Gold steady, yen helps Tokyo platinum hit record

(Reuters) - Gold held steady on Monday after rising more than $2 an ounce the previous session, while a weaker yen lent support to yen-based futures prices in Tokyo, with the most active platinum contract hitting a record high.

Spot gold was at $652.90/653.50 an ounce as of 0210 GMT, slightly lower than $653.60/655.10 late in New York on Friday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Japan Energy to Cut Crude Oil Processing by 3 Percent in July to September

(Bloomberg) -- Japan Energy Corp., the refining unit
of Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., will cut crude processing 3
percent in the third quarter this year as it processed more oil
in the previous quarter.

Japan Energy, the nation's sixth-biggest refiner, aims to
process 5.63 million kiloliters in July to September, spokesman
Masaki Takata said by phone today. Japan Energy refined 3 percent
more oil in the April to June period, using 4.68 million
kiloliters of oil, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

GLG Partners sells stake, sets up U.S. listing

(Reuters) - The combined company, named GLG Partners Inc., expects to
trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GLG"
once the deal is consummated in the fourth quarter.




Freedom shareholders will own about 28 percent of the
combined company, while current GLG stockholders will own about
72 percent, GLG said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Interest Rates Will Advance in `Golden Age' of Economic Growth, BIS Says

(Bloomberg) -- Central banks will need to continue
raising interest rates to quell inflation as the ``golden age''
of global economic expansion continues, the Bank for
International Settlements said.

``Inflationary pressures might turn out to be more
significant than anticipated,'' BIS General Manager Malcolm
Knight told a press conference in Basel, Switzerland, yesterday.
``Authorities should continue gradually to normalize the level of
policy interest rates'' as the global economy extends what ``may
well go down in history as a `golden age.'''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Yahoo unifies ad sales as key sales exec leaves

(Reuters) - The restructuring of top U.S. sales management follows the company's warning last week that a nearly year-long slowdown in its display ad business -- the online banner ads and other methods -- would lead to weaker second-quarter results.




Bank of America analyst Brian Pitz said Millard's departure could have a negative impact on Yahoo's display/branded advertising business.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Vietnam to Weaken Currency 1 Percent a Year, Deputy Prime Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam will extend its policy of
weakening the dong by as much as 1 percent a year to boost the
country's exports, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said.

The State Bank of Vietnam, the country's central bank, has
engineered about 1 percent depreciation against the dollar in
each of the last three years to promote overseas shipments and
economic growth. Central bank selling of the dong may counter
demand for the currency from overseas investors buying shares in
the nation's companies.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Philippines Plans $100 Million Bond Sale to Families of Overseas Workers

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippine government plans to
sell at least $100 million of bonds to the families of overseas
workers as early as the third quarter, said a banker involved in
the deal.

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corp. will underwrite the debt sale, Land
Bank's assistant vice president Alex Macapagal said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New Zealand Dollar Reaches 22-Year High; Speculation Intervention to Fail

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar rose to a 22-
year high on speculation the central bank will fail to halt the
currency's gains as Japanese investors bought the nation's
assets for their higher yields.

The currency has climbed 35 percent against the yen the
past year and 27 percent versus the U.S. dollar, as investors
borrowed cheaply in yen to buy New Zealand bonds and bills. The
Reserve Bank of New Zealand has called the gains ``unjustified''
and may have sold the currency for a third time June 22,
according to Westpac Banking Corp. and Bank of New Zealand Ltd.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korean Consumer Confidence Rose to 15-Month High in Second Quarter

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean consumers showed the
most optimism in 15 months in the second quarter, an indication
that households may spend more and help spur economic growth.

The Bank of Korea's consumer confidence index increased to
108 in the second quarter from 103 in the previous three months,
the central bank said in a statement in Seoul today. A reading
higher than 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Higher Bond Yields Signal Gains for Stocks on Economy, Lessening Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Is the five-year stock market rally
threatened by the highest bond yields since 2002? Some of the
world's biggest investors say no.

LPL Financial Services, Bank of America Corp. and BlackRock
Inc., which together oversee $1.9 trillion, say the three-month
increase in yields shows investors are selling bonds in
anticipation of faster economic growth -- not a pickup in
inflation. Their evidence includes falling gold prices and a
narrowing trade deficit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asia Energy Day Ahead: Nigeria Strike Ends; Oil Price May Surge, BIS Says

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate passed legislation
that would overhaul car fuel economy standards for the first
time in more than 20 years and quadruple use of alternative
fuels. Gasoline futures rose to the highest in more than three
weeks on concern U.S. refineries aren't making enough of the
fuel to meet motorists' needs. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
News were split over whether oil prices will rise or fall this
week amid surging U.S. inventories and threats to Nigerian
shipments.

MOST READ MARKETS STORIES


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Raytheon to protest U.S. award to rivals: WSJ

(Reuters) - Raytheon officials decided to file a protest after, in the past week, having been briefed on the contest outcome, the Journal reported.




"Raytheon filed a bid protest on Friday with the Government Accountability Office regarding the Joint Cargo Aircraft award announced June 13, 2007. We will have no further comment at this time," Raytheon said in a statement obtained by the Journal.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

RPT-Bay Street Week Ahead: Are Canadians a bunch of wimps?

(Reuters) - VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 22 - "Canadians
are passive," says long-time shareholder activist Bob Verdun,
echoing an oft-heard lament about fainthearted investors in a
country where people are known for being polite, not
confrontational.




His comment comes as the criminal fraud trial of former
Canadian media tycoon Conrad Black is wrapping up in Chicago
and some people wonder why, when the holding company of Black's
now defunct publishing empire was based in Canada, he is not
being tried here?


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Putin looks to gain lead in Balkan energy battle

(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged on Sunday to help develop a Black Sea energy hub as the battle to control Europe's energy markets and supply routes moves to the Balkans.

At a Balkan energy summit held in Croatia, Putin said Russia, which supplies a quarter of Europe's gas, wanted to play a key role in all facets of energy supply and generation to the region, stressing Moscow's close cultural and historical ties.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Saab, Investor AB, Volvo and Fluegger Shares: Preview of Nordic Equities

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or
fall in Nordic markets. Stock symbols follow company names and
prices are from the last close.

Markets in Finland and Sweden were closed June 22 for the
Midsummer holiday. Denmark's Copenhagen OMX 20 Index fell 1
percent to 480.88, while Norway's OBX Index declined 0.5 percent
to 421.96. Iceland's ICEX 15 Index rose 0.6 percent to 8236.83.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News