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

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

European Stocks May Decline; UBS, ING, Philips, BHP Billiton Might Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may fall, following
declines in Asia and the U.S., as concern mounts that losses in
the U.S. mortgage market will erode economic growth and raise
financing costs for companies.

UBS AG and ING Groep NV may lead financial stocks lower.
U.S.-traded shares of Royal Philips Electronics NV and Nokia Oyj
dropped as the dollar traded near a record low against the euro.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group declined in Australian
trading after copper fell in Shanghai.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Arrow Energy Signs Agreements to Develop Coal Seam Gas Ventures in China

(Bloomberg) -- Arrow Energy NL, an Australian
producer of gas from coal seams, signed two venture agreements
with companies in China's Liaoning province as it seeks to start
production of the fuel in the Asian nation.

The accords with Shenyang Gas Co. and Liaohe Petroleum
Development Co., a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., follow
similar agreements signed over the past weeks, Brisbane-based
Arrow said today in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
Arrow now has seven projects in three geographic regions in the
Asian nation, it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Falls, Heading for Biggest 2-Day Decline Since June, on OPEC, Economy

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell in New York, heading
for its biggest two-day decline since June, after OPEC increased
output and on signs U.S. economic growth will slow, reducing fuel
demand.

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. Asian stocks
dropped on renewed concern losses in the U.S. mortgage market
will trim growth in the world's biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Asian stocks hit by U.S. economic worries

(Reuters) - Oil prices slid briefly below $74.50 a barrel amid heightened concerns for economic growth, but flight to safety helped gold stay near one-week highs and kept the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield pinned near 2-½ month lows.




Data last Friday showing U.S. employers added jobs at the slowest rate in five months and weaker growth in the U.S. service sector all added to concerns about the world's biggest economy, Asia's top export destination.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Asian Fish, Tainted With Drugs, Slip Past U.S. Inspectors, States Discover

(Bloomberg) -- Joseph Basile, an Alabama state
scientist, drops a frozen catfish filet into an industrial food
processor and pulverizes it into a fluffy white powder.

The grinding in a laboratory in Montgomery is part of a test
of imported seafood for drugs that U.S. regulators say can cause
cancer or increase resistance to antibiotics. Alabama officials
have reported finding banned medicines missed by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration in seafood from China, Vietnam and other
Asian countries.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Asian Currencies Complete Weekly Decline, Follow Drop in Regional Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies completed a weekly
decline, led by a 0.9 percent drop in the Indonesian rupiah, as
overseas investors reduced holdings in the region's stocks.

Global funds were net sellers of shares in South Korea,
Taiwan and Thailand this week as benchmark stock indexes dropped.
Indonesia's central bank said Aug. 1 it's not worried by the
rupiah's decline and the International Monetary Fund said the
next day the volatility in financial markets poses a risk to
economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Declines From Three-Month High Against Euro as Japanese Stocks Rebound

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell from a three-month high
against the euro as a recovery in Japanese stock prices eased
concern traders will reduce investments in riskier assets funded
by loans in the currency.

``The rebound in Asian stocks is helping to restore some
risk appetite,'' said Lee Wai Tuck, currency strategist at
Forecast Singapore Ltd. ``This is causing some yen selling.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Groebli of ABN Says Asia Equity Selloff a `Summer Storm' Not `Tempest'

(Bloomberg) -- Roger Groebli, head of equity research in private
banking Asia at ABN Amro Bank, talks with Bloomberg's Bernard Lo from
Singapore about the outlook for Asian stocks following last week's selloff,
the impact of a slowdown in the U.S. on Asian economies and his investment
strategy. (Source: Bloomberg)

00:00 Selloff: "a summer storm, but not a tempest"
01:59 Funding private equity, Asia sovereign funds
04:02 Outlook for collateralized debt obligations
06:41 Impact of U.S. problems on Asian economies
08:40 View of Japan, banking, oil, property stocks

Running time 10:53


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Steady in Asia, credit crunch fears supporting

(Reuters) - The credit crunch fears have fuelled safe-haven flows to
shorter-dated Treasuries and stirred speculation the Fed could
cut rates, pulling the two-year yield down to some 75 basis
points below the current federal funds rate of 5.25 percent.




With no major economic data due in the session, traders said
they would be keeping a close eye on how U.S. stocks move later
in the session, with Asian equity markets initially falling
about 1 percent following the tumble on Wall Street last Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Currencies Weaken as Overseas Investors Shun Region's Riskier Assets

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies fell on speculation
global investors cut holdings in riskier assets as stock markets
across the region dropped.

The Indonesian rupiah declined to the weakest in almost five
months and the Malaysian ringgit and South Korean won slipped to
their lowest in July. Bank Indonesia said last week it isn't
worried by the currency's decline, while South Korea's central
bank said the won is set to drop as the current-account surplus
narrows.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China Development Bank, a state-owned lender, will
sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64 billion) of 10-year bonds on Aug. 1.
China will maintain a tight monetary policy to prevent the
economy from ``overheating,'' Xinhua News Agency reported July
27. The government will apply ``moderate and tight monetary
policies to cool the growth pace in the economy and improve
quality and efficiency of the growth,'' Xinhua said, citing a
statement by the Chinese Communist Party's Political Bureau.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

US economy, exports driven by global growth-Paulson

(Reuters) - "Now I believe what we're seeing is a strong global
economy. This is the strongest global economy I've seen in 32
years. The growth rate in Europe has doubled. We've got growth
throughout Asia. Japan is now growing, so I think this is being
driven by strong growth outside of the U.S."




The Commerce Department said earlier that U.S. economic
growth rebounded to 3.4 percent during the second quarter, its
strongest pace since the beginning of last year on a surge in
business investment, increased government spending and improved
trade performance. The data marked a big turnaround from anemic
0.6 percent growth in the first quarter, a figure previously
reported as 0.7 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan Bonds Gain on Speculation Investors Sought Safety of Government Deb

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's bonds headed for the longest
winning streak since November on speculation a decline in
emerging-market debt and equities will prompt investors to seek
the relative safety of government securities.

The Japanese 10-year yield fell to the lowest in almost
three weeks as a drop in U.S. stocks extended to Asia. The yield
premium required to compensate buyers for the extra risk of
holding emerging-market debt compared with similar-maturity U.S.
Treasuries climbed to the highest since March, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dollar hits low, stocks retreat on subprime fears

(Reuters) - The weaker dollar hit Asian exporters such as Canon Inc., with overall market sentiment also soured by losses on Wall Street and caution after China raised interest rates on Friday in another attempt to prevent the buoyant economy from overheating.




Oil prices fell from near-record highs after oil producer group OPEC expressed concern about the impact of high oil prices on the global economy, which traders saw as a sign it might decide to pump more oil. Gold held on to Friday's gains, benefiting from the weak dollar and heightened market uncertainty.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Dollar falls to record low vs euro

(Reuters) - The yen seesawed, sliding broadly in early Asian trading and hitting record lows against the euro in a move that traders attributed to speculative buying of sterling against the yen.




But the Japanese currency later rebounded to hit a six-week peak against the dollar of 120.80 yen on electronic trading platform EBS, the yen's highest level since early June.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Barclays seeks China, Singapore state funds in ABN buy -BBC

(Reuters) - Barclays said last week that it may add cash to sweeten its
agreed 65 billion euro offer for ABN as it
battles against a higher bid from a rival consortium led by
Royal Bank of Scotland and that also includes
Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Santander
.




The BBC that said the two Asian governments would pay
around 740 pence for each Barclays share, 3.7 percent above
Friday's closing price of 713.5 pence.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dow Jones director Li may face charges in US probe

(Reuters) - Li, who is chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of
East Asia , denied on Thursday any wrongdoing.




"I have broken no laws and deny the apparent allegations
being made by the staff of the Commission. If the Commission
does commence proceedings against me, I will defend myself
vigorously," Li, 68, said in a statement issued by the bank.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Dow Jones director Li probed on insider trade: WSJ

(Reuters) - Li is chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of East Asia , a mid-tier Hong Kong lender. He is also a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council.




Dow Jones's board on Tuesday endorsed a $5 billion buyout offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., sending the deal to Dow Jones' controlling Bancroft family for final approval. Dow Jones representatives were not immediately available for comment on Li.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News