Dow Jones director Li probed on insider trade -WSJ

(Reuters) - Li is chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of East Asia , a mid-tier Hong Kong lender. He is also a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council.




Dow Jones's board on Tuesday endorsed a $5 billion buyout offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., sending the deal to Dow Jones' controlling Bancroft family for final approval. Dow Jones representatives were not immediately available for comment on Li.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

FACTBOX: Private equity manager political contributions

(Reuters) - DEMOCRATIC DONORS




$100,000 or more


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazil's Real Holds Near Seven-Year High Before Expected Central Bank Cut

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency held near a seven-
year high before an expected rate cut by the central bank.

``Lower interest rates will support the real because it
will attract foreign capital to short-term fixed-income
assets,'' said Tony Volpon, an economist in Sao Paulo at CM
Capital Markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Coffee Rises in New York on Concern Scarce Rain in Brazil May Damage Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee rose for the third straight
session in New York as a lack of rainfall in Brazil, the world's
largest producer, increased concerns the next crop may be damaged
during its flowering phase.

The country's major coffee-growing areas will be mostly dry
for the next two to three weeks, said Dale Mohler, meteorologist
with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. Minas
Gerais, the biggest growing state, has received only 20 percent
of its average rainfall this winter, Mohler said. The next crop
begins to flower when Brazil's spring starts in September.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-EU panel backs Glaxo's cervical cancer vaccine

(Reuters) - Europe's largest drugmaker said an expert committee at the
European Medicines Agency had given a positive opinion on
Cervarix based on data from clinical trials involving the
vaccination of girls and women aged between 10 and 25.




Recommendations for marketing approval by the agency's
Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use are normally
endorsed by the European Commission within a couple of months.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

MatlinPatterson still wants Alitalia: source

(Reuters) - The Italian government set next Monday as the deadline for bids for Alitalia, but Prime Minister Romano Prodi has acknowledged that the auction process has virtually collapsed. However, his government has suggested it would start private talks to keep a sale alive.




MatlinPatterson was the last remaining contender in the auction after the front-runner, Air One, pulled out Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BMW denies report Mini fighting to stay profitable

(Reuters) - Manager magazin wrote in an advance copy of its Friday edition that some people at BMW are in favor of producing a Mini sport utility vehicle due in 2010 on a joint platform with the A-Class made by BMW's archrival, Mercedes-Benz.




It said the reason for the unofficial talks with Mercedes over joint Mini/A-Class production was the current difficulty BMW had to pull Mini back into the black, and that the brand would be close to posting a loss even if Mini's Oxford plant in central England were to produce at full capacity.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 2-Mexico unveils $37 billion transport facelift

(Reuters) - MEXICO CITY, July 18 - Mexico will build three
new airports serving beach resorts and construct thousands of
miles of new roads as part of a $37 billion transport facelift
launched on Wednesday.




The five-year public-private infrastructure package also
includes upgrades for sea ports and Mexico's creaking railway
network.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Swiss Re, Deutsche among Abbey suitors -sources

(Reuters) - Pearl Group and Resolution Plc , both investment
funds that buy insurance assets, are likely to bid against
Deutsche Bank and reinsurer Swiss Re, they said.




Lloyds is selling the unit to raise cash from its insurance
units.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-JPMorgan's Dimon slams "equity bridge loans"

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 18 - JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Chairman James Dimon on Wednesday called the practice loaning
cash upfront on leveraged buyout deals a terrible idea.




Dimon, one of Wall Street's most influential bankers,
criticized so-called equity bridges during a conference call
with analysts and investors.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Weak home prices should spur savings: Bernanke

(Reuters) - Bernanke also told the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee that it was important to improve the efficiency of the U.S. health care system.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Shoppers profit jumps 19 pct, same-store sales up

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, July 18 - Shoppers Drug Mart , Canada's biggest drug store chain, said on Wednesday that second-quarter profit jumped 19 percent on revenue growth and healthy sales of more profitable products.



In the quarter ended June 16, Shoppers said it earned C$112 million , or 52 Canadian cents a share. That is up from a profit of C$94 million, or 44 Canadian cents a share, in the same period last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Corn, Soybeans Rise on Concern U.S. Crops Will Get Less Rain Than Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Corn rose from an eight-month low in
Chicago and soybeans rallied from the biggest two-day slide
since 2005 on speculation that rains will provide little help to
some parched U.S. crops.

Rains tonight may be less than previously forecast west of
the Mississippi River, increasing the risk to crops when hot,
dry weather returns next week, said meteorologist David Salmon
at Weather Derivatives Inc. in Benton, Missouri. Prices plunged
the previous two days as forecasts called for ample moisture.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

S.Africa bourse slips on global economy, rates woes

(Reuters) - Mining groups Anglo American and BHP Billiton led South African shares lower on Wednesday over jitters of economic slowdown in the U.S. and China, but gold shares soared on the metal's price.

Traders said the bourse was spooked into profit taking as U.S. stocks fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed expects the U.S. economy to expand one-quarter percentage point below its estimate six months ago.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa chemical workers threaten strike over pay

(Reuters) - About 7,000 workers at South Africa's chemical firms, including energy giant Sasol, may strike next week after wage talks collapsed on Wednesday, trade union Soldarity said.

The union said final negotiations broke down after management refused to improve its offer of a 7.5 percent wage increase. Unions are demanding a 10 percent raise.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand holds steady vs dollar in liquid market

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand remained around levels at which it has traded for the past two weeks on Wednesday, with an uptick in global risk aversion and central bank intervention seen blocking any significant gains.

At 1455 GMT the domestic unit was at 6.9640 versus the dollar, barely changed from Tuesday's New York close of 6.96, though it briefly visited 7.0001 earlier in the session.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Nymex Gas Rises on Forecasts for Hot Weather in U.S. Midwest, Northeast

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures rose in New York
on forecasts for a prolonged heat wave for the large population
regions of the Midwest and Northeast starting early next week.

Above-normal temperatures are expected in the Midwest on
July 23 and will expand to much above for the northern half of
the country by July 26, according to MDA Federal Inc.'s Earthsat
Energy Weather. The warm weather is likely to remain in place
until Aug. 1, the forecaster said in a report today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

TREASURIES-Prices bound up on Bernanke's weak housing view

(Reuters) - Ten-year yield stood at 5.04 percent yield, down from 5.07
percent earlier and 5.05 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and
yields move inversely.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Indexes slide further, Nasdaq off 1 pct

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 91.21
points, or 0.65 percent, at 13,880.34. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 11.07 points, or 0.71 percent, at
1,538.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 27.08
points, or 1.00 percent, at 2,685.21.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Rise as Federal Reserve Trims Forecast for U.S. Economic Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose as the Federal
Reserve trimmed its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year
and next on weaker-than-anticipated home building, while keeping
its inflation projections unchanged.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke predicted in testimony before
Congress that U.S. economic growth will pick up slightly next
year and inflation will gradually recede.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bernanke: Housing drag to ease, inflation a worry

(Reuters) - "Overall, the U.S. economy appears likely to expand at a moderate pace over the second half of 2007, with growth then strengthening a bit in 2008 to a rate close to the economy's underlying trend," he said in semiannual testimony prepared for delivery to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.




But Bernanke warned that a slowdown in the U.S. housing market may last longer than anticipated, and said that further hikes in energy and commodity prices could spark inflation and push closely watched core inflation up.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Kenya court dismisses case against Kenya Re

(Reuters) - A Kenyan judge dismissed on Wednesday a suit seeking to prevent the Kenya Reinsurance Corporation (Kenya Re) from selling shares to the public, saying the case lacked merit.

The government plans to sell a 40 percent stake in Kenya Re for 2.28 billion shillings in an initial public offering (IPO) next month. The public has between July 18 and 31 to place its orders.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canadian dollar falls on CPI, bonds mixed

(Reuters) - At 9:45 a.m. , the Canadian dollar was at
C$1.0440 to the U.S. dollar, or 95.79 U.S. cents, down from
C$1.0434 to the U.S. dollar, or 95.84 U.S. cents, at Tuesday's
session close.




Overnight, the currency rose to C$1.0400, or 96.15 U.S.
cents overnight, its highest level since March 1977.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brazil Stocks Fall, Led by Tam and Gol, After Nation's Worst Air Disaster

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index fell, led by
the country's biggest airlines, after a crash at the Sao Paulo's
city airport that killed as many as 200 people.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange fell 511.60, or 0.9 percent, to 57,148.05 as of 9:33 a.m.
New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-FACTBOX-Brazil's deepening aviation crisis

(Reuters) - Rescue workers said as many as 200 people may have been
killed in the crash and fire that followed, including some
people on the ground. The Airbus A320 was operated by TAM
Linhas Aereas , Brazil's biggest airline.




Here are key facts about Brazil's deepening aviation crisis
over the past year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bear Stearns Says There is `No Value Left' for Investors in Failed Funds

(Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos. told investors in
its two failed hedge funds that they will get little if any money
back after ``unprecedented declines'' in the value of AAA rated
securities used to bet on subprime mortgages.

Estimates show there is ``effectively no value left'' in the
High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund
and ``very little value left'' in the High-Grade Structured
Credit Strategies Fund, Bear Stearns said in a two-page letter.
The second fund still has ``sufficient assets'' to cover the $1.4
billion it owes Bear Stearns, which as a creditor gets paid back
first, according to the letter, obtained yesterday by Bloomberg
News from a person involved in the matter.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Copper Futures Drop in New York on Signs That U.S. Demand May Remain Weak

(Bloomberg) -- Copper fell for a third session in
New York, the longest string of declines in more than a month, on
signs demand may weaken in the U.S., the world's second-largest
consumer of the metal.

Permits for new U.S. home construction fell 7.5 percent in
June to an annual rate of 1.406 million, from 1.52 million in
May, the Commerce Department said today. Builders are the biggest
users of copper in the U.S. The metal has fallen 12 percent since
reaching a high in May 2006 as a U.S. housing slump slashed
demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Canada Stocks May Rise on Canadian Pacific Buyout Talk, Slower Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise for a second
day after a report said Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. may receive a
takeover bid and inflation unexpectedly fell.

Canadian Pacific, the nation's second-largest railroad, may be
bought by a group led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the
Globe and Mail said, citing unidentified people familiar with the
matter. The first decline in inflation in eight months could boost
shares of financial companies as pressure subsides for the Bank of
Canada to raise interest rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Altria still mulls international spinoff

(Reuters) - Some analysts expect the company to announce a spin-off of the international business after Altria's August 29 board meeting.







Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US RATE FUTURES-Gains trimmed on US CPI, housing data

(Reuters) - U.S. core consumer prices, stripped of food and energy,
rose by 0.2 percent in June, in line with expectations. Housing
starts were up 2.3 percent on the month, a shade stronger than
expected.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Are Little Changed on Report Showing Consumer Prices Edged Up

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed as
consumer prices in June had the smallest gain in five months.

Benchmark 10-year note yields earlier dropped as Bear
Stearns Cos. told investors in its two failed hedge funds that
they will get little if any money back. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
will testify today before a congressional committee on the
economy and monetary policy.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Harmony Gold postpones $350 mln bond issue

(Reuters) - South Africa's Harmony Gold has delayed a $350 million, seven-year bond issue, it said on Wednesday.

"We have postponed it due to market conditions," spokeswoman Amelia Soares said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Amphenol quarterly profit higher, raises forecast

(Reuters) - Net income in the second quarter rose to almost $84
million, or 46 cents a share, from $53.3 million, or 29 cents a
share, a year earlier.




Analysts were expecting a profit of 45 cents a share,
according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Amphenol quarterly profit higher, raises forecast

(Reuters) - Amphenol also raised its financial forecast for the year.




Net income in the second quarter rose to almost $84
million, or 46 cents a share, from $53.3 million, or 29 cents a
share, a year earlier. The profit was a penny above what
analysts polled by Reuters Estimates had expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Refining Margins Fall to Seven-Month Low as Products Prices Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Refining margins in Northwest Europe
fell to the lowest since December as product prices dropped more
than crude.

Brent cracking margins in northwest Europe fell to minus
$3.10 on Tuesday, down from minus $1.93 the previous day,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's the lowest level
since Dec. 29.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

American Standard, Canadian Pacific, Macy's, Yahoo!: U.S. Equity 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 yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

Alfa Corp. (ALFA US): The U.S. insurer received a $17.60-a-
share offer from its majority shareholders to be taken private.
The offer is $2.40, or 16 percent, above the company's closing
price yesterday of $15.20.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Botswana stock index adds to strong gains

(Reuters) - Domestic share prices on Botswana's stock exchange continued to rise last week, official data showed on Wednesday, bringing gains this year to almost 60 percent.

"At the end of the week ending July 13, the Domestic Company Index (DCI) of the Botswana Stock Exchange was up at 9,821.57 points, an increase of 1.7 percent from 9,658.25 of the previous week," a statement on the central bank web site said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-A.O. Smith 2nd-quarter profit climbs

(Reuters) - The company reported a second-quarter net profit of $27
million, or 87 cents a share, compared with $25.1 million, or
81 cents a share, last year.




However, the company noted that a lower tax rate in the
second quarter of 2007 contributed about 6 cents a share to
year over year earnings growth.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

S.Africa maize deliveries at 4.257 mln T, boost price

(Reuters) - South African farmers have so far delivered 4.275 million tonnes of maize, data showed on Wednesday as the market rose on supply nerves generated by a gap between these figures and the official crop forecast.

White maize deliveries from South African farms rose to 2.682 million tonnes in the week to July 13 from 2.487 million, the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said on its website shortly after the market closed.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Sarkozy Sees `Positive' Movement in Germany's Merkel's Views on the Euro

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said German Chancellor Angela Merkel's views on the euro are
moving closer to his own position, which calls for greater
political influence in monetary policy, the government spokesman
said.

``For him, it's not about questioning the independence of
the central bank but showing that monetary policy is a topic of
debate and dialogue,'' Sarkozy told the weekly Cabinet meeting
today in Paris, according to the spokesman, Laurent Wauquiez.
``In that respect, Madame Merkel's position has evolved in a
positive way.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall; Bear Stearns, Intel, Pfizer Slide in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures declined
after Bear Stearns Cos. told investors there's little value left
in its two failed hedge funds and Intel Corp. and Yahoo! Inc.
said competition is reducing earnings.

Bear Stearns, the second-biggest underwriter of mortgage-
backed securities, retreated in Europe. Intel, the world's
largest computer-chip maker, and Yahoo, the most-visited U.S. Web
site, also fell. Pfizer Inc. shares slipped after the company
reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Uralkaly to Raise $600 Million in Sale of 10 Percent Stake, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev
plans to sell 10 percent of OAO Uralkaly, the world's fifth-
largest fertilizer producer, a year after abandoning a bigger
share offering, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Rybolovlev, who owns 80 percent of Uralkaly, based in
Berezniki in the Ural mountains, may raise about $600 million
from selling shares that will trade in London, one of the people
said. Rybolovlev's holding may subsequently be reduced further
to a simple majority stake, the person said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Gold hits six-week high as dollar slumps

(Reuters) - Gold hit a six-week high on Wednesday as the dollar tumbled to a record low against the euro, but dealers traded cautiously ahead of a testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Analysts were not yet convinced the upward price move was sustainable as recent spikes prompted investors to take profits.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Corporate Bond Risk Soars to 2-Year High on Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Losses

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds
soared to the highest in two years in Europe after Bear Stearns
Cos. said investors in two U.S. subprime hedge funds will get
little or no money back, credit-default swap prices show.

Contracts on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in Europe's iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index jumped as
much as 36,000 euros to 324,000 euros, according to Deutsche
Bank AG. The risk premium is the highest since 2005 when General
Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. had their ratings cut to high
risk, high-yield.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Vattenfall's Brunsbuettel Nuclear Reactors Is Halted Output for Cleaning

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany's fourth-
largest utility, halted its Brunsbuettel nuclear plant to allow it
to clean an oil-circulation system.

Output was halted early today and will remain cut for eight to
10 hours, the Berlin-based company said today in an e-mailed
statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Persian Gulf Oil-Tanker Rates May Stay Near Three-Month Low on Vessel Glut

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of shipping crude from the
Middle East to Asia, the world's busiest oil-tanker route, may
stay near a three-month low as an oversupply of ships competing
for cargoes negates a probable increase in demand.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all told
oil companies this week when they must have tankers in place to
collect crude from the region's ports next month, said Mathieu
Philippe, a shipbroker for Paris-based Barry Rogliano Salles. Any
resulting jump in demand may not be enough boost rates for the
next several days because of a glut of tankers, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Russia's Annual June Industrial Production Accelerates to 10.9 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Russian industrial production grew an
annual 10.9 percent in June, the fastest pace in two-and-a-half
years, led by steam turbines, tractor-trailers and television
sets.

Growth accelerated from 6.7 percent in the previous month,
the Moscow-based Federal Statistics Service said in an e-mailed
statement today. The median forecast of 16 economists was for 6.6
percent. Output grew 12.5 percent in November of 2004.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall; Bear Stearns, Intel, IBM Slide in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures dropped
after Bear Stearns Cos. told investors there's little value left
in its two failed hedge funds and Intel Corp. and Yahoo! Inc.
said competition is reducing earnings.

Bear Stearns, the second-biggest underwriter of mortgage-
backed securities, retreated in Europe. Intel, the world's
largest computer-chip maker, and Yahoo, the most-visited U.S. Web
site, also fell in Europe.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FTSE down on US subprime woes; Sainsbury rises

(Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell 0.7 percent early on Wednesday on rising concerns over risky U.S. subprime mortgages, but Sainsbury rose after receiving a bid approach.

At 0735 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 48.2 points, or 0.72 percent at 6,610.9, after slipping 0.6 percent in the previous session on concerns of higher UK interest rates. European shares also fell.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Philippine Bonds Gain as Government Sells Assets; Peso Ends Four-Day Rally

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine bonds rose after the
government sold part of its stake in Philippine National Bank,
raising speculation funds from privatization of state assets
will be enough to offset declining revenue.

``The government may not need to borrow more,'' which may
cause yields to fall, said Yvette Marquez, who helps manage the
equivalent of $5.3 billion of assets at BPI Asset Management in
Manila. ``The sale will help the government offset their
problems with their collection targets.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News