US Congress recesses amid Democratic achievements

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, Aug 6 - After months of being flogged
for accomplishing little, Democrats who control Congress headed
into a summer recess having passed several high-profile bills
from raising the minimum wage to bolstering U.S. security and
expanding children's health care.




Their top priority -- ending the Iraq war -- remains
frustratingly unfulfilled. But the Democrats who took over in
January were able to go home early on Sunday for a monthlong
break having won more support in the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives for bringing combat troops home by early next
year, marking a significant turnaround from last year.


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Hynix, Toshiba Shares Rise on Outage at Samsung Electronics Chip Factory

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and
Toshiba Corp. rose, bucking declines across Asia, on speculation
a power outage at Samsung Electronics Co. may spur increased
orders for the two smaller memory chipmakers.

Hynix's stock gained as much as 2.8 percent in Seoul and
Toshiba shares climbed 1.8 percent in Tokyo as benchmark indexes
in Asia fell. On Aug. 4, South Korea's Samsung said it resumed
production at the six production lines that were halted a day
earlier because of a power outage, estimating 40 billion won ($43
million) in lost sales.


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Asian Currencies Weaken as Overseas Investors Shun Region's Riskier Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies fell on speculation
global investors cut holdings in riskier assets as stock markets
across the region dropped.

The Indonesian rupiah declined to the weakest in almost five
months and the Malaysian ringgit and South Korean won slipped to
their lowest in July. Bank Indonesia said last week it isn't
worried by the currency's decline, while South Korea's central
bank said the won is set to drop as the current-account surplus
narrows.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stocks Retreat on Earnings; DuPont, Countrywide Financial, Apple Drop

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks slid after Countrywide
Financial Corp. reported slumping profits from the housing rout
and analysts said demand for Apple Inc.'s iPhone is diminishing.

Countrywide, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, plunged the
most in almost a year on earnings that missed analysts'
estimates. DuPont Co., the third-biggest U.S. chemical maker,
posted its steepest drop since 2005 after it said demand
weakened for paint and countertops. Concern that the iPhone,
which Apple expects to be its third-largest business, won't meet
forecasts sent the shares to the biggest slide in six weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

AIG Wins Approval to Establish Chinese Unit Focused on Property-Casualty

(Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc.,
the world's largest insurer, won approval to start a new Chinese
subsidiary that should make it easier to add branches selling
property and liability insurance.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission authorized the
creation of AIG General Insurance Company China Ltd., a wholly
owned subsidiary headquartered in Shanghai, the New York-based
insurer said in a statement today. The license is expected to
help AIG expand its property and liability operations beyond
Shanghai, Guangdong, and Shenzhen.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korea Stocks Fall, Reversing Earlier Gains; Exporters Drop on Won

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks dropped, erasing
earlier gains. Samsung Electronics Co. declined after the won
rose to the highest since December against the dollar, eroding
the local-currency value of exporters' overseas earnings.

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. advanced after it said second-
quarter profit jumped to a record.


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UPDATE 1-JPMorgan says wins approval to incorporate in China

(Reuters) - SHANGHAI, July 23 - Wall Street bank JPMorgan
said on Monday it had won final approval to set up a
wholly owned unit in China to strengthen its wholesale banking
business in the world's fastest growing major economy.




This move will make JPMorgan the second U.S. bank to
incorporate in China, after Citigroup Inc. did so early
this year, while more than a dozen foreign banks queue to secure
regulatory approval for their China-incorporated units.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Turkish Markets May Rise After Erdogan's Justice Party Wins Re-Election

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish stocks, bonds and the lira
may gain after voters re-elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, giving him a mandate to extend policies that won Turkey
European Union membership talks and helped bring 21 straight
quarters of economic growth.

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party took 47 percent of
the vote with almost all ballots counted at 1 a.m. in the
capital Ankara, according to the state-run Anatolia News Agency.
That's likely to give the party 342 lawmakers in the 550-seat
parliament, CNN Turk television said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets 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

South Korean Won Climbs to Highest This Year; Malaysian Ringgit Advances

(Bloomberg) -- The South Korean won rose to the
strongest this year on signs growth in Asia is accelerating.

The currency has strengthened almost 1 percent in July as
the central bank and government raised this year's growth
forecasts. Vice Finance Minister Kim Seok Dong said today the
government will stabilize the won when necessary. China's economy,
South Korea's biggest export market, grew at the fastest pace in
12 years in the second quarter, a report today showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Australian Dollar Strengthens to 18-Year High on U.S. Hedge Fund Losses

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar rose to the
strongest in 18 years on speculation losses at hedge funds run by
Bear Stearns Cos. will bolster demand for financial assets
outside of the U.S. that are perceived as safer.

The currency also rebounded to rise to a 16-year high versus
the yen after Bear Stearns told investors in one of its hedge
funds that they won't get any money back. Losses in U.S.
securities may push investors to buy assets in other countries
such as Australia, where the economy is improving. Government
bonds gained for a third day, while emerging-market debt fell.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korean Won to Advance on Economic Growth, Stock Inflows, HSBC Says

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won is likely to
extend its gains from the strongest in seven months as the
economy expands and overseas investors buy the nation's equities,
HSBC Holdings Plc said.

The won may advance to 905 against the dollar by the end of
this year, said Richard Yetsenga, a Hong Kong-based strategist
at Europe's biggest bank by market value. The currency has risen
1.3 percent this year as growth in Asia's third-largest economy
picked up and foreign funds put money into the stock market.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Australian Dollar Snaps 4-Day Rally, Retreating From 18-Year High

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar snapped a
four-day rally to an 18-year high on speculation traders betting
the central bank will raise interest rates won't add to holdings.

The currency has surged 4.5 percent in the past month as
interest-rate futures show speculators have fully priced in that
the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift borrowing costs by year-
end. Traders have increased bets on the Australian dollar,
figures on July 13 by the Washington-based Commodity Futures
Trading Commission show. It slid the most in a week today.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Treasuries Little Changed Before Bernanke, Report on International Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed
before testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
tomorrow, and a report today forecast to show waning foreign
demand for U.S. assets.

U.S. 10-year notes snapped two days of gains fueled by
speculation losses in securities backed by subprime mortgage
loans would increase demand for safer government debt. Bernanke
may reiterate in his semi-annual testimony that policy makers
are focused on restraining inflation, suggesting the Fed won't
lower its benchmark interest rate from 5.25 percent this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Australia's Dollar Snaps Four-Day Advance, Retreats From an 18-Year High

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar snapped a four-
day rally to an 18-year high on speculation traders betting the
central bank will raise interest rates again won't add to
holdings.

The currency has surged 4.2 percent in the past month as
interest-rate futures show speculators have fully priced in
expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will boost borrowing
costs by year-end. It slid the most in almost three weeks today.
Figures released July 13 by the Washington-based Commodity
Futures Trading Commission showed traders had increased bets on
the currency advancing.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Total sees Shtokman investment at $4-5 bln -report

(Reuters) - Gazprom chose Total as development partner on Thursday in a
sign of closer Moscow-Paris ties, but the move left questions
over how good a deal the French group had won.




Under the deal, Total will receive a 25 percent stake in the
company that will build and own the pipes, rigs and other
infrastructure for the first phase of Shtokman's development.
Asked whether not holding a stake in the production license
was risky, de Margerie said: "A group like ours wishes for a
remuneration that corresponds to the risks taken and the work
that has been made."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Samsung Electronics Posts Lowest Profit in Four Years as Chip Prices Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co., Asia's
largest maker of semiconductors, flat screens and mobile phones,
reported its smallest quarterly profit in four years after a glut
drove prices of computer memory chips to record lows.

Second-quarter net income fell 5 percent to 1.42 trillion
won ($1.6 billion), from 1.5 trillion won a year earlier, the
Suwon, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing
today. That's the lowest profit since the second quarter of 2003.
Sales rose 3.7 percent to 14.63 trillion won.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Didata sells Britehouse stake to black investors

(Reuters) - South African technology firm Dimension Data has agreed to sell 60 percent of its Britehouse Group IT consulting and services business to black investors to help it expand in Africa.

Didata, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said on Thursday it had won approval to sell the stake to a consortium comprising black empowerment groups Convergence Partners Investments and Safika Holdings, and investment firm VenFin.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Philippine Peso, Indonesian Rupiah Strengthen on Investment Fund Inflows

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippine peso rose by the most
in more than a week as a rebound in Asian stocks suggests global
investors are buying riskier emerging-market assets.

The peso led gains among 10 of the most-active Asian
currencies, excluding the yen, after Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia President Charles Plosser yesterday said a slump in
the U.S. housing market won't derail growth in the world's
biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Korean Won May Advance as Quickening Economic Growth Will Attract Inflows

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won may rise for a
third day on speculation accelerating economic growth will
lure investments into the nation.

Overseas fund managers bought more stocks than they sold
for the first day in three as Lim Jong Ryong, director
general of the finance ministry's economic policy bureau,
said today that the Korean economy is recovering faster than
expected. The won gained yesterday after the government
increased its 2007 growth forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News