U.K. Pound Heads for Weekly Advance Versus Dollar as Carry Trade Resumes

(Bloomberg) -- The pound headed for a weekly gain
against the dollar as credit markets rebounded, prompting
investors to resume so-called carry trades.

The pound is also poised for its biggest advance against
the yen in six weeks as stocks recovered and traders bought
high-yielding currencies with loans from Japan. Investors added
to bets the Bank of England will raise interest rates at least
once more from 5.75 percent by year-end.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies 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 Currencies News

RBS profits up 11 percent

(Reuters) - The bank said income grew 8 percent to 14.7 billion pounds and costs as a percentage of revenue improved to 41.4 percent from 41.9 percent.




Profits in its U.S. banking arm Citizens fell 7 percent in sterling terms to 752 million pounds, but operating profit was up 2 percent before the impact of the weak dollar.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Allianz beats forecasts as life insurance shines

(Reuters) - "The good results from the first half year provide an excellent platform for attaining our goals in 2007-2009," Chief Executive Michael Diekmann said in a statement.




"We are expecting net income of around 8 billion euros for the year 2007."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Miner Anglo to sell Tarmac

(Reuters) - The copper, platinum and gold specialist said on Friday it made underlying earnings of $3.1 billion in the six months to June 30, broadly in line with analysts' average forecast of $3.2 billion, according to Reuters Estimates, and said the outlook for most of its metals and minerals remained positive.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

July job growth slowest since February

(Reuters) - The Labor Department also revised down its estimates for job creation in each of the two prior months by a total of 8,000 - to 126,000 in June from a previously reported 132,000 and to 188,000 in May instead of 190,000.




July's new-job total was the smallest for any month since February, when 90,000 were added. The consensus forecast of economists in a week-old Reuters poll was for 130,000 new jobs in July.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Nickel Heads for 2nd Weekly Drop in London on Stockpile Gain; Lead Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Nickel headed for a second
consecutive weekly decline as stockpiles of the metal rise,
expanding supply. Lead increased and copper dropped.

Inventories of nickel tracked by the London Metal Exchange
grew 330 metric tons to 15,138 tons, the exchange said today in
a daily report. Stockpiles have risen fivefold since Feb. 6,
when they were at a 15-year low.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News