CME beefs up CBOT bid, confident of approval

(Reuters) - Craig Donohue, CME's chief executive, told Reuters in a telephone interview he was "very, very confident" the deal would be approved by CBOT shareholders, who had been calling and emailing all day to voice their approval.




"There has been an absolutely overwhelming response from CBOT shareholders. This is a great development," Donohue said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Rosetta Resources to fight Calpine lawsuit

(Reuters) - Calpine filed suit on June 29 in the same court where it
filed for bankruptcy - the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of New York - accusing Houston-based Rosetta
of cheating when it bought Calpine's oil and gas assets.




Rosetta, a former unit of Calpine, acquired the assets in
July 2005 for $1.05 billion before Calpine declared bankruptcy
in December 2005.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hotel buyouts a bonanza for many mutual funds

(Reuters) - Private-equity firm Blackstone Group's $20 billion bid for Hilton Hotels Corp. on Tuesday sparked a 27 percent rise in shares of the second-biggest U.S. hotel chain over Thursday and Friday, and boosted those of Hilton's rivals.




But for funds that bought Hilton at its lows in 2001 and still own them, the gains are nearly 500 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

REFILE-BancFirst sees $7.5 mln gain in Q3 from investment sale

(Reuters) - The gain will result in a net income of about $4.2 million,
or 26 cents per share, the financial services holding company
said in a statement.




BancFirst said regulatory approval and other conditions
could alter the amount of the expected gain.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-Chile's LAN director Pinera fined over share trade

(Reuters) - The regulator said Pinera should not have bought the 3
million LAN shares in July last year while he had information
about LAN's unpublished second-quarter results. But it also
accepted the transaction was not driven by his knowledge.




"At the moment at which he made the purchase, was
aware of details of the company's financial balance, which were
not in the public domain," the regulator said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Valero Texas City refinery shut on power snag

(Reuters) - "We are still assessing the situation at the plant," Valero
spokesman Bill Day said, adding that the power failure was
weather-related.




Oil products traders in the U.S. Gulf Coast said they have
not heard of any similar outages at other area refineries such
as the giant 460,000-bpd BP Pls plant or the 72,000-bpd
Marathon Oil refinery.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Canada regulator rules against CN grain program

(Reuters) - The small shippers said CN had changed the way it
distributed cars to favor 100-car trains, making it hard for
small shippers that cannot handle the long trains to secure
enough cars.




The shippers said CN's booking program threatened their
long-term survival.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Hedge funds eye Mexico amid US subprime woes

(Reuters) - Some international investors, who previously shunned the
Mexican mortgage market because of its relatively small size,
are beginning to buy in, with issues paying yields as much as 2
percentage points above comparable U.S. Treasuries.




"We've seen stronger interest in the Mexican market from
some international investors now that we've seen some adverse
outcomes in the U.S. subprime market," said Luis Arce, chief
financial officer of New York hedge fund Christofferson, Robb
and Company, which manages $1.5 billion of assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canadian Stocks Gain on Takeover Talk; Alcan, Research in Motion Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose for a third time in
four days and headed for a weekly gain, as takeover speculation
lifted shares of raw-materials producers and telephone companies.

Alcan Inc. advanced on a report that Rio Tinto Group hired
bankers to help it consider a bid for the aluminum maker. Telus
Corp. extended gains made following BCE Inc.'s takeover last week
in the biggest buyout. Research in Motion Ltd. fell after reaching
a record yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Billionaire Perelman appeals Morgan Stanley decision

(Reuters) - A divided panel of the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach vacated the award in March, saying Perelman failed to prove damages because he did not show what Sunbeam shares would have been worth had there been no fraud.




In his appeal, filed on Thursday, Perelman said the majority erred in finding that he failed to prove damages, and in depriving him of a retrial where he could prove them.


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Cotton Rises to Three-Year High on Speculation U.S. Production to Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Cotton in New York rallied to a
three-year high on speculation the U.S. government will reduce
its production forecast next week after farmers planted the
fewest acres with the fiber since 1989.

About 11.06 million acres were planted with cotton this
year, 9 percent less than forecast in March and 28 percent fewer
than last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said June 29.
The lower acreage may prompt the USDA to cut its production
estimate for the year starting Aug. 1 from a June forecast of
18.8 million bales.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US Treasury's Paulson seeks more Latam investment

(Reuters) - Paulson made the announcement days ahead of a trip next
week that will take him to Brazil, Uruguay and Chile where he
will flag the Bush administration's interest in helping the
region and developing closer ties.




"We are committed to helping the region reduce poverty,
fight corruption, build a middle class and generate more
opportunities," Paulson said, noting that Latin America
currently spends less than 2 percent of its gross domestic
product on new infrastructure projects.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canada Finance Stocks Fall on Rate Concerns; Alcan Advances on Bid Report

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian financial shares fell, led by
Royal Bank of Canada, after a better-that-expected jobs report
fanned speculation that the central bank will raise borrowing costs
next week to cool the economy.

Raw-materials stocks rose on a report that Rio Tinto Group
hired bankers to help consider takeover candidates including Alcan
Inc., the aluminum maker that's already had an offer from Alcoa
Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bank of Moscow Postpones Debut Sale of Bonds Citing Debt Market Volatility

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Moscow, Russia's fifth-largest
bank by assets, postponed its debut sale of bonds in euros
because of market volatility, according to a faxed statement from
Deutsche Bank AG.

The bank, controlled by Moscow's government, hired Deutsche
Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to manage the sale of the five-year
debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Brazil's Real Gains as Local Inflation in June Less Than Analysts Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's real rose as slower-than-
expected inflation boosted speculation the value of local assets
will remain attractive.

The real rose 0.5 percent to 1.9035 per dollar at 9:29 a.m.
New York time. For the year, Brazil's currency has gained about
12 percent, the best performer among the 16 most-actively traded
currencies against the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Gauge of U.S. economy edges up in latest week-ECRI

(Reuters) - The index rise was partly offset by lower stock prices,
said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director at ECRI.




WLI annualized growth rate declined to 6.3 percent from 6.5
percent the prior week.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dow Jones, News Corp. talks not completed

(Reuters) - Dow Jones shares gained 1.6 percent to $58.77 on the New York Stock Exchange.




The comments countered a report in London's The Business weekly magazine that said the two sides have completed talks and were expected to announce a deal next week, citing unnamed sources acting for the Dow Jones board.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Laidlaw posts higher profit, reaffirms outlook

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 6 - Laidlaw International Inc. , operator of bus company Greyhound Lines and yellow U.S. school buses, on Friday posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on growth in its school bus operations.



The company, which is being acquired by FirstGroup Plc , Britain's biggest bus company, also reaffirmed its profit outlook for the rest of the year.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Futures fall on rate worries after jobs data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 6 - Standard & Poor's 500 stock
futures fell on Friday as bond yields rose after a
stronger-than-expected June employment report reinforced the
view that the Federal Reserve would not cut interest rates this
year.




U.S. employers added a stronger-than-expected 132,000 new
non-farm jobs in June and also boosted payrolls more strongly
than previously thought in April and May, according to a Labor
Department report that underlined a strengthening job market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

German Stocks Increase, Led by ThyssenKrupp on Upgrade; BMW, Daimler Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Germany's benchmark DAX Index rose,
recovering some of yesterday's decline. ThyssenKrupp AG paced
gains after Goldman, Sachs & Co. recommended buying the stock.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG climbed after the world's
largest maker of luxury cars said sales increased to a record
last month. Shares of DaimlerChrysler AG also increased.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Advanced Medical bids $4.23 bln for Bausch&Lomb

(Reuters) - Advanced Medical's offer is valued at $75 a share, of which $45 is in cash and $30 in stock, the companies said. That offer compares with a $65 a share offer made by Warburg Pincus in May. Bausch & Lomb's takeover agreement from Warburg Pincus allowed it to solicit other bids for 50 days.




"It's hard to find a way to argue that $75 isn't superior to $65," said Jeff Johnson, an analyst at Robert Baird.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Zambia to spend $74 mln to upgrade lime producer

(Reuters) - Zambia's major lime producer for its vast copper and cobalt mines will upgrade equipment and construct a new kiln to boost lime production at a cost of $74 million, the firm said on Friday.

Ndola Lime Ltd. Chairman Joseph Chikolwa said the firm would construct primary crusher unit, conveyor system and limestone blending facilities in addition to carrying out major upgrades at the plant in Ndola, 300 km north of the capital Lusaka.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Omrix gets FDA nod to use cryo for manufacturing process

(Reuters) - Omrix uses Cryoprecipitate or cryo to make BAC, the
fibrinogen component of its marketed surgical tissue
adhesives.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Dow Jones, News Corp deal seen next week: magazine

(Reuters) - The agreement awaits approval from the Bancroft family, Dow Jones' controlling shareholders.




Representatives for Dow Jones, News Corp. and the Bancroft family could not immediately be reached.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 3-LG Household to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Korea unit

(Reuters) - Amatil, 35 percent-owned by Coca-Cola Co. , said the price would be in a range of A$520-A$545 million range, including debt, and it expects the deal to be completed in three months pending continuing negotiations.




Amatil had said it wanted to get around A$700 million for the unit, its book value, but analysts had said that was unlikely and saw the price announced on Friday as better than expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Yellen Says Fed's 5.25 Percent Rate Will Encourage Growth, Slow Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
President Janet Yellen said keeping interest rates unchanged is
the best way to achieve faster growth and slower inflation in
the U.S. economy.

``The virtues of this path are that it avoids exposing the
economy to unnecessary risk of a downturn while, at the same
time, it is likely to produce enough slack in goods and labor
markets to relieve inflationary pressures,'' Yellen said in a
speech via satellite to a conference in Singapore.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasuries Set for Biggest Weekly Drop in Month as U.S. Companies Add Jobs

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries are headed for the
biggest weekly decline in a month before a government report
that economists forecast will show jobs growth is strong enough
to keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates.

Benchmark 10-year yields traded near the highest in two
weeks after private reports yesterday showed U.S. employment
gained and growth in services quickened. Economic indicators
have been ``robust,'' including ``steadily'' increasing
payrolls, Janet Yellen, head of the Fed Bank of San Francisco,
said in a speech via satellite to a conference in Singapore.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

FEATURE-Economy holds Kenya election spotlight

(Reuters) - Kenyans need only look at the rash of properties
transforming the capital's skyline for proof of the country's
economic resurgence in recent years.




"There's more demand than we can meet. People can now afford
housing because of low interest rates," said one developer, who
two years ago employed 15 people and now has 200 on his payroll.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Copper Heads for 2nd Weekly Gain in London as Supply Falls; Nickel Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Copper headed for a second straight
weekly gain in London on speculation demand will exceed supplies
amid stockpile declines and labor disputes at mines in Chile,
the largest source of the metal. Nickel fell for a fifth week.

Inventories tracked by commodity exchanges in London, New
York and Shanghai shrank 7.4 percent this week to 208,636 metric
tons, the equivalent of five days of global use. Contract
workers at Chile's Codelco, the biggest copper producer, have
been on strike since June 25. Miners at Dona Ines de Collahuasi,
Chile's third-biggest copper mine, are demanding higher wages.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Bausch & Lomb Climbs on Takeover Offer

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose before
a report that may show employers added enough jobs in June to
keep the economy expanding and the unemployment rate unchanged.

Bausch & Lomb Inc. shares climbed in Europe after Advanced
Medical Optics Inc. bid $4.3 billion for the maker of contact-
lens solution. Newmont Mining Corp. gained after the gold mining
company said it will close its merchant-banking unit. Microsoft
Corp. dropped after saying it will incur as much as $1.15
billion in costs after expanding its warranty coverage on Xbox.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Investors eye U.S. jobs data for rate hint

(Reuters) - The U.S. non-farm payrolls report for June is
expected to show the U.S. labour market remains firm, bolstering
the view that a solid economy will keep down the chances of an
interest rate cut this year.




That view has pushed up bond yields recently, setting off
concerns that a higher cost of borrowing will squeeze out of the
market the liquidity that has been behind many asset price
gains.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Australia's CSR Bond Risk Set to Rise Above Four-Month High, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning the bonds
of CSR Ltd., Australia's biggest sugar refiner, will exceed
today's four-month high because of uncertainty surrounding a
possible breakup of the company, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

``Something is going to change with the group over the next
three to six months and it won't be bondholder friendly,'' Craig
Saalmann, credit strategist at JPMorgan, said today in an
interview.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Kenya businesses say strong shilling is hurting them

(Reuters) - Kenyan companies say the strong shilling is hurting both exporters and businesses competing with cheap imports in the local market, with some saying the current exchange rate amounted to a national crisis.

In early May, Central Bank Governor Njuguna Ndung'u explained the strength of the national currency with a three-year financial boom and growth in sectors like agriculture and tourism.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Drax Starts Two Units, Halts Another at Europe's Largest Coal-Fired Plant

(Bloomberg) -- Drax Group Plc, the U.K. owner of
Europe's biggest coal-fired power plant, started two units and
halted another one yesterday.

Unit 2 started production at 3 p.m. yesterday, having been
halted since April 19, according to data on a Web site run by
National Grid Plc. Unit 1 started at about 8:30 p.m. yesterday
after stopping production on June 8.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Fast Retailing eyes Barneys to tap global markets

(Reuters) - The acquisition would be Fast Retailing's biggest to date and put to use a war chest of $1.3 billion that has been on hold since the company gave up on a bid for Hong Kong's Giordano International last year.




"Fast Retailing has vowed to expand abroad and they have plenty of cash to do it," said Dairo Murata, an industry analyst from Credit Suisse in Tokyo. "Even if this one falls through, they will just go on looking for something else."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News