Rand trades firm, eyes US inflation

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed on Friday, adding to gains of the past two days after a choppy week, with markets braced for key U.S. inflation data due later in the session.

The local currency was at 7.1750 to the dollar at 0637 GMT, 0.2 percent stronger than a previous New York close of 7.19, and well off a low for the week of 7.3225 against the greenback touched on Wednesday.


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S.Africa to launch currency futures market

(Reuters) - South Africa is to launch currency futures trading on Monday, allowing investors to trade rand futures in a regulated exchange for the first time, exchange operator JSE Ltd said on Thursday.

The currency futures will be traded on the JSE's interest rate exchange, YieldX, which was aimed at giving retail investors access to offshore forex markets.


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Freddie Mac posts $211 mln net loss in 1st quarter

(Reuters) - The company reported a net share loss of 46 cents in the first quarter. Excluding unusual items, Freddie Mac was expected to show a profit of $1.09 per share in the first quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.




With this report, Freddie Mac returns to timely quarterly financial reporting for the first time since its 2003 accounting scandal, which led to a $5 billion restatement of past earnings.


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Futures little changed ahead of PPI data

(Reuters) - Stocks to watch include investment banks, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. due to report quarterly results before the bell.




The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 5.21 percent, slightly above its late Wednesday level of 5.20 percent.


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German Utilities Say Cooling-Water Limits Will Reduce Electricity Output

(Bloomberg) -- German utilities said power plant
availability in Germany will be reduced tomorrow because of
cooling-water restrictions.

Capacity at plants in Europe's largest energy market will be
cut by 670 megawatts, operators said today in a joint statement
on the Web site of the European Energy Exchange. The statement
didn't say which plants are affected.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Liberty Media, Echostar to bid for Intelsat-report

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - Liberty Media Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp. are preparing a joint offer for satellite-communications provider Intelsat Ltd., The Wall Street Journal's online edition said on Thursday.



Intelsat, which is accepting final bids for its auction on Thursday, could fetch more than $5.5 billion, the Journal said.


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DealTalk: Concerns grow over risky equity bridge loans

(Reuters) - Equity bridge loans allow private equity firms to get investment banks to share in the cash payment on deals. Such loans are great for buyout firms wanting to pursue takeovers without joining forces with competitors, but carry huge risk and skimpy pay-offs for the investment banks.




While this type of lending has been around for decades, the size and frequency of the loans has risen to the point where Goldman Sachs has told its mergers and acquisitions staff to avoid them, according to a banker who works there. Goldman declined to comment about its policy.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News