Brazil's Bovespa Tumbles on Rate, Credit Concerns: Latin American Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian stocks fell the most in five
months, led by commodity producers and banks, after the central
bank signaled it may slow the pace of interest rate cuts, curbing
economic growth.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange fell 2,263.76, or 4 percent, to 53,737.54 at 1:02 p.m. New
York time, the steepest drop since Feb. 27. The slide was part of a
global equities rout spurred by credit quality concerns in the U.S.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Latin American
shares fell 4.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kenya coffee marketer seeks sales rules clarity

(Reuters) - A Kenyan coffee marketing agent urged the government on Thursday to resolve conflicts of interest among marketing agents who also double up as exporters, saying it denied farmers getting better prices in the market.

Last year Kenya set rules to regulate the direct sales of coffee buyers abroad, allowing farmers to bypass a central auction where all Kenyan coffee had been traded since 1935.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.African stocks tumble to 3-week low, miners hit

(Reuters) - South African blue-chip stocks tumbled as much as 2.2 percent to their lowest level in more than three weeks as softer metal prices hit mining stocks and weaker global equities hurt broader sentiment.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks fell 1.98 percent to 25,809.55 points -- its lowest level since July 2. The Johannesburg All-share index slid 1.88 percent to 28,559.50 points.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mauritius current account moves into surplus in Q1

(Reuters) - Mauritius registered its first current account surplus in two years in the first quarter of 2007, Central Bank figures showed on Thursday.

"Provisional estimates for the first quarter of 2007 suggest that the current account of the balance of payments registered a surplus of Rs 333 million ... against a deficit of Rs 501 million in the corresponding quarter of 2006," the bank's monthly statistical bulletin said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mr Price Q1 sales up 28 pct, sees slower growth

(Reuters) - South African fashion and homeware retailer Mr Price posted a 27.6 percent rise in first-quarter sales on Thursday but said sales growth for the rest of the year would be "more challenging".

The company said like for like sales stripping out the impact of new stores increased 10.9 percent in the quarter to end June.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand, bonds dive in emerging market sell-off

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand fell sharply on Thursday, caught up in a battering of global equities and emerging market currencies.

The local unit was trading at 7.0350 at 1530 GMT, a fall of 2.2 percent from its close in New York of 6.8825, but just off the session trough of 7.04 -- a two-week low.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Schering-Plough pulls EU antibiotic filing

(Reuters) - The European drugs watchdog said the withdrawal of
garenoxacin followed a request for additional information, to
which the company was unable to respond within the permitted
timeframe.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News