EDF, Faurecia, Klepierre, PPR, Nexity, Sopra, Vinci: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or
fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in parentheses
after company names and prices are from the close on July 20.

August futures on France's benchmark CAC 40 Index added 1.5
to 5977.5 at 8:15 a.m. in Paris.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gold holds steady on weaker dollar, Tokyo dips

(Reuters) - Gold was mostly steady on Monday as the dollar fell to a record low against the euro and a six-week low against the yen, while Tokyo gold futures gave up earlier gains and fell.

The dollar was hurt by continuing worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage sector and some unwinding of yen carry trades, which involves the selling of low-yielding currencies, such as the yen, to invest in higher-yielding currencies and assets.


Read more at Reuters Africa

TomTom plans 1.8 bln euro bid for Tele Atlas

(Reuters) - TomTom makes portable navigation devices for cars and mapping software for handheld computers.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Absa sees H1 headline EPS up 22-27 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest retail lender Absa expected first-half headline earnings per share to rise by as much as 27 percent, the group said on Monday.

Absa, majority owned by Britain's Barclays Plc, said in a trading statement that headline EPS and earnings per share for the six months to end June will rise between 22-27 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. Pound Rises to Highest in 26 Years on Outlook for BOE Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The pound rose to its strongest in
26 years against the dollar on speculation the Bank of England
will keep raising interest rates.

The highest benchmark bond yields of any Group of Seven
nation have lured investors from abroad and pushed up the pound.
A report last week showed the U.K.'s economic expansion
unexpectedly quickened in the second quarter, while the U.S.
Federal Reserve trimmed its forecast for growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Oil falls, OPEC concern on world economy

(Reuters) - London Brent crude currently seen as more representative of the world market, slid 36 cents to $77.28 a barrel by 0444 GMT, after easing 3 cents on Friday. U.S. crude for September traded 22 cents lower at $75.57.




The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is concerned about the potential impact of near-record oil prices on the world's economy, but has seen little sign that growth has been hit by higher energy costs, the group's president said on Sunday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

China silences green GDP study, report says

(Reuters) - Wang Jinnan, a senior expert at the Chinese Academy for
Environmental Planning who was technical head of the project,
said publicly spelling out the cost of bad air, water and soil
had drawn fierce opposition from local officials eager to
maintain growth.




"Taking out the costs of environmental damage would lead to a
huge fall in the quality of economic growth in some areas," Wang
told the paper.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-Reuters FX trading platform suffers outage

(Reuters) - Reuters shut down the servers for its Dealing 3000 Matching
platform for emergency maintenance at 2205 GMT on Sunday, the
early hours of the new week when global trade kicks off in
Wellington and Sydney.




Reuters expected to have full service available again by 0530
GMT. For the latest details, click .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

States to help subprime owners refinance: WSJ

(Reuters) - State officials hope this will be enough to keep some vulnerable low and moderate income neighborhoods from sliding into decline.




The Journal said some of the programs will be similar to existing government-lending programs, in which the state extends mortgages to homeowners and then sells those home loans, in some cases to companies such as mortgage and finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Gold Little Changed in Asia After Reaching Two-Month High; Silver Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed in Asia after
reaching the highest in more than two months, supported by the
euro's gain to a record against the dollar and crude oil's
advance last week to near a one-year high. Silver rose.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction to the U.S.
currency, which slid to a record low of $1.3845 per euro today
amid concern about U.S. loans to homeowners with poor credit.
Crude oil was little changed at $75.53 a barrel at 11:04 a.m.
Singapore time, after climbing to $76.13 a barrel on July 20, the
highest since Aug. 10.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

ABN Amro, Alitalia, Arcelor, Enel, Kuehne & Nagel: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 1.1 percent to 392.59. The Dow
Jones Stoxx 50 Index declined 1.4 percent to 3910. The Euro Stoxx
50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro, dropped
1.7 percent to 4445.23.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Multiplex formally recommends Brookfield bid

(Reuters) - An independent expert's report on Multiplex valued the
company, the builder of Britain's much delayed Wembley Stadium,
at A$4.62 to A$5.26 a share, it said in a target statement to
shareholders.




Shares in Multiplex were steady at A$4.97 at 0223 GMT.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

JPMorgan says wins approval to incorporate in China

(Reuters) - More than a dozen foreign banks are queuing to incorporate
their operations in China, whose banking market was fully opened
to overseas lenders late last year as part of Beijing's
commitment to the World Trade Organisation, which it joined in
2001.




Locally incorporated foreign banks are allowed to offer
full-fledged banking services, including credit card issuance and
local currency-denominated wealth management services, to Chinese
customers.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Sri Lanka's Central Bank Keeps Key Rate Unchanged at Highest Level in Asia

(Bloomberg) -- Sri Lanka's central bank kept its
benchmark interest rate unchanged at the highest level in Asia
to help bring inflation below 10 percent.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka maintained its repurchase
rate at 10.5 percent for a fifth straight meeting, the Colombo-
based bank said in a statement today. Ten out of 11 analysts in
a Bloomberg News survey predicted the decision. One expected a
25 basis point cut.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan Bonds Gain on Speculation Investors Sought Safety of Government Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's bonds rose for a fifth day on
speculation a decline in emerging-market debt and equities will
prompt investors to seek the relative safety of government
securities.

The Japanese 10-year yield fell to the lowest in almost
three weeks as a drop in U.S. stocks extended to Asia. The yield
premium required to compensate buyers for the extra risk of
holding emerging-market debt compared with similar-maturity U.S.
Treasuries climbed to the highest since March, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Mobile-8 Telecom, Vietnam, Shinhan Card, Hyundai Capital: Asia Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- PT Mobile-8 Telecom, an Indonesian
mobile-phone operator that counts Qualcomm Inc. as an investor,
and Vietnam are among borrowers seeking to sell at least $7
billion of bonds in Asia, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.

Governments and companies in Asia sold $43.6 billion of
debt denominated in dollars, euros and yen this year, up from
$37.5 billion a year earlier, Bloomberg data show. Sales of
Samurai bonds, yen debt sold by foreign entities in Japan, rose
to 1.4 trillion yen ($11.6 billion), from 741 billion yen in the
whole of 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Stocks Fall From a Record; Honda, Exporters Decline on U.S. Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, with a key
regional index dropping from a record. Honda Motor Co. paced a
decline among exporters as disappointing earnings from
Caterpillar Inc. dented confidence in the U.S. economy.

``Caterpillar's result suggested some earnings estimates
were too optimistic,'' said Norihiro Fujito, strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korean Shares Drop From Record; Samsung Electronics, Posco Decline

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell as
investors judged excessive a rally that's made the Kospi index
the world's best-performing benchmark this month. Samsung
Electronics Co. and Posco declined.

The Kospi index lost 3.99, or 0.2 percent, to 1,979.55 as
of 9:44 a.m. in Seoul, after earlier gaining as much as 0.3
percent. It's climbed 13 percent this month.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bear Stearns Shares Show Cayne's Dummy `Body Blow' Won't Prove Massive

(Bloomberg) -- When Bear Stearns Cos. Chief
Executive Officer James E. ``Jimmy'' Cayne told the New York
Times the failure of the firm's hedge funds was a ``body blow of
massive proportion,'' he may have been using a tactic honed in
three decades of championship bridge.

To win the card game, a player sometimes will misstate the
number of tricks he can win to dupe opponents into
underestimating his hand. So far, Bear Stearns shareholders
aren't showing much anxiety. The stock has outperformed its peers
since Cayne's remarks were published on June 29, even after Bear
Stearns told investors in the High-Grade Structured Credit
Strategies and High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced
Leverage funds that almost all of their money was wiped out.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Government Bond Futures Gain on Speculation Consumer Prices Fell

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bond futures rose on
speculation consumer price data this week will reduce the need
for the central bank to raise interest rates next month.

The inflation rate excluding fresh food slowed for a fifth
month in June, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg
News before the July 27 release. Ten-year notes last week had the
first gain since June as investors sought the relative safety of
government debt because of losses on securities tied to U.S.
mortgages.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

WEEKAHEAD-Emerging debt eyes cenbank rulings, subprime fallout

(Reuters) - "Emerging markets managed to hold their ground last week
despite ongoing flight-to-quality in US markets," wrote
Toronto-based RBC.




"However, if there are ongoing revelations of forced
liquidations, CDO rating downgrades and hedge fund closures, we
expect the US corporate market's woes to have an increasing
impact on emerging markets." it added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

New Zealand Dollar May Drop as Housing Boom Cools, Standard Chartered Says

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar, the best
performing currency against the yen in the past year, may slide
from a 21-year high as the nation's property market cools,
according to Standard Chartered Bank.

The currency known as the kiwi may fall 3 percent to 93.94
yen and to 77 U.S. cents by Dec. 31, said Callum Henderson, head
of global currency strategy in Singapore. The central bank may
pause after raising its 8 percent benchmark rate on July 26,
because mortgage costs will be high enough to stifle housing
demand, a Bloomberg News survey shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil Options Show $100-a-Barrel Price by 2008, Sooner Than Even Goldman Saw

(Bloomberg) -- The $100-a-barrel oil that Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. said would prevail by 2009 may be only a few
months away.

Jeffrey Currie, a London-based commodity analyst at the
world's biggest securities firm, says $95 crude is likely this
year unless OPEC unexpectedly increases production, and
declining inventories are raising the chances for $100 oil. Jeff
Rubin at CIBC World Markets predicts $100 a barrel as soon as
next year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japan Stocks May Drop on U.S. Earnings, Election Concern; Komatsu May Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares may decline, paced by
companies that rely on the U.S. market, after Caterpillar Inc.
said its profit dropped on lower North American sales. Exporters
such as Honda Motor Co. and Komatsu Ltd. may fall.

Investors may also refrain from betting heavily on stocks
before the Upper House election, which will be held on July 29.
The Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday Japan's ruling coalition
may lose its majority in the election, citing its own poll.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Vattenfall's Brunsbuettel Nuclear Plant to Stay Shut Until Repairs Finish

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany's
fourth-largest utility, will keep its Brunsbuettel nuclear plant
halted until repairs to screw anchors are complete.

Repairs tomorrow will focus on ``the part of the system that
can only be accessed when the reactor is off,'' Vattenfall
spokesman Ivo Banek said by phone today from Hamburg. ``We don't
know yet how long that's going to take. It can be a few days, or
can be much longer.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

People's United poised to rise - Barron's

(Reuters) - "Management has underpromised on likely cost saving, and
such stoic reserve improves the odds that future surprises will
be happy ones," the newspaper said.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Ev3 to buy FoxHollow for $780 million

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 22 - Medical device maker Ev3 Inc.
said on Sunday it would buy FoxHollow Technologies
Inc. for about $780 million in cash and stock to
expand its array of products that combat vascular disease.




The combination is expected to generate net sales of up to
$615 million in 2008. Ev3's cash-and-stock offer of $25.92 for
each share of FoxHollow represents a premium of more than 20
percent, based on 30-day average trading price for FoxHollow
shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Apple results eyed for iPhone sales

(Reuters) - The iPhone contributed virtually none of the $637 million Apple is forecast to have earned, but investors are eager for the first official word on how many of the combination phone, Web browser, media player devices were sold at launch.




"Perhaps the most significant catalyst from the report will be feedback regarding initial iPhone demand," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said in a research note. "We believe initial iPhone demand is very robust."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan Stocks' Four-Year Rally Loses Steam as Shareholder Influence Wanes

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's four-year stock market rally
is beginning to run out of shareholders.

After the longest economic expansion since World War II
sparked a doubling in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Japanese
shares barely budged this year. The Nikkei gained 3.6 percent in
dollar terms, the worst performance among the 20 biggest equity
markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Qatar bidder picks ex-Asda man for Sainsbury -papers

(Reuters) - Campbell, 57, spent around 20 years at Asda , most
recently in the role of deputy chief executive until 2001.




The Sunday Times also said Delta Two would try to retain
Sainsbury's current chief executive, Justin King.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

OPEC research head: fair oil price $60-$65 - report

(Reuters) - A fair price for both oil producers and consumers for a barrel of oil would be around $60 to $65 a barrel, a Kuwaiti state oil newsletter quoted the head of OPEC's research division as saying.

"A price of $60 to $65 is appropriate for consumers and producers, because it boosts means of investment in the oil industry in light of growing demand for oil in the coming years," state firm Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's (KOC) monthly newsletter quoted Hasan Qabazard as saying.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Warner Music eyes UK's Chrysalis music arm -papers

(Reuters) - The Financial Mail's unsourced report said the division's
current value was around 90 million pounds but that it could
fetch as much as 180 million.




Chrysalis Group said last month it planned to sell its radio
business for 170 million pounds to a private equity firm,
leaving Chrysalis as a pure music company.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News