UPDATE 1-FirstCity Financial posts Q1 loss, lower Q4 profit

(Reuters) - Shares of the financial services company were down almost
13 percent at $8.85 in morning trade on the Nasdaq Tuesday,
after falling to a year-low of $8.51 earlier in the day.




The company posted a loss of $914,699, or 8 cents a share,
for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of
$2.0 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Steel quarterly profit falls 25 percent

(Reuters) - Net earnings were $302 million, or $2.54 per share, down
from $404 million, or $3.22 per share, a year earlier.




The results beat the average Wall Street profit forecast of
$2.35 a share, according to Reuters Estimates. Analysts lowered
their forecasts in April after U.S. Steel issued an earnings
warning.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-New Oriental Education shares fall on miss

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - New Oriental Education and
Technology Group Inc. missed analyst expectations that
it would make a fourth-quarter profit, sending its shares down
as much as 17.5 percent on Tuesday morning.




The provider of private education services in China posted
a net loss of $1.6 million, or 4 cents an American Depositary
Share, for the quarter ended May 31.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CME profit rises as CBOT merger completed

(Reuters) - By Ros Krasny



CHICAGO, July 24 - CME Group Inc. reported higher second-quarter profit on Tuesday as the company focused on completing a merger between the two largest U.S. futures exchanges.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Pogo Producing reports second-quarter net loss

(Reuters) - In the second quarter of 2007, Pogo had revenue of $222.9
million, down from 2006 second-quarter revenue of $237.5
million.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Occidental sees 3rd-qtr production up slightly

(Reuters) - The company also earnings at its chemical segment of $160
million to $175 million in the third quarter. It earned $158
million at the segment in the second quarter.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CP Rail sees no compelling case to split company

(Reuters) - "It's a model that has been around for a while, but we've never found a way to make it work," Fred Green told analysts in a conference call on the railway's second quarter results..



CP Rail said last week that Brookfield Asset Management had approached it with a bid proposal. Published reports say Brookfield is interested in splitting Canada's second-largest railway into two units.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Wall St set for drop on profit woes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - U.S. stocks headed for a drop
at the open as disappointing profits from chemical company
DuPont Co. and building materials maker USG Corp
raised concerns about the housing slump and its impact on the
economy and earnings.




Apple Inc was another disappointment, with its
stock down 4.2 percent at $137.65 in electronic trade after
AT&T Inc. , the network carrier for Apple's iPhone,
reported disappointing data on activations for the handset.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexican stocks fall on Televisa plunge; peso off

(Reuters) - Televisa shares slipped 1.95 percent to
58.25 pesos in opening trading. The broadcaster's second
quarter profits dropped by 15 percent as advertising revenues
plummeted.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Western Union eyes micro-lending

(Reuters) - "We think it is a big opportunity for us. For us, the real
question will be the risk and the ability to ramp this up
around the globe," Gold said.




Micro-lending, a system of making small loans to people
running tiny businesses, was pioneered by Muhammad Yunus in the
1970s in Bangladesh and has spread globally. Yunus won a Nobel
Peace Prize in 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Crisis in subprime is not isolated-PIMCO's Gross

(Reuters) - Gross also said the U.S. economy will come under pressure from increased cost of financing.




"Stuffed!" he said of the current state of the credit markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Subprime mess spreading to junk bonds-PIMCO's Gross

(Reuters) - A lack of confidence has "frozen" the markets for lending
and backed up new junk-bond offerings, and the tide appears to
be going out for leveraged equity investors, Gross, manager of
the world's largest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management
Co., or PIMCO, said in an August investment outlook letter.




Gross also said the U.S. economy will come under pressure
from increased cost of financing.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper Rises as Global Inventories Drop, Signaling Demand Outpaces Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rebounded in New York after
global stockpiles of the metal declined, renewing supply
concerns.

Inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange dropped
275 metric tons, or 0.3 percent, to 101,125 tons. Stockpiles
have tumbled 45 percent this year as imports surged in China,
the biggest consumer of the metal used in pipes and wires.
Before today, the price had gained 27 percent in 2007 as
worldwide demand outpaced mine output.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nymex Gas Tumbles as Mild Weather Limits U.S. Demand for Abundant Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas plunged in New York as
mild weather in much of the U.S. dulled electricity demand for
cooling needs, allowing inventories of the fuel to build toward a
record.

Stockpiles last week probably rose 73 billion cubic feet,
putting levels above year-earlier supplies for this time of year,
said Jason Schenker, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte,
North Carolina.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UTStarcom's Chinese sales contracts under review

(Reuters) - Previously issued financial statements issued for the years
2000 through 2006, including interim periods, should no longer
be relied upon, the company said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Nedbank falls 3 pct as M&A talk wanes

(Reuters) - Shares in South Africa's fourth-biggest banking group Nedbank fell as much as 3 per cent on Tuesday as takeover talk around the group faded, traders said.

At 1253 GMT Nedbank shares were down 2.6 percent at 140 rand, having earlier hit 139.51 rand, underperforming the JSE Securities Exchange's banking sector which was 0.7 percent weaker.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Wall Street drops at open on profit woes

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell after building materials maker USG Corp. raised concerns about the housing slump, while chemical company DuPont Co. put a damper on the earnings reporting season with results that missed estimates.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 77.71 points, or 0.56 percent, at 13,865.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index


Read more at Reuters Africa

Exxaro sees H1 headline EPS 232-258 cents

(Reuters) - South African black-owned miner Exxaro Rersources expects to report first-half attributable and headline earnings per share of between 232 and 258 cents, the company said on Tuesday.

The company could not provide comparable figures because Exxaro was listed in November after it was spun off from Kumba Resources and merged with unlisted Eyesizwe Coal to form the country's biggest diversified black-owned mining firm.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-CDW posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - Computer retailer CDW Corp said on Tuesday its quarterly profit rose 9.5 percent after strong growth in sales to public-sector and corporate customers.



CDW, which has agreed to be bought by private equity investors, said second-quarter net income rose to $80.1 million, or 99 cents a share, from $73.1 million, or 91 cents, a year earlier. Net sales rose 24.4 percent to $2.03 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Zarlink posts first-quarter loss

(Reuters) - Zarlink, which is buying semiconductor firm Legerity
Holdings Inc. for $134.5 million in cash, said it lost $5.0
million, or 5 cents a share, in the three months ended June 29.
That's down from a profit of $4.2 million, or 3 cents per
share, in the same period a year earlier.




Revenue was $30.6 million, down from $38.4 million a year
earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Rohm & Haas second-quarter profit falls

(Reuters) - Quarterly profit fell to $160 million, or 74 cents a share, from a year-ago profit of $166 million, or 75 cents a share, the Philadelphia-based company said.



Excluding items, the company said it earned 78 cents a share from continuing operations.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

AK Steel second-quarter profit soars on higher prices

(Reuters) - In April, AK Steel had forecast increased operating profit
in the second quarter as it expected steel prices to rise 2
percent to 3 percent over the first quarter.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Idex posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Net income in the second quarter rose to $41.6 million, or 51 cents a share, from $35 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier.



) Keywords: IDEX RESULTS/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

LaBranche posts wider quarterly loss

(Reuters) - Excluding a pre-tax loss of $54.6 million due to the lower value of its stake in NYSE Euronext and non-cash charges, the company earned $6.6 million, or 11 cents per share.




Total revenue for the quarter was $90.7 million before net interest expense, up from $53 million a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-Occidental 2nd-qtr earnings rise on asset sales

(Reuters) - Net income rose to $1.41 billion, or $1.68 a share, from
$860 million, or 99 cents a share, a year earlier.




Excluding 50 cents in after-tax gains from the asset sales,
Occidental would have earned around $1.18 a share. The sales
included the company's stake in Lyondell Chemical Co. ,
assets in Pakistan, and a swap of assets with British oil major
BP Plc .


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Countrywide profit down 33 pct, slashes outlook

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - Countrywide Financial Corp , the largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Tuesday reported a 33 percent decline in second-quarter profit and slashed its full-year earnings forecast, citing a difficult housing market.



Shares of Countrywide fell 8.7 percent in pre-market electronic trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Precision Castparts profit rises on acquisitions

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - Precision Castparts Corp. said on Monday quarterly profit nearly doubled, boosted by acquisitions and strong demand for its metal aerospace and industrial components.



The company, which makes engine parts and fasteners for planemakers Boeing Co. and the Airbus unit of EADS , reported a profit of $226.4 million, or $1.62 per share, for its fiscal first quarter. That compared with $115.1 million, or 84 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-Millicom Q2 profit below forecast, shares dive

(Reuters) - Millicom, which runs telecoms networks in emerging markets
around the world, said it expected another record year in 2007
but it also spoke of rising competitive pressures.




"Competition in our markets continues to be strong and we
are facing faster reactions from our competitiors, particularly
in Central America," Chief Executive Marc Beuls said in a
statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Argentine Peso Falls to Four-Year Low on Weakening Exports, Bond Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Argentina's peso fell to more than a
four-year low, as the agricultural export season ends and sales
of local bonds boost the supply of pesos in South America's
second-largest economy.

``As agricultural export receipts sink, there's a reduced
flow of dollars into the economy,'' said Guillermo Estebanez, a
currency strategist at Banc of America Securities LLC in San
Francisco. ``There appears to be more selling of local bonds as
well.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Countrywide profit down 33 pct

(Reuters) - Shares of Countrywide fell as much as 8.7 percent to their lowest level since November 2005.




Second-quarter net income for the Calabasas, California-based company fell to $485.1 million, or 81 cents per share, from $722.2 million, or $1.15, a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 percent to $2.55 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Ryerson to go private for $1.06 billion

(Reuters) - The purchase price is a 15 percent premium to the $30.01 at which shares traded on February 13, the day before the company said it as considering strategic options, Ryerson said.




The company said the deal was worth $2 billion. The equity value of the deal is $1.06 billion based on the company's most recently reported shares outstanding.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Ensco profit beats estimate; gets new contract

(Reuters) - Second-quarter profits rose 31 percent to $254.4 million,
or $1.72 per share, from $194.7 million, or $1.27 per share, a
year ago. Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.65 a
share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Increased exploration and production activities due to
higher crude oil prices have pushed up demand and rents for
drilling rigs internationally.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CSN, Gol, MMX, Tam, Petrobras and Vale do Rio Doce: Brazil Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index fell for the
second time in three days, led by state-controlled oil company
Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange dropped 616.93, or 1.1 percent, to 57,419.84 as of 9:37
a.m. New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar, stocks driven lower by credit jitters

(Reuters) - Repricing of low credit spreads, triggered by a fallout in
the high-risk U.S. subprime mortgages sector, is fanning concern
that firms could have difficulty financing the stream of M&A
deals which has fuelled world stocks to lifetime peaks in July.




Investors are also worried that trouble in subprimes, which
target borrowers with poor credit histories, will leave banks
with bad loans, hurt corporate earnings and undermine consumer
spending in the world's largest economy.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Dollar Declines to Record Low Against Euro on Spreading U.S. Mortgage Woes

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar declined to a record
against the euro and weakened versus a dozen other of the most
actively traded currencies on speculation subprime mortgage
losses will deepen, slowing U.S. growth.

The currency's drop accelerated after Countrywide Financial
Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, reported its third
straight decline in quarterly profit as late loan payments
increased. At least 35 bond and loan deals worldwide have been
pulled, delayed or restructured in the past five weeks,
according to Bloomberg data.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPS profit up despite softer US market

(Reuters) - Wall Street analysts, on average, had expected earnings per share of $1.03, according to Reuters Estimates.




The Atlanta-based company reported revenue for the quarter of $12.19 billion, up from $11.74 billion in the same quarter in 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

DuPont profit slips

(Reuters) - Profit declined marginally to $972 million, or $1.04 a share, from $975 million, or $1.04 a share, a year earlier, the Wilmington, Delaware-based company said.




Excluding items, earnings rose to $1.04 a share from $1.01 a share. Analysts on average had forecast $1.06, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Countrywide profit falls 33 pct, slashes outlook

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - Countrywide Financial Corp , the largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Tuesday reported a 33 percent decline in second-quarter profit and slashed its full-year earnings forecast, citing a difficult housing market.



Shares of Countrywide fell 8.7 percent in pre-market electronic trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Commerce Bancorp 2nd-qtr profit falls

(Reuters) - Net income for the Cherry Hill-based company fell to $76.9 million, or 39 cents per share, from $79.5 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier.



Commerce last month replaced Chief Executive Vernon Hill, who founded the company 34 years earlier, under pressure from regulators critical of the bank's business dealings with Hill's family and other insiders.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

PepsiCo profit up, raises outlook

(Reuters) - Analysts on average were expecting 89 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Quarterly revenue rose to $9.61 billion from $8.71 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Biogen 2nd-qtr operating profit, drug sales rise

(Reuters) - Analysts had on average expected earnings of 63 cents a
share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Biogen posted net profit of $186 million, or 54 cents a
share, compared to a net loss of $171 million, or 50 cents a
share, a year ago when it took substantial one-time
acquisition-related charges.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Western Union second-quarter earnings fall

(Reuters) - Englewood, Colorado-based Western Union said second-quarter profit was $204.5 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with $218.9 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier.



) Keywords: WESTERNUNION RESULTS/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Rothmans profit rises in first quarter

(Reuters) - Rothmans will pay a dividend of 30 Canadian cents per share
Sept. 17.




Sales at Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc., which is a 60
percent owned unit, net of excise duty and taxes, rose to
C$177.4 million from C$162.9 million a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-EMC profit up as software, hardware sales increase

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 24 - EMC Corp , the No. 1 maker of corporate data storage equipment, posted a 20 percent rise in quarterly profit Tuesday on strong software and hardware sales. Second-quarter net income rose to $334.4 million, or 16 cents per share, from $279.1 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier.



Revenue rose 21 percent to $3.12 billion, driven by strong sales of information storage products.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Mothers Work Q3 earnings fall, cuts '07 view

(Reuters) - The retailer said the current popularity of certain styles
for the non-maternity women's apparel market, which could
easily fit a pregnant woman early in her pregnancy, have hurt
its sales.




"The weak sales trend ... has also resulted in us taking
some increased markdowns to help manage our inventory level and
to respond to a greater level of clearance markdowns by our
maternity competition," Rebecca Matthias, President of Mothers
Work said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

IAEA to send team to quake-hit Japan nuclear plant

(Reuters) - The plant was shut down automatically in the quake and will
remain closed indefinitely for safety checks. Japan has ordered
other nuclear plant operators to make strict safety checks.




The exact timing of the joint Japanese-IAEA examination will
be decided in consultation with the Japanese authorities, the
IAEA said, stopping short of giving any dates. The Nikkei
business daily reported that four IAEA inspectors would visit
the site as soon as early August.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Rai, Sky, Mediaset share Italy TV income -regulator

(Reuters) - But in terms of advertising revenues, Mediaset and Rai still
dominate with 84 percent of the market between them, Corrado
Calabro, chairman of Agcom, told parliament.




Reporting on the market for 2006, Calabro said Rai had 34
percent of revenues against Mediaset's 29 percent and Sky's 28
percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Kenya says wins EU pledge of equal trade access

(Reuters) - Kenya has been promised the same level of access to European Union markets as received by its poorer neighbours Uganda and Tanzania once a new trade deal takes effect in 2008, Kenya's trade minister said on Tuesday.

The EU is negotiating new economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to replace the Cotonou Agreement that guarantees preferential access for their goods into Europe until the end of 2007.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rio Tinto says formally launches Alcan offer

(Reuters) - "The offer is expected to close in the fourth quarter of
2007."




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canadian Pacific Railway second-qtr profit falls

(Reuters) - CP Rail, which revealed last week that Brookfield Asset Management had approached it with a bid proposal, earned C$257.7 million , or C$1.64 a share, down from a profit of C$378.1 million, or C$2.37 a share, a year earlier.



Second-quarter results for the 2007 period were restated for accounting rule changes.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News