PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - June 27

(Reuters) - * Negotiators reached an agreement in principle on
protecting the editorial independence of The Wall Street
Journal, an important step toward a purchase by the News Corp.
of the Journal's owner, Dow Jones and Co. Inc. ,
people briefed on the talks said.




* In a move to challenge Google Inc.'s YouTube,
News Corp.'s MySpace plans to rename and refurbish its
video-sharing service on the popular social network. The new
service, called MySpace TV, will be set up as an independent
Web site that people can visit to share and
watch videos.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Platinum Futures Traded in Tokyo Decline as Yen Rallies for a Third Day

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures fell in Tokyo and
headed for the biggest two-day decline in more than three months
as the yen climbed for a third day against the dollar.

The yen appreciated to 122.89 per dollar at 11:46 a.m. in
Singapore from 123.26 late in New York yesterday, after reaching
a 4 1/2-year low of 124.13 on June 22. An appreciating Japanese
currency erodes the value of yen-denominated contracts for
commodities such as platinum, which trades globally in dollars.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 27

(Reuters) - * U.S. Foodservice underwriters pulled a $1.5 billion bond
offering amid investor resistance to its terms, an indication
of possible trouble for the buyout boom.




* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened about
a dozen probes involving bundled financial products, as well as
the related near-collapse of two Bear Stearns Cos.
hedge funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Iceland's Kaupthing Bank Raises 28 Billion Yen Selling Bonds in Japan

(Bloomberg) -- Kaupthing Bank hf, Iceland's biggest
financial services company, raised 28 billion yen ($228 million)
selling bonds denominated in yen.

The Reykjavik-based bank priced 10 billion yen of 1.65
percent bonds with a three-year maturity to yield 26 basis points
more than the yen swap rate, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. It also priced 5 billion yen of 1.99 percent bonds and
13 billion yen of floating-rate notes which both mature in five
years, the data show.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BP, LSE, Tesco, Thomas Cook Group, Stagecoach: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from the June 26 close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell 29.10, or 0.4 percent, to
6559.30 in London. The FTSE All-Share Index fell 14.34, or 0.4
percent, to 3384.04.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Starbucks to file fresh application for India: report

(Reuters) - This arrangement was not acceptable as Sharma was a non-resident Indian, the official told the paper.




"We have not send the proposal to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, which will take the final decision on the matter. We don't know how the company will draft its new proposal and the route it will take," the official said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Treasuries Little Changed; Durable Goods May Reduce Outlook for Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries were little changed
before a government report that economists say will show
durable goods orders fell in May, sending a gauge of inflation
expectations to the lowest this month.

A decline in orders may provide further evidence the economy
is slowing enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates,
after consumer confidence dropped in June to the lowest since
August. Reports this week also showed the slump in the housing
market may keep inflation, which erodes the fixed payments on
bonds, within the central bank's desired zone.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Chinese lawmakers debate FX agency funding bill

(Reuters) - It is not clear whether the bonds will be issued directly to
the central bank or sold in the domestic market, with the cash
raised then used to buy foreign exchange from the PBOC.




Chinese economists expect the fund will manage as much as
$200 billion of reserves with a mandate to increase returns.


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South Korea's Won Declines on Speculation Central Bank to Sell Currency

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won dropped from near
the highest in more than a month on speculation the central bank
will sell the currency to keep exports competitive with Japan.

The won snapped two days of gains against the dollar and
fell for a third day versus the yen after the finance ministry
said yesterday the country and New Zealand are worried about the
yen's ``persistent weakness.'' Korea's Deputy Finance Minister
Kim Sung Jin last week said the government has the power and
capacity to act in the foreign-exchange market.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea's Kospi Index Declines, Led by Samsung, Hyundai Heavy, Posco

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, fell 0.57 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 729 companies traded on the Korea Exchange
fell 9.96 to 1,739.59. Among the stocks in the index, 192 rose,
321 fell and 216 were unchanged.


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Merrill Lynch Hires ICF's Abyd Karmali as Global Head of Carbon Emissions

(Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's
largest brokerage, hired Abyd Karmali as managing director and
global head of carbon emissions.

Karmali, London-based managing director for Europe at ICF
International Inc., accepted the position starting Sept. 3,
Karmali said today by e-mail.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australian Dollar Falls From 18-Year High as Prices of Raw Materials Drop

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar fell from an
18-year high as prices declined for the raw materials the
country exports.

The currency snapped three days of gains after the London
Metal Exchange Index, a measure of six tradable metals including
copper and nickel, dropped 2.1 percent, the most in two weeks.
Commodity exports make up about 14 percent of Australia's
economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Asian Stocks Fall in U.S. Trading; Cnooc Leads Decline Among Energy Shares

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks trading in the U.S. fell
as a drop in the price of oil dragged down energy shares including
Cnooc Ltd.

The Bank of New York Co.'s Asia ADR Index, tracking the
region's American depositary receipts, slipped 0.1 percent to
166.39, the lowest in two weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Foodservice postpones LBO financing: sources

(Reuters) - It was not clear whether the two intend to finance their LBO by bridge loans that have been provided by Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and RBS Securities.



U.S. Foodservice was in the process of raising a $3.36 billion bank loan and a $650 million high yield bond offering.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Conoco says Venezuela controls its operations there

(Reuters) - It said negotiations are continuing between ConocoPhillips
and Venezuelan authorities over compensation for the company's
stake in the projects.




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FDA clears rapid blood test for malaria

(Reuters) - Standard laboratory tests require identifying malaria parasites in a blood sample under a microscope, the FDA said.




The new test provides results from a few drops of blood placed on a dipstick, and can differentiate between the most dangerous malaria parasite and less virulent forms, the FDA said. Results should be confirmed with standard microscopic evaluation.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US SEC's Cox: Blackstone not investment company

(Reuters) - But SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said the SEC's enforcement
division found the company fails tests that would force it to
register under the 1940 Investment Company Act.




"The funds that Blackstone manages are indeed investment
companies but the fund manager is not, under the law," Cox said
in testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services
Committee.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nike posts higher net profit in fourth quarter

(Reuters) - Excluding items, earnings were 90 cents a share. That beat analysts' average expectations of earnings of 86 cents, excluding items, on revenue of $4.36 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.




Sluggishness in the U.S. athletic shoe market has been a worry on Wall Street since last year, with Nike's two largest U.S. customers, Foot Locker Inc. and Finish Line Inc., experiencing weakness in same-store sales. Nike has been working on store initiatives to help its retail partners and has offered shoes at a broader range of price points to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Conoco, Exxon to Quit Venezuelan Oil Projects as Talks Fail, Ramirez Says

(Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp.
will quit oil and natural-gas projects in Venezuela after the
failure of talks with President Hugo Chavez's government, the
country's energy minister said.

The minister, Rafael Ramirez, confirmed the departure of the
companies in signing ceremonies for agreements with four
companies that will continue heavy-oil operations in the country.
They are Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA, Total SA and BP Plc. The
departure of ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil was disclosed late
yesterday by a person on the government side of negotiations.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Apple IPhone, on Sale This Week, May Set Investors Up for Disappointment

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., whose market value passed
$100 billion in May as euphoria mounted over its iPhone, may be
facing investor expectations that are too high.

Apple may sell as many as 200,000 iPhones in the product's
first two days on the market this week and as many as 3 million
in the second half of the year, according to the most optimistic
analyst estimates. Apple, in its only public forecast, says it
plans to sell 10 million next year.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Limited to offer July cost-cut update

(Reuters) - Limited, which also owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body
Works, has said it is in the process of shedding
underperforming businesses including the Express apparel chain,
to focus on the less seasonal, more profitable businesses of
undergarments and beauty and bath products.




In the letter dated June 22 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday,
Chief Executive Leslie Wexner also said Limited will "give
major attention to international growth" once it finishes the
sales of Limited and Express.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Subprime, fund trends in focus at Morningstar event

(Reuters) - The fallout from the subprime woes, which is threatening to engulf hedge funds, and the impact of rising global interest rates on mutual funds, will be main themes at Morningstar's annual investment conference this week.




"I'm very interested to see how the subprime issue is perceived," said Lee Schultheis, chief investment strategist at AIP Funds, which runs mutual funds employing hedge fund strategies and will be an exhibitor at the conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-US lawmaker:Bear Stearns woes won't cause meltdown

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 26 - U.S. House Financial
Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told Reuters on
Tuesday that subprime mortgage problems forcing a Bear Stearns
Cos. bailout of a hedge fund will not lead to broad
problems in the financial markets.




"There may be more problems with subprime loans," Frank
said when asked if the Bear Stearns fund problems might reflect
deeper subprime problems with hedge funds. "I don't believe
it's going to lead to a financial meltdown," the Massachusetts
Democrat added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Brazil April current account widens, FDI jumps

(Reuters) - SAO PAULO, June 26 - Brazil's current account
surplus reached a record for the month of April as foreign
investors flocked to the country's bond and equity markets and
poured more cash into machinery and factories, government data
showed on Tuesday.




The surplus rose to $1.82 billion in April
from $91 million a year earlier and $817 million in March. It
was higher than the $1.5 billion median forecast of 21
economists in a Reuters poll, in which the forecasts ranged
from $1.2 billion to $2 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cattle Futures Drop to 6-Month Low as Supplies Increase; Hog Prices Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures in Chicago fell to a
six-month low on expectations for greater supplies of
slaughter-ready animals. Hog prices also declined.

U.S. feedlots bought 2.159 million young animals for
fattening in May, up 13 percent from a year earlier, the
Department of Agriculture said June 22. Those animals will be
ready for processing in September. Cattle prices are up 3.9
percent from a year ago on tight supplies of fed animals.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Germany's DAX Index Falls, Led by Shares of Henkel; Financial Stocks Drop

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks retreated for a fourth
day.

Henkel KGaA led the decline after Deutsche Bank AG said it
will sell 11.2 million preferred shares in the maker of Persil
detergent. Deutsche Bank, the country's largest bank, and Hypo
Real Estate Holding AG paced a drop in financial shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Advanced Medical forecasts loss after product recall

(Reuters) - BOSTON, June 26 - Advanced Medical Optics Inc.
cut its outlook for this year and next following the
recall last month of its Complete MoisturePlus contact-lens
solution, but expects to introduce a replacement product by the
end of the third quarter.




The company said on Tuesday that it now expects 2007
revenue of between $1.05 billion and $1.07 billion, and an
adjusted loss of 95 cents to $1.15 a share. Previously it had
forecast sales of between $1.15 billion and $1.18 billion and
earnings of $1.40 to $1.55 per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Greenland Will Rely More on Export of Oil, Gold, Diamonds, Government Says

(Bloomberg) -- Greenland's economy will in future
rely more on energy and mineral resources such as oil, gold and
diamonds instead of fishing, a government report said.

Oil prices have almost tripled over the past 10 years and
prices for most metals have also gained, which makes exploration
on the arctic island profitable, said the report, published today
on the Web site of the Danish prime minister's office in
Copenhagen.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Dassault Systemes launches 3D Internet software

(Reuters) - Dassault, whose clients include blue-chip companies such as
U.S. planemaker Boeing and Japanese carmaker Toyota
, also said it was extending a partnership with
Microsoft .




"3D must be used by all and for all," Chairman and Chief
Executive Bernard Charles told Reuters on the sidelines of a
technology conference the company is holding.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold hits 3-1/2-month low on oil, metals sell-off

(Reuters) - Gold fell to a 3-1/2-month low of $642.50 an ounce in late European trade on Tuesday following a sharp fall in other key metals and oil prices, traders said.

Spot gold was quoted at $644.25/644.85 an ounce by 1441 GMT, compared with $650.80/651.40 in New York late on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Telus says will not make bid for BCE

(Reuters) - Telus, which revealed it was in talks to acquire BCE last Thursday, said the "inadequacies of BCE's bid process did not make it possible for TELUS to submit an offer."






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Alito Emerges as Champion of Business in First Full Term on Supreme Court

(Bloomberg) -- In what may have been the most pro-
business U.S. Supreme Court term in decades, standing out as
companies' No. 1 ally was no small feat. Justice Samuel Alito
managed it in his first full year.

As the court term comes to a close this week, Alito has
emerged as the justice friendliest to the interests of
corporations. He sided with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
nation's largest business lobby, in 13 of 14 cases this term,
more often than any of his colleagues. He cast votes to limit
punitive damages, ease regulation and restrict suits by
investors, consumers and alleged victims of job bias.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

America Movil, Grupo Mexico and Wal-Mart de Mexico: Mexican Equity Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's main stock index was little
changed as retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB fell and cement-maker
Cemex SAB rose.

The Bolsa index gained 5.84, or less than 0.1 percent, to
31,301.85 at 10:03 a.m. New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Canadian Stock Index Rises, Led by Royal Bank and Telus; BCE Shares Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks were little changed.
BCE Inc., the country's biggest phone company, dropped after Telus
Corp. said it won't submit a takeover offer. Shares of Telus rose.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index slipped 3.69, or
less than 0.1 percent, to 13,838.18 as of 10:08 a.m. in Toronto.
Earlier it rose as much as 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Treasuries Are Little Changed Amid Concern Over Weakness in Housing Market

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury two-year note yields held
near their lowest this month amid concern a weak housing market
will lead to losses for investors in mortgage-backed securities.

Two-year yields have dropped more than 10 basis points over
the past two trading days as dealers prepared to bid on $18
billion of the securities in the government's monthly auction
today. A Commerce Department report is forecast to show the pace
of new home sales slowed in May.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-NY seeks Wal-Mart records on alleged surveillance

(Reuters) - In a letter to Wal-Mart Corporate Secretary Thomas Hyde
dated June 21, Comptroller William Thompson said he has "a
credible basis to believe that certain employees, directors or
agents of Wal-Mart have improperly expended corporate assets in
connection with conducting surveillance, investigations or
'threat assessments' of proponents of shareholder proposals."




Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said that since the company
received the comptroller's letter late on Friday, it still
needed time to read it.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Lead Falls The Most in a Month on London Exchange, Erasing Earlier Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Lead fell the most in a month on the
London Metal Exchange, erasing earlier gains.

Lead for delivery in three months on the LME dropped $110,
or 4.1 percent, to $2,600 a metric ton as of 1:13 p.m. local
time, the biggest intraday decline since May 24. Earlier, the
contract gained as much as 1.3 percent to $2,745, a record for a
fifth consecutive session.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Dong Workers Return to Coal Power Plants After Strike; Capacity Is Reduced

(Bloomberg) -- Dong Energy A/S, a Danish state-
owned utility that's planning to sell shares to the public, said
most workers had returned to their jobs amid a strike for better
pay. Power output remained reduced.

``We're still in a state of conflict but at the moment most
of the strikers have started working,'' said Jens Nybo Jensen, a
Dong spokesman based in Fredericia, Denmark, by phone today.
Only 30 workers were striking today at one of Dong's 10 Danish
power plants, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Cantor Fitzgerald launches GoldRock asset manager

(Reuters) - GoldRock is being formed from the integration of Zenith
Asset Management LLC, a Los Angeles-based fund-of-funds firm
into Cantor. Mark Ostroff, a co-founder of Zenith, will become
president of GoldRock. He will report to Irvin Goldman, chief
executive of Cantor Fitzgerald Asset Management.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Steelcase posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Analysts on average expected 19 cents a share and revenue
of $785.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.




The U.S. office furniture industry has moderated recently,
with monthly orders in 2007 averaging about 5 percent growth
compared with the double-digit increases of the industry's peak
year in 2005.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Higher Lake Victoria boosts Uganda's electricity

(Reuters) - Rains have rescued Lake Victoria from its lowest water levels since 1923, enabling Uganda to boost hydroelectric power, but blackouts are likely to continue, the minister of state for energy said on Tuesday.

The east African country of 27 million people has suffered power shortages over the last three years as two dams near the Nile's source at the lake struggled to keep pace with demand rising by 8 percent a year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Apple, Google Shares Climb in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced
after brokerages recommended buying shares of Apple Inc., the
maker of the iPod music and video player, and Google Inc., owner
of the world's most popular Internet search engine.

Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker,
gained before reporting fourth-quarter earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-EU to decide on several gambling legal actions

(Reuters) - "There will be some decisions made probably tomorrow by the
college on a number of member states," Oliver
Drewes, a spokesman for the European Union's executive arm, told
a regular briefing.




"This concerns France, Greece and Sweden for the moment.
Those are the decisions on the calendar for tomorrow," Drewes
said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Apple Shares Rise in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before a report that may show purchases of new homes in
the U.S. probably dropped in May.

Apple Inc., whose market value passed $100 billion in May
as euphoria mounted over its iPhone, rose in Germany after RBC
Capital Markets recommended buying the stock. Shares of Nike
Inc., the biggest athletic-shoe maker, declined in Europe before
reporting earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. Natural Gas Little Change Amid Imports; Next-Day Electricity Falls

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for same-day
delivery was little changed as forecasts showed demand may
exceed supply for a second day. Shippers withdrew gas for
underground stores and imported the fuel from Belgium.

Gas for intraday delivery rose to 22.3 pence a therm, an
increase of 1.4 percent from the last price for deliveries today
in trading yesterday. The price is equivalent to $4.46 a million
British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Zimbabwe says foreign banks may also be localised

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe will transfer control of all companies, including foreign-owned banks, to locals if a planned empowerment bill is passed, but no timetable has been set for the transfer of ownership, a government minister said on Tuesday.

"The bill refers to both public and private companies and yes, this includes mining companies and banks, which will be impacted like everyone else," Minister of State for Indigenisation and Empowerment, Paul Mangwana told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Transnet FY operating profit up 30 pct to R6.3 bln

(Reuters) - South African state-owned rail and logistics group Transnet lifted operating profit from continuing operations by 30 percent to 6.3 billion rand, the state-owned group said on Tuesday.

Transnet said annual revenue for the year to end-March rose 8.3 percent to 28.2 billion rand.


Read more at Reuters Africa

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks fall, yen up as investors pare risks

(Reuters) - Wall Street fell and swap spreads widened on Monday as
problems at two hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns
rekindled worries about U.S. subprime mortgages, which cater to
borrowers with troubled credit histories, and how the fallout
will impact the world's biggest economy.




This, coupled with weak U.S. existing home sales data on
Monday, attracted flows into safe-haven government bonds and put
prospects for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year back
on the table.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Shanghai office property appeals despite yield dip-CBRE

(Reuters) - Demand for properties in China, like the rest of the world,
will remain robust for the years to come, as the sector becomes
an increasingly important asset class for global investors such
as pension funds and insurers, analysts said.




"We feel that yield in Shanghai may still further compress
a bit, but the point is that overseas investors are not simply
looking at yields. They are looking at total returns," said
Andrew Ness, executive director of CBRE Research for Asia.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Financial stocks drag down European shares

(Reuters) - European stocks opened lower on Tuesday as investor wariness of problems on the U.S. subprime mortgage market led financial stocks lower.

Among major movers, ABN AMRO fell 1.4 percent after a law professor advising the Dutch Supreme Court on the frozen sale of ABN's U.S. subsidiary LaSalle said the sales should not be put to a shareholder's vote.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Caisse, Onex pull out of bidding for BCE: report

(Reuters) - The move follows concerns about the bidding process and the emergence of a rival bidder, Telus Corp. , it said. It is a potentially crippling blow to the ambitions of CPP and its U.S. partner, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts Co., the report added.




None of the companies could immediately be reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News