Gold in Asia Little Changed as Dollar's Decline Boosts Investment Appeal

(Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed in Asia after
rising to the highest in more than a month yesterday as the U.S.
dollar's decline boosted demand for the metal as an alternative
investment. Silver was also little changed.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S.
currency. Gold has gained 4.7 percent this year, while the euro
had climbed 4.4 percent against the dollar. The dollar index, a
gauge of its value against six other currencies, fell to a 2 1/2-
year low of 80.545 yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Euro Is `Poised to Test' $1.3855 on Ascending Channel, RBC's Davis Says

(Bloomberg) -- The euro is ``poised to test''
$1.3855, said George Davis, chief technical analyst in Toronto at
RBC Capital Markets, citing charts that predict price movements.

The level represents the upper boundary of the euro's
ascending channel, connecting the highs of June 5, 2006, Dec. 4,
and April 27, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A break of
the upper boundary would suggest faster gains.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies 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

Asian Stocks Advance to Record on Takeovers, U.S. Retail Sales; BHP Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, pushing a regional
benchmark to a record, as takeover speculation increased and
concern eased that consumer spending in the U.S. will slow.

BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed to a new high following Rio Tinto
Group's offer to buy Alcan Inc. Samsung Electronics Co. surged to
a 10-month high after a newspaper reported that billionaire
investor Carl Icahn may be planning a hostile bid for the company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Fed's Yellen: Inflation decline to be bumpy ride

(Reuters) - Risks remain skewed toward higher prices, especially
because of the possibility of wage inflation, meaning an
"asymmetric policy tilt" is appropriate for now, Yellen said.




However, talking to reporters after a speech to a business
leaders group, Yellen said that, among a range of employment
indicators tracked by the Fed, only the jobless rate was really
"flashing" signs of tightness in the labor market.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average, Topix Rise; Toyota, Nippon Steel Lead Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose
166.85, or 1 percent, to 18,150.99 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The
broader Topix index added 17.87, or 1 percent , to 1780.93.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Steel Corp. led the advances.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Mexico's Calderon getting closer to tax reform

(Reuters) - Calderon's conservative party lacks a majority in Congress,
but his proposal to boost tax revenues might get the support it
needs from a key political party if he accepts relatively minor
changes, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday.




"The way things are moving along now, we see a good chance
of bearing fruit," said lawmaker Jorge Estefan,
a point man in fiscal reform negotiations for the opposition
Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News