Women's semi-finalists hope for a clear day

(Reuters) - The Wimbledon women's semi-finals begin a day later than scheduled on Friday and the four contenders will have to sit tight and first watch the men wrap up their rain-delayed quarter-final matches.

With world number one Justine Henin the overwhelming favourite against the French 18th seed Marion Bartoli, Saturday's decider should be a reprise of either this year's French Open final or the 2001 Wimbledon final.


Read more at Reuters Africa

LG Household sees Amatil unit deal around $434 mln

(Reuters) - It expected the deal to close before the end of September.




Coca-Cola Amatil is an affiliate of Coca-Cola .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Norwegian hacker says he can bypass AT&T on iPhone

(Reuters) - "The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and Wi-Fi work. Stay tuned!" he wrote on his long-running blog, which is combatively named "So Sue Me." The post was entitled "iPhone Independence Day," a play on the July 4 U.S. holiday.




The site contained technical details for other hackers, as well as links to software necessary to complete the process.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

China-Backed Hong Kong Companies Say They're Studying Effect of Tax Change

(Bloomberg) -- China tapped deputy central bank
governor Xiang Junbo to head Agricultural Bank of China as the
government accelerates restructuring of a bank with $99 billion
in bad loans, preparing it for a stock sale.

Xiang, 50, replaces president and party secretary Yang
Mingsheng, Beijing-based Agricultural Bank said. Yang, a 27-year
veteran of the bank, was nominated by the State Council as vice
chairman of China's insurance regulator.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

TREASURIES-Little changed, market awaits jobs data

(Reuters) - Debt prices had also followed British and euro zone bond
markets lower after the Bank of England hiked rates to a six-year
high of 5.75 percent and the European Central Bank backed
expectations for more rate tightening.




June non-farm payrolls figures due at 1230 GMT are forecast
to show that 120,000 new jobs were created last month.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GM's flaghip China venture says H1 sales up 12 pct

(Reuters) - Sales of the Buick Excelle totalled 91,303 units in January
to June, up 25.6 percent from a year ago, while sales of the
Buick Regal and LaCrosse rose 20 percent to 46,228 units.




SAIC-GM-Wuling, GM's commercial vehicle venture in south
China which generates roughly half of the auto giant's China
sales, has not reported first-half results.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Japanese Stocks Slide on Rising Bond Yields, Abe Consumption Tax Comment

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks slipped, snapping a
six-day rally. Property developers and electric power companies
paced declines after yields on U.S. and Japanese government
bonds climbed, raising borrowing costs for businesses.

Mitsubishi Estate Co. lost 1.8 percent, while Tokyo
Electric Power Co. fell the most in four weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Malaysian Industrial Output Probably Rose at Faster Pace in May on Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's production growth probably
accelerated in May amid rising overseas demand for the country's
manufactured goods, such as machinery and scientific equipment.

Production at factories, utilities and mines expanded 1.3
percent from a year ago after rising 0.4 percent in April,
according to the median estimate of 19 economists in a Bloomberg
survey. The Putrajaya-based Statistics Department will release
the figure at 12:01 p.m. on July 9.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japanese Retailer Shares May Decline on Concern Consumption Tax May Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese retailer shares may slip,
leading declines by domestic demand-related companies, after a
report that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe implied the government may
raise consumption tax.

Yamada Denki Co., the nation's biggest electronics retailer,
and Takashimaya Co., the No. 1 department store operator, may
pace losses.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BP Carson Refinery in California to Lower Rates for 10 Days, Person Says

(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc's Carson, California, refinery
will run at lower rates for about 10 days to allow Europe's
second-largest oil company to repair a compressor, a person
familiar with the plant's status said.

Output from the refinery will be cut by an estimated 10
percent to 15 percent from previous levels, said the person, who
couldn't provide the amounts in barrels.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Bausch & Lomb, Microsoft, Newmont Mining, Parametric: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
tomorrow. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC US) declined 9 cents, or
3.7 percent, to $2.35 in trading after the official close of
U.S. exchanges. The maker of semiconductors for the
communications industry reduced its forecast for the second
quarter, predicting sales of as much as $60 million. That
compared with the average estimate of $63.4 million from seven
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Personal bankruptcies rise in Ontario, Quebec

(Reuters) - The two provinces have been heavily affected as the strong
Canadian dollar takes a toll on jobs in the manufacturing
sector, the report said.




"They rely more heavily on the
manufacturing sector because they don't have the oil boom that
Alberta has," said Benjamin Tal, CIBC senior economist and the
report's author. "So we really don't have one economy. We have
two -- the West and the rest."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dollar May Rise Versus Yen and the Euro Before June Payroll Report in U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may rise versus the yen and
euro on speculation a government report might show U.S. job
growth exceeded analysts' forecasts in June.

Data yesterday showed U.S. service industries unexpectedly
expanded in June at the fastest pace in 14 months. A separate
report that includes only private employment and doesn't take
into account hiring by government agencies showed companies in
June added the most workers in seven months to payrolls.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Emerging debt-Spreads tighten over 10 bps in empty market

(Reuters) - Emerging debt bond returns fell 0.26 percent on JP Morgan's
EMBI+ index , while the Brazilian global bond due 2040
, the most liquid of its asset class, slipped
0.375 points to be bid 131.188.




But that was not enough to catch up with a sharp fall in
U.S. Treasuries prices, which sent yields on the benchmark
10-year Treasury notes jumping to more than 5.15
percent from 5.04 percent at the July 3 close.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Economic data and Apple push Nasdaq higher

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.06
points, or 0.08 percent, at 13,566.24. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was up 0.56 points, or 0.04 percent, at
1,525.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11.70
points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,656.65.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Argentina June inflation slightly below forecasts

(Reuters) - A Reuters poll of 14 analysts had yielded a 0.5 percent
median forecast for June inflation, with estimates ranging from
0.4 percent to 0.7 percent.




The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in May and 0.5
percent in June 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Hilton stock, option trading raises questions

(Reuters) - At a glance, the hallmarks of suspicious trading are there:
Hilton shares surged 6.4 percent on Tuesday, their biggest
daily advance in 18 months, with trading volume in a
holiday-shortened session more than three times its daily
average.




And it wasn't just the stock behaving oddly ahead of time.
Hilton options also became suddenly busy on Tuesday, and some
investors stand to bank gains of perhaps 14 times their outlay
by one estimate.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexican Peso Falls Most in Two Weeks on Reduced Risk Demand; Bonds Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's peso fell the most in two
weeks as rising interest rates in developed countries trimmed
demand for riskier assets.

``There's an increase in risk aversion,'' said Francisco
Diez, director of emerging-markets trading in Toronto at RBC
Capital Markets. ``This is affecting all emerging-market
currencies, including the peso.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Statoil, Hydro shareholders approve oil merger

(Reuters) - OSLO, July 5 - Shareholders in Norway's Statoil
and Norsk Hydro have approved Statoil's
planned $36 billion acquisition of Hydro's oil and gas business
to create a Norwegian giant capable of competing globally.




Extraordinary general meetings of both companies on Thursday
endorsed the plan for the biggest merger in Norwegian corporate
history, which was first announced in mid-December.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RBS-led consortium gets ABN offer extension to July 23

(Reuters) - RBS and its partners -- Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch Fortis -- have offered to buy Dutch rival ABN for 71.2 billion euros.



The consortium said in a statement it expects to make its formal offer for ABN by mid-July.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Rising Treasury yields drag on shares

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 5 - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday,
dragged down by rising bond yields that countered early
optimism about the $20 billion buyout of Hilton Hotels Corp.
.




Stronger-than-expected job market news drove up Treasury
yields. Rising yields can lead to higher borrowing costs, which
can cut into corporate profits.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Assurant says 2 employees got notice SEC may sue

(Reuters) - Finite insurance policies were used by some insurers to
inflate quarterly earnings or camouflage losses until an
investigation by the SEC two years ago. They were called finite
because the risk in the policies was limited.




Assurant, a New York City-based specialty insurer, was one
of several companies, including XL Capital and Genworth
Financial , to receive subpoenas from the SEC in 2005.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

ACR Group, Champps, GM, Host Hotels, Penson, Wyndham: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 11:40 a.m. in New York.

ACR Group Inc. (BRR US) jumped $2.01, or 44 percent, to
$6.61. The company, which sells air-conditioning, heating, and
refrigeration equipment, agreed to be bought by Watsco Inc. (WSO
US) for $6.75 a share. Watsco rose $2.08, or 3.8 percent, to
$57.60.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-UniCredit faces hurdles in Polish talks-sources

(Reuters) - MILAN, July 5 - Italian bank UniCredit
is having a rough time clinching a deal to sell 200 bank outlets
in Poland as its counterpart GE Money maintains a tough
negotiating line, sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
In April, UniCredit entered exclusive talks with GE Money,
the financial arm of U.S. giant General Electric , to sell
200 BPH bank branches along with the BPH brand and
said at the time that a deal could be sealed in May.
But more than two months after the start of negotiations, a
deal is not yet in sight, meaning UniCredit risks delaying the
planned merger of the remaining BPH outlets into its other
Polish unit Bank Pekao .




"The Americans are playing hard ball," a source told
Reuters. "They know UniCredit is in a difficult situation and
that it wants to close this deal soon."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nigerian naira slips against dollar on liquidity ease

(Reuters) - The Nigerian naira slipped to 127.25 to the greenback on the interbank market on Thursday from 127.20 on Tuesday on a slight easing in naira liquidity in the market, traders said.

The central bank reopened its repo window on Thursday to allow retail banks that required cash borrow to ease the tight liquidity that had forced them to sell their dollar holdings for the naira earlier in the week, dealers said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

High returns, liquidity hurdles in Africa - bank

(Reuters) - Funds which have invested in Russia and eastern Europe are eyeing African markets for richer pickings, but size and liquidity can be a stumbling block, a senior official at a new Africa-focused bank says.

London-based Medicapital received Financial Services Authority authorisation in mid-May.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Oil Falls From a 10-Month High on Higher U.S. Gasoline Inventories

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a 10-month high in
New York, pulled lower by gasoline, on expectations that U.S.
inventories of the fuel will increase during July.

Gasoline stockpiles rose 1.85 million barrels to 204.4
million last week, according to an Energy Department report. U.S.
crude-oil inventories rose 3.15 million barrels to 354 million
barrels last week, the department said


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Siemens CEO says will consider binding VDO offers

(Reuters) - "If we receive binding offers, naturally we will consider them in the interests of our shareholders," Loescher said.



Loescher said Siemens continued to plan for a stock-market listing of up to half of VDO, the company's preferred option. VDO is valued at up to about 10 billion euros .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-US private sector adds 150,000 jobs in June-report

(Reuters) - Over the three months ending in June, estimated job growth
in the report has averaged about 103,000, said ADP Employer
Services, whose employment report was jointly developed with
Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.




The consensus estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Reuters
was for the ADP report to show 100,000 new private sector jobs
in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Rich U.S. investors' outlook dimmed in June-survey

(Reuters) - Retreating from a 15-month high in May, Spectrem's
Millionaire Investor Index also retreated to April levels.




While both readings were higher than March's numbers, which
reflected February's global equities sell-off, the survey
results suggested a return to caution in the wake of rising
bond yields, turbulence in the subprime credit markets and a
shaky daily equities outlook that characterized June
investments.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

REFILE-WRAPUP 1-US jobs market shows strength, jobless claims up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 5 - The U.S. jobs market showed
some signs of strength in June as private employers added more
jobs than expected and planned layoffs decreased, but initial
claims for unemployment insurance edged up last week, reports
showed on Thursday.




Another report, by a global online careers and recruiting
firm, showed a gauge of U.S. online recruiting dipped in June,
suggesting that a seasonal summer hiring slowdown may have come
earlier than normal.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. mortgage applications little changed - MBA

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 5 - U.S. mortgage applications were little changed from the prior week, with an increase in demand for loans to buy homes offset by a drop in applications to refinance, an industry group said on Thursday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its mortgage applications index rose 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 619.4 in the week ended June 29, nearing its lowest level since mid-February.



The MBA's purchase index rose 2.0 percent to 437.3. But the refinancing applications gauge dropped 2.6 percent 1,687.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis to the lowest this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Lehman Brothers Starts Trading Electricity on French Powernext Exchange

(Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the
fourth-biggest U.S. securities firm, started trading electricity
on France's Powernext SA exchange.

Lehman's London-based unit, Lehman Brothers International,
became the 57th company to use the Paris-based energy exchange's
auction-based trading system for power delivered a day ahead,
Powernext said in a statement on its Web site today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Mortgage applications little changed: MBA

(Reuters) - The MBA's purchase index rose 2.0 percent to 437.3, while
the refinancing applications gauge dropped 2.6 percent 1,687.2
on a seasonally adjusted basis.




The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, excluding fees,
fell 0.10 percentage point to 6.50 percent, the trade group
said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Thai Baht Rises to Decade-High on Inflows to Stocks: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's baht rose beyond 34 to the
dollar for the first time in a decade on speculation overseas
investors increased purchases of stocks as the market rallied to
the highest since 1997.

The baht gained as much as 0.7 percent, the biggest
fluctuation of any currency today, reaching levels not seen since
the Asian financial crisis. The currency's appreciation beyond 36
was the trigger for restrictions on foreign investment in
December. Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase today said
the bank was ``working'' to curb the rise, without detailing
whether it plans to weaken the baht.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Crude Oil Rises to 10-Month High on Nigerian Supply Risks, U.S. Gasoline

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high in
New York on concern renewed violence in Nigeria and refinery
breakdowns may curb U.S. fuel supplies.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said yesterday five contractors were
kidnapped from a rig in Nigeria, where militant groups this week
ended a one-month truce with the government. A three-year-old
British girl, the daughter of an expatriate worker, was
kidnapped today, Police said. ConocoPhillips, the second-largest
U.S. refiner, reported a fault at its plant in Borger, Texas.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

New Zealand Dollar Trades at 22-Year High on Investor Demand for Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar rose to its
strongest in 22 years against the U.S. currency and a 19-year
high versus the yen on speculation investors will buy the
country's bonds.

New Zealand's currency extended this year's advance to 11.3
percent versus the dollar on prospects the nation's borrowing
costs are more likely to rise than those in the U.S. The yield
spread between two-year New Zealand and U.S. notes was 243.2
percentage points today, near the widest in more than two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Zimbabwe bans bulk buying as shops run empty

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe authorities ordered businesses on Thursday to stop selling basic goods in bulk to avert shortages after an official price freeze triggered a frenzied buying spree that has emptied most shop shelves.

President Robert Mugabe's government last week ordered businesses to roll back prices to June 18 levels after wild increases of up to 300 percent within a week following the plunge of the local currency on a thriving black market.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. Natural Gas Is Little Changed Amid Forecast Demand May Exceed Supply

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery today
was little changed after rising to a five-month high yesterday
as forecasts predicted above-average demand will exceed supply.

Gas for delivery today traded at 25.25 pence a therm at
8:09 a.m., 0.2 percent below the last day-ahead price yesterday,
according to prices from broker ICAP Plc on Bloomberg. The price
is equivalent to $5.09 a million British thermal units. A therm
is 100,000 Btus. Intraday gas traded at 25.35 pence yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

LBO Debt Proves Treacherous for Fidelity, Lehman Brothers, TIAA-CREF Funds

(Bloomberg) -- The world's biggest bondholders have
had their fill of leveraged buyouts, convinced that increasing
mortgage delinquencies will drag down the U.S. economy and drive
debt-laden companies into default.

TIAA-CREF, which oversees $414 billion in retirement funds
for teachers and college professors, is boycotting some debt
offerings used to finance LBOs. Fidelity International, a unit of
the world's largest mutual fund company, and Lehman Brothers
Asset Management LLC, the money-management arm of the third-
biggest bond underwriter, say they're avoiding debt from buyouts.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Mozambique eyes World Cup tourism windfall

(Reuters) - Mozambique plans to spend $600 million on new hotels, casinos and other leisure facilities as part of an effort to capitalise on a tourism boom expected when neighbouring South Africa hosts the 2010 soccer World Cup.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Albino Mahumana, Mozambique's national tourism director, said the southern African nation was hoping to lure a large number of visiting soccer fans to its famous beaches and colonial cities.


Read more at Reuters Africa