EU says has market for Trans Saharan pipeline gas

(Reuters) - The European Union assured Algeria, Nigeria and Niger on Monday that it had a market for gas from a proposed Trans-Saharan pipeline, while leaders from those countries sought investors to make the project a reality.

The 4,000 km (2,500 miles) Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, planned as a joint venture between Algeria's Sonatrach and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, is designed to allow Nigeria to export its huge natural gas reserves more easily to European markets.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Government Bonds May Gain on Speculation Yields Reflect Rate Risk

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds may gain for a second
day on speculation yields already reflect the risk of the
European Central Bank raising interest rates again this year.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bund has risen 16 basis
points in the past week after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet
signaled the bank would raise rates further. Debt may also gain
on speculation yields near a five-year high will attract buyers.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Morgan Stanley Hires Tanker to Ship Fuel Oil From Saudi Arabia to Far East

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the biggest oil
trader on Wall Street, has hired a tanker to ship 80,000 tons of
fuel oil to the Far East from Saudi Arabia, a shipbroker said.

The tanker Feng Huang Zhou will load fuel oil at Yanbu on
July 29 at a rate of Worldscale 147.5, Seatown Shipbroking Ltd.
in Singapore said in a report today. Yanbu is a major Red Sea
port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia, about
350 kilometers (218 miles) north of Jeddah.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Pennsylvania ends shutdown as budget stalemate ends

(Reuters) - After 24 hours in which about 25,000 state workers in non-essential services were idled without pay, Republican legislators reached agreement with Rendell on a series of measures the governor had insisted on as a precondition for signing the $27.37 billion 2007-08 budget for the year beginning July 1.




"We are rescinding the furloughs ... to take effect at 12:01 a.m." on Tuesday, Rendell said at a late-night news conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Aracruz, Madeco, Pampa, Ripley and Walmex: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Latin American markets
today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name, and
stock prices are from the last session. Markets in Brazil were
closed for a holiday yesterday.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Notes Fall as Fed Chairman Bernanke May Reinforce Inflation Concern

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury notes fell on concern
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will say inflation is
still a risk to the economy when he speaks later today.

Notes have declined this month because of speculation the
Fed's concern about prices for goods and services will keep
policy makers from cutting their benchmark interest rate from a
six year-high. Treasuries dropped 0.4 percent in July, including
reinvested interest, adding to losses in May and June, according
to Merrill Lynch & Co. data.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Notes Decline on Concern Impending Rate Decision to Hurt Auction

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's five-year government notes
declined for a fourth day on concern investors will avoid buying
the securities sold at an auction today before a central bank
decision on interest rates later this week.

Demand for bonds may weaken on speculation some Bank of
Japan policy makers will vote against keeping borrowing costs
unchanged on July 12, paving the way for a rate increase next
month. Five-year yields yesterday climbed to the highest in more
than three weeks after a report showed machinery orders rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BOJ Will Probably Hold Rate at 0.5 Percent; Economists Eye August Increase

(Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Japan will probably keep
its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week as it awaits
more proof that economic growth will be sustained and inflation
will take hold.

Governor Toshihiko Fukui and his policy colleagues will
hold the key overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent at the
conclusion of a two-day meeting on July 12, according to all 43
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The bank last raised the
rate, still the lowest among major economies, in February.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Singapore Dollar Rises to Eight-Week High as Economic Growth Accelerates

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore dollar rose to the
highest in more than eight weeks after a government report
showed economic growth exceeded expectations last quarter.

The currency is the second-best performer in the past month
of the 10 most-commonly traded Asian currencies as reports
showed manufacturing accelerated last June and industrial
production in May beat economists' forecasts. The central bank
has kept a policy of gradual appreciation for the past three
years to temper inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan's Notes May Fall on Concern Impending Rate Decision to Hurt Auction

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government notes may decline
for a fourth day on concern investors will avoid buying five-
year debt sold at an auction today before a central bank
decision on interest rates later this week.

Demand for bonds may weaken on speculation some Bank of
Japan policy makers will vote against keeping borrowing costs
unchanged on July 12, paving the way for a rate increase next
month. Five-year yields yesterday climbed to the highest in more
than three weeks after a report showed machinery orders rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Yen, Singapore Dollar, Philippine Peso, Thai Baht: Asian Currency Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Premium Brands pays C$84 mln for meat distributor

(Reuters) - On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Premium Brands units were
halted at C$12.36 -- up 2.6 percent from the previous session's
close -- while the news was released.




A portion of the deal price was used to pay out all of
Centennial's non-trade related debt, Richmond, British
Columbia-based Premium Brands said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Estee Lauder agrees to buy Canadian hair-care company Ojon

(Reuters) - Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in July, were not disclosed.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks climb with Boeing, oil hits 11-month high

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
helped by a gain in the shares of jet maker Boeing Co. ,
as investors hoped for better-than-expected profit reports and
a stronger economy even as oil prices hit an 11-month high.




Many markets were still being driven by Friday's U.S.
payrolls data, which showed robust jobs growth and fueled the
belief that the Federal Reserve will not be inclined to cut
interest rates this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Shareholders approve CME's buy of CBOT

(Reuters) - By Ros Krasny



CHICAGO, July 9 - Shareholders on Monday wrap up voting on a merger deal that would combine the parents of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade to create the world's largest derivatives exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Buybacks, solid earnings forecasts lift indexes

(Reuters) - J&J gained 1 percent after the health-care company
announced plans for a $10 billion share buyback.
ConocoPhillips, which nearly quadrupled its repurchase plan to
$15 billon, rose 3.7 percent.




Alcoa gained 1.7 percent and was a top performer among the
Dow industrials. The aluminum producer kicked off the
second-quarter earnings season after the bell, reporting a
profit that matched estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcoa second-quarter profit down; extends Alcan offer

(Reuters) - Alcoa has offered to buy Alcan for $28.6 billion. The offer. which has been rejected by Alcan, was to expire on Tuesday July 10, but Alcoa said it extended it until August 10.




Earnings from continuing operations were $716 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $749 million, or 85 cents per share in the same quarter of last year, the Pittsburgh-based company said. Revenue rose to $8.1 billion from $7.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Soybeans Extend Rally to Three-Year High as Rains Too Light to Boost Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose in Chicago, extending a
rally to a three-year high, on speculation that rains forecast
for the Midwest this week won't be enough to make up for dry
weather the past month.

Less than half an inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain will fall
in the eastern Midwest in the next five days, too little to
replenish soils, and none is expected west of the Mississippi
River, said Mike Tannura, a meteorologist for T-Storm Weather in
Champaign, Illinois. Some fields have received less than
25 percent of normal rain the past 30 days.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

LaBranche may consider selling company -- source

(Reuters) - LaBranche may also consider going private to fix its specialist business, the source said.




The news sent LaBranche shares up more than 5 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Brinker, CytRx, Cummins, Isis, KBR, SanDisk, Tyco: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 2:40 p.m. New York time.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY US) rose $8.20, or 54
percent, to $23.40. Roche Holding AG (ROG VX), the world's
biggest maker of cancer medicines, may pay as much as $1 billion
for rights to Alnylam technology that may allow the companies to
find new tumor, liver and breathing treatments.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Royal Bank Buys Stake in Sempra Commodities Business for $1.35 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the
U.K.'s second-biggest bank, will buy a majority stake in a Sempra
Energy unit for $1.35 billion, creating a joint venture that will
help the bank catch up with peers in commodities trading.

Royal Bank, based in Edinburgh, will provide capital and
credit, freeing up $1 billion at Sempra, the San Diego-based
company said in a statement today. Sempra will buy back as much
as $2 billion of its shares and raise its annual dividend 13
percent to $1.40 a share after closing the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

RLPC-UPDATE 1-Source Interlink restructures $1.18 bln loan

(Reuters) - Source Interlink is the latest transaction to retool its
loan as investors begin to demand extra protection and stricter
terms on debt financings. Source Interlink is raising the bank
loan to back its $1.2 billion acquisition of Primedia's
Enthusiast Media division.




A senior secured leverage test of 6.5 times now applies to
the entire deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BP Shuts Largest Crude Unit at Whiting Refinery in Indiana, Person Says

(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc is shutting down the largest
of three crude units at its Whiting, Indiana, refinery, the
biggest refinery in the U.S. Midwest, a person familiar with the
plant's status said.

The unit, which can process 250,000 barrels of oil a day,
is being shut for unplanned maintenance, the person said. A date
for the restart of the unit has not been determined.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Moody's downgrades Consolidated Natural Gas rating

(Reuters) - "The majority of the debt that was issued by Consolidated
Natural Gas is expected to be retired this month," Moody's
said. Dominion Resources is selling most of its exploration and
production assets for about $13.9 billion of pretax proceeds,
part of which will be used for de-leveraging, Moody's said.




Dominion said in May that it was merging its Consolidated
Natural Gas unit into the parent holding company in an effort
to cut costs and streamline its corporate structure.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Supertanker Rates May Fall on Reduced OPEC Shipments to U.S., Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of hiring supertankers on
the world's busiest shipping lanes may slump this quarter as
OPEC, supplier of 40 percent of the world's crude, works to
reduce a glut of crude in the U.S.

Daily earnings for carriers able to haul 2 million-barrel
cargoes of Middle East crude on the main supertanker route to
Asia will drop 42 percent to $47,500 a day, according to the
median estimate of seven analysts polled by Bloomberg News July
5 and 6. They were about $82,000 in the same quarter last year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

First Indiana, Quest Diagnostics, Terex, Tyco, Xinhua: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY US) rose $7.68, or 51
percent, to $22.88. Roche Holding AG (ROG VX), the world's
biggest maker of cancer medicines, may pay as much as $1 billion
for rights to Alnylam technology that may allow the companies to
find new tumor, liver and breathing treatments.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nordic Stocks Climb to Record; A.P. Moeller, SSAB, Boliden Shares Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks advanced for a second
day, pushing the Dow Jones Nordic 30 Index to a record.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S increased, following shares of Asian
shipping companies, after a media report said sea freight
companies raised rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Wheat Futures Decline as Dry Weather Speeds Harvest of U.S. Winter Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell in Kansas City and Chicago
on speculation that drier weather accelerated harvesting of the
U.S. winter crop in the southern Great Plains.

Parts of Kansas, the largest winter-wheat-producing state,
have received no rain in the past seven days, National Weather
Service data show. Harvest of the hard-red crop from Texas to
Nebraska had been delayed as nearly four times normal rain fell
in parts of the region in the past 30 days. Farmers may increase
sales after prices rose 33 percent in three months in Chicago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 2-Google to buy Web security co Postini for $625 mln

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - Google Inc. said on
Monday it has agreed to buy Web-based security provider Postini
for $625 million, expanding its package of online applications
to compete with Microsoft Corp.'s Office.




Privately held Postini provides security and encryption
services, protecting instant messaging, e-mail and other
communications, to more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million
users worldwide.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Limited Brands to transfer 75 pct of namesake chain

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - Limited Brands Inc. said on Monday it agreed to transfer a 75 percent stake in its Limited Stores chain to affiliates of Sun Capital Partners and that it finalized the sale of a 75 percent stake of its Express chain to Golden Gate Capital.



Sun Capital Partners will contribute $50 million of equity capital into the business and will arrange for a $75 million credit facility, said the company, which also owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Scotts Miracle-Gro cuts outlook, cites cold April

(Reuters) - By Helen Chernikoff



NEW YORK, July 9 - Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. , a supplier of lawn and garden products, on Monday cut its fiscal-year earnings outlook, citing an unseasonably cold April that kept gardeners indoors.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Canada Stocks Rise on Profit, Buyout Speculation; Barrick and Alcan Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, pushing the main
stock index to a record, as Barrick Gold Corp. gained on optimism
materials producers will profit from higher prices for gold and
copper. Takeover speculation also propelled the market.

Shares of Alcan Inc., Canada's biggest aluminum producer,
advanced on reports that Alcoa Inc.'s hostile takeover bid, which
expires tomorrow, may be topped by Rio Tinto Group. Alcoa is
scheduled to report second-quarter earnings today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Tunisia to award fixed-line phone licence - paper

(Reuters) - Tunisia will launch an international tender soon for a fixed-line telecoms licence, part of a drive to boost inward investment and quicken economic growth, a Tunisian newspaper reported on Monday.

"The project of a second fixed-line phone concession will be accelerated, to be finalised as soon as possible," daily Le Quotidien said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canadian Stocks May Rise on Earnings, Takeovers; Alcan, Barrick May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise for a third
day, led by shares of such raw-materials producers as Barrick Gold
Corp., on optimism earnings will increase as prices for gold and
copper rise. Takeovers may also propel the market.

Shares of Alcan Inc., Canada's biggest aluminum producer, may
be active on reports that Alcoa Inc.'s hostile takeover bid, which
expires tomorrow, may be topped by Rio Tinto Group. Alcoa is
scheduled to report second-quarter earnings today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper Rises to Two-Month High as Chilean Mine Strike Threatens Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to a two-month high in
New York after union workers went on strike at a mine in Chile,
the world's largest producer of the metal.

The protest will cut output at Dona Ines de Collahuasi,
Chile's third-largest copper mine, union treasurer Pedro Diaz
said today in a telephone interview. Supply disruptions helped
push copper to a record high in May 2006. The price gained
4.2 percent last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Egypt natural gas reserves 72.3 trillion cubic feet

(Reuters) - Egypt's confirmed reserves of natural gas reached 72.3 trillion cubic feet after increasing by 6.2 trillion cubic feet in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy said on Monday, according to state news agency MENA.

Fahmy also said that Egypt's confirmed crude oil and condensate reserves had risen to 3.97 billion barrels, MENA said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Univar agrees $2 bln bid by CVC, shares surge

(Reuters) - The bid from Ulysses Luxembourg S.a.r.l., a company controlled by funds managed by CVC Capital Partners , is at 53.50 euros per share, Univar and CVC said in a joint statement.




HAL Holding N.V. , which owns about 26.6 percent of Univar shares, said in a statement it has agreed to offer its stake to the bidder, and will not offer its shares to another party at a price below 57.50 euros within a certain time period.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nordic Stocks Climb to Record; A.P. Moeller-Maersk, SSAB, Boliden Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks advanced for a second
day, pushing the Dow Jones Nordic 30 Index to a record.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S increased, following shares of Asian
shipping companies, after a media report said sea freight
companies raised rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-IHOP says Argonne Capital buys its Florida licensee

(Reuters) - FMS owned, operated and sub-franchised 148 IHOP restaurants
in Florida and in certain counties of Southern Georgia.




Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Futures rise on profit optimism, Alcoa up

(Reuters) - Shares of Alcoa Inc. , the best performing Dow Jones
industrial average stock so far this year, rose 1.5 percent in
Europe before the aluminum producer's second-quarter financial
results expected after the market's close.




Even though fallout from the housing slowdown and recent
increases in fuel costs have stirred some caution, analysts
expect recent signs pointing to a strong labor market to boost
prospects for higher-than-expected profits.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Indian firms eye Devon's West Africa assets - sources

(Reuters) - Four state-run Indian oil firms are weighing up whether to enter the race for some of the West African oil and gas assets held by U.S.-based Devon Energy, sources close to the potential bids said on Monday.

A source said exploration firm Oil India Ltd. and refiner Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) were jointly evaluating data for a possible non-binding bid for Devon's Angolan assets and "would submit a bid if the data meets expectations".


Read more at Reuters Africa

Biofuels output seen doubling, still marginal: IEA

(Reuters) - But looking ahead, its latest Medium-Term Oil Market Report stated the need for caution and said limited data made prediction difficult.




"Price pressure this year on feedstocks such as corn, sugar, soybeans, wheat and palm oil reinforces our concerns over economic viability due to competition between first-generation biofuels and the food chain," it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Numico shares up on talk of interest from Danone

(Reuters) - "It strategically works for both Danone or Pepsi. We see a takeout price of at least 55-60 euros," said a trader.




Danone and Numico both declined to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Italian Stocks Rise, Led by Finmeccanica, Fiat; Banca Italease Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Italian stocks advanced for a second
session, led by Finmeccanica SpA after Chairman Pier Francesco
Guarguaglini told daily Il Giornale that he expects additional
sales for as much as 650 million euros ($885 million) a year from
Boeing's new 787 airliner.

Fiat SpA and Telecom Italia SpA also gained. Banca Italease
SpA shares extended last week's slide.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Sugar, Robusta Coffee and Cocoa Futures Decline on London's Euronext.liffe

(Bloomberg) -- White sugar, robusta coffee and cocoa
futures declined in London.

Refined, or white, sugar futures fell 30 cents to $324.70 a
metric ton as of 9:50 a.m. on the Euronext.liffe exchange. Cocoa
dropped 11 pounds to 1,096 pounds ($2,208) a ton, and robusta
coffee fell $9 to $1,888 a ton.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Glaxo's Seretide approved for wider use in Europe

(Reuters) - The approval follows a regulatory review of a major clinical
study, known as TORCH, into the drug's use among patients with
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , Glaxo said in a
statement on Monday.




"We hope, and expect, that this will mean that patients
presenting to their healthcare professional start to use
Seretide earlier and benefit from improvements in quality of
life and in their lung function, before they have reached the
severe stage of the disease," Darrell Baker, Glaxo's head of
respiratory medicines development, said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.K. Day-Ahead Natural Gas Touches 2007 High on Reduced North Sea Supply

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery a day
ahead rose to the highest this year following an announcement
last week that flows of the fuel through a BP Plc pipeline may
be halted for a matter of weeks, reducing supply onto the grid.

Day-ahead gas rose as much as 4.5 percent to 32.25 pence a
therm, the highest since Dec. 21, according to prices on
Bloomberg from energy broker Spectron Group Plc. It traded at 31
pence a therm at 8:22 a.m. in London, equivalent to $6.24 per
million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Airbus, GE dispute could delay A350 plane: paper

(Reuters) - The reported dispute comes as Boeing unveiled its new lightweight, carbon composite 787 Dreamliner aircraft on Sunday. The mid-sized long-range aircraft has already attracted more than $100 billion in orders and would compete with the yet to be built A350 XWB , which has GE's UK rival Rolls-Royce as the only current engine supplier.




GE officials told the WSJ they will not build a new engine that competes with the one they supply for the 777 but the company has offered Airbus a version of the new GEnx engine which it is creating for the Dreamliner.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

FTSE 100 Advances, Paced by Tate & Lyle, British Energy and Xstrata

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, paced by Tate &
Lyle Plc, British Energy Group Plc and Xstrata Plc.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rallied 21.8, or 0.3 percent,
to 6711.9 in London at 8:06 a.m. The FTSE All-Share Index added
9.88, or 0.3 percent, to 3464.01. Ireland's ISEQ Index rose 9.87
to 9461.03.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Singapore Air may sell Virgin Atlantic stake-paper

(Reuters) - Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic could not
immiediately be reached for comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News