Exxaro and S.African utility agree coal contract

(Reuters) - South African mining group Exxaro Resources Ltd has agreed to supply 7.3 million tonnes of coal over 40 years to state utility Eskom, the firm said on Thursday.

Exxaro said its Grootegeluk mine would supply coal to the first three units of Eskom's new Medupi power station, South Africa's first new electricity generating plant in a decade.


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S.Africa shuts down a unit at nuclear power plant

(Reuters) - South Africa's state power utility Eskom said it shut down one unit at its Koeberg nuclear plant on Thursday to check for potential damage, but it should still be able to meet the country's electricity needs.

"We took the decision at 4 p.m. this afternoon (1400 GMT) to shut down the unit," spokesman Fani Zulu said. "We can meet the demand with only one unit, however, the system becomes tight."


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S.Africa Feb PSCE quickens to 26.12pct yr/yr

(Reuters) - Growth in demand for credit by South Africa's private sector quickened to 26.12 percent year-on-year in February from 24.83 percent in January, central bank data showed on Friday.

During the same period, the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply grew by 22.9 percent, faster than forecasts, compared to 22.49 percent in January.


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Gold tracks higher crude oil, defies US dollar

(Reuters) - Gold shrugged off a firmer dollar and rebounded on Friday to track higher crude oil, which spurred some safe-haven buying in parts of Asia.

Spot gold rose to $662.40/662.90 an ounce from $661.20/661.70 an ounce late in New York on Thursday, when it dropped nearly $5 after it failed to break resistance of $670 despite rising crude oil.


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Merger market unphased by market volatility

(Reuters) - Merger volume in the U.S. totaled $428.7 billion, compared with $352.1 billion a year ago, according to research firm Dealogic. Even as the total dollar value of the deals rose, the number of transactions fell to 1,397, from 2,012 a year ago, Dealogic said.

"We're in a very strong M&A market. There's a good probability we'll have a record year," said Jeffrey Raich, joint global head of M&A at UBS AG.


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Sumitomo to buy Westinghouse stake by June: paper

(Reuters) - The Nikkei said Sumitomo made the decision to buy the stake at a board meeting on Thursday. It will sign an agreement next month and purchase the shares by June, the paper said.

Late last year Toshiba took a 77 percent stake in Westinghouse, the U.S. power plant unit of British Nuclear Fuels, for $4.16 billion.


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AT&T, Qwest, Verizon win U.S. govt telecom contract

(Reuters) - Government agencies are expected to spend at least $20 billion on the contract over 10 years, the GSA estimates -- a move that will overhaul the government's telecommunications services.

Under terms of the GSA contract, called Networx Universal, agency spending could be increased to as much as $48 billion.


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AG Edwards profit surges, shares hit record

(Reuters) - Profit easily topped analysts' estimates. A.G. Edwards shares rose as much as 5.5 percent to a record.

Net income for the St. Louis-based company in the three months ended February 28 rose to $109.2 million, or $1.44 per share, from $75.4 million, or 99 cents, a year earlier.


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Texas PUC proposes 6-month review of TXU buyout

(Reuters) - Texas' largest power company last month agreed to be bought by a group of private equity firms led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group in the largest leverage buyout ever.

Publishing the proposed rules will start a period for comments and a possible public hearing. If enacted, the rule could take effect sometime in May, said a PUC spokesman.


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Shareholder vote to set fate of Take-Two board

(Reuters) - The investor group includes OppenheimerFunds Inc., Take-Two's largest institutional shareholder, D. E. Shaw Valence Portfolios and S.A.C. Capital Management.

If successful, the group plans to tap Strauss Zelnick, a former CEO of BMG Entertainment to be nonexecutive chairman. He would then boot out Chief Executive Paul Eibeler and consider replacing Chief Financial Officer Karl Winters.


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UPDATE 1-Brazil cuts fiscal target on bigger GDP growth

(Reuters) - Mantega said the change was made because of a broader definition of GDP and will be unchanged from the primary surplus calculated for last year using the new GDP methodology.

The government on Wednesday revised the GDP expansion in 2006 to 3.7 percent from a previously reported 2.9 percent. Mantega last night said that with the revision, the 2006 primary surplus fell to 3.88 percent of GDP, below the government's target of 4.25 percent.


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U.S. dollar's demise may have been greatly exaggerated

(Reuters) - After a bounce this quarter from 20 month lows seen at the end of 2006, the dollar is only marginally lower than three months ago.

Slow but resilient U.S. economic growth, helped by a mild northern hemisphere winter, in the absence of an expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut during the quarter, helped spur a rally in the greenback mostly in January.


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Fed's Stern says stable, low inflation policy needed

(Reuters) - "I would not expect inflation to accelerate even if compensation does, as long as the Federal Reserve remains committed to a stable, low inflation policy," Stern said in remarks prepared for a University of Dayton investment forum.

A copy of his remarks was made available in advance. Stern is not a voter on the Federal Open Market Committee in 2007.


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Warner Music shares up after analyst note

(Reuters) - Greenfield said shares in the company had fallen by more than 31 percent this year due to deteriorating music sales data and uncertainty surrounding a potential EMI merger and on Wednesday dropped below the $16 target price he had set for it.

Sales of CDs fell by 20 percent in the first quarter, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan.


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Brazil central gov't primary surplus falls in Feb

(Reuters) - The primary surplus includes spending by the Treasury, central bank and social security agency but excludes transfers to state and local governments and interest payments on debt. It feeds into the consolidated public sector primary surplus, which also excludes interest payments and is closely tracked by investors as a measure of Brazil's ability to pay its debts.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said Thursday that the government will maintain its consolidated primary surplus target at 91 billion reais in 2007, but a new methodology for measuring economic activity means the number will represent a smaller percentage of GDP than last year's 4.25 percent target.


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Rand firms vs dollar, eyes credit, trade data

(Reuters) - The South African rand recouped some of the previous day's losses on Thursday as favourable U.S. economic data boosted emerging market sentiment, traders said.

The rand was up 0.55 percent at 7.2930 against the dollar at 1525 GMT, after dipping to 7.3385 earlier, compared to Wednesday's close of 7.3330 in New York. The local currency had tumbled by roughly 1.4 percent in the previous session.


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Discovery to buy out Cox Communications stake

(Reuters) - The deal is expected to close in May, Discovery said, adding that the cash amount is expected to be raised through an additional bank or other financing facility.

"This proposed transaction will simplify Discovery's ownership structure, further streamline our operations and give the company more strategic flexibility," Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said in a statement.


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Gold falls one percent on US economic data

(Reuters) - Gold slipped more than one percent on Thursday after data showed the U.S. economy grew more strongly than expected in the fourth quarter of last year.

Spot gold fell as low as $658.30 before recovering to 660.50/661.50 by 1435 GMT, against $666.10/666.66 in New York on Wednesday, when it jumped to a four-week high of $669.50.


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BCE says not in talks to be taken over

(Reuters) - It said it issued its statement at the request of the Toronto Stock Exchange's regulations service.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Thursday that BCE had had discussions with New York buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts regarding a possible transaction to take BCE private.


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Wall St rebounds, helped by jobless data

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday as an unexpected drop in weekly unemployment benefits claims suggested jobs strength and investors hunted for bargains after three declining days by the Dow industrials.

Data showing the economy grew faster than previously thought at the end of last year also added to optimism.


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Visa talks up mobile payments, invests in wireless

(Reuters) - Wireless transactions are common in some countries, such as Japan, where shoppers with mobile phones can pay with a wave of a handset instead of a swipe with a credit card, but the market is in its infancy in the United States.

U.S. mobile service providers see mobile payments as a way to increase customer loyalty while payment companies such as Visa view phones as the key to winning over American consumers, who use cash and checks for 46 percent of their spending.


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Citigroup expands in China

(Reuters) - Prince, who is on an Asian tour, told reporters that local incorporation was a milestone.

"We intend to accelerate our network expansion with the aim of reaching more than 30 outlets by the end of 2007," he said. "China is crucial to our long-term ambitions."


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UPDATE 1-U.S. economic growth to slow in 2007-IMF's Rato

(Reuters) - "We will see lesser growth in the United States than in September. We probably see now that number of September going to be reduced but not in significant way," Rato told reporters at a briefing.

Draft figures for global and U.S. economic growth obtained by Reuters earlier this month showed that the IMF was expected to reduce its 2007 U.S. growth estimate to 2.6 percent.


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Delta Air Lines reports February profit

(Reuters) - Delta said some of its fuel hedges in February led to a $5 million loss.

The carrier said it ended February with $3.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, of which $2.7 billion was unrestricted.


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Fourth-quarter GDP revised up on inventories

(Reuters) - Economists had expected the final fourth-quarter reading of GDP growth to be unrevised at 2.2 percent.

The final figure was up from a 2 percent rate in the third quarter and meant the economy expanded by a solid 3.3 percent during the whole of 2006. It was the third straight year that GDP expanded at a rate over 3 percent, following growth of 3.2 percent in 2005 and 3.9 percent in 2004.


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GDP revised up on inventories

(Reuters) - The pickup in growth came even as investment in housing was revised to an even bigger drop of 19.8 percent, the largest decline since the first quarter of 1991, and business investment weakened.

Gross Domestic Product or GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate instead of 2.2 percent, the department said in its final revision of fourth-quarter economic performance.


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CarMax earnings rise 15 percent

(Reuters) - The latest results include an asset impairment charge of 1 cent per share related to a new car franchise.

Analysts were expecting CarMax to earn 22 cents per share.


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Family Dollar quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of 58 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The latest quarter was a 14-week period that ended March 3, while last year's results were for a 13-week period ended February 25, 2006.


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BCE being eyed by buyout firm KKR: report

(Reuters) - KKR would not be able to purchase BCE on its own due to foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian phone companies, but the sources said the private equity firm has been in talks with potential partners, including leading pension funds.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund, BCE's biggest shareholder with a 5.3 percent stake, is among those that have been approached, according to the report.


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Yen down as risk aversion eases, US GDP due

(Reuters) - The yen fell across the board on Thursday and high-yielding currencies rallied as investors re-entered carry trades after a rise in equity markets and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Although Bernanke, speaking on Wednesday, acknowledged risks to the economy from the U.S. housing market, he also stressed inflationary pressures -- a message that markets took to mean that the Fed is not ready to cut interest rates yet.


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S.Africa jobless rate little changed at 25.5 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's jobless rate was little changed at 25.5 percent in Septermber 2006 compared with 25.6 in March last year, an official labour report showed on Thursday.

The rate slowed from 26.7 percent in September 2005, Statistics South Africa said.


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S.Africa Feb PPI slows to +9.5 percent yr/yr

(Reuters) - South Africa's producer price inflation slowed to 9.5 percent year-on-year in February after a 9.8 percent increase in January, below forecasts, official data showed on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, PPI decreased by 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent increase in January.


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Stocks rise, oil slips

(Reuters) - Shares in RF Micro Devices Inc. are in focus after the maker of analog chips used in mobile phones confirmed its fourth-quarter results guidance, but said a shortfall in demand from a key customer will hurt its first-quarter results.

Shares of the company fell nearly 6 percent to $6.67, after closing at $7.07 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.


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European stocks higher on M&A, upbeat Compass leads

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday as M&A activity helped investors overcome worries about the U.S. economy, while Compass, the world's biggest caterer, led gainers after a strong trading statement.

At 0823 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 percent. Germany's DAX, France's CAC 40 and Britain's FTSE 100 gained between 0.6 and 0.7 percent.


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FTSE rises amid upbeat earnings, M&A hopes

(Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index of leading shares traded 0.4 percent higher on Thursday, as a clutch of stocks rose on upbeat results, and M&A hopes helped buoy sentiment.

Leading the index, Compass, the world's biggest caterer, jumped 4.3 percent after saying trading in the first five months of the year had been ahead of its expectations and the sale of its European vending business was progressing.


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Rand a tad weaker, to remain pressure

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was slightly weaker against the dollar on Thursday and traders said the currency would remain under pressure if offshore selling and risk aversion towards emerging markets continued.

The rand fell more than 1.4 percent in Johannesburg's late trade as comments by U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about the uncertainty of the U.S. economic outlook prompted a sell-off of high risk assets such as the rand.


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Wall St indexes fall as Bernanke, data, oil weigh

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was uncomfortable with inflation and uncertain about the economy, compounding the impact of a weak durable goods report.

Escalating tensions between Iran and the West also kept investors on edge and boosted crude oil prices nearly 2 percent.


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World Bank to help Brazil export ethanol technology

(Reuters) - The World Bank can help Brazil export its technology for making sugar-cane ethanol to developing countries in Africa and elsewhere, the Bank's vice-president for Latin America said on Wednesday.

"Brazil sees (sharing technology) as a way of helping to build an ethanol market in the world," Pamela Cox told Reuters in an interview. "As projects come up, we have a private sector arm that can help."


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