike by South African fuel workers entered a fifth day on Friday, prompting motorists in the economic capital to queue at filling stations as stocks dwindled.

"It has been a mad rush since 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) this morning," said Ashwin Chiba, manager of a filling station in the centre of Johannesburg, one of the few still with fuel.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Services growth deteriorates in July: ISM survey

(Reuters) - The services sector represents about 80 percent of U.S. economic activity, including businesses like restaurants, hotels, banks and airlines.




Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Copper Futures Drops Most in a Month on Signals U.S. Demand May Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Copper dropped the most in a month in
New York on speculation that an economic slowdown in the U.S.,
the world's second-largest consumer of the metal, will reduce
demand.

Growth in U.S. service industries slowed more than forecast
in July, and U.S. employers added fewer jobs than projected last
month, reports showed today. Copper, which sometimes moves in
tandem with economic expansion, headed for the second straight
weekly decline on concern that losses in equity markets may
spread to commodities.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Taiwan ASE's Q2 net down 65 pct from year ago

(Reuters) - Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. earned a net profit of T$2.575 billion for the April-June quarter, the company said in a statement.



The profit was lower than T$7.319 billion in the same period a year earlier, but higher than T$1.661 billion in the first quarter, when clients cleared out excess inventories.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Givaudan H1 net profit plummets on Quest charges

(Reuters) - ZURICH, Aug 3 - First-half net profit at Swiss flavours and fragrances maker Givaudan fell 68 percent to 86 million Swiss francs



due to charges related to its acquisition of Quest, missing forecasts.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Brookfield Asset reports higher profit

(Reuters) - Brookfield, which earlier this week said it would spin off
a 60 percent stake in its infrastructure operations, posted a
net profit $153 million, or 24 cents a share, in the quarter
ended June 30, up from a profit of $135 million, or 20 Canadian
cents a share, in the same quarter last year.







Read more at Reuters.com Market News

SNC-Lavalin results boosted by chemicals sector

(Reuters) - TORONTO, Aug 3 - SNC-Lavalin Group reported a bigger second-quarter profit on Friday due mainly to higher operating income at its chemicals and petroleum and mining and metallurgy segments.



The Canadian engineering company said it earned C$41.1 million, or 27 Canadian cents a share, for the period ended June 30, up from C$38.4 million, or 25 Canadian cents a share, for the same quarter last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Michael Dell Wins Over Investors, Plans to Trade `Cheap' PC Image for Cool

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Dell is undoing everything
that made Dell Inc. unique so he can make it the world's largest
personal-computer maker again. It just may work.

Eleven of Dell's 16 largest outside investors added to their
holdings, according to the most recent filings. The stock has
risen 15 percent since the founder's return as chief executive
officer, more than twice the gain of Hewlett-Packard Co. In the
second quarter, Dell had its first increase in PC shipments from
the previous quarter in a year.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Merkel Plan Gives Germans Rare Sense of Economic Optimism, Promotes Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel has helped
kick-start the German economy, not to mention her own political
prospects, by pulling off the equivalent of a conjuring trick:
banishing Germans' pessimism and convincing them the glass is
half full.

Merkel has restored a rare sense of economic optimism, a
prerequisite for corporate investment, hiring and consumer
spending, economists and psychologists say. It's not so much what
she's done that's important as what she hasn't done: Merkel has
deliberately discontinued the unpopular economic-policy changes
pioneered by her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder. That's propelled
her personal-approval rating to a record, to the consternation of
her coalition partners.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Chile's Peso Little Changed Amid Concern Slowing Growth Will Hurt Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Chile's peso was little changed amid
concern slower growth in the U.S. will cool the world economy,
making emerging market assets less attractive.

The peso weakened 0.02 percent to 521.19 per dollar at
10:43 a.m. in New York. The currency yesterday posted its
biggest advance since July 19 after consumer prices rose 1.1
percent in July, almost double the 0.6 percent median forecast
in a Bloomberg survey of 12 analysts.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China's Bonds to Rally as Rate on Hold in 2007, Bank of China's Dong Says

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese government bonds, Asia's
worst performing, will rally as the central bank may refrain
from raising interest rates again this year, said Dong Dezhi, an
analyst at Bank of China, the nation's second-largest lender.

The People's Bank of China, which lifted its benchmark one-
year lending rate to 6.84 percent on July 20, probably won't
need another increase because inflation will slow in the second
half, Dong said in an interview from Shanghai. Banks have
started to rein in lending and will invest deposits in the bond
market, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

RBS says Corporate Mkts up in July despite turmoil

(Reuters) - Johnny Cameron, head of RBS's Corporate Markets division,
said it was difficult to predict when markets would return to
normal but said "by the end of this quarter I expect to see the
market back in business".




Goodwin also said he expected the cost of insurance claims
related to floods in Britain in July to be similar to the 125
million pounds of claims it suffered in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RPT-Fourth Bear Stearns asset-backed fund seems OK

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 2 - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc ,
which has struggled with redemptions at three different hedge
funds investing in repackaged debt, manages a fourth fund that
invests in similar securities, but that fund appears safe, a
source familiar with the fund said.




The fund, Bear Stearns Structured Risk Partners, turned in
a positive performance in July and has not faced redemption
requests, the source said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Italy's UniCredit seals Polish deal with GE Money

(Reuters) - UniCredit is to merge the remaining assets of BPH into its
other Polish unit Bank Pekao.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Indexes open down after jobs data

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 18.70
points, or 0.14 percent, at 13,444.63. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 1.97 points, or 0.13 percent, at
1,470.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.50
points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,570.48.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Jim Rogers Calls U.S. Housing Market One of History's `Biggest Bubbles'

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. subprime-market rout that
wiped out $2.1 trillion from global share values last week has
``got a long way to go,'' said Jim Rogers, who predicted the
start of the commodities rally in 1999.

This week's rebound in equity markets hasn't persuaded
Rogers, 64, to pull out of bets that U.S. investment banks and
homebuilders are heading for further declines.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News