Thursday, April 12, 2007

Philips to take over U.S. peripherals maker DLO

(Reuters) - DLO realized sales of approximately $100 million in 2006, mainly in the United States, and is expected to make a positive contribution to operating margins in Philips' Peripherals & Accessories business unit, Philips said.

Philips is the world's biggest lighting maker, a top three hospital equipment maker and Europe's biggest consumer electronics producer.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Merck's Shares May Climb After Quarterly Profit Forecast Raised 13 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Merck & Co.'s shares may rise after the drugmaker forecast first-quarter earnings gained 13 percent, beating its own forecast and analysts' estimates.

Earnings rose to 78 cents a share, or 34 percent more than expected, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-Merck said in a statement yesterday. Excluding costs from plant closings and job cuts, profit was 84 cents compared with a forecast range of 63 cents to 67 cents.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Fiat level with Renault in Q1 in Europe-ACEA

(Reuters) - Riding a wave of new models such as the Bravo, the Grande Punto hatchback and the Panda city car, Fiat had 6.4 percent higher sales in total in the 28 European counries surveyed by Acea. Its market share was up to 8.3 percent from 7.8 percent.

Renault, meanwhile, is treading water as it gears up for a new model offensive starting with Twingo and Laguna later this year and its market share dropped to 8.3 percent from 9.2 percent with a 9.9 percent sales decline in the European area made up of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

G-7 Ministers Plan Defense of Trade Against `Serious' Protectionist Threat

(Bloomberg) -- Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations may use their meeting today to mount a defense of free trade against what the International Monetary Fund this week called the ``serious danger'' posed by protectionism.

In a bid to narrow the trade imbalances fanning the protectionist push, the G-7 will press the IMF to accelerate its crackdown on currency manipulation. The officials will also deliver another push to restart struggling global trade talks.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Citigroup seals deal to buy Old Lane -WSJ

(Reuters) - By joining Citigroup, Pandit could join a short list of potential successors to Chief Executive Charles Prince, the Journal said.

Citigroup could pay more than $800 million, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources. But the announced price could be lower, with the total raised by future payments based on the fund's performance, it added.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japan's March Aluminum Port Stockpiles Drop 18 Percent to Four-Year Low

(Bloomberg) -- Aluminum stocks at Japan's Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka ports fell 18 percent month-on-month to an estimated 201,500 metric tons at the end of March, the lowest since November 2002, due to shipment delays, Marubeni said today.

Two vessels scheduled for arrival in March from Brazil and South Africa postponed to April, slashing the stocks by 29,000 tons, said Marubeni in information given by telephone.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Malaysia's Ringgit Will Extend Gains on Growth and Inflows, Forecast Says

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's ringgit will strengthen in the next 12 months as economic growth remains ``solid'' and capital inflows will increase, according to Forecast Pte.

The currency will climb 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar by April 2008, extending a six-month rally that has pushed it to a nine-year high, Vishnu Varathan, a economist at the Singapore- based research company wrote in a report today. Signals from the central bank that it will tolerate greater currency flexibility will also underpin gains, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Philippine Bonds Drop on Interest-Rate Outlook; Peso Strengthens on Week

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine 10-year government bonds fell on concern the central bank will raise interest rates to reduce money-supply growth. The peso, little changed today, completed a second weekly gain.

Ten-year yields rose almost daily this month after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco said in a March 30 speech that ``prolonged negative real interest rates'' must be avoided, adding that the central bank may ``adjust its policy settings.'' Bangko Sentral in November started tiered interest rates that pay banks less money the more they deposit.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Palladium Rises Near 11-Month High, Platinum Trades Near Five-Month High

(Bloomberg) -- Palladium rose for a seventh day to near its highest in almost a year in Asia amid speculation the metal, used in car emission systems and jewelry, is undervalued. Platinum approached its highest in almost five months.

Palladium, which rose to an 11-month high of $374 an ounce yesterday, has been supported by technical and speculative buying, KBC Banking & Insurance said in a report yesterday. It may trade as high as $408 an ounce in the next three months, Phil Roberts, chief European technical strategist at Barclays Capital in London, said in an interview April 11.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nasdaq, OMX talked, but deal not imminent: report

(Reuters) - Nasdaq's priority is to buy the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and those talks are more real and advanced than any with OMX, the Journal said, citing unnamed sources.

Nasdaq could not immediately be reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Sinopec's Earnings Are Likely to Peak in First Quarter, UBS Report Says

(Bloomberg) -- Profit at China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's largest refiner, may peak in the first quarter of this year as crude oil prices rebound, reducing margins from producing fuels at state-controlled prices, UBS AG said.

Brent oil has averaged at $62.5 a barrel since March, more than the breakeven point of $60 for Sinopec, as the Beijing-based company is known, UBS analysts Thomas Wong and Lauren Wong wrote in a research note yesterday. They cut their rating on the stock to ``reduce 1'' from ``neutral 1.''


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Asian Stocks Decline, Led by Toyota, Honda; Sony, Woodside Petroleum Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, led by Japanese automakers as investors sought companies with higher earnings growth prospects.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest carmaker by value, slid the most in four weeks. Honda Motor Co., Japan's second biggest, declined to a four-month low.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oil hovers above $64 on U.S. gasoline supply worry

(Reuters) - The market was also supported by a caution by the International Energy Agency that oil stocks in industrialized nations may drop further in coming months, after recording the biggest first-quarter decline in a decade.

U.S. crude rose 26 cents a barrel at $64.11 by 0354 GMT, after jumping $1.84 on Thursday. London Brent for May rose 54 cents at $69.26 on its expiry day.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Australia, New Zealand Dollars Strengthen on Rising Bets for Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's dollar rose to a 17-year high and New Zealand's reached the strongest in almost two years as traders added to bets central banks will raise interest rates.

The New Zealand dollar is the world's biggest gainer in the past month, followed by Australia's, as the odds of a quarter- point rate increase climbed above 60 percent in both countries, according to a Credit Suisse index. Australia's benchmark is 5.75 percentage points more than Japan's and New Zealand has a 7 point advantage, attracting people who borrow yen to fund investments in so-called carry trades.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

G-7 Plan Trade Defense Against `Serious Danger' of Protectionist Risks

(Bloomberg) -- Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations may use their meeting today to mount a defense of free trade against what the International Monetary Fund this week called the ``serious danger'' posed by protectionism.

In a bid to narrow the trade imbalances fanning the protectionist push, the G-7 will press the IMF to accelerate its crackdown on currency manipulation. The officials will also deliver another push to restart struggling global trade talks.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Morgan Stanley to Buy Japan Hotels From All Nippon, People Familiar Say

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the biggest property investor among Wall Street firms, agreed to buy 13 hotels in Japan from All Nippon Airways Co. for 281.3 billion yen ($2.4 billion).

The airline will book a one-time gain from the sale in the year ending in March, 2008, it said in a statement today. The book value of the hotels was 150.3 billion yen, the company said.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

India's Infosys Q4 net jumps 67 pct, beats f'cast

(Reuters) - That compared with a mean forecast of 10.31 billion rupees in a Reuters poll of 14 brokerages.

India's software services exports are expected to have risen 33 percent to $31.3 billion in 2006/07, and are targeted to hit $60 billion by 2010 as firms such as Infosys and top exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. take advantage of low-cost labour to grab global outsourcing deals.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News