Liberty considers Virgin Media bid - FT

(Reuters) - Virgin Media had asked suitors to submit expressions of
interest by the first week of August to kick off an auction of
the company, people familiar with the situation told Reuters
earlier this week.




About 10 suitors have expressed an interest, sources told
Reuters, since private equity firm Carlyle Group [CYC.UL] made
an initial offer earlier this month.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Indian Rupee May Fall For Second Week on Concern Funds Will Sell Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- India's rupee may fall for a second
week on concern overseas funds will sell emerging-market assets
as a global rout in corporate debt and equities drives investors
to safer securities such as U.S. Treasuries.

The country's benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive
Index, or Sensex, slumped the most in four months on July 27,
causing the rupee to fall from near a nine-year high. The
currency may extend its biggest weekly decline in almost two
months, a survey of traders showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Japan output rises, BOJ rate rise seen on track

(Reuters) - But a crushing defeat for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
coalition in Sunday's upper house election could complicate the
outlook for monetary policy and scale back market expectations
for a central bank rate hike next month, analysts said.




The increase in June output beat a median market forecast for
a 1.1 percent rise.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Credit Suisse Fees to Fall the Most as LBOs Slow, Standard & Poor's Says

(Bloomberg) -- Investment banking fees are likely to
fall or stop growing as buyout firms purchase fewer companies,
and Credit Suisse Group would probably be the most affected
Standard & Poor's said in a report published today.

Group revenue at Switzerland's second-largest bank could
fall by 3.8 percent were leveraged buyout fees to fall by half,
S&P said. Earnings at Credit Suisse and UBS AG could plunge up to
19 percent as buyouts slow, Deutsche Bank AG analyst Matt Spick
said on July 26.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

South Korea's Stocks Fall on U.S. Housing Concern; Hyundai Heavy Declines

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell for the
third day. Kookmin Bank led declines on concern a deepening U.S.
housing slump will damp the world's biggest economy and prompt
investors to shun riskier assets.

The Kospi index dropped 17.86, or 1 percent, to 1,865.36 as
of 9:25 a.m. in Seoul. Stocks plunged on July 27 by the most in
more than three years, wiping out $46 billion in market value.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

New Zealand June Home-Building Approvals Surge 15.8 Percent on Apartments

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's home-building
approvals posted the biggest gain in more than 18 months in June,
buoyed by consents for apartments, as record-high interest rates
failed to curb demand for new property.

Approvals to build new houses and apartments increased 15.8
percent from May, according to seasonally adjusted figures
released by Statistics New Zealand in Wellington today. The
increase was the most since December 2005. The number of
approvals was the highest since March 2005.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bank ratings intact despite LBO funding jam -S&P

(Reuters) - Turmoil in the global credit markets has left banks unable
to syndicate funding for a string of high-profile leveraged
buyouts, including those of British health and beauty chain
Alliance Boots [AB.UL] and U.S. carmaker Chrysler.




The funding, often with aggressive terms, was committed to
when the credit-market sky was clear and investors seemed to
have an unquenchable thirst for debt.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News