Rand trades firm, eyes US inflation

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed on Friday, adding to gains of the past two days after a choppy week, with markets braced for key U.S. inflation data due later in the session.

The local currency was at 7.1750 to the dollar at 0637 GMT, 0.2 percent stronger than a previous New York close of 7.19, and well off a low for the week of 7.3225 against the greenback touched on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa to launch currency futures market

(Reuters) - South Africa is to launch currency futures trading on Monday, allowing investors to trade rand futures in a regulated exchange for the first time, exchange operator JSE Ltd said on Thursday.

The currency futures will be traded on the JSE's interest rate exchange, YieldX, which was aimed at giving retail investors access to offshore forex markets.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Freddie Mac posts $211 mln net loss in 1st quarter

(Reuters) - The company reported a net share loss of 46 cents in the first quarter. Excluding unusual items, Freddie Mac was expected to show a profit of $1.09 per share in the first quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.




With this report, Freddie Mac returns to timely quarterly financial reporting for the first time since its 2003 accounting scandal, which led to a $5 billion restatement of past earnings.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Futures little changed ahead of PPI data

(Reuters) - Stocks to watch include investment banks, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. due to report quarterly results before the bell.




The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 5.21 percent, slightly above its late Wednesday level of 5.20 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

German Utilities Say Cooling-Water Limits Will Reduce Electricity Output

(Bloomberg) -- German utilities said power plant
availability in Germany will be reduced tomorrow because of
cooling-water restrictions.

Capacity at plants in Europe's largest energy market will be
cut by 670 megawatts, operators said today in a joint statement
on the Web site of the European Energy Exchange. The statement
didn't say which plants are affected.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Liberty Media, Echostar to bid for Intelsat-report

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - Liberty Media Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are preparing a joint offer for satellite-communications provider Intelsat Ltd., The Wall Street Journal's online edition said on Thursday.



Intelsat, which is accepting final bids for its auction on Thursday, could fetch more than $5.5 billion, the Journal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

DealTalk: Concerns grow over risky equity bridge loans

(Reuters) - Equity bridge loans allow private equity firms to get investment banks to share in the cash payment on deals. Such loans are great for buyout firms wanting to pursue takeovers without joining forces with competitors, but carry huge risk and skimpy pay-offs for the investment banks.




While this type of lending has been around for decades, the size and frequency of the loans has risen to the point where Goldman Sachs has told its mergers and acquisitions staff to avoid them, according to a banker who works there. Goldman declined to comment about its policy.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. futures indicate steady-to-higher market open

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp. and bankrupt auto parts maker
Delphi Corp. are near a deal with the United Auto
Workers union that would provide a cash payout to Delphi workers
in exchange for lower hourly wages, the Detroit News reported.




By 0955 GMT, September Dow futures were up 0.1
percent, S&P futures were flat and Nasdaq futures
gained 0.2 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wynn Increases Macau Casino Loan by 24 Percent to $1.5 Billion, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Wynn Resorts Ltd. increased the size
of a loan for its casino in Macau, the world's biggest gambling
market, by 24 percent to $1.55 billion, said three people with
direct knowledge of the matter.

The company, controlled by billionaire Steve Wynn, boosted
borrowings from $1.25 billion after more than 50 banks and funds
offered to lend more than it sought, said the people, who
declined to be identified because details aren't public. Bank of
America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG and Societe Generale SA are
arranging the financing, they said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Palm Oil Falls for Second Day on Higher Margins, Lower Export Volumes

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures in Malaysia, the
global benchmark, fell for a second day after the Malaysia
Derivatives Exchange raised trading margins, adding to concerns
among some investors that higher prices may curb overseas demand.

The price, which rose to a record 2,764 ringgit ($797) a
metric ton on June 6, fell yesterday after the exchange raised
margins by as much as 43 percent from today. Palm oil shipments
to China may have dropped by about a quarter this month.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Swiss Franc Gains as Central Bank Says More Interest-Rate Increases Likely

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc gained versus the
euro after Swiss National Bank President Jean-Pierre Roth said
more interest-rate increases are likely to be needed to prevent
inflation quickening.

The Zurich-based SNB raised its three-month Libor target
rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent, the highest since
September 2001, matching the forecast of all 25 economists in a
Bloomberg News survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Shares in Spain's BBVA jump on Carlos Slim talk

(Reuters) - MADRID, June 14 - Shares in Spanish bank BBVA were up strongly on Thursday on talk Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was looking at buying a significant stake in it, traders said.



One trader said the talk was of BBVA being split up and sold off, although he said he did not give it credibility because splitting up the company would weaken its geographical spread of risk.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Vattenfall Cuts Output at Ringhals-4 Reactor in Sweden on Generator Leak

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall AB, the Nordic region's
biggest utility, reduced the power capacity at its Ringhals-4
nuclear reactor because of leakage in a generator.

The reduction began at 11:30 a.m. local time today and
capacity was cut by about half to 450 megawatts, the company
said today in a statement to the Nord Pool ASA power exchange.
The duration of the failure is unknown, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Iran Rejects Suspension of Nuclear Program, Accuses UN of `Hidden Agenda'

(Bloomberg) -- Iran isn't willing to suspend its
nuclear program, calling itself a ``master'' of enrichment
technology and accusing the United Nations atomic agency of
harboring a hidden agenda of widening its inspections in the
Islamic Republic.

``Iran is the master of enrichment technology,'' said Iran's
Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Aliasghar
Soltanieh, at a news conference in Vienna today. ``The
suspension, which has no legal or technical ground, now has lost
its political merit. There is no way that suspension could be
justified.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Treasuries Little Changed; U.S. Producer Price Report May Signal Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries were little changed,
following a six-week rout, before a government report today that
will probably show faster inflation.

The 10-year Treasury note's yield gained 1 basis point to
5.21 percent. The yield is 13 basis points more than on two-year
government debt, compared with a spread of 1 basis point a week
ago. The Labor Department will probably say producer prices
excluding food and energy costs rose in May from a month before,
after being unchanged in April, according to a Bloomberg survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nikko out of race for Australia's RAMS - source

(Reuters) - Nikko, which is owned by Japan's Nikko Cordial Corp
, dropped out of the bidding after RAMS revised its
earnings forecast, a source told Reuters.




"There was a major earnings revision last week. It came
late in the process. Nikko came back with an alternative offer
which wasn't accepted," the source said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Subprime Mortgage Crash Squeezes First-Time Buyers Out of Housing Market

(Bloomberg) -- Josh Tullis, who in his eight years as
a senior loan officer rarely felt compelled to reject a first-time
home buyer's mortgage application, is sending people away empty-
handed in 2007.

Tullis's latest clients are a married couple that banks ought
to love. Between them they make $70,000 a year and they've been
renting the same apartment for three years with zero late payments,
he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Drax Starts Unit 6 at Its Coal-Fired Electricity Plant in Northern England

(Bloomberg) -- Drax Group Plc, the U.K. owner of
Europe's biggest coal-fired power plant, restarted Unit 6 at the
station in Selby, northern England.

The unit, which can generate about 645 megawatts, started
production at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday, according to a Web site
run by National Grid Plc. The company didn't give a reason for
its halt on June 11.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European shares climb ahead of US prices data

(Reuters) - European shares climbed in early trading on Thursday, with leading indexes adding around 1 percent following overnight stock market rallies in the United States and Asia.

"The positive start is thanks to the good U.S. market performance," said German LBBW bank equities strategist Steffen Neumann, who did not see any Europe-specific factors behind the gains.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Asian Currencies Strengthen, Reflecting Gains in Regional Stock Markets

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won strengthened after
overseas investors bought the most stocks in a year.

Global fund managers needed won to purchase $488 million of
Korean shares, turning net buyers for the first time in seven
days, according to stock exchange figures. The benchmark Kospi
index climbed 2.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed Before Report; Goldman Drop

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before a government report on producer prices that may
show the pace of inflation is picking up.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares declined in Europe before
the world's biggest security firm reports second-quarter
earnings. Bear Stearns Cos., the second-largest U.S. underwriter
of mortgage bonds, may move before it posts results. Separately,
the company is liquidating holdings from one of its hedge funds
after making money-losing bets on subprime home loans, according
to three people with knowledge of the decision.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Orascom ends talks over Brasil Telecom stake

(Reuters) - It said, however, that it would continue to pursue
acquisitions in emerging markets.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Don't press us on yuan, China tells U.S. Senate

(Reuters) - The bill reflects growing frustration in Congress over the billowing U.S. trade deficit with China, which hit a record $233 billion in 2006.




Many lawmakers believe China's currency practices contribute to the deficit by giving Chinese companies an unfair edge in global markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Germany's DAX Index Increases; E.ON, Siemens, Bayer Lead Gaining Shares

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks advanced, led by E.ON
AG, Siemens AG and Bayer AG.

The benchmark DAX Index rose 77.52, or 1 percent, to 7758.28
as of 9:06 a.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the country's 110
biggest companies climbed 1.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks Rise on Fed Comments; Daimler, Axa, Rio Tinto Pace Gains

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced for a second
day, led by exporters and mining companies, after the U.S.
Federal Reserve said the world's largest economy is growing
without spurring inflation and copper prices increased in Asia.

DaimlerChrysler AG and Axa SA led an advance by companies
that rely on the U.S. for revenue. Rio Tinto Group, the world's
third-biggest mining company, climbed to a record. Cadbury
Schweppes Plc gained on expectations the world's largest
confectioner may get offers for its U.S. drinks unit.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities bounce back as bonds stabilise

(Reuters) - European and Asian shares both rose -- with South Korea
hitting an all-time high. The dollar rose against the Japanese
yen and was flat versus the euro.




Central banks' tendency towards tightening, however, was
underlined by the Swiss National Bank, which raised interest
rates by 25 basis points to a target of around 2.5 percent and
said more hikes are likely.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Saudi Aramco Expands Yanbu Refinery's Capacity to Make Unleaded Gasoline

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest
state-owned oil company, increased its gasoline-refining production
capacity at the Yanbu refinery as part of the company's efforts to
expand refining and meet local and international demand.

The upgrades at the Yanbu refinery in western Saudi Arabia
will add 8,000 barrels a day of 95-octane unleaded-gasoline output,
Saudi Aramco said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Swiss Franc Drops Versus Dollar; Central Bank Raises Interest Rate to 2.5%

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc erased gains versus
the euro and fell against the dollar after the central bank
raised its target interest rate by a quarter point.

The Zurich-based Swiss National Bank increased its three-
month Libor target rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent, the
highest since September 2001, matching the forecast of all 25
economists in a Bloomberg News survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European shares open higher, tracking U.S., Asia

(Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 was 0.7 percent higher, Paris's CAC 40 advanced 0.7 percent and Frankfurt's DAX stood 1.1 percent higher.




Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Indonesia's Listrik Raises 3 Trillion Rupiah in Nation's Biggest Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara,
Indonesia's state-owned power utility, sold 3 trillion rupiah
($332 million) of bonds and Islamic debt in the Southeast Asian
nation's biggest corporate debt sale.

The company sold 1.5 trillion rupiah of 10-year bonds
yielding 10.4 percent, and 1.2 trillion rupiah of 15-year bonds
yielding 10.9 percent, Orias Petrus Moedak, managing director of
PT Danareksa Sekuritas, which helped organize the sale, said in
a mobile-phone text message. The Jakarta-based utility company
also sold 300 billion rupiah of 10-year Islamic bonds.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

JPMorgan `Scapegoat' Savvides Testifies in Greek Bond Probe, Plans Lawsuit

(Bloomberg) -- Former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker
Mike Savvides told prosecutors in Athens that the U.S. bank
misled Greek lawmakers about the sale of government bonds that
pension funds bought at inflated prices.

Savvides, 36, JPMorgan's former head of derivatives
marketing for Greece and Cyprus, said the New York-based bank is
making him a ``scapegoat'' and he plans to sue for unfair
dismissal.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Producer Prices in U.S. Probably Rose in May on Higher Energy, Metal Costs

(Bloomberg) -- Prices paid to U.S. producers
probably rose in May, reflecting a fourth consecutive jump in
fuel costs that threatens a broader pickup in inflation,
economists said before a government report today.

The 0.6 percent gain, according to the median estimate in a
Bloomberg News survey of 76 economists, would follow a 0.7
percent increase in April. Core prices, which exclude food and
energy, probably rose 0.2 percent after no change.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-JPMorgan prices debut A$950 mln 5-yr senior bond

(Reuters) - The deal details are as follows:




Issuer: JPMorgan Chase & Co.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Record Citigroup offer shows Samurai bond revival

(Reuters) - TOKYO, June 14 - Citigroup is raising 270
billion yen in the biggest-ever yen bond sale by a
foreign company, highlighting a revival of the Samurai market.




The market -- yen bonds issued by foreign companies in Japan
-- is enjoying a revival. Tight spreads, good conditions in the
yen interest rate swaps market, strong investor demand and
favourable U.S. tax treatment of Samurais are behind the rush.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mozambique says farm support plan to boost food output

(Reuters) - Mozambique's government on Wednesday launched a $50 million agricultural subsidy programme designed to raise the southern African nation's food production and cut its dependency on imports and humanitarian aid.

"We are banking on improved seeds, fertilizer and crop rotation to produce enough food for Mozambicans by 2014," Jose Gaspar, the national director of Mozamibique's Agriculture Extensions programme, said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Congo logging contracts under review

(Reuters) - A significant number of logging concessions issued by previous governments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to the world's second-largest tropical forest after the Amazon, could be scrapped under a World Bank-sponsored legal review.

"It's very hard to predict, but given the very clear criteria, it is reasonable to expect that a significant amount of the concessions will be canceled," Guiseppe Topa, a forest specialist for Africa at the World Bank, said in an interview with Reuters.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand steady vs dollar, eyes US PPI data

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was steady against the dollar on Thursday, and traders said the currency was likely be rangebound before U.S. producer price inflation data later in the session.

The rand was trading at 7.23 to the dollar at 0645 GMT, very close to its New York close of 7.2250 on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

PRESS DIGEST - Washington Post Business - June 14

(Reuters) - Allies of the U.S. auto industry stepped up a campaign to
soften strict vehicle fuel-efficiency mandates in proposed
energy legislation before the Senate, even as momentum for the
tougher measures continued to build.




---


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Israel's Gazit acquires shares in Ormat -report

(Reuters) - Officials at Ormat and Gazit could not immediately be
reached for comment.




Ormat is the controlling shareholder in Ormat Technologies
Inc. .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

South Korea's Samsung Card to Raise $619 Million From Initial Share Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Card Co., the consumer
credit unit of South Korea's biggest industrial group, increased
to 576 billion won ($619 million) its target from an initial
share sale after investors bid for more stock than they were
offered.

The company and owners will sell 12 million shares at
48,000 won each, compared with a high price of 45,000 won
marketed to investors, Seoul-based Samsung Card said today.
South Korean and overseas institutional investors applied for
257.6 million shares, 36 times the 7.2 million allocated to them,
the firm said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China Monetary Policy Needs `Moderate Tightening,' Premier Wen Jiabao Says

(Bloomberg) -- China's Premier Wen Jiabao signaled
the central bank may need to raise interest rates or curb bank
lending to prevent the world's fastest-growing major economy
from overheating.

Monetary policy needs ``moderate tightening,'' Wen said in
a statement on the government's Web site last night after
chairing a cabinet meeting. He didn't give a timetable or
specify what action the government may take.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China's Industrial Production Surges, Supporting Case for Rate Increase

(Bloomberg) -- China's industrial production growth
unexpectedly accelerated in May, increasing pressure on the
central bank to raise interest rates to cool the world's
fastest-growing major economy.

Output rose 18.1 percent in May from a year earlier, the
National Bureau of Statistics said today, after gaining 17.4
percent in April. That compared with the 17 percent median
estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Rubber Futures Advance in Tokyo as Weakening Yen Boosts Contract's Value

(Bloomberg) -- Rubber futures in Tokyo, the global
benchmark, gained for a second day in eight, as gains in the U.S.
currency boosted the value of yen-denominated contracts for the
commodity, which trades globally in dollars.

The dollar climbed to its highest in more than four years
against the yen, strengthening 1.5 percent in the past week to as
much as 122.84 yen today in Asian trading. Rubber yesterday
snapped a six-day losing streak in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Pertamina, Bharat Petroleum, Korea South-East: Asia Energy Tender Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of oil and
coal sales and purchase contracts in Asia. Some may be concluded
in the next few days and weeks.

Indonesia


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Rosneft Offers $190 Million for Yukos's Power Assets in Southern Russia

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Rosneft, Russia's state-run oil
producer, offered to buy OAO Yukos Oil Co.'s assets in southern
Russia for 4.9 billion rubles ($190 million) after regulators
blocked the winner of a May auction from acquiring them.

Rosneft made the offer for Yukos's stakes in regional power
utilities and an oil and gas exploration unit on June 9 and is
waiting for an answer, spokesman Nikolai Manvelov said in a
phone interview from Moscow today. Yukos's bankruptcy manager
must reply to Rosneft's offer within 10 days, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Falcon-Master Prince Plans $300 Billion Metropolis in Saudi Arabian Desert

(Bloomberg) -- It's molting season in the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia and change is in the air.

``How a man handles the falcon tells us much of his passion
and character,'' royal falcon master Hadi al-Aimi says while 35
peregrines trained for the hunt screech and shed feathers above
an oasis of date palms outside the northwestern city of Tabouk.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Fidelity's Frontini Dumps Stocks From Aggressive Fund After Becoming Chief

(Bloomberg) -- Mario Frontini just got a lot more
money to invest in equities at Fidelity International Ltd. His
plan is to sell more companies than he buys.

The 38-year-old beat Italy's benchmark stock index every
year since he started in 2004 as head of Fidelity's Italian fund.
He took over the European Aggressive Fund this month, more than
tripling the assets he oversees to about 4 billion euros ($5.4
billion).


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Icelandic Stocks, Currency Lure Investors (Again) a Year After Meltdown

(Bloomberg) -- Iceland's stock market and currency
are among the world's best performers this year after teetering
on the brink of collapse in 2006. The island's record interest
rates and relatively low equity prices will drive more gains.

``Stocks will rally another 10 to 15 percent,'' said
Gudmundur Gudmundsson, head of trading at Kaupthing Bank hf in
Reykjavik. ``The krona is still going strong and will retain its
strength in 2007'' on expectations rates will stay near records.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Thailand Court Ruling Creates Stock `Buying Opportunity' Ahead of Election

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's stocks, Southeast Asia's
worst performers this year, staged their biggest two-day rally
this year after a court ruling on May 30 paved the way for a
national election. More gains are likely, history shows.

``All of these worries about politics are a great buying
opportunity,'' said Doug Barnett, a 51-year-old fund manager
who's been investing in Thailand since 1990. His Thai Focused
Equity Fund Ltd., a $300 million hedge fund, includes Banpu Pcl,
the nation's largest coal miner, and Bank of Ayudhya Pcl, the
sixth-largest bank by assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News