UPDATE 1-Ericsson Q2 profit climbs but misses forecast

(Reuters) - Sales totalled 47.6 billion crowns in the second quarter,
just missing a 47.8 billion forecast.




The company said cash flow from operations rose to 4.2
billion crowns from 0.2 billion a year earlier. Cash flow has
been a worry for investors as it has been declining for several
quarters.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

U.K. Pound Set for Sixth Weekly Gain on Outlook for BOE, Fed Interest Rate

(Bloomberg) -- The pound headed for its longest
winning run versus the dollar in more than a year on speculation
the Bank of England will keep raising interest rates while the
Federal Reserve stays on hold.

The U.K. currency climbed to a 26-year high this week as the
Federal Reserve trimmed its forecast for economic growth and Bear
Stearns Cos. reported losses on hedge funds that bet on bonds
backed by subprime loans. A report today may show the U.K.
economy maintained its pace of expansion in the second quarter,
according to a survey of economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Google, Microsoft Retreat; SanDisk Advances: U.S. After-Hours Trading

(Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. fell in extended U.S.
trading after the owner of the world's most-popular Internet
search engine said second-quarter profit rose 28 percent, less
than analysts estimated, on slower sales growth.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Google dropped
$38.57, or 7 percent, to $510.02 at 6:03 p.m. New York time.
Excluding stock-based compensation costs, profit was $3.56 a
share, missing the average estimate of $3.57 in a Bloomberg
survey of analysts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

LG Elec shares surge on strong earnings, Motorola loss

(Reuters) - "News of Motorola's loss certainly helped LG shares as it highlights its handset margin, which came in higher than competitors," said Kevin Lee, an analyst at Woori Investment and Securities.




The world's fifth-biggest mobile phone maker on Thursday posted a second-quarter net profit of 385 billion won , well above analysts' forecasts. LG had posted a loss of 9.7 billion won a year earlier and a 122.6-billion-won shortfall in the previous quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

KKR raises $600 mln in loans for Singapore's MMI buy-sources

(Reuters) - Singapore's DBS and several other European and
Asian banks also participated in the consortium, sources said.




A leveraged buyout involves the acquisition of another
company using a significant amount of borrowed money and using
the acquired firm's assets as collateral.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nippon Oil Receives August Fuel Order From Tokyo Electric After Earthquake

(Bloomberg) -- Nippon Oil Corp., Japan's biggest
refiner, received an order to supply fuel oil in August to Tokyo
Electric Power Co. after the utility shut the world's biggest
nuclear plant following an earthquake, a company official said.

Tokyo Electric wants about 850,000 kiloliters, or about 5.3
million barrels, of low-sulfur fuel oil and low-sulfur crude oil,
such as Indonesia's Minas grade, a Nippon Oil official said,
asking not to be identified because of a company policy.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Bonds Rise on Speculation Consumer Prices Will Extend Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds rose on speculation
consumer prices will fall further, adding to the purchasing
power of the fixed payments of government debt.

KDDI Corp., Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone carrier,
said yesterday it will offer as much as a 50 percent discount on
monthly subscription fees, adding to deflation pressures in the
world's second-largest economy. Production halts at automobile
plants have added to some investors expectations that an
earthquake this week in central Japan may slow growth in the
economy, said Naomi Hasegawa, a senior bond strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Philippine Peso Advances to Near Seven-Year High As Teves Sees More Gains

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippine peso rose for a
second day to near a seven-year high, after Finance Secretary
Gary Teves said the currency may extend gains.

The government will not impose capital controls to curb the
peso's appreciation, Teves said yesterday. The government
prefers ``a gradual appreciation'' of the peso to give exporters
enough time to adjust, Teves said.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Australia May Sign Up to U.S. Accord to Promote Nuclear Energy, Recycling

(Bloomberg) -- Australia may consider signing up to
a U.S. accord to promote the recycling of nuclear waste and the
expanded use of atomic energy worldwide, Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer said.

The U.S. Department of Energy approached Australia
suggesting the two countries update their 1982 nuclear
cooperation agreement, Downer told the Australian Broadcasting
Corp. today, adding the talks may broach Australian involvement
in President George W. Bush's Global Nuclear Energy
Partnership.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 2-Ventana hikes 2007/08 outlook, 2009 view strong

(Reuters) - The medical diagnostic testing firm also posted a flat
quarterly profit, weighed by costs linked to the offer from
Switzerland-based Roche. Acquisition activity has heated up in
the sector as bigger firms eye smaller niche diagnostics
companies with promising technologies.




Second-quarter profit was $7 million or 20 cents per share,
compared with $7.2 million, or 20 cents per share, a year
earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nikkei seen extending gains but advance may be limited

(Reuters) - All of Japan's eight carmakers plan to stop some domestic production for up to three days to cope with a supply shortage from a key parts maker whose plants were hit by a powerful earthquake on Monday.




"AMD's strong results will likely support chip stocks here today, cancelling out the disappointing results from rival Intel, which prompted selling of those stocks here," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of the equity marketing department at Daiwa Securities SMBC.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Crude Oil Trades Near 11-Month High After Total Cuts Exports From Angola

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after reaching an 11-month high yesterday after Total SA cut
exports from Angola.

Total, Europe's third-largest oil company, said output from
its 240,000-barrel-a-day Dalia field was halved by a generator
fault. Oil and gasoline also rose after Husky Energy Inc. said a
fire at its refinery in Lima, Ohio cut output by 75 percent. A
July 18 Energy Department report showed below-average U.S.
gasoline stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-House, Senate panels approve USDA/FDA spending bills

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 19 - The U.S. House and Senate
Appropriations Committees each passed fiscal 2008 agriculture
funding bills that increase spending for food safety and set a
timeline to put country-of-origin labels on red meats beginning
in fall 2008.




Most of the money in the bills goes to the Agriculture
Department, which oversees inspection of meat and poultry and
is responsible for public nutrition programs, among other
things. Fiscal year 2008 begins on Oct. 1.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

India's Credit-Default Swap Rules May Limit Growth in Market, ISDA Says

(Bloomberg) -- Guidelines proposed by India for
trading credit-default swaps exclude a ``significant'' part of
the domestic debt market and may limit growth in bank lending,
according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

The draft rules require a published rating on securities
tied to the swaps, the Reserve Bank of India said on May 16. The
contracts were conceived to protect debt holders by paying the
buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities
should the borrower default.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Chrysler Offers to Pay Higher Interest on Loans Sought for Finance Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Chrysler raised the proposed interest
rates on $6 billion of loans it is seeking for its finance unit
as investor demand slumps for high-yield debt.

The increase follows the carmaker's decision earlier this
week to boost rates it is offering on $12 billion more in loans
for its auto unit, said three investors, who declined to be named
because terms aren't public. Both are related to its takeover by
Cerberus Capital Management LP.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dow Jones director resigns over takeover bid

(Reuters) - "I cannot prove my worries are right," he wrote in a letter
to the board that Dow Jones filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. "I can only refer to News Corp. practices
in the past."




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

SanDisk profit falls on decline in memory prices

(Reuters) - BOSTON, July 19 - SanDisk Corp said on Thursday its quarterly profit tumbled 70 percent as the world's No. 1 maker of flash memory cards suffered amid sharp declines in the prices of its storage products.



Fiscal second-quarter net income fell to $28.5 million, or 12 cents a share, compared with $95.6 million, or 47 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 15 percent to $827 million during the quarter, which ended July 1.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Hog Futures Decline on Concern U.S. Exports to Weaken; Cattle Futures Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures fell in Chicago for the
first time in three sessions as traders focused more on
decreasing U.S. pork exports to Mexico and Russia and less on the
prospect of rising Chinese demand. Cattle prices also fell.

Mexico, the second-largest buyer of U.S. pork behind Japan,
has imported 30 percent less than a year earlier, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture said last week. Exports to Russia, the
fifth-largest buyer, are 25 percent behind last year's pace, the
USDA said. The price of pork rose 7.1 percent in the past two
days on speculation demand from China would rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Qualcomm says still pursuing veto, stay on ITC ban

(Reuters) - "We're going to continue to pursue the presidential veto
and the emergency stay because it's still clearly warranted by
the situation that exists for the rest of the wireless
industry," Davidson said in an interview with Reuters.




Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications
and Vodafone Group Plc .


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Stryker 2nd-quarter earnings rise

(Reuters) - The maker of artificial hips and knees posted second-quarter net earnings of $269.1 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with a profit of $213.9 million, or 52 cents, a year ago.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks rally, dollar near lows vs euro

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - U.S. stocks rallied on
Thursday and pushed the Dow toward a record closing high as
better-than-expected corporate earnings helped ease persistent
worries that problems in the U.S. subprime mortgage market
will spill over into the wider economy.




In the session's final half hour of trading, the Dow
flirted with levels above the 14,000 mark. On Tuesday, it
crossed the 14,000 milestone for the first time and set a new
lifetime high at 14,021.95.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Glaxo's Avandia Diabetes Pill Faces U.S. Agency's Warning, Doctor Revolt

(Bloomberg) -- GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia, tainted
by reports linking the drug to increased heart attack risks, may
face a long-term decline in use even if U.S. regulators find the
diabetes pill is safe.

In May, researchers reported that Avandia, Glaxo's second-
biggest revenue producer, may increase chances of heart attacks
by 43 percent. Since then sales have slumped as doctors turn to
other medicines, and shares of London-based Glaxo have dropped 13
percent, wiping out $23 billion of market value.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Broadcom, Verizon Wireless in licensing pact

(Reuters) - Shares of Broadcom were up 4.9 percent and Qualcomm stock
fell over 3 percent after the agreement. The deal appeared to
be an about-face for Verizon Wireless , a venture of Verizon
Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc
, which had previously sought to overturn the ban.




Verizon Wireless said it will pay Broadcom $6 for each
handset in question, up to $40 million per calendar quarter and
up to a maximum total payment of $200 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Goldman to build second Jersey City tower

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - Goldman Sachs Group , the world's largest investment bank, said on Thursday it is building a third office tower in the New York City area to accommodate rapid growth in its staff. Goldman on Wednesday received approval from Jersey City, New Jersey, to build a 30-story, $560 million office building on property directly across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan. The firm already has a 42-story, $1.3 billion Jersey City tower, and is building a new 42-story headquarters in the Battery Park City area of lower Manhattan.



Goldman has grown at an explosive rate since its 1999 initial public offering, and its need for space has increased. Total employees have nearly tripled to 26,000 from 9,000 in that time, with 13,000 based in the New York City region.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chrysler sweetens pricing on loans: sources

(Reuters) - Call language on both term loans also is being tightened. The first-lien piece is now callable at 102, 101 and par , while the second-lien loan is now callable at 103, 102, 101, par . Both term loans are being offered at discounts of 99.5 and 99, respectively.




Chrysler Financial removed the incremental term loan basket. Also, the debt to net worth covenant governing the first-lien loan will be added to the second-lien loan, which will be governed by the borrowing base.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gilead shares rise ahead of 2nd-quarter report

(Reuters) - The Swiss drugmaker earlier on Thursday reported stronger- than-expected second-quarter Tamiflu sales of $369 million as pandemic sales more than offset minimal seasonal flu sales.




"This translates into approximately $77 million in royalty revenue to Gilead in the third quarter of 2007, 26 percent higher than our estimate of $61 million," Jefferies & Co. analyst Eun Yang wrote in a research note.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Associated Banc-Corp posts lower quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Net interest income for the quarter fell to $157.5 million
from $168.4 million in the year-ago period.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Citi Chile and Banco de Chile to merge

(Reuters) - Under the terms of the agreement, Citi will take a 32.96 percent stake in Banco de Chile's parent company, LQ Financial Investments , currently wholly owned by Chilean manufacturing conglomerate Quinenco .




Banco de Chile's assets in the Andean nation, valued at $6.015 billion, will be merged with those of Citi in Chile, valued at $701 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Foot Locker mulls selling itself - report

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - Foot Locker Inc. is considering putting itself up for sale following disappointing performance at its U.S. shoe stores and the failure to buy Genesco Inc. , the New York Post reported on Thursday, sending the retailer's shares up nearly 12 percent.



Citing sources, the newspaper said the athletic shoe retailer has hired Lehman Brothers to advise it on a potential sale.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Badger, IMS, International Game, Sherwin-Williams: U.S. Equity Movers

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

Avici Systems Inc. (AVCI US) rose $3.83, or 45 percent, to
$12.25. The maker of equipment that directs Internet traffic said
in a statement sent by Business Wire that second-quarter net
income rose to 82 cents a share from 58 cents a year earlier.
Revenue increased to $29.6 million from $25.3 million.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Ceridian rebuffs fund's bid to top takeover deal

(Reuters) - "The Board has concluded that you have not made an offer
which we can evaluate to determine if it may result in a
Superior Proposal in accordance with the standards set forth in
the merger agreement," White Matthews, chairman of Ceridian's
board, wrote to Ackman on Thursday.




The letter was made public in a regulatory filing.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Shari Redstone may leave Viacom board: source

(Reuters) - Viacom shares rose 3.5 percent as her possible departure revived questions over who might succeed the 84-year-old mogul, stoking speculation the company could be sold, one industry analyst said. Viacom owns the MTV Networks and Paramount movie studios.




Shari Redstone, 52, sits on the board of Viacom and CBS Corp. and was viewed as a potential successor to her father.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Econet says gets green light to build Kenya network

(Reuters) - Kenya has given South Africa-based Econet Wireless the green light to start building the East African country's third mobile phone network, Econet said on Thursday.

Unlisted Econet said in a statement Kenya had reinstated the company's licence, which was revoked in 2003 amid shareholder wrangling. No one at Kenya's Ministry of Communications could immediately be reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Reliance Steel profit up, but outlook below view

(Reuters) - Its shares fell 2.2 percent to $59.67 in early trading on
the New York Stock Exchange.




The company said second-quarter net earnings rose to $122.8
million, or $1.59 per share, from $100.5 million, or $1.32 per
share, in the same quarter of 2006, the Los Angeles-based
company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Manpower earnings double as European demand strong

(Reuters) - Manpower's results, helped by the weak U.S. dollar and a
French accounting change, only met Wall Street expectations,
unlike in other recent quarters when they beat by several
cents.




Earnings rose to $160.4 million, or $1.86 per share, from
$80.4 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier. The 2007
quarter's earnings were boosted 66 cents per share by a change
in the calculation of French payroll taxes.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

U.S. Stocks Advance on Earnings; Shares of IBM, Energy Producers Lead Gain

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained, led by
technology companies, after International Business Machines
Corp. reported earnings that topped analysts' estimates.

IBM, the world's biggest provider of computer services,
gained the most since 2003 after saying acquisitions boosted
results. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest energy
producer, rose to a record after crude oil climbed to an 11-
month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Earnings top estimates, send indexes higher

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - U.S. stocks rose sharply on
Thursday as multinational companies such as IBM and
Juniper Networks Inc. reported earnings that beat
forecasts, shifting investors' focus back to corporate profits
and away from subprime credit worries.




The Nasdaq Composite index hit a 6 1/2-year intraday high.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asbestos in Manhattan explosion debris - officials

(Reuters) - Six square blocks remained cordoned off around the site of
the blast that shook buildings at about 6 p.m. on Wednesday,
creating a towering geyser of debris and sending people fleeing
in scenes reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks.




Officials ruled out terrorism as the cause of the explosion
that sent boiling, brownish water and steam gushing at least
120 feet high, saying it could have been caused by
cold water getting into the pipe. One person died of cardiac
arrest and about 20 others were injured, some seriously.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Allstate comfortable with subprime investments

(Reuters) - Allstate executives, including Chief Executive Thomas
Wilson, made their comments during a conference call with
analysts and investors.




Allstate reportered lower than expected earnings on
Wednesday, as homeowner premiums declined.



Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

M&T Bank to buy Partners Trust for $555 mln

(Reuters) - Partners Trust is the parent of Partners Trust Bank. It
operates branches in six upstate counties, and has about $2.3
billion each of deposits and loans, Buffalo-based M&T said.




The transaction is expected to close within six months. M&T
has $57.9 billion of assets and more than 650 branches in seven
mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C. Warren Buffett's
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is among its top
shareholders.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Citigroup to take stake in Banco de Chile parent

(Reuters) - Quinenco said it would retain control of the parent company, LQ Financial Investments.




Quinenco said it aimed to complete the Citigroup operation by the start of next year, and it would involve a merger of Banco de Chile and Citigroup's banking assets in Chile.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

ProLogis Postpones Debut Bonds Because of Volatile Markets, Person Says

(Bloomberg) -- ProLogis European Properties, owner
of Europe's largest group of warehouse distribution facilities,
postponed its first sale of bonds, said a person involved in the
sale.

The sale was delayed because of bond market volatility,
said the person, who declined to be identified because details
of the sale weren't made public. The Luxembourg-based company
had hired ABN Amro Holding NV and Bank of America Securities LLC
to manage the sale of the 10-year euro-denominated notes.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Turkish Stocks Jump Before Elections, Led by Akbank: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish stocks posted the biggest
gain this year, lifting the country's main index to a record, on
bets this weekend's elections will result in a single-party
government that will maintain economic growth.

Akbank TAS and Turkiye Is Bankasi AS, Turkey's two biggest
publicly traded banks, paced the advance.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GM Q2 sales up slightly, North American sales down

(Reuters) - GM said it sold 2.4 million vehicles globally in the second quarter, up less than 10,000 vehicles from a year earlier. The automaker also said sales outside the United States, at 1.39 million vehicles, accounted for 58 percent of total sales.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Lower food prices help ease Malawi inflation

(Reuters) - Good maize harvests continue to help drive down inflation in Malawi, with the headline number easing to 7.7 percent year-on-year in June from 7.9 percent in May, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said on Thursday.

It said food inflation, which accounts for 58.1 percent of the impoverished southern African country's Consumer Price Index (CPI), dipped to 6.8 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canadian Stocks May Climb on Oil Prices, U.S. Earnings; Suncor May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise for a third
day after oil prices reached an 11-month high and better-than-
expected profit reports from U.S. companies showed economic
strength in Canada's biggest export market.

Oil prices climbed in London after Total SA, Europe's third-
largest oil company, lost production at an oil field in Angola.
Bank of America Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.
reported earnings that topped analysts' forecasts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bank of America profit up 5 pct, bad loans soar

(Reuters) - Excluding items, profit was $1.30 per share, according to Reuters Estimates, topping the analysts' average forecast by 10 cents.




Revenue rose 7 percent to $19.56 billion. Analysts on average were expecting $18.49 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Illinois Tool posts higher profit, raises outlook

(Reuters) - Net income in the second quarter rose almost 9 percent to
$505.6 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with $465.9
million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.




Analysts had expected the maker of fasteners, food service
and welding equipment, countertop materials and other products
to earn 88 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Futures rise before wave of earnings; IBM gains

(Reuters) - Shares of International Business Machines Corp.
rose in extended-hours trading on Wednesday after the world's
largest computer services company reported earnings that beat
Wall Street expectations. For details, see [ID:N18415715].




"IBM shows the weak dollar is having a very positive effect
on some multinational companies. Their overseas revenues are
really helping the bottom line very strongly, that's the
bullish part of the day," said Rick Meckler, president of
investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Hoboken, New
Jersey.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil rises above $77, supply worries intensify

(Reuters) - Oil resumed its march towards record highs on Thursday, climbing above $77 a barrel after a surprise drop in gasoline stocks in the United States and heightened supply concerns in Africa.

The market leapt on Wednesday after U.S. inventory data showed refineries running harder and failing to build up fuel stocks. A cut in supply from Angola, OPEC's newest member, added further support.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Zanzibar to privatise clove industry

(Reuters) - Zanzibar will soon privatise its clove industry in a bid to revive what was once the Indian Ocean Islands' main foreign exchange earner, the archipelago's finance minister said on Thursday.

Cloves were once the main foreign exchange earner on the so called "spice islands", but the industry collapsed in the 1980's after international prices tumbled.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Hershey profit falls on charges

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time charges, earnings were 35 cents a share, matching the average analyst estimate posted by Reuters Estimates.




Sales were flat at $1.05 billion, below the average analyst estimate of $1.07 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Bank of America second-quarter profit rises

(Reuters) - Net income for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company rose to $5.76 billion, or $1.28 per share, from $5.48 billion, or $1.19 a share, a year earlier.






Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Basis Capital Suffered Subprime Losses as Early as February, Letter Says

(Bloomberg) -- Basis Capital Fund Management Ltd.,
an Australian hedge fund caught up in the rout in U.S. subprime
mortgages, suffered losses as early as February.

In a letter sent to investors July 6, Basis Capital said its
investments in collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, had been
tarnished by ``guilt by association.'' Less than a week later,
the Sydney-based hedge fund, which had assets of $1 billion in
May, said its two funds lost 9 percent and 14 percent last month.
Withdrawals from the funds have been frozen and some margin calls
have been missed, research firm Zenith Investment Partners Ltd.
said in an e-mailed note today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Continental earnings rise on int'l demand

(Reuters) - The fourth-largest U.S. carrier by passenger traffic said
second-quarter net profit rose to $228 million, or $2.03 per
share, from $198 million, or $1.84 per share, in the same
period a year ago.




Excluding a one-time charge related to the settlement of a
pilot pension plan, Continental posted earnings of $2.10 cents
per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.84, according
to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bank of NY Mellon posts quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Net income fell to $445 million, or 58 cents per share,
from $448 million, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

M&A, upbeat earnings support European share gains

(Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday after a two-day losing streak, supported by upbeat earnings updates from European heavyweights and as merger activity picked up again.

German software firm SAP jumped 4.1 percent on strong second-quarter licence sales, while Vodafone gained after posting robust first-quarter earnings.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Equinix raises bid for IXEurope

(Reuters) - Equinix's higher bid trumped the offer of a third party, the
companies said, and raises the value of the deal to about 270.1
million pounds, or $555 million, before the assumption of debt.




Equinix hopes to close its acquisition of IXEurope by
mid-September, it said. The deal is subject to shareholder and
regulatory approval.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Russia's Rostelekom 2006 net profit jumps 49 pct

(Reuters) - Revenues also rose by around 50 percent to stand at 61.56
billion roubles, compared with 40.96 billion roubles in 2005.




Rostelekom, in which state-controlled telecoms holding
Svyazinvest owns 51 percent, said its international outgoing
traffic rose 9.2 percent from 2005, while ingoing traffic was up
31.2 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Ina Says Russian Crude-Oil Supply Contract Was Signed With Trader Gunvor

(Bloomberg) -- Ina Industrija Nafte d.d., Croatia's
biggest oil company, signed a two-year contract for Russian crude
with the Russian-Swiss oil trader Gunvor International Ltd., Ina's
spokesman Bojan Vinek said.

Ina, based in Zagreb, will release the details of the contract
sometime around noon today, Vinek said in a phone interview. The
oil company announced the transaction yesterday and said it will
account for 45 percent of its planned imports.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Sparebanken, Network Rail, Groupama Plan to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- Network Rail Ltd., the government-
backed owner of Britain's railways, is among borrowers seeking
to raise the equivalent of at least 3.5 billion euros ($4.8
billion) from sales of bonds in euros and pounds, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.

Companies sold the equivalent of $1.04 trillion of bonds
denominated in euros and pounds so far this year, up from $844
billion in the same period in 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dairy Crest says sales and cost cuts on track

(Reuters) - On average, six analysts polled by Reuters Estimates expect the company to post pretax profit for 2008 of 55.9 million pounds .



) Keywords: DAIRY CREST TRADING/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Citigroup, Lehman receive I.R.S. requests: WSJ

(Reuters) - At issue, the Journal said, are derivatives trades where securities firms buy stocks from offshore hedge-fund clients, and in return pay them the return of the stocks and any dividends they generate.




If a $10 stock rises to $11 and pays a dividend of 15 cents, the securities firm pays the hedge fund $1.15, representing the appreciation and the dividend, minus a small fee. The trade could save the hedge fund from paying as much as 30 percent in taxes on the dividend, depending on the venue, because the fund technically does not hold the stock, the Journal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News