UPDATE 1-Telus CEO says merger with BCE "compelling"

(Reuters) - Telus, Canada's No. 2 phone company, confirmed early on
Thursday that it is in talks to explore the acquisition of
rival BCE, already the target of several potential
private-equity bidders, and has signed a non-disclosure and
standstill pact.




"Telus believes the combination of of the two businesses
would represent a compelling strategic and financial
opportunity for all BCE and Telus stakeholders," Telus Chief
Executive Darren Entwistle said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

American Greetings, Calpine, Cheesecake Factory, Sonic: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 9:30 a.m. New York time.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(AMD US) gained 32 cents, or 2.4
percent, to $13.96. The second-largest maker of personal-computer
processors after Intel Corp. (INTC US) was upgraded to ``short-
term trading buy'' from ``hold'' by Stifel Nicolaus analyst Cody
Acree, who wrote that the company may have increased market share
by ``at least a couple of percentage points'' while second-
quarter revenue may exceed analysts' forecasts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Union Pacific, Buffett, Icahn Win as Soaring Oil Drives Rail Renaissance

(Bloomberg) -- Nobody likes the rising price of oil
better than U.S. railroads.

As the cost of crude soars, rail is gaining a competitive
edge after losing ground to trucks for half a century. Even as
automotive plant closings and reduced U.S. housing construction
have contributed to a 4.4 percent drop in train shipments this
year, investors including Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn are
flocking to railroad shares, betting that higher oil prices and
surging Asian imports along with congested highways will boost
long-term demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Freddie Mac sells $1.265 bln reference REMICs

(Reuters) - The joint lead managers on the sale were Citigroup Global
Markets, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FHLB sells $3 billion 7-year global bonds

(Reuters) - The joint lead managers on the sale were Barclays, Goldman
Sachs and JP Morgan.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.K. Gas Falls, Power Rises, Boosting Generating Plants' Operating Margins

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery a day
ahead declined after forecasts showed supply today may outstrip
demand. Next-day power rose on scarce supplies, boosting
operating margins at gas-fed plants.

Day-ahead gas for delivery at the National Balancing Point,
the U.K. trading hub, dropped 1.5 percent to 20.25 pence a therm,
according to prices on Bloomberg from ICAP Plc. That equals $4.04
a million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European Government Bonds Advance on Concern Hedge Fund Losses May Widen

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds advanced in
London as concern losses at hedge funds run by Bear Stearns Cos.
may increase attracted investors to the safest assets.

Gains in debt sent 10-year yields down from near a five-year
high as Bear Stearns funds collapsed, stoking concern on
valuations in the collateralized debt obligations market. The
perceived risk of owning European corporate bonds, as measured by
credit default swaps, rose the most in three months today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Brazil Market Gets Indigestion After Spate of Homebuilder Share Offerings

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Gafisa SA, Brazil's second-
biggest homebuilder, gained 34 percent last year after an initial
public offering in February. This year, the stock stalled.

Gafisa has fallen 1.5 percent in 2007, as 11 more developers
started trading shares in Sao Paulo, diluting investor demand for
real estate stocks. ``There are a lot of companies that have to
prove themselves,'' Gafisa Chief Executive Wilson Amaral said in
an interview in New York, where he was trying to convince
investors that his company is still a buy.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Sunrise adds KPMG veteran to board amid probe

(Reuters) - "He shares Sunrise's mission and commitment to seniors, and
we believe his accounting and business expertise will be
extremely beneficial to the company," Doug Holladay, chairman
of Sunrise's nominating and corporate governance committee,
said in a statement.




Sunrise said in May that U.S. securities regulators had
launched a formal probe of its accounting practices, timing of
stock sales and options grants.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

American Greetings, Calpine, Cheesecake Factory: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 9 a.m. New York time.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(AMD US) gained 18 cents, or 1.3
percent, to $13.82 before the official open of U.S. exchanges.
The second-largest maker of personal-computer processors after
Intel Corp. (INTC US) was upgraded to ``short-term trading buy''
from ``hold'' by Stifel Nicolaus analyst Cody Acree, who wrote
that the company may have increased market share by ``at least a
couple of percentage points'' while second-quarter revenue may
exceed analysts' forecasts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Little Changed Versus Euro, Yen Before Fed's Philadelphia Report

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar traded little changed
against the euro and yen before a Federal Reserve report forecast
to show manufacturing accelerated in the Philadelphia region,
helping the economy rebound from the slowest pace in four years.

The U.S. currency pared most of its gains versus the euro as
yields on U.S. Treasuries erased an advance, dimming the allure
of dollar-denominated assets. A government report showed more
Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment
benefits last week, suggesting the labor market may be cooling.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Red Robin buys 15 franchised restaurants; sees charge

(Reuters) - The company said the acquisition is expected to add between $28 million and $30 million to net revenue, and about 6 cents to 7 cents a share to earnings, for the rest of fiscal 2007, excluding any related charges.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-U.S. jobless claims rose 10,000 last week

(Reuters) - First-time applications for state unemployment insurance
benefits rose for the third straight week, climbing to 324,000
in the week ended June 16 from a revised 314,000 the prior week
the Labor Department said.




New claims rose to their highest level since measuring
325,000 in the week ended April 21.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Oil up as Nigeria strike concerns resurface

(Reuters) - Oil resumed its upward march on Thursday, shrugging off steep falls a day earlier triggered by bearish U.S. data, as the market turned its focus back to a strike in Nigeria and OPEC doused hopes of an output increase.

Oil supplies from Africa's top oil exporter were as yet unaffected on the second day of the general strike that has paralysed most economic activity in Nigeria, with loading of tankers at export terminals continuing normally.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S.Africa Q2 retail confidence up at record high - survey

(Reuters) - Confidence among South Africa's retailers rebounded in the second quarter of 2007, buoyed by still high consumer spending and despite higher interest rates.

The Bureau for Economic Research said retail confidence increased to 91 index points -- equal to a high reached in the fourth quarter of 2006 -- from 87 in the first quarter on 2007.


Read more at Reuters Africa

ICE urges CBOT members to vote against CME deal

(Reuters) - ICE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sprecher said in the letter that CBOT's board has agreed to a "bargain basement sale" in a transaction that would leave $1.3 billion of shareholders' money on the table, and urged them to vote against the deal.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FMC to shut Baltimore agricultural chemicals plant

(Reuters) - The company said it will see benefits to its continuing
operations of between $5 million and $6 million in 2007 and
about $25 million to $30 million on an annualized basis in
2009.




The decision to close the plant was driven by FMC's efforts
to keep costs low by buying raw materials, intermediates and
finished products at lower-cost manufacturing locations.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Uruguay to Sell $500 Million of Inflation-Linked, Peso-Denominated Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Uruguay plans to sell $500 million of
inflation-linked, peso-denominated bonds in global markets,
according to a person familiar with the sale.

The bonds will pay fixed interest and mature in 2037, with
the principal to be repaid in three annual installments starting
in 2035, according to the person, who declined to be identified
because terms have not been set.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

BCE, Cognos, Telus and Northern Property Trust: Canadian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets
today. This preview includes news that broke after markets closed
yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and
prices are from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 141.33, or 1
percent, to 13,978.16, yesterday in Toronto.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

McMoRan Exploration to buy Gulf of Mexico assets from Newfield

(Reuters) - The transaction is effective July 1, and is expected to
close in the third quarter, the energy company said in a
statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Treasury Two-Year Notes Rise on Concern About Hedge Fund Losses Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury two-year notes rose as
investors sought refuge in the safest debt on concern losses at
hedge funds run by Bear Stearns Cos. may increase.

The difference in yields between two-year notes, which
typically gain more in times of turmoil, and benchmark 10-year
yields widened for a third straight day. The perceived risk of
owning European corporate bonds, as measured by credit default
swaps, rose the most in two weeks.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Ford knocks down Slovak plant report, eyes Romania

(Reuters) - But Todd Nissen, spokesman for Ford of Europe, told Reuters the story was purely "speculative".




"We cannot confirm anything like that ," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.K. Pound Gains to 4-Month High Versus Euro on Speculation Rates to Rise

(Bloomberg) -- The pound climbed to the highest in
almost four months against the euro on speculation investors will
keep increasing bets on higher interest rates in Europe's second-
largest economy.

The currency has risen almost 1 percent versus the euro this
week as minutes of the Bank of England's June policy meeting
yesterday showed Governor Mervyn King and three other policy
committee members backed higher borrowing costs. That prompted
HSBC Plc and JPMorgan Chase Co. to bring forward their forecasts
of the next interest-rate rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Stocks Drop; Deutsche Bank, Tesco and Nokia Lead the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell the most in two
weeks as rising bond yields in the U.S. and Europe pushed banks,
insurers and retailers lower.

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, and Brit Insurance
Holdings Plc paced the drop. Tesco Plc, the U.K.'s biggest
retailer, and Debenhams Plc also declined. Nokia Oyj, the world's
biggest maker of mobile phones, slid after Goldman, Sachs & Co.
cut its recommendation on the shares to ``neutral.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Western execs hit BRICS wall on emerging currencies

(Reuters) - Western executives believe the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will reshape the global business landscape, but they struggle to identify their currencies, a study released on Thursday said.

The study of 800 senior executives in the U.S., UK, France and Germany found 88 percent could not name the currency of Brazil, 55 percent did not know the name of India's currency and 65 percent did not know what unit was used in South Africa.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Lone Star offers 11.3 pct of S.Korea's KEB-sources

(Reuters) - The sale not only enables Lone Star, facing a legal battle
over KEB, to cash in some investment gains but could also help
find a buyer for its controlling stake more easily in the
future, analysts said.




Lone Star saw its $7.3 billion agreement to sell KEB to the
country's biggest lender, Kookmin Bank , aborted in
November last year due to a legal dispute over its $1.2 billion
purchase of KEB in 2003.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED-AES posts quarterly loss due to Venezuelan sale

(Reuters) - AES posted a loss of $455 million, or 67 cents per share,
compared with a year-earlier profit of $348 million, or 52
cents per share, which were restated because of problems with
the company's reporting controls.




AES earlier this year agreed to sell its 82 percent stake
in a 2,600 megawatt generation plant in Caracas for $740
million its 82 percent stake in a Caracas-based business that
included 2,600 of megawatt generation capacity for $740 million
to the government of Venezuela as part of President Hugo
Chavez's drive to nationalize the country's electricity and
telecommunication companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CHRONOLOGY-Recent consolidation moves by stock exchanges

(Reuters) - April 11, 2006 - Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. buys a 15
percent stake in the London Stock Exchange . Nasdaq
subsequently raises its stake to just below 30 percent in a
failed takeover bid.




June 2 - NYSE Group Inc. reaches agreement to buy
Paris-based European exchange operator Euronext in a
pioneering transatlantic deal. The merged exchange NYSE Euronext
makes its market debut on April 4, 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-AES posts quarterly loss due to Venezuela sale

(Reuters) - AES posted a loss of $455 million, or 67 cents per share,
compared with a year-earlier profit of $348 million, or $52
cents per share, which was restated because of problems with
the company's reporting controls.




Excluding special charges, earnings from continued
operations were 24 cents per share, which included a charge of
3 cents for an adverse court ruling in Kazakhstan, the
Arlington, Virginia-based company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Corporate Bond Risk Rises on Concern Over Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Losses

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning
European corporate bonds rose the most in two weeks on concern
over losses at hedge funds run by Bear Stearns Cos.

Credit-default swaps based on 10 million euros ($13
million) of debt included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index
of 50 European companies increased 9,000 euros to 209,000 euros,
according to Deutsche Bank AG. The contracts are used to bet on
a company's ability to repay debt and an increase in the cost
indicates worsening perceptions of credit quality.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

H&R Block net income from cont ops rises

(Reuters) - Revenue rose 8 percent to $2.4 billion.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CORRECTED: Gold bounces, Tokyo futures off two-week highs

(Reuters) - SINGAPORE/TOKYO - Gold bounced in cautious trade on Thursday after falling more than 1 percent in New York, while Tokyo futures tracked losses in New York and traded below two-week highs hit the previous day.




Other precious metals were mixed, with a late rebound in Japanese platinum futures <0#JPL:> spurring gains in the cash price. Spot platinum had rallied to its highest in nearly two weeks on Wednesday on supply concerns.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Collapse, Auction Send Shudder Through CDO Market

(Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch & Co.'s threat to sell
$800 million of mortgage securities seized from Bear Stearns Cos.
hedge funds is sending shudders across Wall Street.

A sale would give banks, brokerages and investors the one
thing they want to avoid: a real price on the bonds in the fund
that could serve as a benchmark. The securities are known as
collateralized debt obligations, which exceed $1 trillion and
comprise the fastest-growing part of the bond market.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Goldman ups bid for Italian property funds

(Reuters) - Zwinger Opco, a vehicle run by Goldman's real estate fund
Whitehall, raised its offer for Tecla to 680 euros a unit and
that for Berenice to 725 euros a unit, Zwinger said in a note on
Thursday.




The move follows Pirelli RE's increase on
Wednesday of its offer for Tecla to 678 euros for each unit and
to 685 euros per unit for Berenice.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper slips on hefty stock rise, lead at new high

(Reuters) - Copper slipped on Thursday after a hefty rise in inventories but strike threats at mines supported prices and lead set a fresh record high.

Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange (LME) fell almost 1 percent or $58 to $7,452/7,472 a tonne at 0928 GMT, after LME stocks rose 5,400 tonnes to 119,600 tonnes, still less less than 3 days of global consumption.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Gold extends losses, hits one-week lows

(Reuters) - Gold extended losses on Thursday to slip to its lowest level in nearly a week, as a slightly firmer dollar triggered further selling, analysts said.

Gold fell as low as $652.60 an ounce, the lowest since June 15, and was quoted at $653.90/654.50 by 1002 GMT, against $654.50/656.00 in New York late on Wednesday, when it dropped around one percent on weaker oil prices.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Firmer start seen for Wall St as claws back losses

(Reuters) - By 1021 GMT, stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial
average were up 0.2 percent, while S&P 500 futures
gained 0.3 percent and Nasdaq added 0.1 percent.




"We've only seen a minor correction but people will start to
be more and more concerned about the direction of interest
rates. It starts to be tempting to take some profits and to move
to risk-free," said Johan Van Der Biest, fund manager at Dexia.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EDF Overtakes Total in Market Value; Stock Soars on Nuclear-Power Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, Europe's
largest utility, overtook Total SA as the largest company traded
in euros after analysts raised their stock-price targets on
prospects for nuclear power.

EDF shares rose as much as 3.79 euros, or 5.1 percent, to a
record 77.89 euros in Paris. They traded at 77.62 euros at 11:09
a.m. local time. The shares have added 8.7 percent in the past
two days and 41 percent this year. The gains lifted EDF's market
valuation to 141 billion euros ($189 billion), exceeding Total,
Europe's third-largest oil company, for the first time.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Hong Kong Airlines to buy 51 Airbus planes

(Reuters) - Hong Kong Airlines -- in which global financier George Soros
owns an indirect stake -- signed a memorandum of understanding to
buy 30 A320-family narrowbody planes, 20 A330 widebody aircraft
and a corporate jet, Airbus told reporters at the Paris air show
on Thursday.




The new aircraft will help position Hong Kong Airlines among
the leading carriers in the Asia Pacific, Chairman Ren Wei Dong
said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-H&R Block Q4 net income from cont ops rises 9 percent

(Reuters) - Earnings from continuing operations rose to $591.2 million,
or $1.81 a share, from $541.7 million, or $1.63, a year
earlier, for the Kansas City, Missouri-based company's fiscal
fourth quarter ending April 30.




Revenue rose 8 percent to $2.4 billion.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Treasuries Fall on Speculation Fed Report to Show Manufacturing Expansion

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries dropped for a second day
on expectations a central bank report will show a pickup in
manufacturing, supporting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's
assessment that the economy is ``strong.''

Benchmark 10-year notes fell more than two-year debt for a
fourth straight day, signaling investors expect faster growth to
spur inflation. Treasuries also declined on concern traders will
trim holdings to guard against possible losses as companies
including Home Depot Inc. and First Data Corp. plan debt sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Hungary Needs Spending Cuts to Improve Rating, Moody's Kockerbeck Says

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary's government needs to cut
state spending to boost the prospect of an upgrade in its debt
rating, a Moody's senior credit officer said.

Moody's Investor Service's outlook for the country that had
the European Union's widest budget deficit last year is currently
stable, with the foreign currency rating at A2, five steps from
the top investment grade.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Fallujah Patrol Finds Bombs on Ice, Showing Why Americans Press Withdrawal

(Bloomberg) -- The three U.S. Marines in Lance
Corporal Justin Moyer's Humvee shook their heads at the news on
their radio phone.

Iraqi police had just found some explosives hidden in
blocks of ice at an ice-making factory in Fallujah, long one of
Iraq's most rebellious towns. The explosives were raw material
for a roadside bomb, the Marines figured, to be provided to
insurgents disguised as a delivery of ice.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Crude Oil Rebounds to Trade Above $69 a Barrel as Nigerian Strike Spreads

(Bloomberg) -- Brent oil, a benchmark for two-
thirds of global supplies, rose on concern that strikes by
unions in Nigeria may disrupt exports.

Workers will be withdrawn from Nigeria's oil terminals
starting today, extending a nationwide strike to a second day, a
spokesman for the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria said yesterday. Africa's biggest oil
producer has lost more than 700,000 barrels a day, or a quarter
of output, since last year because of militant attacks.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Ameron 2nd-quarter earnings fall

(Reuters) - Earnings from continuing operations, which exclude a
business divested in 2006, were $1.63 per share.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

S.Africa court to rule on police joining strike

(Reuters) - The labour court issued an interim interdict last Friday
prohibiting members of the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union
from taking part in the industrial action.




It also ordered POPCRU not to promote police involvement in
the strike, which has highlighted divisions between the ruling
African National Congress and its powerful trade union allies.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.K. Natural Gas for Next Day Rises Because Supply May Fall Below Demand

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural gas for delivery a day
ahead rose as forecasts showed today's supply may fall below
demand for the fuel.

Day-ahead gas for delivery at the National Balancing Point,
the U.K. trading hub, rose 1 percent to 20.75 pence a therm,
after yesterday touching the lowest since May 8, according to
prices on Bloomberg from broker ICAP Plc. That's equivalent to
$4.13 a million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000 Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

S.Africa Q1 household spending eases to 7.5 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's household spending slowed slightly to 7.5 percent in the first quarter of the year while consumer debt levels reached record highs, the reserve bank said on Thursday.

Household spending eased from 7.75 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2006, while consumer indebtedness increased to a record 76 percent of disposable income in the first three months of this year from 73.75 in Q4 2006.


Read more at Reuters Africa

LSE board meets to discuss Borsa deal - sources

(Reuters) - The LSE board will discuss how much of a stake Borsa Italiana would have in a future holding that would comprise both exchanges, the sources said.



"The proposal from the LSE will in all likelihood be made to Borsa Italiana so that it can be discussed at board meeting today," said one of the sources.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Siemens CFO sees no share buybacks in short term

(Reuters) - Siemens also has "multiple options" for convertible bonds,
according to the slides.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News