South Korea's Won Strengthens on Consumer Confidence; Bonds Little Changed

(Bloomberg) -- The South Korean won had the
strongest close in more than a month after a central bank report
showed consumers were the most optimistic in 15 months in the
second quarter. Bonds were little changed.

Growth in Korea's gross domestic product is likely to
strengthen ``gradually'' over the rest of 2007 as domestic
demand picks up, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development said June 20. The won rose after the finance
ministry said consumers are supporting the expansion in Asia's
third-largest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Stockland increases, prices US$450 mln bond issue

(Reuters) - The offer, Stockland's third visit to the U.S. traditional
private placement market, was almost twice oversubscribed at
the final prices and increased from an initially announced
US$300 million, the market source said.




Typical buyers of private placements are U.S. insurance
companies keen on long-dated paper to match their assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

As Real Soars, Brazilians Make Love to Gucci, Porsche, Prada and Tiffany

(Bloomberg) -- Never have Gucci, Porsche, Jaguar,
Prada and Tiffany been so in love with Brazil, home of the
world's best-performing currency over the past three years.

The waiting list for Prada SpA's new spring-summer line of
leather bags has swelled to 120 people at Dona Santa, a luxury
goods store in the Brazilian coastal city of Recife. The most
expensive bag in the collection costs $3,600, equal to about
half the annual income of the average Brazilian household.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Amaranth Distorted Natural Gas Market, Evaded Regulators, Senate Reports

(Bloomberg) -- Amaranth Advisors LLC held natural
gas trades worth more than $18 billion and exploited loopholes
to evade regulators who tried to limit the firm's speculation on
its way to becoming the biggest-ever hedge fund collapse, a
Senate investigation found.

Greenwich, Connecticut-based Amaranth made trades that were
big enough to sway prices, in some cases controlling gas
contracts for a particular month equal to all the fuel consumed
by U.S. residential customers in the period, according to the
analysis by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

LSE Credit Rating Is Placed on Review for Possible Downgrade by Moody's

(Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Plc, which
agreed to buy Borsa Italiana SpA on June 23 for 1.63 billion
euros ($2.2 billion), has been put on review by Moody's Investors
Services for possible downgrade of its debt rating.

The decision to review the LSE's rating follows the
announcement that the exchange had reached agreement with the
board of Borsa Italiana on the terms of the recommended offer,
Moody's said today in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Dow Jones, Murdoch near pact on independence: report

(Reuters) - The Wall Street Journal said News Corp.'s offer had reduced the Bancroft family's involvement in the editorial protection system and Dow Jones was working on a counter-proposal.




Dow Jones declined to comment. News Corp. and the Bancroft family were not immediately available to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Aerofot, Arcelor Mittal, HVB, ING, Unified Energy: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.3 percent to 392.43.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index dropped 1.1 percent to 3933.98. The
Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the
euro, lost 0.3 percent to 3922.84.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Malaysian Palm Oil Exports Drop 11 Percent This Month, Intertek Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's palm oil exports fell 11
percent from June 1 to June 25 compared with the same period a
month earlier, according to an estimate from Intertek, an
independent cargo surveyor.

A total of 821,500 metric tons of bulk shipments through
Malaysian sea ports were tracked in the first 25 days of the
month, Intertek Malaysia said in a report today. Malaysia
exported 918,738 tons in the same period last month, the
surveyor said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South Korea's Kospi Index Drops on U.S. Subprime Concern; Hynix Declines

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks dropped for a
second day after the near collapse of a Bear Stearns Cos. hedge
fund fueled concern the impact from faltering U.S. subprime
loans will be worse than expected. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. fell.

The Kospi index slid 3.27, or 0.2 percent, to 1767.71 as of
9:30 a.m. in Seoul. The Kosdaq declined 0.3 percent to 807.00.
Kospi 200 futures expiring in September retreated 0.1 percent to
225.75, while the underlying index slipped 0.2 percent to 224.62.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Topix Index Fall; Toyota, Sony Lead Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
fell 73.50, or 0.4 percent, to 18,115.13 at 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index dropped 6.13, or 0.3 percent, to
1777.86.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. led the declines.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Shares of investment firm State Street a "cheap" buy: Barrons

(Reuters) - Richard Bove, an analyst at broker Punk Ziegel, said in the
article that State Street's acquisition, of Investor Financial
Services "only enhanced their superb international position."




"The lower multiple certainly creates a buying
opportunity," added Bove, who has an $85 target on the stock,
according to Barron's. That is more than 20 percent higher than
the firm's Friday closing price of $68.32 per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Crude Oil Falls as Supply Concerns Ease After Nigerian Strike Is Settled

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York after a
strike in Nigeria was settled, easing concerns about supply
disruptions from Africa's biggest oil producer.

Labor unions called off the four-day strike after the
government said it will restrict domestic fuel price rises and
review the sale of two state-owned oil refineries, Lumumba
Okugbawa, deputy general secretary of the Petroleum & Natural Gas
Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, said June 23.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-French state says sells 5 pct of France Telecom

(Reuters) - After completion of the deal, the French state will own
between 25.5 percent and 27.4 percent of France Telecom, the
Finance Ministry said in a statement.




"The state plans to remain a significant shareholder of
France Telecom in the medium term," it added.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

DaimlerChrysler CEO sees good years ahead: paper

(Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler announced in May it would sell an 80.1-percent stake in Chrysler Group to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management , unwinding the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler that never worked out as planned.




Zetsche pointed out that the risk of being taken over by a financial investor was much lower after the sale.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Putin Visits Balkans to Bolster Russia's Energy Role in Southeast Europe

(Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin
meets with leaders of the 10 Balkan countries in Croatia today to
bolster Russia's presence in southeast Europe as the region
becomes a hub for energy transport.

Putin will use the summit to help Russian energy companies,
such as OAO Gazprom, set up new partnerships, buy assets and win
contracts in the region, the Russian presidency said in a
statement. Gazprom, Russia's gas-export monopoly, and Eni SpA,
announced yesterday a plan to build a new gas pipeline linking
Russia to the European Union across the Black Sea and through the
Balkans.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Nigerian unions call off general strike

(Reuters) - Nigerian unions called off a crippling strike in Africa's top oil producer on Saturday after the government agreed to freeze fuel prices for a year, both sides said in a statement.

The four-day-old general strike had halted most economic activity in Africa's most populous nation, but vital exports of crude oil were not affected.


Read more at Reuters Africa