Babcock & Brown to buy Coinmach

(Reuters) - The transaction, which has been recommended by Coinmach's board, is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2007. Coinmach's shareholders are yet to vote on the deal.




Coinmach's core business involves leasing laundry rooms from building owners, property management companies, universities and other multi-family housing properties, installing and servicing laundry equipment and collecting revenues from the laundry machines.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil sector, moderate inflation boost US stock indexes

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a 2 percent gain in oil prices boosted shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. and other energy companies while data showing moderate inflation lifted optimism about the economy.

Exxon's stock led the major advancers in the S&P 500 as crude rose on gasoline supply concerns.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Ensor, Independent News, KSK, Intercontinental: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from yesterday's close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 90.30, or 1.4 percent, to
6649.90 in London. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 47.86, or 1.4
percent, to 3435.94.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index Advances to Record; Construction Bank Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's key stock index rose,
headed for a record close. China Construction Bank Corp. led
banks higher after saying it plans to sell shares valued at $5.5
billion in Shanghai, where valuations are higher.

``The overall trend for companies to list in the mainland
is a solid positive factor,'' said Renee Hung, who helps manage
$3.5 billion at Value Partners Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``Shares of
these companies will have a short-term run. The market gets a
sentiment boost.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cemex, Eternit, Grupo Mexico, Petrobras May Move: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols
are in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are
from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Crude Oil Rises on Concern About U.S. Fuel Supplies, Iran's Nuclear Plans

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose after a U.S. government
report showed refineries cut their operating rates, raising concern
fuel supplies may fall short of demand this summer.

U.S. refiners used 89.2 percent of their plant capacity last
week, the lowest since May 4 and the lowest rate in 15 years for
that time of year. Iran, the Middle East's second-largest producer
of crude, is advancing its nuclear research, which has been opposed
by the U.S. and allies.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Treasury Market `Specials' Decline After Warning on Manipulative Trading

(Bloomberg) -- Shortages of U.S. Treasuries have
become less common in the $5 trillion market for borrowing and
lending the securities since Treasury Department officials
warned Wall Street firms to end manipulative trading practices.

Failures to receive or deliver securities, an indication of
scarcity, have averaged $102.1 billion a week this year, less
than a third of their 2005 average and the fewest since 2000,
according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. Lending of
all debt securities by the 21 firms that trade directly with the
Fed averaged $2.5 trillion a day that year, according to the
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UBM cutting 200 U.S. jobs amid online drive

(Reuters) - Shares in UBM were up 2.8 percent at 815-1/2 pence by 0948 GMT, to be one of the top four performing media stocks in Europe.




The revamp in its U.S. CMP Technology, which has more than 20 print titles such as "Wall Street & Technology", "Planet Analog" and "Call Center Magazine" will cost around $12 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

P&G to sell Japan adult diaper business to Daio

(Reuters) - Daio and P&G did not disclose financial terms.




P&G launched the Attento brand nationwide in 1982. Its diapers are now sold mainly in Japan, with some sold in Hong Kong. P&G does not sell adult diapers anywhere else.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Coal Prices Jump 3.1 Percent to Highest in at Least 27 Months

(Bloomberg) -- European coal prices jumped to their
highest in at least 27 months.

Coal for delivery this month to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or
Antwerp, rose $2.25, or 3.1 percent, to $75.90 a metric ton as of
9:29 a.m. in London, according to ICAP Plc prices on Bloomberg.
That's the highest since at least March 2005.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Tanzania '07 growth seen at 7.3% vs 6.2% in '06

(Reuters) - Tanzania's economy is expected to grow by 7.3 percent in 2007, up from 6.2 percent in 2006, a planning ministry survey showed on Thursday.

"Economic growth will be 7.3 percent in 2007 and 7.7 percent in 2008," said Juma Ngasongwa, planning, economy and empowerment minister in an economic survey presented to parliament ahead of Tanzania's budget speech later on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Dollar hits fresh 4-1/2 yr high on rosy U.S. outlook

(Reuters) - A surge in U.S. Treasury yields to five-year highs this week on an upbeat economy outlook has stoked demand for the dollar.




The yen lost ground as stronger stock markets helped maintain a high level of risk appetite, leading investors to re-enter carry trades, where they borrow low-yielding currencies to invest in higher yielding assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Index Jumps Most in 11 Months: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks jumped the most
in 11 months after U.S. retail sales rose and the Federal
Reserve said growth isn't stoking inflation, damping speculation
interest rates will be increased in the world's biggest economy.
LG.Philips LCD Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. led exporters higher.

``As concerns recede a bit people can see what's really
happening, which is that economies are still strong,'' said Kim
Young Il, who oversees about $1.1 billion as chief investment
officer at Hanwha Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul.
``There will be rate increases but only enough to control,
rather than cut off economic momentum. It's OK to buy stocks.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BT Group Returns to Bond Market After 6 Years With 1.5 Billion-Pound Sale

(Bloomberg) -- BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest
phone company, sold the equivalent of 1.56 billion pounds ($3.07
billion) of bonds in pounds and euros, according to a banker
managing the sale who declined to be named.

The sale by London-based BT was in three parts and is the
company's first debt issue in more than six years, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

MacDonald Dettwiler selling space assets: report

(Reuters) - None of the companies mentioned in the article was
immediately available to comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

South Korea's Kospi Jumps Most in 11 Months; LG.Philips, Exporters Advance

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks jumped the most
in 11 months after U.S. retail sales rose and the Federal
Reserve said growth isn't stoking inflation, damping speculation
interest rates will be increased in the world's biggest economy.
LG.Philips LCD Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. led exporters higher.

``As concerns recede a bit people can see what's really
happening, which is that economies are still strong,'' said Kim
Young Il, who oversees about $1.1 billion as chief investment
officer at Hanwha Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul.
``There will be rate increases but only enough to control,
rather than cut off economic momentum. It's OK to buy stocks.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FTSE 100 Stocks Increase, Paced by BP, Shell; Centrica Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rose, paced by Rio
Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company, and BHP
Billiton Ltd. after copper prices increased in Asia.

Centrica Plc gained after Citigroup Inc. recommended
investors buy shares of the energy supplier.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper Gains in London on Chinese Growth, Mine Strikes; Nickel Increases

(Bloomberg) -- Copper rose for a third consecutive
day in London after industrial production unexpectedly
accelerated in China, the world's largest user of the metal, and
on speculation mine strikes in Chile will disrupt supplies.
Nickel, aluminum and zinc also advanced.

China's output increased 18.1 percent in May from a year
earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, after
gaining 17.4 percent in April. That beat the 17 percent median
estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Contract
workers at Chile's Codelco, the world's largest copper producer,
plan to strike from June 20, a labor leader said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

FTSE edges higher on US sentiment; PPI data eyed

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index of Britain's leading shares edged up on Thursday on the back of the overnight rise in Asian and U.S. markets following U.S. economic data.

The Dow posted its best day since July after the data signalled strength in U.S. consumer spending and a Federal Reserve report showed no increase in wage pressures while the economy grew last month.


Read more at Reuters Africa

German 2008 Power Rises to Highest in More Than a Year on Emission Costs

(Bloomberg) -- German electricity for delivery next
year climbed to its highest in more than a year.

Next-year power prices in Germany, Europe's biggest
electricity market, gained for a second day. The contract rose
as much as 40 cents, or 0.7 percent, to 57.60 euros ($76.57) a
megawatt hour, data from broker GFI Group Inc. showed. It traded
at 57.45 euros at 9:08 a.m. in Berlin. That's the highest since
May last year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Global stocks extend recovery, Treasuries steady

(Reuters) - European and Asian shares both rose -- with South Korea hitting an all-time high. The dollar rose against the Japanese yen and was flat versus the euro.




Central banks' tendency towards tightening, however, was underlined by the Swiss National Bank, which raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a target of around 2.5 percent and said more hikes are likely.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Thai Bonds Gain as Benchmark Yields Near 14-Week High Attract Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's 10-year bonds rose,
halting a five-day decline, on speculation yields at the highest
in more then three months will attract investors. The baht was
little changed.

Yields on the securities have risen by more than half a
percentage point this month as investors bet the central bank
will slow the pace of interest rate cuts in the second half of
the year. The Bangkok-based University of Thai Chamber of
Commerce will release its May consumer confidence index today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Government Bonds Advance as Yields Near One-Year High Lure Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds rose, halting
a 10-day slide, on speculation yields near the highest in almost a
year will lure investors.

The benchmark 10-year bond, which yesterday completed the
longest slump in three years, rebounded as charts traders use to
predict price changes signaled its loss was excessive. The yield,
which yesterday reached 1.985 percent, has been at or above 2
percent for only four days since the Bank of Japan ended a five-
year deflation-fighting policy in March 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

JPMorgan Chase Appoints ANZ and Westpac to Sell Five-Year Kangaroo Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-largest
U.S. bank, raised A$950 million ($796 million) in its first sale of
kangaroo bonds.

The sale included A$800 million of five-year, floating-rate
debt priced at 20 basis points more than the three-month benchmark
swap rate, the bank said in an e-mailed statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Hyperion says plans first US refinery since 1976

(Reuters) - Dallas-based Hyperion plans a 400,000 barrels per day refinery as part of "the most environmentally sound energy center in the United States" that will include a power plant fueled by petroleum coke, a refining byproduct.




The plant will refine crude from the Canadian oil sands in Alberta to feed the U.S. market, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Speedy Hire to buy Hewden tools for 115 mln stg

(Reuters) - Speedy said it would pay for the deal by increasing its
borrowing facilities to 325 million pounds from 210 million and
would also place 4.36 million new shares, or 9.5 percent of its
existing equity capital, in two tranches at 1,250 pence each.




The deal with Hewden Stuart, a unit of Canada's Finning
International Inc, will increase Speedy's number of depots to
over 540 from 361, give it a customer base of over 100,000, and
bolster its position in industrial and local authority markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Richards Bay coal prices nudge $60 on tight supply

(Reuters) - Prices of South African coal loading within the next four months rose close to $60.00 a tonne FOB Richards Bay on Wednesday on expectations that tight Asian supply would force consumers to buy from the country, traders and producers said.

A November loading South African panamax cargo traded on Wednesday at $59.40 a tonne in the over-the-counter market.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Gold Fields weighing options to boost South Deep

(Reuters) - South African gold miner Gold Fields Ltd said on Wednesday it was considering four scenarios of how to combine its new South Deep mine with its Kloof mine to boost output and would make a decision soon.

Ian Cockerill, chief executive of Gold Fields, said the company had started with more than 60 scenarios on how to boost output at the mine which it bought for $2.5 billion, and would make a decision by late August or sometime in September.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Shanghai copper tracks LME up, but China worries

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper pushed up on Thursday after a rally in London futures in the previous session on strong U.S. economic data and threats to supply, but sentiment was fragile as investors fretted that Chinese demand may slow.

The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.75 percent to 63,300 yuan a tonne at midday, from 62,830 yuan on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil holds around $70 after gasoline stock surprise

(Reuters) - Oil steadied at around $70 a barrel on Thursday, with traders catching their breath after a $1 spike on unexpectedly flat gasoline stocks and a deepening deficit in heating fuel supplies.

London Brent crude for July, which expires later in the day, rose 15 cents to $70.09 a barrel by 0745 GMT, adding to Wednesday's $1.15 rally after data showed gasoline stocks stuck at unseasonally low levels with the driving season getting into full swing.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Steel Partners may buy all Aderans shares -paper

(Reuters) - An Aderans investor relations official confirmed that Steel
Partners Chairman Warren Lichtenstein and Aderans Chairman
Takayoshi Okamoto met on Wednesday.




But the official, who declined to be named, said
Lichtenstein did not tell Okamoto that he may try to acquire all
its shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times Business News - June 14

(Reuters) - * Kellogg Co. will phase out ads aimed at children
under 12 unless the products meet nutrition guidelines.
Products that did not meet the guidelines would either be
reformulated so that they did, or no longer be advertised to
children, the company said.




* Four leading Democratic and Republican senators proposed
legislation aimed at penalizing China over its export practices
and predicted that they would have the votes to pass it in the
U.S. Congress this year even if it was vetoed by President
Bush.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Laos Seeks at Least $9 Billion Investment in Power Plants Over Next Decade

(Bloomberg) -- Laos, one of Southeast Asia's
poorest nations, seeks at least $9 billion of investment in
hydro and coal-fired power plants over the next 10 years to
boost electricity sales overseas and spur economic growth.

The country plans to tap its rivers and coal to build power
stations with a capacity of 8,000 megawatts by 2017, Xaypaseuth
Phomsoupha, chief of Bureau of the Secretary at Lao National
Committee for Energy, said in an interview in Bangkok yesterday.
Hydropower plants will account for almost all of the new
capacity, while the remainder will use coal as main fuel,
Phomsoupha said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Wynn Boosts Macau Casino Loan by 24 Percent to $1.55 Billion, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Wynn Resorts Ltd. increased the size
of a loan for its casino in Macau, the world's biggest gambling
market, by 24 percent to $1.55 billion, said three people with
direct knowledge of the matter.

The company, controlled by billionaire Steve Wynn, boosted
borrowings from $1.25 billion after more than 50 banks and funds
offered to lend more than it sought, said the people, who
declined to be identified because details aren't public. Bank of
America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG and Societe Generale SA are
arranging the financing, they said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Indonesia to Seek Bids for 25,000 Tons of Sugar as Demand Exceeds Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia, the world's largest sugar
buyer, will seek bids on June 20 to buy 25,000 metric tons of
raw sugar from overseas as local demand exceeds output.

``We will seek from any country, but we prefer raw sugar
from Australia or Brazil,'' Adi Santoso, head of market analysis
at state-run PT Perkebunan Nusantara X, said in a telephone
interview from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Copper Rises on Concern Miners May Strike in South America; Zinc Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in Shanghai as
some workers in Chile, the world's largest source of the metal,
plan to strike for higher pay, possibly disrupting supply.

Miners increased salary demands after copper prices jumped
15 percent this year, boosting profit for companies including
Chile's Codelco, the world's largest producer. Contract workers
at Codelco plan to strike from June 20, a labor leader said
yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Pertamina Awards a $123 Million Contract to Build Two Crude Oil Tankers

(Bloomberg) -- PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil
company, awarded $123 million worth contracts to China's
Jiangsu Eastern Heavy Industry Co. to build two tankers to
transport crude.

The Chinese shipbuilder will build tankers with a capacity
of 85,000 deadweight tons each, Ari Soemarno, president
director of Pertamina, said in Jakarta today. The vessels will
be delivered in July 2010, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Dark Side of Alberta Oil Boom: Renters, Hockey-Hungry Kids Get Left Behind

(Bloomberg) -- Marilynn Sjulstad says she's
experiencing the pain of Alberta's oil-fueled economic boom, and
deriving little of the benefit.

The 57-year-old Edmonton resident, who has arthritis and
the chronic muscle condition fibromyalgia, says her rent will
soon jump 27 percent, or five times the increase in her monthly
disability check.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Legal Firms Going Public Get Closer to Reality With Slater & Gordon's IPO

(Bloomberg) -- When Slater & Gordon in Australia
became the first law firm in the world to go public last month,
it turned up the heat on lawyers around the world to do the same.

U.K. lawyers may be poised to follow Australia when a bill
that would allow British firms to list shares is voted on by
lawmakers later this year. American lawyers say they're watching
to see if the law gives their rivals an edge.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

China Turns to `Princeling,' Poet to Tackle Economy That Refuses to Cool

(Bloomberg) -- Signs that China's economy is at a
boiling point are hard to miss. Sparks rain down on Beijing from
night-and-day construction. Inflation is accelerating. Investors
clamor to buy stocks valued at 45 times earnings.

To cool expansion in the world's fastest-growing major
economy, Premier Wen Jiabao turns to a team of technocrats led
by central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, 59, the ``princeling''
son of a Communist Party leader, and Ma Kai, 60, a poet who
heads the nation's top economic-planning agency.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Lehman's `Gazillions' in Profit Show Firm Is No Longer Just a Bond Shop

(Bloomberg) -- Jim Claire was so concerned that
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was on the brink of failure in
1998 that he stopped trading with the firm.

``Everybody thought they couldn't finance themselves,''
said Claire, who at the time provided overnight loans to New
York-based Lehman as a trader with First Capital Group.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

European shares set to jump as global stocks bounce

(Reuters) - Soaring bond yields had raised concerns that higher borrowing costs would slow takeover activity and profit growth -- two engines of the market's spring rally.




Financial bookmakers expect UK's FTSE 100 index to gain 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX is seen up 0.8 percent and France's CAC is seen rising 0.7 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News