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.


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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.


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Oil near record highs; OPEC says no output rise

(Reuters) - Oil hovered near $77 a barrel on Friday, keeping in sight of this week's fresh record high after OPEC officials poured cold water on U.S. hopes for an output rise, reiterating that the world was not short of crude supplies.

U.S. oil dipped four cents at $76.82 a barrel by 0514 GMT after rising 33 cents on Thursday. Prices touched an all-time high of $78.77 on Wednesday, but sharply retreated on signs of improved U.S. refinery operations.


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Miners, banks push S.Africa Top-40 index 1 pct up

(Reuters) - South Africa's blue chip Top-40 index gained over one percent in early trade on Friday, boosted by mining and bank stocks as global stock markets recovered.

The Top-40 index rose as much as 1.28 percent to 25,518 points. By 0748 GMT, the index was 0.97 percent firmer at 25,493 points.


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S.Africa fuel strike into 5th day, motorists queue

(Reuters) - A strike by South African fuel workers entered a fifth day on Friday, prompting motorists in the economic capital to queue at filling stations as stocks dwindled.

"It has been a mad rush since 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) this morning," said Ashwin Chiba, manager of a filling station in the centre of Johannesburg, one of the few still with fuel.


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Toyota Electric Car May Have Half the Range of GM's, People Familiar Say

(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s plug-in electric
car may have less than half the range of a competing vehicle
planned by General Motors Corp., people with knowledge of both
companies' development programs said.

GM wants its Chevrolet Volt to travel at least 40 miles
after being charged once at a normal household outlet, while the
Toyota model may go no more than 20 miles on a single charge,
said the people, who asked not to be identified because details
of the plans are still secret.


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Treasury Two-Year Yields Rise From Near 4-Month Low on Less Safety Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury two-year note yields rose
from near a four-month low as a rebound in corporate bonds and
stocks sapped demand for the safety of government debt.

A boost in demand for higher-risk assets combined with two-
year yields near the lowest since March provided investors with
few reasons to buy Treasuries. The risk of owning European
corporate bonds fell by a record amount today as home lender
GMAC LLC said subprime mortgage losses had narrowed.


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Rand holds onto overnight gains, in range

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand held onto overnight gains on Tuesday, taking a breather after sharp losses racked up over the past week and shrugging off a wider trade deficit.

The domestic currency was trading at 7.0990 to the dollar at 1530 GMT, virtually unchanged from its close in New York on Monday, when it rebounded from a one-month low of 7.1999.


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US STOCKS-Wall Street rises on profits, data; GM helps

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday,
buoyed by strong earnings from companies such as General Motors
Corp. and Sun Microsystems , and some reassuring
reports on the economy.




GM set the stage for gains after the automaker swung to a
profit in the second quarter and handily topped Wall Street's
expectations [ID:nN31206991], while Sun Microsystems' shares
rose 7 percent after the high-end computer maker posted a
quarterly profit as it cut costs.


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UPDATE 1-Cost to insure GM bonds falls on profit news

(Reuters) - The cost to insure GM's bonds with credit default swaps
fell about 75 basis points to 615 basis points, which means it
costs $615,000 annually to protect $10 million of debt for five
years.




GM's 8.375 percent bonds maturing in 2033 rose almost 4
cents on the dollar to 85.19 cents, according to MarketAxess.


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US STOCKS-Wall St. rises on data, GM earnings

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. stocks climbed on
Tuesday after General Motors Corp. added to optimism
about corporate earnings and a key inflation indicator showed a
smaller-than-expected rise.




GM shares jumped 6 percent to $34.56 after the blue-chip
automaker swung to a profit in the second quarter and handily
topped Wall Street's expectations. For details, see
[ID:nN30442082].


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GM seen posting profit, analysts remain cautious

(Reuters) - Still, analysts remained cautious about the weakness in the
U.S. housing market, which could weigh on GM's results through
the remainder of the year, and about sustainable profitability
in its North American operations.




Analysts, on average, expect GM to post on Tuesday a
second-quarter net profit of $1.10 a share, compared with a net
loss of $5.98 a share a year earlier. The per-share profit
estimates range from $1.00 to $1.28.


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GMAC profit falls 63 pct as home loans weigh

(Reuters) - The company's Residential Capital LLC unit posted a net loss of $254 million, compared with a profit of $548 million a year earlier, hurt by what GMAC called "severe illiquidity" in the market for subprime mortgages.




The loss, however, was 72 percent smaller than the first quarter's $910 million. Excluding ResCap, profit at GMAC more than doubled.


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Gold slips 1.6 pct on dollar recovery, soft oil

(Reuters) - Gold fell 1.6 percent on Wednesday as a recovery in the dollar and softer oil prompted investors to take profits from the metal's 11-week highs.

Gold slipped as low as $671.70 an ounce and was quoted at $672.70/673.30 at 1448 GMT, against $682.60/683.40 in New York late on Tuesday, when a record-low dollar propelled gold as high as $687.10.


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S.African stocks slide on global jitters

(Reuters) - South African blue-chip stocks fell by more than 1.5 percent on Tuesday as a grim outlook for the U.S. housing market hit global equities and investors booked profits in local financial stocks.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks slid as much as 1.55 percent but recovered slightly to trade 1.34 percent lower at 26,738.73 points by 1422 GMT. The All-share index dropped 1.22 percent to 29,521.29 points.


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Oil falls below $76, OPEC reassures on supply

(Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 to below $76 a barrel on Tuesday after further assurance from OPEC it would pump more crude if needed and expectations of higher U.S. fuel stockpiles.

London Brent crude, now more representative of world prices than U.S. oil, declined for a third day -- slipping $1.11 to $75.75 a barrel by 1120 GMT.


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GM says UAW talks must address health care costs

(Reuters) - She added: "I think it's impossible to ignore the issue. I
guess we'll see how possible it is to address it."




Tremblay said about $3 billion of GM's annual health care
bill went to cover the cost of insuring its retirees and their
dependents.


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Gold trades near 10-week highs on weaker dollar

(Reuters) - Gold was firm on Monday, holding near 10-week highs as the dollar hit record lows against the euro on worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage sector.

Gold stood at $683.80/684.60 an ounce at 1310 GMT, compared with $682.90/$683.70 late in New York on Friday, when it touched $686, the highest since May 9 and a gain of more than $20 since last Monday.


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FTSE gains as Barclays ups ABN bid, insurers buoy

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 of Britain's leading shares edged higher on Monday as merger and acquisition activity boosted stocks at the start of a busy week for corporate earnings.

At 0806 GMT, the UK's main share index was up 9.9 points, or 0.2 percent at 6,595.1.


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Rand hits 11-month high, could test 6.78/dollar

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand hit an 11 month high against the dollar on Monday and is likely hold its gains in the session as the greenback remains under pressure.

The rand was trading at 6.83 to the dollar at 0645 GMT, about 0.9 percent firmer than its New York close of 6.8925 on Friday.


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