Danaher first-quarter earnings rise 18 percent

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, April 19 - Industrial conglomerate Danaher Corp. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, citing the benefit of recent acquisitions and the impact of a weaker U.S. dollar.

The maker of Craftsman tools, dental technology and water testing equipment said earnings rose 18 percent to $255 million, or 78 cents per share, from $216 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.


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Barclays gets interest for parts of ABN -source

(Reuters) -

LONDON/AMSTERDAM, April 19 - Barclays may find support from rivals if it wants to sell parts of ABN AMRO , a newspaper report said on Thursday, as the UK bank heads towards a deal with its Dutch target early next week.


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Gold Retreats From 11-Month High in London; Silver and Palladium Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell in London on speculation a rally that took the metal to the highest in eleven months was overdone. Silver also dropped.

Bullion's 14-day relative strength index, which traders use to measure the momentum of price movements, fell to 63.5, from 70.7 on April 16. A reading higher than 70 typically signals prices will decline.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

U.K. Day-Ahead Electricity Price Falls to Lowest This Year, Tracking Gas

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. working-day-ahead power fell to its lowest this year as corresponding French power prices and natural-gas costs declined.

Electricity for delivery on the next working day fell 2.7 percent to 18.10 pounds ($36.25) a megawatt hour, according to price information on Bloomberg from the energy broker GFI Group Inc. The weekend starting April 21 traded at 18 pounds.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Wall St set for weaker start; Google, Merrill eyed

(Reuters) - June Dow Jones index futures were 0.6 percent lower, while S&P futures declined 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.7 percent.

Data showing China's economy grew 11.1 percent in the first quarter and inflation rose to 3.3 percent in March cemented expectations that tighter monetary policy will be needed to cool the country's overheating economy.


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French Stocks Decline, Led by Alstom, STMicroelectronics; Schneider Gains

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks dropped, paced by Alstom SA, STMicroelectronics NV and Arcelor Mittal. Schneider Electric SA advanced.

The CAC 40 Index lost 56.72, or 1 percent, to 5779.23 at 9:09 a.m. in Paris. The SBF 120 Index dropped 0.9 percent.


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RPT-UPDATE 1-TDK to sell TDK-brand recording media to Imation

(Reuters) - TDK, which would become lead shareholder in Imation through the deal, will continue to develop and manufacture recording media after the sale, to be completed in the July-September quarter, TDK said in a release.

Separately, Imation said it would buy back up to 5 million shares of common stock.


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