Infineon to cut Qimonda stake to minority by 2009

(Reuters) - By Georgina Prodhan, European Technology Correspondent



FRANKFURT, Aug 6 - German chipmaker Infineon aims to reduce its stake in memory chip unit Qimonda to "significantly below 50 percent" by 2009, if necessary by giving away Qimonda shares to its own shareholders.


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Europe shares down by midday; credit outweighs M&A

(Reuters) - European shares traded down by midday on Monday, led by financial stocks as they bore the brunt of concerns over credit markets and by oil shares, which tracked a fall in crude.

At 1035 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.4 percent, heading for its eighth day of losses in the last 10 sessions and off 7.7 percent from a 6-1/2 year high of 1,635.58 on July 13.


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U.K. Natural Gas Falls on Lower Demand Forecast; Pipeline Flips to Export

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas costs declined as a
drop in demand prompted a switch in the direction of flows on a
pipeline connecting England with mainland Europe.

Gas for delivery intraday slipped 3.4 percent to 28.25
pence a therm, according to prices on Bloomberg from the broker
ICAP Plc. The day-ahead price fell 2.6 percent to 28.5 pence a
therm. That's equivalent to $5.83 a million British thermal
units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


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European Government Bonds Advance as Asian Stocks Slide on Subprime Losses

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds rose for a
second day as Asian stocks slid on concern U.S. subprime mortgage
losses will slow economic growth and drive up global financing
costs.

Gains in bunds pushed benchmark 10-year yields to near the
lowest since May as investors sold riskier assets and sought the
relative safety of government debt. Bear Stearns Cos. ousted Co-
President Warren Spector after credit-market losses and eroding
investor confidence.


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European Stocks Drop, Paced by BMW, Philips, Hypo Real Estate, Depfa

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell after reports in
the U.S. showed employers added fewer jobs than forecast last
month and growth in U.S. service industries slowed, reigniting
concern the world's biggest economy is cooling.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Royal Philips Electronics NV
paced declines among companies that rely on sales in the U.S. The
Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Oil & Gas Index dropped to the lowest in
three months, led by Total SA and BP Plc after Citigroup Inc.
reduced its recommendation for the oil industry. Hypo Real Estate
Holding AG, the mortgage bank spun off from HVB Group, and Depfa
Bank Plc led financial shares lower.


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Fortis seen clearing shareholder hurdle over ABN

(Reuters) - If it does not garner enough support it could spell the end not only to Fortis's ambitions of expanding in the Benelux but also the joint 71 billion euro bid of its consortium partners Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander .




Fortis will ask shareholders, who have seen their stock drop by almost 18 percent since it confirmed its approach for ABN in April, to back the planned takeover in general and its financing through Europe's second largest rights issue.


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European Carbon Emission Permits Fall as U.K. Natural-Gas Prices Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
fell as U.K. natural-gas prices dropped, making the cleaner-
burning fuel more attractive to power producers.

Permits for December 2008 lost as much as 30 cents, or 1.5
percent, to 20.40 euros ($27.94) a metric ton on the European
Climate Exchange in Amsterdam. They traded at 20.57 euros at
11:13 a.m. local time. That's the second drop in three days.


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EURO CREDIT-Index liquidity seen good despite turmoil

(Reuters) - The iTraxx Crossover index , viewed as a
barometer for European credit sentiment, has this week moved
between 380 and 505 basis points, a huge range that in the
credit market is more likely to be seen over a period of a year
or more rather than a week.




Single-name credit default swap and cash bond liquidity has
suffered, with bid-offer spreads widening sharply and traders
saying little business is being transacted.


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BP Says Forties Oil Sulfur Content Will Rise More Than Expected in August

(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil
company, said it expects the sulfur content of the North Sea
Forties crude blend to rise above 1.1% in August, beyond
original expectations.

BP says the amount of sulfur in August will increase as
maintenance at some fields which feed into Forties boosts the
overall share of the sulfurous Buzzard crude in the blend,
according to the company Web site.


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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Shares of Archer Daniels, Alcoa Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced
after investors speculated the biggest weekly sell-off in more
than four years was excessive.

Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world's largest grain
processor, climbed after reporting earnings that topped
analysts' estimates. Alcoa Inc., the world's second-biggest
aluminum company, rose in Europe after their shares lost more
than 10 percent in the previous five days.


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European Carbon Dioxide Emissions Permits Climb to Near Three-Week High

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide
permits rose to the highest in almost three weeks.

Permits for December 2008 gained for a fifth day, climbing
as much as 40 cents, or 2 percent, to 20.70 euros ($28.30) a
metric ton on the European Climate Exchange in Amsterdam at 9:30
a.m. local time.


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European Stocks Pare Earlier Gains; Suez, Vodafone Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks erased gains. Suez
SA, the French energy and water group, and Vodafone Group Plc,
the world's biggest mobile-phone company, paced the decline.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 added 0.1 percent to 372.9 at 9:57
a.m. in London after climbing as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The
Stoxx 50 and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations
sharing the euro, both declined 0.1 percent.


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Global financial markets stabilize after tremble

(Reuters) - Earlier, world stocks hit a 6-week low while credit spreads and emerging sovereign bond spreads burst wider as fears grew that a U.S. housing fallout might trigger a global credit crunch.




But European shares have since erased losses as auto shares rallied following strong Volkswagen results. U.S. stock futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street after it suffered the biggest fall since February.


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European shares bounce back, carmakers rally

(Reuters) - European shares reversed early sharp losses on Friday to rise nearly 0.7 percent on the day as robust corporate results from car makers helped offset worries over the credit market and the health of the U.S. economy.

At 0901 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.58 percent, at 1,536.49 points, after falling more than 1 percent in early trade. It dropped 2.8 percent on Thursday on signs of deteriorating conditions for corporate buyouts and further weakness in the U.S. housing market.


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European Stocks May Drop, Led by Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Infineon

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may fall for a fourth
day on concern that financing difficulties in the credit market
will stifle mergers and acquisitions.

Credit Suisse Group and Deutsche Bank AG may follow their
U.S.-traded securities lower. Infineon Technologies AG, Valeo SA
and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA may drop after earnings
missed analysts' estimates.


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Scania CEO says no discussions with MAN

(Reuters) - Ostling said he did not know if any talks were being held
among the two truck makers' owners.




Germany's Volkswagen , the biggest investor in both
Scania and MAN, has sought to resume negotiations on a merger of
the two firms to create Europe's truck market leader.


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AstraZeneca ups job cuts to 7,600 in savings drive

(Reuters) - The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker, which announced in February it planned to cut about 3,000 positions, said it would increase the job cuts to more than 10 percent of its 2006 workforce in a drive to make over $900 million of annual savings by 2010.




Chief Executive David Brennan said the additional job losses would affect its European sales and marketing team as well as employees working in research and development and other areas in Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, the United States and Canada.


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UPDATE 2-AstraZeneca ups job cuts to 7,600 in savings drive

(Reuters) - The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker, which announced in February it planned to cut about 3,000 positions, said it would increase the job cuts to more than 10 percent of its 2006 workforce in a drive to make over $900 million of annual savings by 2010.




Chief Executive David Brennan said the additional job losses would affect its European sales and marketing team as well as employees working in research and development and other areas in Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, the United States and Canada.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Corporate Bond Risk Soars on Absolute Hedge Fund Loss, Failed Buyout Loans

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds
soared after a hedge fund co-owned by ABN Amro Holding NV's
Australian unit suspended withdrawals and investors shunned
buyout debt in the U.S. and Europe, credit-default swaps show.

Contracts on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies rose 36,000 euros to 400,000 euros, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co. The cost of the credit-default swaps, used
to bet of the ability of companies to repay debt, is the highest
in more than two years. The U.S. benchmark CDX Investment Grade
Index jumped $6,000 to $62,750, Deutsche Bank AG said.


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European Stocks Pare Gains as BT Group, Thomson, Legal & General Slide

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks erased gains as
shares of BT Group Plc and Thomson SA fell.

ABB Ltd., the world's largest builder of electricity networks,
and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. paced advancing shares
after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News