UPDATE 1-Dubai matches Fast Retailing's $900 mln Barneys bid

(Reuters) - DUBAI, Aug 5 - Dubai-based private equity firm
Istithmar raised its offer to acquire Barneys New York Inc.
from Jones Apparel Group Inc. to $900 million on
Sunday, matching a bid by Japan's Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.
.




Istithmar, owned by the government of Dubai, had agreed to
buy the luxury retailer for $825 million before Fast Retailing
entered the fray with a $900 million offer.


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Exxon, Chevron, Conoco may bid in India auction: paper

(Reuters) - Sibal told Reuters on Friday that the auction, earlier scheduled for August, has been deferred to November due to a shortage of rigs and a dispute over gas pricing.




He said the blocks would be awarded by June 2008.


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U.S. House shifts $16 bln toward renewable energy

(Reuters) - The 786-page bill, passed in a rare Saturday vote, was a top priority for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and is an amalgam of bills assembled by about a dozen of the chamber's committees in recent months.




Republicans called it a "no-energy bill" because it lacks new drilling incentives, and they derided the new emphasis on renewables as "green pork." The White House threatened to veto the bill on concerns that it could boost energy prices.


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Court will wait to rule on CBOT rights

(Reuters) - CME Group Inc., the world's largest futures exchange, was created with the merger of CBOT Holdings Inc. and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. in July. The CBOE is the largest U.S. options market.




The exercise rights allow full members of the Chicago Board of Trade to trade options on CBOE without owning CBOE membership.


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Court will wait to rule on CBOT exercise rights

(Reuters) - CME Group Inc., the world's largest futures exchange, was
created with the merger of CBOT Holdings Inc. and Chicago
Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. in July. The CBOE is the
largest U.S. options market.




The exercise rights allow full members of the Chicago Board
of Trade to trade options on CBOE without owning CBOE
membership.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Senate report faults SEC on hedge fund probe

(Reuters) - The report from the Senate Finance and Senate Judiciary committees, released late on Friday, ends a year-long inquiry into the dismissal of former SEC staffer Gary Aguirre.




Aguirre says he was forced out of the agency after a probe he was leading got too close to prominent Wall Street banker John Mack. His claims prompted three Senate hearings and drew heavy press coverage.


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South Sudan awards gold, uranium mining contracts

(Reuters) - South Sudan has awarded two companies exploration licenses for gold and uranium in areas thought to be rich in minerals, an official from the semi-autonomous region said.

British/South African New Kush Exploration and Mining Company and the UK-listed Brinkley Mining Plc paid $5,000 for one-year exploration licenses in the area bordering Kenya.


Read more at Reuters Africa