Sunday, April 22, 2007

ABN to hear other bids but recommends Barclays deal

(Reuters) - Rijkman Groenink, ABN's top executive, said the board would hear other offers in line with its fiduciary duties, but said a merger with Barclays was the "best option" for shareholders.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc , Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Santander have been preparing a counter takeover proposal for ABN and had been scheduled to meet with ABN's top management on Monday. Groenink said he still planned to meet with the three banks.


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CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-BA considering consortium bid for Spain's Iberia

(Reuters) - However, BA said it had ruled out making an independent bid for the airline.

"Any consortium bid would not involve further capital investment by British Airways," Europe's third-biggest airline said in a statement.


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European Government Bonds Little Changed; 10-Year Yield at 4.20 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds opened little changed in London.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year German bund was at 4.20 percent by 7:06 a.m. in London, near its highest in a week. The price of the 3.75 percent bond due January 2017 rose 0.02, or 20 euro cents per 1,000 euro ($1,358) face amount to 96.48. Bond yields move inversely to prices.


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Nestle Q1 sales rise ahead of expectations

(Reuters) - ZURICH, Apr 23 - Nestle , the world's largest food company, posted a 6.4 percent increase in sales for the first quarter to 24.25 billion Swiss francs on Monday, ahead of expectations.

The group posted organic growth of 7.4 percent, also stronger than expected, as demand rose, especially in emerging markets and in Nestle's pharmaceutical division.


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Japan's Government Bonds Halt Declines as 10-Year Yields Attract Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese government bonds halted declines as 10-year yields near the highest since February attracted some investors.

Bonds were supported by speculation the central bank will cut its inflation forecast for this fiscal year. Japan's debt rating was raised one level to AA from AA- by Standard & Poor's after the government cut borrowing.


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Barclays agrees to buy ABN, to sell LaSalle

(Reuters) - ABN shareholders will receive 3.225 Barclays shares for each share they own. They said the deal values each ABN share at 36.25 euros. Barclays shareholders will own about 52 percent of the enlarged company, to be called Barclays Plc.




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RIM to roll out "virtual BlackBerry" software

(Reuters) - The Waterloo, Ontario-based company will make the software available on devices offered by a number of telecom companies later this year, likely in the fall.

"We're working very closely with AT&T, as an example," RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview. "There'll be other carriers that are highly supportive of this."


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AstraZeneca near deal to buy MedImmune - WSJ

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, April 22 - Britain's AstraZeneca Plc is near a deal to buy U.S. biotechnology company MedImmune Inc. in a transaction that could be worth more than $13 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Sunday.

The deal could be announced on Monday morning, the paper reported, citing unidentified sources.


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Gasoline at $4 Is Coming to a Pump Near You, Unfazed by Rising Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Whether it's $50 to fill up your Prius or $130 for the Ford Expedition, $4-a-gallon gasoline is coming to a pump near you.

Fuel prices are rising at a pace not seen since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out a third of the U.S. oil refining industry in 2005. Gasoline consumption is climbing twice as fast as last year and will accelerate when summer travel begins late next month.


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Japan's Debt Rating Raised by Standard & Poor's for First Time Since 1975

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's debt rating was raised one level to AA from AA- by Standard & Poor's, citing the government's efforts to balance the budget.

It's the first time S&P has increased Japan's long-term currency debt rating since it assigned the top AAA grade to the country in 1975. The U.S. ratings company downgraded Japan's rating three times between February 2001 and April 2002.


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Bank of America to Buy ABN Amro's LaSalle for $21 Billion, Person Says

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. agreed to buy ABN Amro Holding NV's LaSalle unit for about $21 billion, making it the largest bank in Chicago and filling one of the few remaining holes in the nation's most extensive branch network, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said.

ABN Amro, the biggest Dutch bank, has been in exclusive talks to be acquired by Britain's Barclays Plc, and the Wall Street Journal reported that a deal may be announced as early as today. Selling LaSalle would reduce the purchase price for London-based Barclays and increase the unit's value by putting it in the hands of a determined buyer.


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Eiffage, Eurazeo, Peugeot, Scor, Societe Generale: French Stocks Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the close on April 20.

France's benchmark CAC 40 Index gained 109.86 points, or 1.9 percent, to 5938.90. The broader SBF 120 Index added 1.8 percent to 4353.16.


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Tepid U.S. growth expected later this year-survey

(Reuters) - The National Association for Business Economics survey of business conditions also found that mortgage defaults forecast later in the year were expected to have a negative impact on their business in the next six months.

Nearly a third of the 107 businesses across all major industry sectors surveyed between March 26 and April 10 said mortgage defaults would have such an impact.


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Mazda 06/07 global sales up 2.0% at 1.30 mln units

(Reuters) - European sales rose 6.7 percent to 301,167 units, the highest in 15 years, as Mazda posted record sales in Britain, Russia, Spain and Portugal.

Domestic sales, however, fell 8.6 percent to 260,610 units amid tough competition and a shrinking market.


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KKR, Carlyle join race for Thomson unit: report

(Reuters) - Sources close to the process told Reuters in March that Bain, Blackstone and Thomas H. Lee -- former owners of Houghton Mifflin Co. -- were bidding for Thomson Learning.

Germany's Bertelsmann is also mulling teaming up with that bidding group, according to a separate Reuters source.


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U.S. Notes May Fall as Reports to Show Factory Production, Housing Rose

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasuries may fall for a third day on speculation government reports this week will show factory production and new home sales gained in March, feeding growth as the first quarter ended.

Traders trimmed bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by its Aug. 7 meeting. Futures contracts show a 25 percent chance of a quarter-percentage point reduction in August, less than 62 percent at the end of March.


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Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Gains, Set for Record, Led by BHP, Rio, Westfield

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose, set for a record close, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, as prices for metals, such as copper, zinc and gold, increased.

Westfield Group and CSL Ltd. also gained after U.S. stocks surged to a record as profit reports from companies including Caterpillar Inc. raised confidence global economic growth will be sustained.


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PTT, Hyundai Card, China Properties, Pakistan, Woori Bank: Asia Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales in Asia expected in the coming days and weeks.

Investment Grade


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Yen Falls as Asian Stock Market Gains Prompt Traders to Seek Higher Yields

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell for a second day against the dollar and euro as a gain in Asian stocks gave traders more confidence to buy higher-yielding assets financed with money borrowed in Japan.

The Japanese currency may extend losses after posting a seventh weekly slide against the euro as a rebound in equities gave investors confidence to resume so-called carry trades. Traders bought back the yen on April 19 after China's shares plunged, triggering an equities slide reminiscent of the global sell-off on Feb. 27.


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Japan's Government Bonds May Fall on Speculation Stock Gains to Cut Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese government bonds may fall for a second day on speculation gains in stocks will improve the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.

Demand for debt may drop because Japanese shares are likely to follow a U.S. rally that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high on April 20. Higher stocks may prompt traders to sell bonds to hedge against a possible increase in yields before the government's auction of 20-year securities tomorrow.


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Dong Derivatives May Double as Investors Enter Vietnam's Expanding Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam's currency is starting to capture the attention of derivatives traders as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing economy accelerates.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. have begun offshore trading in contracts tied to the future value of the currency, the dong. The $50 million of Vietnamese contracts that trade monthly may double in a year, Standard Chartered Plc estimates. More than $1 billion of Chinese yuan forwards change hands daily in an overseas market that didn't exist 15 years ago, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.


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Inflation in Australia Probably Accelerated, Boosting Bets Rates Will Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's consumer prices probably picked up in the first quarter, keeping annual inflation at the top of the central bank's target range and adding to expectations interest rates will rise next week.

The consumer price index, the key inflation gauge, gained 0.6 percent in the first quarter after falling 0.2 percent in the previous three month, according to the median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Bureau of Statistics releases its report tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in Sydney.


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UPDATE 1-U.S. Congress set to defy Bush on Iraq war

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, April 22 - A fight between the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush over the Iraq war is set to come to a head this week when Democrats are expected to send him $100 billion to pay for continuing combat while setting timetables for withdrawing troops.

Bush has promised to veto any bill setting dates for removing U.S. combat soldiers from the Iraq war, now in its fifth year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic reports may influence Asian local-currency bonds today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: The central bank may raise interest rates twice this year and order banks to set aside more money to slow lending after economic growth accelerated to 11.1 percent in the first three months, a Bloomberg News survey of economists last week showed. China Citic Bank Corp. sold $5.4 billion of stock in the world's biggest offering this year, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on April 20.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nestle, Novartis, Kuehne & Nagel, Sulzer and Airesis: Swiss EquityPreview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall on the Swiss and Virt-x exchanges. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the last close.

The SMI, composed of the 24 largest and most actively traded companies, rose 142.96, or 1.5 percent, to 9,399.75. The broader Swiss Performance Index gained 110.35, or 1.5 percent, to 7558.24.


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