UPDATE 2-UK buyout firms urged to voluntarily end secrecy

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 17 - Private equity firms should
disclose more details about themselves and the companies they
acquire, but not be subjected to greater regulation, an
independent review requested by Britain's buyout industry found.




David Walker, a former chairman of Morgan Stanley
International, was appointed in March to look at ways for buyout
firms to communicate more information to more people to help
silence a growing chorus of public and political criticism.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nymex Gas Rise, Following Oil Higher, as Hot Weather Lingers in Midwest,

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures rose in New York
as hot weather lingered in parts of the Midwest, boosting demand
for electricity to power air conditioners and crude oil surged.

St. Louis will have daytime highs of about 94 degrees
Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) today and 96 tomorrow, MDA Federal Inc.'s
Earthsat Energy Weather said in a report. Cincinnati will hit 90
degrees today, the Rockville, Maryland-based forecaster said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Merrill CFO says limited risk to Bear hedge funds

(Reuters) - During a conference call with analysts and investors, Edwards reassured them that Merrill Lynch took effective risk management measures before investing in the hedge funds.




He said the company's current exposure to Bear Stearns is "limited and well under control."


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Bonds Fall on Speculation Global Growth to Prompt Rising Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds fell on speculation
global economic growth is fast enough to prompt the European
Central Bank to increase interest rates this year.

ECB council member Nicholas Garganas said higher rates are
``warranted.'' Ten-year bunds snapped two-days of gains after
U.S. reports showed factory output rose the most since February
and prices paid to producers excluding food and fuel climbed
more than forecast. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may
reiterate tomorrow that the bank is seeking to curb inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Forest Labs quarterly profit rises 34 pct

(Reuters) - Forest shares fell as much as 2 percent in early trading but later recouped some of those losses.




"Despite the beat, Forest did not raise its fiscal 2008 forecast, which we would expect many on the Street to react negatively to," Natexis Bleichroeder analyst Corey Davis said in a research note.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US STOCKS-Indexes open up on energy gains, profits

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.72
points, or 0.11 percent, at 13,965.70. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was up 1.62 points, or 0.10 percent, at
1,551.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.58
points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,704.91.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-U.S. June industrial production up 0.5 pct

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 17 - U.S. industrial output rose
by a slightly more-than-expected 0.5 percent in June as
production for automobiles surged 2.5 percent during the month,
a Federal Reserve report on Tuesday showed.




Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting to see a 0.4
percent rise in June. Total output at the nation's factories,
mines and utilities fell by a revised 0.1 percent in May
compared with a flat reading initially.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Angola September crude exports to rise to 1.7 mln bpd

(Reuters) - OPEC member Angola is set to export a record 1.7 million barrels per day of crude oil in September, up 50,000 bpd from the previous month, traders said on Tuesday.

The total is equivalent to around 53 cargoes, unchanged from the last two months.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Likely Nigeria finmin wants prudent government spending

(Reuters) - A Nigerian central banker who is widely expected to be the next finance minister said on Tuesday government should limit its spending to help control inflation and deregulate key sectors to spur private sector growth.

Shamsuddeen Usman, deputy governor of the central bank in charge of operations, said Nigeria's windfall oil revenue savings should be used prudently for capital projects to avoid the boom-and-bust cycles that plagued the economy in the past.


Read more at Reuters Africa

United Technologies Options Are `Bullish' Before Tomorrow's Profit Report

(Bloomberg) -- Investors are using options to bet
United Technologies Corp. shares will gain after the company
reports second-quarter results tomorrow, according to analysts at
Strategic Option Consulting and Susquehanna Financial Group.

Trading in calls, or options to buy shares of the maker of
Otis elevators and Pratt & Whitney jet engines, surged to 48,831
contracts yesterday. That was the most in two months and an 11-
fold increase from the 20-day average. At the same time, United
Technologies shares advanced 2.2 percent, the most since January,
to a record $76.67.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Advance, Dow Average Tops 14,000 for First Time; Merrill Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow
Jones Industrial Average past 14,000 for the first time, after
wholesale inflation unexpectedly declined and Goldman, Sachs &
Co. advised buying shares of American Express Co.

American Express, the fourth-biggest U.S. credit-card
issuer, led the Dow average to a fourth-straight record. Rohm &
Haas Co., the largest maker of acrylics for paints and plastics,
pushed a gauge of raw-materials producers to the biggest gain in
the S&P 500 on its plans for a $2 billion share buyback.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

State Street earnings top forecasts, outlook hiked

(Reuters) - Boston-based State Street, which also makes money by holding trillions of dollars in securities in custody and calculating the bulk of mutual fund prices printed in newspapers, said net income climbed to $366 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the second quarter.




That compares with $227 million, or 68 cents, a year earlier, when non-cash tax adjustments of 25 cents a share weighed on earnings.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 3-U.S. Bancorp 2nd-qtr profit misses forecasts

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 17 - U.S. Bancorp , the
sixth-largest U.S. bank, posted a bigger-than-expected drop in
quarterly profit on Tuesday, as lower lending income and rising
expenses and credit losses more than offset an increase in
fees.




Second-quarter net income for the Minneapolis-based company
fell to $1.16 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $1.2
billion, or 66 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.5 percent
to $3.51 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Cortex gets OK to resume enrollment for Ampakine trials

(Reuters) - The study of Ampakine CX717, which was originally designed
with doses of 200mg, 600mg and 1200mg, was placed on hold by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to concerns over some
preclinical animal data.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

J&J beats forecasts, with strong overseas demand

(Reuters) - Analysts on average expected $1 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




"At first glance, the earnings look pretty strong," said Russell Croft, portfolio manager of Croft-Leominster Value Fund.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Schwab quarterly profit increases 16 percent

(Reuters) - Net revenue was $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier and slightly higher than analysts had expected.




Total client assets reached $1.38 trillion at the end of June.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wells Fargo 2nd-qtr profit rises 9 pct

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 17 - Wells Fargo & Co. , the fifth-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday second-quarter profit rose 9 percent, as growth in several fee categories offset a decline in mortgage banking income.



Net income for the San Francisco-based company increased to a record $2.28 billion, or 67 cents per share, from $2.09 billion, or 61 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 13 percent to $9.89 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Answers files for $140 mln in mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, a company may sell securities in one
or more separate offerings with the size, price and terms to be
determined at the time of sale.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UK mortgage standards safer than U.S. but slipping

(Reuters) - The UK subprime mortgage market is newer and smaller than
its equivalent across the Atlantic, which means it has had less
opportunity to come unstuck.




Subprime loans account for around 8 percent of UK mortgage
lending, according to the FSA, versus 20 percent of U.S. lending
in 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Fall as Investors' Concern Over Subprime Mortgage Crisis Eases

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell for the first time
in three days as concern ebbed about losses in securities backed
by subprime mortgage loans.

Investors sold government debt after Merrill Lynch & Co.,
the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, said second-quarter
profit rose 31 percent even as revenue declined in the unit that
includes its mortgage business.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Air France KLM eyes Spanish airline Iberia

(Reuters) - Spanish publication El Economista and the Financial Times earlier said Air France KLM could team up with private equity company Apax in a consortium that could bid 3.8 billion euros for Iberia.




Apax was not immediately available to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. June Producer Prices Unexpectedly Fall; Core Rate Rises 0.3 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Prices paid to U.S. producers
unexpectedly dropped for the first time in five months, restrained
by declines in fuel and food costs.

The 0.2 percent fall followed a 0.9 percent increase in May,
the Labor Department said today in Washington. Core prices, which
exclude food and energy, rose 0.3 percent, reflecting a jump in
automobile prices. Excluding passenger cars, core prices were up
0.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

ECB's Garganas Calls on Banks to Tighten Lending for Leveraged Buyouts

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank governing
council member Nicholas Garganas called on banks to tighten
lending to buyout firms, saying current pricing of loans may not
reflect risks.

``It is crucial that financial institutions properly price
the risks involved and that in some circumstances limit the
amount they lend,'' Garganas said yesterday in an interview in
his Athens office. Banks ``shouldn't be tempted to relax their
lending criteria to attract new business,'' Garganas said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

European Stocks Fall for First Time in Four Days; BG, Man Group Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped for the first
time in four days after analysts downgraded oil companies and
investors speculated mounting U.S. mortgage losses will hamper
growth in the world's largest economy.

BG Group Plc and Statoil ASA paced a retreat in energy
stocks after a brokerage recommended selling the shares. Man
Group Plc and Lafarge SA led declines by financial stocks and
exporters. Anglo American Plc and Antofagasta Plc followed copper
and nickel prices lower.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Criminal probes often weigh on debt ratings - study

(Reuters) - The report by Moody's Investors Service looked at
the credit rating agency's actions regarding companies that
reached pretrial agreements with federal prosecutors
investigating allegations of wrongdoing.




These pacts, generally called deferred prosecution or
non-prosecution agreements, have become increasingly common as
companies in the government's crosshairs seek to avoid the fate
of accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which went out of business
following its indictment in 2002.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-J&J beats forecasts, with strong overseas demand

(Reuters) - The diversified health-care company said it earned $3.08
billion, or $1.05 per share, compared with $2.82 billion, or 95
cents per share, in the year-ago period.




Analysts on average expected $1 per share, according to
Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.K. Electricity Rises, Boosting Profit Margins for Gas-Fired Power Plants

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. electricity for delivery a day
ahead gained, boosting profit for operators of plants that burn
natural gas, the fuel for about 40 percent of Britain's power
generation.

Baseload electricity for next-day delivery rose as much as
4.2 percent to 28.65 pounds ($58.50) a megawatt-hour, according
to prices on Bloomberg from the energy broker Spectron Group
Plc. It traded at 28 pounds a megawatt hour at 8:52 a.m. in
London. Baseload power is delivered around the clock.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Rio Tinto says to unwind Alcan hedgebook

(Reuters) - "Assuming we go through with the deal, it will all be wound
down," a Rio Tinto spokesman said on Monday.




Rio's policy is not to hedge -- make future sales at a known
price -- any of the commodities it produces, and it intends to
bring Alcan into line with this.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Owens to sell two facilities in Belgium and Norway

(Reuters) - Owens Corning also said it was in "active discussions" with
Saint-Gobain on the potential conversion of the proposed joint
venture into an outright acquisition by Owens Corning of the
French company's Vetrotex business.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Futures flat, Merrill rises after earnings

(Reuters) - Stock futures trimmed earlier losses after Merrill Lynch, the world's largest brokerage, reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates. Merrill's shares rose more than 2 percent before the opening bell.




The Labor Department's producer prices index for June is expected to show a 0.2 percent pickup in overall prices. Excluding food and energy, producer prices are also forecast to have risen 0.2 percent. The PPI data is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. .


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Crude Oil Rises to 11-Month High on Signs U.S. Refinery Demand Is Rising

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to an 11-month high in
New York on higher demand after OPEC ministers said the group
should maintain its restrictions on production.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries yesterday
raised a forecast for demand for its crude by 100,000 barrels to
31.1 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter. The U.S. Energy
Department will probably report tomorrow that crude-oil supplies
fell 700,000 barrels in the week to July 13, according to analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg News.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Regions Financial 2nd-qtr profit rises

(Reuters) - The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based biotechnology company, which has been the subject of takeover rumors for months amid investor agitation, said it has authorized management to "evaluate whether third parties would have an interest in acquiring the company at a price and on terms that would represent a better value for its stockholders than having the company continue to execute its business plan on a stand-alone basis."



) Keywords: MEDIMMUNE CONFIRMATION/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Coca-Cola posts profit on emerging markets

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 17 - Coca-Cola Co. said on Tuesday second-quarter profit rose slightly, helped by strength in emerging markets such as China, Turkey, India and Brazil.



The world's largest soft-drink maker reported net income of $1.85 billion, or 80 cents per share, up less than 1 percent from $1.84 billion, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Australian Wheat Production May Miss Forecast by 11 Percent, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat production in Australia, the
world's third-largest exporter of the grain, may be 11 percent
less than a government forecast because of dry weather in the
country's west, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.

The nation may produce 20 million metric tons of wheat this
harvest, the brokerage said in a note dated July 16. That
compares with its previous forecast of 22.8 million tons and a
government estimate of 22.5 million tons.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Merrill Lynch Q2 profit rises 31 percent

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, looked for Merrill Lynch to earn
$2.02 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dow Jones Shares Rise After Journal Says Agreement With Murdoch Reached

(Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co. shares rose after the
Wall Street Journal reported Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has
reached a tentative deal to acquire the company for $5 billion.

Dow Jones shares rose 1.8 percent in German trading today.
The Dow Jones board will vote this evening on the $60-a-share
offer after negotiators reached an agreement yesterday, the
Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation. Linda
Dunbar, a Dow Jones spokeswoman in New York, and Kate Dobbin, a
London-based company spokeswoman, declined to comment.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Pound Versus Dollar Volatility to Increase on Rate Outlook, Barclays Says

(Bloomberg) -- Swings in the pound-dollar exchange
rate will rise because U.S. economic growth will prove resilient
while that in the U.K. will wane under the weight this year's
interest rate increases, according to Barclays Capital Inc.

``The market is likely to be proved wrong on both U.K. and
U.S. interest rates,'' said Paul Robinson, senior sterling
strategist in London at Barclays Capital, the third-biggest U.K.
bank. ``We expect foreign exchange volatility to increase.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Stocks Fall for First Time in Four Days; BG, Deutsche Bank Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped for the first
time in four days after analysts downgraded oil companies and a
decline in metal prices pushed mining shares lower.

BG Group Plc and Statoil ASA paced a retreat in energy stocks
after a brokerage recommended selling the shares. Anglo American
Plc and Antofagasta Plc followed copper and nickel prices lower.
Deutsche Bank AG and Allianz AG led declines by financial stocks
before a report on U.S. producer prices that may provide clues
about inflation and the outlook for rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Apollo mulling private exchange listing: report

(Reuters) - Apollo, founded by former investment banker Leon Black, may take this route to bypass the scrutiny of being a public company.




As it would in an initial public offering, Apollo will be able to raise permanent capital with its Goldman Sachs exchange listing, and give its founders a way to cash out, the report said. But it will not exactly go public, as rival private equity firm Blackstone Group LP and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC have done through listings on the New York Stock Exchange in recent months.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Sucampo sees $14-$16/shr price band for IPO

(Reuters) - The pharmaceutical company plans to list on the Nasdaq
under the symbol "SCMP," it said in a filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.




Sucampo said it expects to raise net proceeds of about
$38.6 million and plans to use the proceeds to fund its
clinical trials.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

KeyCorp 2nd-qtr profit rises

(Reuters) - Profit from continuing operations rose to $337 million, or
85 cents per share, from $303 million, or 74 cents.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Hungarian Central Banker Simor Says Inflation `Moving as Broadly Expected'

(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian central bank President
Andras Simor said the country's inflation rate remains within
policy makers' forecasts, even after energy costs pushed up
consumer prices in June.

Last month's 8.6 percent rate, while above economists'
estimates, did not change the bank's longer-term outlook, Simor
said at a press conference today in Budapest. He also said that
while the bank prefers the forint to trade freely, it isn't
actively trying to persuade the government to end trading limits.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

DRDGOLD lifts resources by 150 pct at SAfrican mine

(Reuters) - South African gold miner DRDGOLD said on Tuesday it had seen a 150 percent increase in total resources at its East Rand Proprietary Mines Limited (ERPM) operation at Boksburg.

The increase, to 41.37 million ounces from 16.58 million ounces at 30 June 2006, the company said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

TD Bank to put capital into BCE deal: report

(Reuters) - Under the terms of the deal, Teachers will own 52 percent of BCE, while Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners will together have about 41 percent.




The Globe said TD's plan is to sell-off its equity stake to other large Canadian investors once the deal is approved.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Alexandria Real Estate says H1 profit up 220 pct

(Reuters) - Egypt's Alexandria Real Estate Investment's net profit in the first half of 2007 is up 220 percent at 105.4 million Egyptian pounds, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

However, trading in the shares on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) was suspended on Tuesday until the company responds to CASE inquiries on the results, the bourse said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

FTSE weighed by miners, worries over US economy

(Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Tuesday as miners suffered downgrades and investors braced for U.S. inflation data after fresh fears over the subprime mortgage market fuelled concerns about the state of the world's largest economy.

Investors were also unsettled by a UK inflation report that showed price pressures remained strong, stoking fears of higher interest rates.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Iraq War Refugees Recreate Baghdad's Enmities in an Uneasy Damascus Exile

(Bloomberg) -- In Iraq, Shiite and Sunni Muslims
live uneasily close to each other as bitter foes in a bloody
conflict. In Sayeda Zeinab, a working-class district on the
outskirts of Damascus, they live uneasily close as refugees.

More than a million Shiites and Sunnis have crossed the
border into Syria, where the ruling Baath Party pursues a pan-
Arab ideology. Even though they now live under a government that
downplays religious differences, the two groups have created a
little replica of Baghdad in the Syrian capital -- one so
reminiscent of the city they left that mainly Sunni and Shiite
areas are segregated by a thoroughfare called Iraq Street.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Comair says FY profit to climb 20-40 pct

(Reuters) - South African airline operator Comair -- a franchised partner of British Airways -- on Tuesday said full-year headline earnings per share and EPS would increase between 20-40 percent.

But the company said "unprofitable ticket pricing" by state run airline SAA through its new low-cost airline Mango had negatively affected industry profits in the fourth quarter of the financial year to end-June.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.K. Pound Rises to 26-Year High Against Dollar After June Inflation Data

(Bloomberg) -- The pound rose to a 26-year high
against the dollar after a report showed U.K. inflation exceeded
the Bank of England's 2 percent limit for a 14th month in June.

The U.K. currency posted its biggest gain in a week on
speculation the BOE will keep raising interest rates while the
Federal Reserve stays on hold, increasing the attraction of
pound-denominated assets. Investors raised bets on how high BOE
policy makers will lift borrowing costs following the release of
the inflation report, futures trading shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Continental sticks to 2007 profit forecast

(Reuters) - A spokesman made the comments on Tuesday when asked about market talk that the automotive supplier and tyremaker could increase its earnings guidance when it reports second-quarter results on Aug 1.



) Keywords: CONTINENTAL OUTLOOK/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News