U.K. Shares Including SkyePharma Fall; Daily Mail, Imperial Chemical Rise

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks including SkyePharma Plc
declined after the drug-formulation company said its U.S.
application for an asthma medicine may be delayed.

Daily Mail and General Trust Plc rose. Morgan Stanley
advised investors to buy shares in the publisher of the U.K.'s
Daily Mail newspaper following a slump in the past three months.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nordic Stocks Decline, Paced by Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Nordea Bank, Boliden

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks fell for a second day,
led by Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA, Norway's largest oil
producers, as crude oil prices dropped in New York.

Nordea Bank AB, the region's largest lender, also slipped
after Goldman, Sachs & Co. downgraded the stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kenyan shilling little changed vs dollar, trade slow

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling waslittle changed against the dollar in quiet trade on Monday and dealers expect the local currency to appreciate slightly in the week aided by good flows.

At 0730 GMT commercial banks traded the shilling at 66.20/30 to the dollar, compared with Friday's close of 66.25/35.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-ICI opens books to Akzo after raised $16.3 bln bid

(Reuters) - LONDON, Aug 6 - Britain's Imperial Chemical
Industries has opened its books to Akzo Nobel
after receiving an improved 8 billion-pound
takeover proposal from its Dutch suitor, it said on Monday.




ICI, the maker of Dulux paints, said the new proposal was
670 pence a share in cash, up from the 650 pence a share it
rejected last week.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nedbank First-Half Net Rose 42 Percent as It Boosted Corporate Lending

(Bloomberg) -- Nedbank Group Ltd., South Africa's
fourth-biggest bank, said first-half profit rose 42 percent,
boosted by gains in corporate lending. The company expects 2007
earnings to increase by as much as 33 percent.

Net income in the six months to June 30 advanced to
2.78 billion rand ($389 million), or 7.05 rand a share, from
1.95 billion rand, or 5.77 rand, a year earlier, the Johannesburg-
based company said in a statement today. Annual profit-per share
will rise 22 percent to 33 percent, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

CORRECTED: ICI opens books after improved $16.3 bln Akzo bid

(Reuters) - ICI, the maker of Dulux paints, said the new proposal was 670 pence a share in cash, up from the 650 pence a share it rejected last week.




"The board of ICI has agreed that Akzo can undertake certain limited due diligence, which ICI expects to be completed within a few days," it said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Fortis seeks shareholder approval for ABN buy

(Reuters) - BRUSSELS, Aug 6 - Belgian-Dutch financial services
group Fortis sought shareholder approval on Monday for
its part of a three-bank bid to buy ABN AMRO , a crucial
vote for the biggest ever bank takeover.




Fortis , Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's
Santander have offered 71 billion euros
for the Netherlands' largest bank in a bidding war that has
featured legal and stakeholder battles.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Spread on Japan Bonds May Indicate Stocks Will Drop Further, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- A widening spread between the interest
Japanese corporate and government bonds pay may indicate that the
stock market may have more room to fall, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.

Corporate borrowing costs are measured against the so-called
risk-free yields of government debt. The larger the difference is
between yields, or spread, the higher the perceived risk is of
the borrower defaulting.


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ICI opens books after improved $16.3 bln Akzo bid

(Reuters) - ICI, the maker of Dulux paints, said the proposal at 670
pence per share in cash is subject to a number of preconditions,
including completion of due diligence.




ICI shareholders would also receive a 4.95 pence per share
interim dividend and a second interim dividend of up to 5 pence
paid on a pro rata basis from July 1 to the date of completion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S.Africa's largest oil refinery shuts down due to strike

(Reuters) - SAPREF, South Africa's largest oil refinery, said on Monday it had shut down due to a strike that has crippled the industry and led to petrol shortages at filling stations.

"In response to CEPPAWU's call for a national strike, a safe shutdown has been completed at the SAPREF refinery," Prudence Mbatha said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

JGB futures hit 10-wk high as investors seek safety

(Reuters) - September futures surged 0.55 point to 133.97, the
highest since late May, after Treasuries rose late last week on
persistent worries about problems in the U.S. subprime market.




Such concerns battered U.S. stocks then and Standard &
Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index
on Friday posted their worst one-day percentage drops since a
global sell-off in equities in late February.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sappi says Q3 earnings per share at U.S 23 cts

(Reuters) - The world's top maker of fine paper, Sappi Ltd, on Monday said its third quarter earnings per share was 23 U.S. cents compared to a loss in the same period a year ago.

Sappi said group sales for the quarter increased by 7 percent to $1.3 billion, with operating profit at $87 million compared to a loss of $34 million a year ago.


Read more at Reuters Africa

France's CAC 40 Index Erases 2007 Gains; Renault and PPR Lead the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks declined, with the
benchmark CAC 40 Index erasing this year's gains. Renault
SA, the country's second-largest carmaker, PPR SA, the
owner of Gucci Group, paced the retreat.

The CAC 40 dropped 62.49, or 1.1 percent, to 5535.40
as of 9:12 a.m. in Paris, taking its performance this year
to a loss of 0.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia, New Zealand Dollars Decline as Carry Trades Cut on Stock Slide

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian and New Zealand
dollars fell a second day against the yen as global stocks slid
on concern U.S. mortgage losses will worsen, deterring investors
from buying higher-yielding assets funded by loans in Japan.

New Zealand's dollar has weakened 7.5 percent versus the
yen in the past month, the most among the 16 most-active
currencies, and Australia's retreated 5 percent, as traders
pared positions in so-called carry trades. Asian shares declined
today after The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell the most in
five months in New York on Aug. 3.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

ICI tentatively agrees to sweetened Akzo offer: report

(Reuters) - If all goes well, a formal takeover agreement would be announced by August 9, the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel, the paper said.




ICI last week rejected an improved 7.8 billion pound , 650 pence-a-share cash takeover proposal by Akzo and refused to open its books for due diligence check, saying the offer undervalued the company. It had also previously rejected a 600 pence-a-share offer from Akzo in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Rand softer, to remain under pressure

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand started the week on the backfoot versus the dollar and will probably remain under pressure as investors continue to fret over woes in the U.S. mortgage credit sector.

The rand was trading at 7.1525 versus the dollar at 0625 GMT, about 0.4 percent softer than its New York close of 7.1250 on Friday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Oil Falls a Second Day on OPEC Output Boost, Concern Demand Abating

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, heading
for its biggest two-day decline since July 24, after OPEC
increased output and on concern losses in the U.S. mortgage
market will slow economic growth.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, excluding Angola, raised production last month by the
most since September 2004, a Bloomberg News survey showed.
Prices of commodities including copper in Shanghai and platinum
in Tokyo declined, and stocks in Asia fell, extending a global
slump, on speculation waning growth will slow demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-India's Pantaloon to add stores, sees group rev $2bln

(Reuters) - MUMBAI, Aug 6 - Pantaloon Retail India Ltd., the
country's top listed retailer, is launching small and large
stores and the group is exploring deals with foreign partners
to take on growing competition, its chief executive said on
Monday.




The group is looking at joint venture opportunities with
foreign firms in the business-to-business segment, similar to
the one it has with U.S. office supplies retailer Staples Inc.
, Kishore Biyani told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News