U.K. Natural Gas Gains on Forecast for Rising Demand, Decline in Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for intraday
delivery rose as forecasts showed demand may increase today and
supplies of the fuel may decline. The higher within-day costs
boosted day-ahead and next-month prices.

Gas for delivery within day at the National Balancing
Point, the U.K. trading hub, added 0.7 percent to 22.4 pence a
therm at 8:29 a.m. in London, according to energy broker
Spectron Group Plc. That equals $4.44 a million British thermal
units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Zimbabwe Bindura sees big drop in '06 nickel output

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe's Bindura Nickel posted a nine percent fall in processed nickel output in 2006 because of constrained production and equipment breakdowns at its two mines, a senior company official said on Monday.

Bindura, the country's largest nickel producer, also saw ore production declining to 1.52 million tonnes, from 1.65 million in 2005.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rival bidders for CBOT mull higher offers-report

(Reuters) - Atlanta-based energy exchange IntercontinentalExchange Inc.
, which has been pursuing a hostile bid for CBOT since
March, is also considering whether to raise its offer a third
time, Bloomberg said.




Each bidder has already raised its offer twice for the
parent of the Chicago Board of Trade.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FTSE Shares Including ICI, Prudential Gain; Vodafone Falls After Report

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks including Imperial
Chemicals Industries Plc rose. The U.K. maker of Dulux and
Glidden paints rejected a 7.2 billion-pound ($14.2 billion) bid
from Akzo Nobel NV of the Netherlands as too low.

Shares of Prudential Plc also advanced. Vodafone Group Plc
fell after gaining for three straight sessions.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Russian Economy to Expand 6.3 Percent a Year Through 2010, Naryshkin Says

(Bloomberg) -- Russia's economy will expand at an
annual rate of 6.3 percent in the five years through 2010,
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin said.

The government will meet its inflation target of 8 percent
or less this year as the pace slows from 4.7 percent in the
first five months of the year, Naryshkin told investors today at
a conference organized by Renaissance Capital in Moscow.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-Akzo Nobel says ICI rejected takeover approach

(Reuters) - "Akzo Nobel will continue to evaluate all strategic
opportunities, including ICI, based on a disciplined and
value-driven approach to earnings and returns over cost of
capital," it said in a statement.




It said there was no certainty it would make a further
proposal to ICI or that any offer would result.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Allianz, Hochtief, Metro, Volkswagen May Move: German Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in German markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after
the company names and prices are from the Xetra close June 15
unless otherwise stated.

DAX futures expiring in September rose 21.50, or 0.3
percent, to 8129.50 at 8:18 a.m. in Frankfurt. Germany's
benchmark DAX jumped 181.48, or 2.3 percent, to 8030.64 on the
Xetra electronic-trading system.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News