Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela: Latin American Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Latin American local bonds
today. Bond yields are from the previous session.

Argentina: The country's refusal to settle its $6 billion
debt with Paris Club creditors is hurting Argentina's chances of
achieving credit ratings increases, said Mauro Leos, an analyst
at Moody's Investors Service. Argentina hasn't paid its debt
with the Paris Club since 2001, when it also defaulted on $95
billion of bonds. The country has posted budget surpluses amid
economic growth of more than 8 percent in each of the past four
years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

South Korean Shares Climb for Third Day; Kookmin, Samsung Electronics Gain

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's stocks rose for a third
day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il signaled in a news
report that the Communist state is ready to dismantle its nuclear
program. Samsung Electronics Co. and Kookmin Bank gained.

``The direct beneficiary will be the Korean market, as
foreign investors may turn more positive,'' said Jo Dong Hyuk,
who oversees $1.9 billion in global equities at Korea Investment
Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``The geopolitical risk was the
biggest reason for the `Korea Discount.'''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

India's Oil & Natural Gas Scraps CEO Search After Pay Deters Applicants

(Bloomberg) -- Oil & Natural Gas Corp. may confirm
acting Chairman R.S. Sharma to lead India's most profitable
company after a 14-month recruitment drive failed to attract a
single applicant from the private sector due to low pay.

Sharma, 56, may get approval from the Prime Minister's
Office as early as today, replacing Subir Raha who stepped down
in May, 2006, company spokeswoman Narayani Mahil said yesterday.
The state owns 74.14 percent of Oil & Natural Gas's shares. All
71 applicants for the post were from the government or public
sector, Raha said. Sharma wouldn't comment.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Government Bonds May Drop as Economic, Rate Outlook Deters Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds may fall as
stronger-then-anticipated economic growth in the euro region
underpins views the European Central Bank needs to raise interest
rates further from a six-year high.

Yields on 10-year German bunds, Europe's benchmark, may
climb for a second day after concerns spurred by terrorist plots
in the U.K. sent them to the lowest in three weeks. ECB President
Jean-Claude Trichet may repeat his view borrowing costs are still
low enough to fuel expansion in the $10.4 trillion economy when
the bank's policy makers meet tomorrow to set rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Shangri-La raises $662 mln for China hotel expansion

(Reuters) - HONG KONG, July 4 - Shangri-La Asia Ltd. ,
the hotel arm of Malaysia's Kuok Group, plans to raise at least
HK$5.17 billion via a rights issue to pay back
debt and fund expansion plans in China's booming hotel arena.




The move by the hotel chain -- named after the mythical
utopia made famous by British author James Hilton -- comes as
deal action in major hotel chains heats up.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Telekom, Porsche: German Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in German markets.

Germany's X-DAX Index rose 1.49 to 8044.15. The index
provides an estimate of the DAX Index, based on trading in DAX
futures after the Xetra electronic market closes. The DAX
climbed 1.2 percent to 8050.68 on the Xetra electronic-trading
system.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Malaysia's Lee Offers Quarter-Acre Estate Plots to Lure Oil Palm Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian millionaire Lee Kim Yew
plans to sell investors thousands of 1/4-acre plots of oil palm
plantation offering guaranteed returns for three years, the
first venture of its kind in the Southeast Asian country.

Lee is offering half of a 10,000 acre estate in Kelantan at
5,000 ringgit ($1,450) a plot, potentially raising 100 million
ringgit. For three years, as trees mature, investors will
receive a fixed return of 8 percent, Lee said in an interview.
After that, income depends on the commodity's price.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korean Won Falls After Kwon Says Government May Slow Currency Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won fell on speculation
the central bank will sell it to support exports after the
currency closed yesterday at a seven-month high. Government
bonds dropped.

The currency snapped a four-day, 1.1 percent rally as
Finance Minister Kwon Okyu said today the government will take
measures to slow the won's gain when necessary. A rising won may
threaten growth by making Korean goods more expensive abroad,
reducing demand for the nation's exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korean Stocks Rise for Third Day; Kookmin, Samsung Electronics Gain

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's Kospi index rose by
more than 1 percent for a third day after North Korean leader
Kim Jong Il, in a Chinese news report, signaled the communist
state is ready to being dismantling its nuclear program. Kookmin
Bank and Samsung Electronics Co. paced gains.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co.
led shipbuilders higher after brokerages boosted their prices
estimates, citing strong orders momentum.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australian Stocks Advance for a Second Day, Led by BHP; Exporters Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Australian shares gained for a second
day. BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed after yesterday announcing the
approval of its $1.7 billion Pyrenees oil field project off the
coast of northwestern Australia.

CSR Ltd. rose after Guinness Peat Group Plc said it bought
more than 6 percent of the company's shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Crude Oil Trades Near 10-Month High on Concern Over U.S. Gasoline Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after reaching a 10-month high yesterday on speculation
persistent refinery breakdowns will slow U.S. gasoline output.

Gasoline futures rose for a fifth day yesterday after Flint
Hills Resources LP, a unit of Koch Industries Inc., and Valero
Energy Corp. reported faults at plants in Texas. Oil futures
traded in a 79 cent-range yesterday, the narrowest this year,
before the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Subprime Mortgage Woes May Signal Turning of Equity Markets, Bolton Says

(Bloomberg) -- Anthony Bolton, who helped turn
Fidelity International into the U.K.'s largest mutual fund
manager, said declines in subprime mortgages and collateralized
debt obligations may indicate that investor confidence will soon
fall, leading to a drop in equity markets.

Investor's appetite for risk may slide as a result of
declines in the investments, which have forced some funds to
close, Bolton said. The collapses may mirror the drop of split
capital trusts in the U.K. earlier in the decade, he added.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Buyout firm KKR files for $1.25 bln IPO

(Reuters) - The planned IPO follows last month's high-profile listing of
rival Blackstone Group LP , which raised $4.13 billion and
ushered in a new era for an industry that has come to dominate
financial markets worldwide by pursuing ever-larger takeovers and
raising record amounts of capital.




Unlike the Blackstone IPO, however, KKR's owners are not
selling any common units or receiving any net proceeds.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Hedge fund IPOs no sure fire way to high returns

(Reuters) - Hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, which invests
$27 billion, on Monday became the latest in a small but growing
number of hedge fund and private equity firms to announce plans
for an initial public offering.




GLG Partners LP and Third Point LLC recently announced
their plans after Fortress Investment Group LLC , which
manages $36 billion, went public in February.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Lockheed, Sikorsky Grab Villains' Roles as Weapons Star in `Transformers'

(Bloomberg) -- An Air Force Sikorsky combat
helicopter lands at a U.S. military base in Qatar, then morphs
into a robot killing machine that destroys the entire site in a
carnage-filled rampage.

In ``Transformers,'' a sci-fi film opening today
nationwide, Earth is invaded by evil alien robots that, in an
unusual plot twist, change into weapons deployed by the U.S. in
Iraq and elsewhere. The attackers are opposed by a team of
heroic robots fighting alongside U.S. soldiers.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

US home buyers favored fixed loans in H2 2006 -MBA

(Reuters) - "With short-term rates increasing in the second half of
2006 relative to the first half of the year and a large number
of adjustable-rate mortgages facing resets into higher
payments fixed-rate mortgage products increased in popularity
both for first liens and second liens," it said in a report.




Mortgage creation rose by 11 percent in terms of dollar
amount and 19.4 percent based on loan count, the MBA said. Home
purchase volume rose 2.9 percent in dollars and 7.6 percent by
loan count. Refinancing volume jumped 22.4 percent in dollars
and 38.7 percent by loan count.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chavez gives Mercosur deadline to admit Venezuela

(Reuters) - Brazil's government recently urged Chavez to make a
"gesture of good will" following a volley of criticisms between
the leftist leader and Brazil's Senate, which criticized Chavez
for the recent closure of an opposition television station.




"If within three months has not
been possible, we will withdraw, out of dignity," Chavez said
during a press conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RPT-TREASURIES-Bonds fall in short pre-holiday session

(Reuters) - By Burton Frierson




NEW YORK, July 3 - U.S. Treasuries fell in
holiday-thinned trade on Tuesday as a firm stock market and
surprisingly strong factory orders offset weak data on housing
and any lingering safe-haven bid on global security concerns.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Archeus sues GlobeOp over fund's demise

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 3 - Archeus Capital Management LLC, a
hedge fund firm which collapsed last year, sued its former fund
administrator GlobeOp Financial Services LLC in a New York court
late Monday, claiming GlobeOp contributed to its failure.




New York-based Archeus, whose assets shrank from $3 billion
in May 2005 to about $700 million by October 2006, blamed
GlobeOp for "colossal failures" in reconciling billions of dollars
in trades in the Animi funds that were managed by Archeus. The
suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, seeks at least $465
million in damages.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CHRONOLOGY-Divestments by Danone since 1997

(Reuters) - Following is a chronology of the biggest divestments by
Danone since 1997, when it announced it will focus on diary
products, beverages and cereals:







Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sale of Home Depot unit gets US antitrust approval

(Reuters) - Home Depot said last month it had agreed to sell the supply
division to three private equity firms -- Bain Capital
Partners, Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
-- for $10.3 billion as it refocuses on its core retail
business.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dendreon and Marvell Technology Group: U.S. Equity Option Market Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
with unusual option trading in U.S. exchanges today. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Option trading
and stock prices are as of 12 p.m. in New York. U.S. markets
close at 1 p.m. for the Independence Day holiday.

Each call option gives investors the right to buy 100 shares
of a company at a certain price, called the strike price, by a
given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Consol deal for Amvest gets US antitrust approval

(Reuters) - Consol said last month it had agreed to buy privately held
Amvest and some of its units for about $335 million to expand
its presence in the central Appalachian Basin.




The purchase would add about 200 million tons of low-sulfur
coal reserves to Consol's holdings, as well as four coal
preparation plants.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Anglo helps S.African shares higher, Mondi falls

(Reuters) - South African shares rose on Tuesday as index heavyweight Anglo American gained with big funds switching to the stock from its seperately listed paper unit Mondi -- the biggest faller on the day.

Woolworths starred with retailers, banks and industrial shares, attracting bargin hunters after falling heavily last week on the back of interest rates jitters as inflation figures crept higher, traders said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mexico's Bolsa Gains on Debt Rating Outlook, Led by America Movil and ICA

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's Bolsa index rose for a fifth
day as investors bet the country's credit rating will lbe raised by
Standard & Poor's, reducing government borrowing costs and fueling
spending.

The benchmark Bolsa index advanced 234.41, or 0.8 percent, to
31,655.10 as of 10:56 a.m. in New York, led by America Movil SAB,
Latin America's biggest mobile-phone company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-GE's WMC subprime unit says sells $3 bln in loans

(Reuters) - BOSTON, July 3 - General Electric Co.'s
subprime lending arm WMC Mortgage sold about $3 billion in
nonprime loans in the second quarter, lowering the volume of
loans on its books to about $1.5 billion, a company spokesman
said on Tuesday.




The loans sold included a mix of first and second liens,
said GE Money spokesman Michael Ettlemyer.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

WRAPUP 1-US housing sector, factory orders sag in May

(Reuters) - The National Association of Realtors said its index of
pending home sales -- a forward-looking gauge -- slumped
sharply by 3.5 percent in May to 97.7, its lowest level since
September 2001.




The steep drop came as a surprise to financial markets
since economists polled by Reuters had forecast the May index
would instead rise, by 0.2 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Airline shares gain after Continental revenue gain

(Reuters) - Continental shares gained 6.44 percent to $36.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.




"We view this unexpected strength as sufficient not only to potentially boost Continental consensus estimates but legacy equities as well," said JP Morgan airline analyst Jamie Baker.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

US STOCKS-Indexes rise on M&A; data eyed

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 3 - Wall Street started a
holiday-shortened session slightly higher on Tuesday, boosted
by the latest takeover news, ahead of data on the manufacturing
and housing sectors.




Kraft Foods Inc. is in exclusive talks to buy
Danone's biscuit and cereal unit for 5.3 billion
euros in cash, the companies said. For details,
see [ID:nL03276080]. Kraft's shares fell 1.3 percent to
$35.10.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Avanir, First Mutual, Ford, Movie Gallery, Wendy's: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 9:35 a.m. in New York.

American Capital Strategies Ltd. (ACAS US) rose $1.75, or
4.1 percent, to $44.75. The specialty finance company will
replace Dollar General Corp. (DG US) in the Standard & Poor's 500
Index, S&P said in a statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Indexes edge up at open on M&A news

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was up 9.92 points,
or 0.07 percent, at 13,545.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
was up 2.33 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,521.76. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.38 points, or 0.13
percent, at 2,635.68.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Algeria's foreign workforce grows sharply

(Reuters) - The size of the foreign workforce in Algeria almost doubled to 32,000 in 2006 from 2005 amid a quickening of the OPEC-member country's post-war economic development, an official said in remarks published on Tuesday.

Employers in the north African country had 18,191 foreigners on their payrolls in 2005, itself a big increase from the 543 foreign workers in Algeria in 1999, labour ministry official Bachir Bouzid was quoted as saying by El Watan newspaper.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Walgreen June same-store sales rise 5.1 percent

(Reuters) - Pharmacy sales were pressured by the introduction of
cheaper generic drugs and a calendar shift, Walgreen said.




Total sales rose 9.5 percent to $4.38 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bonds ease on higher stocks in thin trade

(Reuters) - Trade was thin however in an abbreviated session before the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the U.S., and the data was not expected to spur any significant changes in investor positions.




"The numbers won't have much impact on trading," due to the expected thin pre-holiday trade, Action Economics LLC said on Tuesday in a note to clients.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Teck Cominco to buy Aur for C$4.1 billion

(Reuters) - The C$41 a share offer for Aur is a 29 percent premium to the company's closing price on Friday of C$31.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.




Teck said it would pay a maximum of C$3.1 billion in cash and issue a maximum of about 22 million shares. At full pro-ration, Aur shareholders would receive C$30.75 in cash and 0.2187 of a Teck Cominco class B share per Aur common share.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Encore Bancshares sees IPO price at $20-$22 a share

(Reuters) - The company is offering about 1.9 million shares of its
common stock and two of its shareholders are offering 75,000
common shares, the Houston, Texas-based bank holding company
said in a filing with U.S. regulators.




Encore Bancshares expects net proceeds of about $36.2
million based on an assumed initial offering price of $21.00,
after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and
expenses payable.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

EU Says Stronger Euro Isn't Obstacle to Growth in Trade, Rebuffing France

(Bloomberg) -- The European Commission said the
euro's appreciation can't be blamed for poor export performance,
rejecting complaints by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that
the currency shared by 13 countries is too strong.

``The fact that some euro-area countries have performed
much better than others sharing the same currency is evidence
that the exchange rate plays only a limited role in the export
performance of the individual countries,'' the commission, the
European Union's executive arm in Brussels, said today in a
quarterly report on the economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Stocks Rise; MAN AG, Nokia; Danone Jumps as Kraft Bids for Unit

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained after
brokerages raised their estimates for equities in the region and
Kraft Foods Inc.'s bid for Groupe Danone SA's biscuit unit fanned
takeover speculation.

MAN AG advanced after Goldman, Sachs & Co. added shares of
Europe's third-largest truckmaker to its ``conviction buy'' list.
Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of handsets, and German
engineering company Siemens AG gained after banks increased price
estimates for the stocks. Danone rose the most in two weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

German Power Prices Fall on Expected Gain in Electricity Output Capacity

(Bloomberg) -- German day-ahead electricity prices
fell on forecasts that production from wind turbines, the most
unpredictable source of energy, will increase in Europe's biggest
power market.

Baseload power for delivery tomorrow fell as much as 3.4
euros, or 9.1 percent, to 34 euros ($46.26) a megawatt-hour,
according to broker GFI Group Inc. on Bloomberg. It traded at
34.25 euros at 10:25 a.m. in Berlin. Baseload refers to
electricity delivered around the clock.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Asian Currencies: Korea's Won Rises to Highest Since December; Baht Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won rose to its highest
close in almost seven months on speculation surging exports will
help accelerate economic growth.

The won had its biggest gain since May 21 as Moody's
Investors Service placed Korea's credit ratings on review for
possible upgrade, citing in part a favorable economic outlook.
Finance Minister Kwon Okyu yesterday said growth will quicken,
powered by overseas sales and domestic consumption.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Danone suspended, sale of biscuits expected

(Reuters) - Danone's share price rose as much as 3.1 percent on Monday as a source familiar with the matter and media reports said the company is looking to sell its biscuits unit. Prices cited ranged from 3.5 billion to 4 billion euros .




Danone declined to comment on the reason for its stock suspension, announced by the Euronext stock exchange. It said a meeting with the group's trade union representatives would begin at 0730 GMT.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

United Capital halts hedge fund refunds: report

(Reuters) - The company has had an unusually high number of redemption
requests, including one from an investor who had put up about
25 percent of the funds' money, and it did not want to be a
forced seller of securities, Bloomberg said, citing a
spokesman.




The spokesman was not immediately available for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News