Rand steady, bonds weaken before c/act

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was softer on Thursday after slipping overnight, and bonds weakened, while the market waited for crucial first quarter domestic current account data later in the morning.

The local currency was trading at 7.1625 against the greenback at 0630 GMT, 0.15 percent weaker than its close in New York of 7.15 and sharply softer than levels in late Johannesburg trade on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Johncom says FY headline EPS up 36 pct

(Reuters) - South African media group Johnnic Communications (Johncom) lifted full-year headline earnings per share by 36 percent to 659 cents, and said it expected to maintain growth in the current financial year.

Johncom said in a statement on Thursday that it had grown its revenue for the period to end-March by 17 percent to 5.4 billion rand.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Novartis gets final U.S. approval for Exforge

(Reuters) - The FDA had already granted Novartis tentative approval in
December. Exforge was approved in January 2007 in the European
Union and has already been made available in nine EU countries,
with further launches planned.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Fed seen on hold amid inflation debate: report

(Reuters) - Data due next week is likely to show that near-term
inflation is staying within policy makers' comfort zone of 1
percent to 2 percent growth, and the Fed is likely to express
concern that its long-term forecast of moderate inflation could
go off track.




"The Fed is still worried about inflation going higher,
though less so than a few months ago," according to the
analysis.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Cognos, Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust: Canadian Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets.
This preview includes news that broke after markets closed.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices
are from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 141.33, or 1
percent, to 13,978.16 in Toronto.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Aeroflot, BASF, Carrefour, Electrabel, Suez, E.ON: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or
fall in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.4 percent to 397.85.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 3978.78. The
Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the
euro, added 0.4 percent to 4545.61.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Korea Electric Aims to End the Declines in Its Operating Margins This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Korea Electric Power Corp. is aiming
for an operating profit margin of about 12 percent this year,
stanching four years of declines at the nation's biggest power
supplier.

Margins have been falling ``because fuel prices are rising
and electricity prices aren't,'' Moon Ho, the company's executive
vice president, said in an interview yesterday in Gwacheon, South
Korea. The company's operating margin fell from 23.6 percent in
2002 to 12.4 percent last year, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-RayBan owner Luxottica to buy Oakley for $2.1 bln

(Reuters) - Luxottica, an Italian company whose brands include RayBan
and Prada, said the combination would offer enhanced economies
of scale and an opportunity to create new eyewear categories.




Luxottica will buy all the outstanding shares of Oakley for
$29.30 per share, the companies said in a joint statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

JGBs fall as overseas bond prices drop, aution eyed

(Reuters) - The market now sees the BOJ as most likely to lift rates in
August.




Treasuries fell on Wednesday, ending a three-day rally as
weakness in the European government bond market due to jitters
about rising global interest rates spilled into its U.S.
counterpart.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan May trade surplus Y389.5 bln, +9.3 pct y/y

(Reuters) - Exports rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier to 6.5651
trillion yen, compared with economists' median forecast of an
11.1 percent rise, data from the Ministry of Finance showed.




Imports rose 15.5 percent to 6.1755 trillion yen, against the
market consensus for a 10.5 percent increase.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Borsa Italiana exercises MBE buyout option-NYSE

(Reuters) - NYSE Euronext said in a statement announcing the exercise
that the parties had three months to determine the fair market
value of the MBE Holding shares.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: The inflation rate may climb to about 3.3 percent in
2007 because of rising food costs, the China Securities Journal
said yesterday, citing the State Information Center, which is
linked to the National Development and Reform Commission,
China's top planning body. Consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in
2006. The government will sell 30 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) of
10-year bonds tomorrow. It sold the same maturity at a yield of
3.4 percent on March 21.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Merrill ends auction of Bear fund securities-source

(Reuters) - Merrill Lynch declined to comment. Bear Stearns did not
return calls seeking comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Pactiv to offer $500 million of senior notes

(Reuters) - The proceeds will be used to repay short-term debt incurred
in connection with the acquisition of Prairie Packaging Inc.,
the Hefty bag maker said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sonic 3rd-quarter net profit falls

(Reuters) - On a per-share basis, earnings rose to 31 cents from 27
cents as the company had lesser number of outstanding shares
for the quarter ended May 31, 2007.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Resource America to buy Pacific Capital Bank's leasing division

(Reuters) - Pacific Capital Bank's leasing division funds transactions
from third-party originators.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Tribune May advertising rev down 11.8 pct

(Reuters) - Circulation revenue dropped 6.2 percent, while television revenue slipped 11 percent. Tribune's monthly results were the latest indicator of worsening advertising and circulation trends in the newspaper business.



The company is in the midst of a private buyout by real estate magnate Sam Zell.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CTIA asks for presidential veto of ITC Qualcomm ban

(Reuters) - CTIA said in a letter to Bush that the ban would freeze
innovation, cause economic disruption including job losses, and
adversely affect public safety and the competitiveness of the
country's telecom industry.




The letter, signed by CTIA President Steve Largent, cited
expert predictions that high-speed wireless services would
account for half of wireless growth in the next five years and
generate two to three million jobs over the next decade.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Mexico stocks fall on inflation, tax plan worries

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index slipped 1.71 percent
to 31,516 points, while the peso currency gave
up 0.65 percent in local trading to 10.808 per dollar.




The benchmark government 10-year peso bond fell
0.633 in price to bid 102.112, pushing its yield up 10 basis
points to 7.66 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

French appeals court to rule on Eiffage June 27

(Reuters) - A lower court ruled on June 1 that the decision to block
the voting rights was correct if there had been a suspicion of
acting in concert, but said it was not in a position to judge
whether or not the investors had acted together.




Rayet, which denies acting in concert, appealed the
judgment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Venezuela sees oil majors signing accord this week

(Reuters) - Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez also said he expected negotiations to end this week, bringing forward by a few days a deadline the government set for the takeover of their four heavy-crude upgrading investments in the Orinoco oil belt.




"We are going to make the announcements this week," Ramirez said in an interview during an event near the Venezuelan coast celebrating a nationalization in the electricity sector.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Buyout firms tout record in UK political showdown

(Reuters) - Pressed about any negative effects of the leveraged buyout industry, representatives of Carlyle Group , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. , Permira and 3i Group were universal in saying they could think of none.




"Private equity is a force for good," KKR managing partner Dominic Murphy told a Treasury Committee, while Carlyle managing director Robert Easton said: "My own experience in private equity in this country has only been positive ... It's been positive for the companies I've been involved with."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Bush vetoes popular stem-cell research bill

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 20 - President George W. Bush on
Wednesday vetoed legislation to expand federally funded
embryonic stem cell research, triggering an uphill battle in
the Democratic-led Congress to override him.




Two-thirds majority votes would be needed in the Senate and
House of Representatives to overcome Bush's opposition and make
the bill law, and backers conceded they are short of support.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Venezuela's Bolivar Trades at Three-Month Low on Trading Penalty Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's bolivar traded at a
three-month low in unregulated trading on concern the government
plans to crack down on currency speculators.

Traders said volume in the so-called parallel market, in
which companies and individuals obtain dollars illegally,
plunged for a third straight day as lawmakers considered tougher
fines and jail terms for infractions.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

NY Fed's Geithner says China aware of FX benefits

(Reuters) - Geithner also said that foreign-exchange reserves in some
Asian countries have "clearly" gone beyond the size that could
be seen as necessary for financial stability, and to levels
that could become a problem over time.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. court rejects Novartis motion on patent case

(Reuters) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a Novartis request to review the reinstatement of the patent challenge by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. .



The appeals court, in a brief notice on its Web site, said it turned down a Novartis request to have a panel of judges rehear a March ruling in Teva's favor.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Home Depot Inc. and MGM Mirage's Calls, Puts: U.S. Equity Option Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
with unusual option trading in U.S. exchanges today. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Option trading
and stock prices are as of 12:15 p.m. in New York.

Each call option gives investors the right, without the
obligation, to buy 100 shares of a company at a specified price
by a given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Spain Says Cross-Iberian Gas Market Will Be Easier to Implement Than Power

(Bloomberg) -- A joint Spanish and Portuguese
natural-gas market will be easier to implement than a combined
electricity market, due to start next month, because gas trading
in the two countries is almost free of price caps, according to a
Spanish government official.

The gas market project, called Mibgas, ``is easier than
Mibel because most regulated tariffs have already disappeared,''
Jorge Sanz, the director general at Spain's Ministry of Industry,
Tourism and Trade, said today at a conference in Monaco. He
didn't provide a timeframe for the project.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Hedge fund opposes PHH plan to sell itself

(Reuters) - PHH's Arval fleet business is to be retained by GE while
PHH Mortgage will be taken over by Blackstone.




In a letter to PHH, hedge fund Pennant Capital Management,
which holds about 7.8 percent of the company, said PHH
stockholders would gain more from the company remaining public.
The fund said both the mortgages business and the fleet
business are showing "accelerated profit growth."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US SEC adds mutual funds to new data format

(Reuters) - The investor protection agency unanimously approved adding
mutual funds to a pilot program in which a group of about 40
publicly traded companies are voluntarily filing their
financial statements in machine-readable computer language
known as XBRL.




SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has made it a top priority for
the agency to transform its database of static electronic
filings into an interactive database rich with raw data using
XBRL, or extensible business reporting language.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

British Airways gets lift from S&P upgrade

(Reuters) - "The upgrade reflects the positive implications for BA's
capital structure, future cash flows, and business operations of
the proposed pension deficit solution and the debt reduction
achieved in recent years," S&P credit analyst Leigh Bailey said
in a statement.




Five-year credit default swaps on BA tightened around 14
basis points to 59.5 basis points after the announcement,
although the move was not totally unexpected for some traders.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Xcel settles tax dispute over insurance policies

(Reuters) - As a result of the proposed settlement, the company expects to record a loss ranging from about $35 million to $45 million in 2007. Xcel now sees 2007 earnings of $1.20 to $1.32 per share.




Analysts had, on average, expected the company to earn $1.42 per share in 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

FedEx quarterly profit rises, misses expectations

(Reuters) - The Memphis, Tn.-based company said net income for its 2007 fiscal fourth quarter ending May 31 rose 7 percent to $610 million, or $1.96 a share, compared with $568 million, or $1.82, a year earlier.




FedEx said the results included a gain from a settlement with Airbus related to its A380 order cancellation of approximately 6 cents a share. Excluding that gain, FedEx's quarterly earnings came in below the $1.96 per share expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Copper Rises to Two-Week High in New York on Strike Threats in Chile, Peru

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a two-week high in
New York as planned strikes in Chile and Peru threatened to
disrupt supplies.

Contract workers at Chile's Codelco, the world's largest
copper producer, may strike tomorrow to seek higher pay, and
three unions at Southern Copper Corp.'s Peruvian operations plan
to walk out June 23. Demand for copper exceeded production by
176,000 metric tons in the first four months of the year, the
World Bureau of Metals Statistics said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CORRECTED - US STOCKS-Indexes rise on Home Depot buyback, GE advance

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 20 - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday
as Home Depot Inc.'s plan for a $22.5 billion share
buyback underscored optimism about equity valuations, along
with the growing allure of large-cap stocks, including General
Electric Co. .




Home Depot shares led advances on both the Dow and the S&P
500, with a gain of more than 6 percent, while shares of
diversified manufacturer GE climbed 0.7 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Merrill seizes $800 mln Bear hedge fund assets

(Reuters) - The move makes it unlikely that the funds will be able to
restructure. Merrill's selling such a large quantity of
illiquid assets, which are mainly collateralized debt
obligations, could force prices in that market markedly lower,
sources said.




The two funds suffered double-digit losses through April
after making bad bets on securities backed by subprime loans.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold, Silver Decline in New York as Bond Yields Rebound, Support Dollar

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver fell in New York on
speculation higher bond yields may boost the dollar, reducing
the appeal of precious metals as alternative investments.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the
dollar, which pared losses after touching a two-week low against
the euro as the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury
note climbed for the first time in four sessions. Before today,
gold had gained 4.2 percent this year, while the dollar dropped
1.7 percent against the euro.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Yahoo in search deal with Asian mobile operators

(Reuters) - Yahoo's oneSearch service lets users download e-mails, search the Internet, view Web pictures and check weather conditions.




Internet companies Yahoo, Google and Microsoft see offering its products on cell phones as one of the most important sources of future growth as subscribers climb globally.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Brazil Real Rises on Stable Inflation, Yields Attracting Foreign Capital

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency rose on
speculation that foreign investors will be drawn by the
country's stable inflation and bond yields.

The real rose for a sixth day, gaining 0.2 percent to
1.9015 at 9:06 a.m. New York time. On June 18, the currency
advanced to 1.8995 per dollar, near its high of 1.8991 on June
1, the strongest since October 2000. The real has gained 3.3
since June 7 and 12.4 percent this year, making it the best
performer among the 16 currencies most actively traded against
the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Canada leading indicator up 0.5 pct in May

(Reuters) - "The components related to household spending improved
markedly, while export demand for manufacturers' remained the
weakest sector," Statscan said in its report.




Housing starts flew up to a 4-month high, accompanied by
strong demand for furniture and household appliances. A strong
job market and robust economic growth kept consumer demand hot
for automotive products and services in general.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

French Stocks Advance, Paced By Total, Arcelor Mittal, Michelin, Areva

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks advanced, led by Total
SA, Arcelor Mittal and Electricite de France SA.

Shares of Michelin & Cie., the world's second-largest
tiremaker, gained as rubber futures tumbled.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FedEx quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said net income for its 2007 fiscal fourth quarter ending May 31 rose 7 percent to $610 million or $1.96 a share, compared with $568 million or $1.82 a share a year earlier.



FedEx said the results included a gain from a settlement with Airbus related to its A380 order cancellation of approximately 6 cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-China moly quotas may cut exports by 30% -traders

(Reuters) - SHANGHAI, June 20 - China's newly adopted
molybdenum export quotas may cut exports of the minor metal by
as much as 30 percent, aiming to keep more of the country's
mineral resources in Chinese hands, trade sources said on
Wednesday.




The policy change would also help Beijing to reduce the
country's trade surplus, which climbed more than 80 percent in
the first five months of 2007 from the same period a year
earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Lead at fresh record high on stocks, copper firm

(Reuters) - Lead rose to a new record high on Wednesday, boosted by low inventory levels while a slew of looming strikes at mines drove copper prices higher.

Nickel gained around 2.5 percent after tumbling around $3,000 on Tuesday but analysts see more downside potential as more stainless steel producers cut back production.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Kobe, Cleveland-Cliff in joint iron ore project

(Reuters) - Last November, Kobe, Cleveland-Cliff, Steel Dynamics Inc.
and another partner suspended efforts to jointly
develop a reduced iron plant, to convert taconite into nearly
pure iron in nugget form, using Kobe's technology called ITmk3.




The parties were unable to reach economic and commercial
terms for the project, including completion of non-recourse
financing.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Lehman to raise $500 mln for buyout firm fund IPO

(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Private Equity Partners Ltd. plans to issue a single class of U.S.-dollar-denominated shares at $10 each on Euronext Amsterdam. Conditional dealing is expected to start July 18 and unconditional dealings July 25.




The parent company will be the largest single investor by subscribing to $100 million of shares, which will be subject to a three-year lock-up.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Home Depot, Google, Yahoo Gain in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced as
Treasury yields declined for a fourth day.

Home Depot Inc. rose after the world's largest home-
improvement retailer agreed to sell a unit and announced a share
buyback. Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet
search engine, gained after Microsoft Corp. agreed to modify its
Vista operating system to address Google's complaints.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index Rebounds, Paced by Man Group; Xstrata, Vedanta Climb

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rose for the first time
in three days, paced by Man Group Plc after the hedge fund
manager reported an increase in assets for its core fund.

Xstrata Plc and Vedanta Resources Plc paced gains by copper
producers as the price of the metal climbed. DSG International
Plc limited the advance after the electronics retailer said
charges almost eliminated full-year profit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Plane Crashes Force Indonesia to Add Inspectors, Radar as Carriers Expand

(Bloomberg) -- Adrianus Meliala was bound for
Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia on March 7 when he noticed that
the jetliner was approaching the runway too rapidly. He braced
for impact as the plane bounced, caught fire and skidded into a
rice field.

``It was all panic,'' said Meliala, 40, a father of three
who suffered a broken nose and minor burns. ``We were like
barbarians trying to get out. I jumped off the burning wing.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Mobius warns Israel over dispute deal-report

(Reuters) - Last month, India's Sun Pharma agreed to buy Taro Pharmaceutical Industries for $7.75 per share or $230 million with an additional $224 million to refinance Taro's debt.



Franklin Advisers Inc. and Templeton Assets Management Ltd., which own 9 percent of Taro, filed a case in a Tel Aviv court, seeking to restrain Taro from concluding any deal that could hurt minority interests. But the court decided not to issue a temporary injunction against the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Stocks Advance, Led by Allianz, Clariant; Misys Shares Gain

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for the first
time in three days after a drop in U.S. bond yields tempered
concern interest rates will rise further in the world's biggest
economy.

Allianz SE, Europe's largest insurer, paced the advance.
Clariant AG climbed after a report that Huntsman Corp. might be
interested in buying a stake in the company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News