S.Africa government to sell shares in MTN to black investors

(Reuters) - A fund controlled by the South African government will sell about 11.7 million shares in mobile phone operator MTN to black investors for 931 million rand, the fund and MTN said on Monday.

The National Empowerment Fund, an arm of the Department of Trade and Industry that aims to redress the economic imbalances of apartheid, will sell the shares to black individuals and investment groups for 79.61 rand each -- a 20 percent discount to the 99.51 rand 30-day average on July 20.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 2-Transocean to buy GlobalSantaFe

(Reuters) - The oil services sector has been rife with rumors of
link-ups in recent months, fueled by speculation that companies
would seek mergers to gain market share and take advantage of
the huge spending increases in the energy sector, particularly
for the development of offshore fields.




"This is the type of transaction shareholders have been
clamoring for," said Mark Urness, an analyst with Calyon
Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Futures rise on deals, profits; Merck gains

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 23 - U.S. stock futures rose on
Monday as deal news and stronger-than-expected profits from
drug maker Merck & Co. and others eased anxiety about
earnings, which led to Friday's sell-off.




In one of the deals, GlobalSantaFe Corp and
Transocean Inc. said they had agreed to a combination
that would create an offshore oil drilling company worth about
$53 billion. For details, see [ID:nN23380261]. Shares of
Transocean were up 7.3 percent in electronic trading before the
open.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Advance; Depfa, Friends Provident, Barclays Climb

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose after Hypo Real
Estate Holding AG agreed to buy Depfa Bank Plc for 5.7 billion
euros ($7.9 billion) and merger talks between two U.K. insurers
revived speculation that takeovers in the region will continue.

Depfa soared 13 percent. Friends Provident Plc jumped the most
in more than two months and Resolution Plc headed for its biggest
gain since March after the companies said they are in talks for a
merger that would create the U.K.'s fifth-biggest insurer. Barclays
Plc climbed after it increased its bid for ABN Amro Holding NV.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CVRD to resettle families off Mozambique coal mine

(Reuters) - Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce plans to spend $30 million to resettle 1,200 families occupying a mining site in Mozambique, clearing the way for development of the project, a newspaper reported on Monday.

"We have our teams working in the district of Inhangoma to demarcate the areas where the local population would be resettled in a process to be concluded before the end of the year," CVRD official Andre Vasconcelos was quoted as saying by Noticias, a daily newspaper in Mozambique.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Merck Advances in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before companies including Merck & Co., the third-largest
U.S. drugmaker, and American Express Co. report earnings.

Shares of Merck rose in Germany, while American Express
didn't trade in Europe. Tellabs Inc. surged after Thestreet.com
said Nokia Siemens Networks may bid for the maker of equipment
for phone and Internet systems. Pharmaceuticals company Schering-
Plough Corp. declined.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gold Falls in London as Dollar's Drop Against Euro Stalls; Silver Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell in London as the dollar's
decline against the euro stalled, eroding the appeal of the
precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver advanced.

Before today, gold had climbed for three consecutive weeks
while the dollar fell against the euro for six weeks in a row.
Gold declined today and the euro weakened against the dollar,
both for the first time in a week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News