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 Business News

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

Fujitsu Q1 oper profit down 80 pct, lifts outlook

(Reuters) - The company nudged up its forecast for full-year operating
profit to 195 billion yen from 190 billion, slightly exceeding a
consensus estimate of 194.6 billion yen by 15 analysts polled by
Reuters.




Fujitsu, the world's fifth-biggest maker of servers in a
market dominated by Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM, is
seeking inroads abroad. It recently made a 395 million euro hostile bid for French computer services firm GFI
Informatique to tap information technology demand in
France and Spain.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Stocks May Drop; Credit Suisse, Allianz, Atos Origin Might Fall

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may fall after U.S.
benchmarks tumbled the most in four months yesterday on concern
defaults on home loans are rising.

Credit Suisse Group, Allianz SE and Royal Bank of Scotland
Group Plc might drop after their U.S.-traded securities declined.
Atos Origin SA may also slide after Deutsche Bank AG recommended
selling shares in France's second-largest computer services
company. GlaxoSmithKline Plc may be active before its second-
quarter earnings report.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

EDF, Faurecia, Klepierre, PPR, Nexity, Sopra, Vinci: French Equity 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 July 20.

August futures on France's benchmark CAC 40 Index added 1.5
to 5977.5 at 8:15 a.m. in Paris.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Air Liquide shares rise on KKR bid talk - traders

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 10 - Shares in French industrial
gases group Air Liquide rose sharply on Tuesday on
market talk of bid interest from private equity group KKR
[KKR.UL], traders said.




At 0814 GMT, Air Liquide stock was up 4.5 percent, topping
gainers on France's CAC 40 index , which was up 0.05
percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers 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

European Stocks Fall on Terrorism; Air France, Thomas Cook Pace Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined for the first
time in three days, paced by airlines, tour companies and
insurers after attempted terrorist attacks in the U.K.

Air France-KLM Group and British Airways Plc dragged the Dow
Jones Europe Stoxx Travel & Leisure Index to the lowest in more
than three months. Thomas Cook Group Plc, the travel operator
created last month by a merger, fell after Credit Suisse Group
recommended the shares as ``underperform'' in new coverage. Royal &
Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc led British insurers lower.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cocoa Jumps in London After Plane of Ivory Coast Prime Minister Attacked

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa jumped in London after a plane
carrying the prime minister of Ivory Coast, the world's biggest
grower of the beans, was attacked.

The plane carrying Guillaume Soro was attacked with rockets
and small handguns shortly after landing at an airport in the
central town of Bouake today, said Lee Woodyear, a United Nations
spokesman. While three people were killed, Soro survived the
attack, Agence France-Presse reported.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

French Stocks Decline, Led by France Telecom, Alcatel-Lucent and Unibail

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks declined, led by
France Telecom SA, Alcatel-Lucent and Unibail Holding SA.

The CAC 40 Index lost 47.43, or 0.8 percent, to 5975.82 at
9:06 a.m. in Paris. The SBF 120 Index dropped 0.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asian stocks sag, yen under pressure

(Reuters) - European shares were seen also tracking U.S. peers lower with financial bookmakers expecting falls of 24 to 33 points for London's FTSE 100 index , 30 to 44 points for Germany's DAX and 25 to 32 points for France's CAC 40 .




Demand for high-yielding currencies kept the yen pinned near an all-time low versus the euro and a 4-1/2-year low against the dollar. The Bank of Japan, unlike other central banks, was seen in no hurry to raise interest rates.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks 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

Yacef Is Unrepentant on `Battle of Algiers' Role in Popularizing Terrorism

(Bloomberg) -- Fifty years ago, when Saadi Yacef was
blowing up French men, women and children in the name of Algerian
independence, he never imagined Algerians would do the same to
each other some day.

Yacef's ultimately successful fight against colonial France
was immortalized in the 1965 film ``The Battle of Algiers.'' He
played a character based on himself in the movie, which has
become a celluloid primer for revolutionaries.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Canadian Stocks May Rise on Takeover Speculation; Western Oil May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise on speculation
there will be more takeovers of the country's commodity producers,
following a report that France's Total SA may bid for Western Oil
Sands Inc.

Global demand for energy and metals has helped some
commodities rise to record prices, while historically low borrowing
costs have fueled a takeover boom. That has helped the Canadian
stock index, of which almost half is commodity-related, rise to a
record this month. Gains in commodity stocks may be limited today
as crude oil fell from near a nine-month high in New York and
copper snapped two days of gains in London.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

French PM says 2008 budget to include deficit cut plans

(Reuters) - Translating such promises into action will help reassure France's European Union partners and the EU's budget watchdog that President Nicolas Sarkozy's tax cut plans will not lead to fiscal slippage.




The measures, which include plans to exempt overtime from taxes and give tax relief on mortgage interest rate payments, are expected to cost about 11-15 billion euros in a full year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EDF Rates May 21 Incident at Tricastin Nuclear Reactor as Level 1 on INES

(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, Europe's
biggest power generator, classified a May 21 incident at its
Tricastin nuclear power plant in the south of France as a Level
1 occurrence on the international safety scale.

The incident involved alarm systems triggered during the
restart of the plant's Unit 3, EDF said in a statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

SocGen seen mulling linkup with rival BNP

(Reuters) - Les Echos said SocGen head Daniel Bouton had hired investment banks to advise on a tie-up with BNP which could create a combined group ranking first in France by market value and third in Europe as a whole.




The deal could shield SocGen from any unwanted approach from other European suitors but would threaten extensive job cuts due to the overlapping branch networks of the two lenders, making it potentially politically controversial.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Electricite de France Auctions Electricity Before Market Opens on July 1

(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, Europe's
largest power generator, sold French power for delivery in the
second half of the year in an auction, before the market opens to
competition for domestic customers July 1.

In the June 6 auction, which included contracts for up to
three years from July, October or November, EDF sold 35 megawatts
of baseload power starting July 1 at an average 43.37 euros
($58.12) a megawatt-hour, it said in a statement on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-France Telecom buys Deutsche Telekom's Ya.com

(Reuters) - The deal propels France Telecom's mobile subsidiary Orange to the No. 2
spot on the Spanish broadband market with more than 1 million ADSL subscribers
and an 18 percent market share, the statement said.




Deutsche Telekom put Ya.com up for sale in March, along with other assets
it considered noncore, as part of a strategy to revive the flagship German
company that has seen rising competition and high staff costs send profits
tumbling.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Crude Oil Trades Near Two-Week High on Concerns Over Oman Cyclone, Nigeria

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed near a
two-week high in New York after rising yesterday on risks to
supplies from the Middle East and Nigeria.

Oman evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas in the
path of a cyclone heading toward the coast, Agence-France Presse
reported. Brent crude oil climbed to $70.40 a barrel yesterday on
the risk to tankers operating in the Gulf and the threat of
further strikes in Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News