Sunday, April 15, 2007

UPDATE 1-Sallie Mae agrees to be sold for $25 bln-WSJ

(Reuters) - JC Flowers & Co. and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC plan to take a 50.2 percent stake in Sallie Mae, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources, while JPMorgan and Bank of America each would take 24.9 percent stakes.

The group plans to pay $60 per share for the student lender, also known as SLM Corp. , the Journal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Asian Currencies: Ringgit Gains to Nine-Year High on Inflows; Peso Rises

(Bloomberg) -- The Malaysian ringgit gained to a nine-year high on speculation a rally in stocks will boost demand for the currency. Government bonds were little changed.

The ringgit extended a four-week advance as the benchmark equity index rose for a third day to near its highest close since January 1994. Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop said on April 13 the stronger ringgit hasn't hurt exports as the gain has been gradual and will be ``stable.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Brazilian Manufacturing Jobs Vanish as Rally in Currency Pinches Profits

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's surging currency is eroding exports for manufacturers of goods ranging from cars to teddy bears and undermining President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's efforts to lower unemployment.

``I have no choice but to raise prices,'' said Ray Young, president and managing director of General Motors Corp.'s operations in Brazil. He fired 900 workers last year because exports dropped 21 percent. ``Will they pay more or drop us? I don't know at this point. That's my biggest worry.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Asian Stocks Advance, Led by Canon, on Yen Weakness; BHP and Takeda Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose the most in eight days as a decline in the yen boosted the value of exports to Europe. Canon Inc. and Honda Motor Co. gained.

``The trend of a weaker yen won't change for at least another year,'' said Masanaga Kono, who helps manage about $14 billion at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Co. in Tokyo. ``Automaker and technology stocks will benefit.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dreman Value, Leuthold, Hodges Favor the Biggest Stocks as Profits Slump

(Bloomberg) -- Some of the best-performing U.S. fund managers are putting their money on the largest stocks, anticipating the worst quarterly profit reports in five years.

Dreman Value Management LLC, Hodges Capital Management Inc. and the Leuthold Group say members of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which have a median value of $13.8 billion, will outperform smaller stocks for the first time this decade. Analysts have cut profit estimates for the biggest companies less than stocks in the S&P MidCap 400 Index and S&P SmallCap 600 Index as economic growth slows.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Germany's Merkel Says EU Plans to Accelerate Membership Talks With Turkey

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union will step up membership talks with Turkey in the coming months after negotiations were set back last year.

Germany, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, will push for opening accession talks in two policy areas by the time the country's tenure expires at the end of June, Merkel said today after meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the German city of Hanover.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Sinopec Says Six-Month Profit May Surge as First-Quarter Earnings Double

(Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest oil refiner, said first-half profit may rise at the fastest pace since 2004 as refining margins widen and demand for chemicals used in manufacturing climbs.

Profit in the six months ending June may surge more than 50 percent from the 20.7 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) earned a year earlier, Sinopec, as the Beijing-based company is known, said in a statement yesterday. First-quarter net income more than doubled to 19.4 billion yuan, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News