UPDATE 1-Chile Santiago retail sales rise 4.0 pct in May

(Reuters) - The average annual rate of monthly growth for the five
months from January was 2.1 percent, it said.




The Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that the
figures show retail sales are continuing to grow overall, but
at a slightly slower pace than the 3.3 percent grwoth in the
first five months of 2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

New Mortgage CDO Pipeline Dries Up Amid Hedge Fund Bailout, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- The pipeline of collateralized debt
obligations backed mainly by subprime mortgages is drying up and
may shut down amid concerns about the integrity of the market
following the near collapse of hedge funds run by Bear Stearns
Cos., JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.

The amount of high-grade, structured finance CDOs that are
being offered to investors has plunged to $3 billion, from
$20 billion a month ago, JPMorgan said in a report dated
yesterday. CDOs are pools of asset-backed securities, bonds or
corporate loans divided into securities with different credit
ratings and maturities to cater to investors' preferences.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Visa hires president pre-IPO, Visa USA CEO resigns

(Reuters) - Morris will start at Visa Inc. on September 1 and oversee its income-generating businesses. He plans to move to San Francisco from New York and report to Joseph Saunders, Visa Inc.'s chief executive.




Morris, 48, has spent his 27-year career at Citigroup and its predecessors. Since November 2002, he has been chief financial officer of Citi Markets & Banking, which includes investment and corporate banking operations. He also sits on Citigroup's operating and management committees.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Colombia's Central Bank Sells Dollar Call Options After Recnet Peso Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Colombia's central bank sold dollar
call options after the peso slid 3.5 percent in the past five
days.

The central bank said in a statement that it sold $180
million of the call options. The bank sells the options every
time the peso's 20-day moving average changes by more than 2
percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Roche digs in for Ventana takeover battle

(Reuters) - Roche wants Ventana to strengthen its position in the emerging field of personalized medicine.




Chief Executive Franz Humer said he aimed to continue the group's build-up of its diagnostics division beyond the Ventana deal through in-house development and the acquisition of technologies.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

India Invites Bids to Import 1 Million Tons of Wheat to Boost Reserves

(Bloomberg) -- India, short of wheat less than a
week before a deadline to fill its reserves, invited bids to
import 1 million metric tons of the grain.

The wheat is for delivery between August and November, and
suppliers have until July 4 to submit offers, according to a
document posted on a government Web site today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Total still in talks on Venezuela, hopes deal on Tues

(Reuters) - On Monday, a government official told Reuters that Total,
Chevron Corp. , Norway's Statoil and Britain's
BP Plc planned to sign a nationalisation accord that
would keep them in the massive Orinoco oil reserve projects.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canada S&P/TSX Little Changed as BCE Drops, Telus Gains on Bid Withdrawal

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks were little changed.
BCE Inc., the country's biggest phone company, dropped after Telus
Corp. said it won't submit a takeover offer. Shares of Telus rose.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index slipped 3.69, or
less than 0.1 percent, to 13,838.18 as of 10:08 a.m. in Toronto.
Earlier it rose as much as 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Dutch Basell to buy Huntsman for about $5.6 bln

(Reuters) - Under the terms of the agreement, Basell will acquire all
of the outstanding common stock of Woodlands, Texas-based
Huntsman for $25.25 per share, the companies said in a
statement.




Huntsman shares jumped 28.4 percent to $24.26 in early
trading on the New York Stock Exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Zambia new mining taxes delayed to September - minister

(Reuters) - Zambia has launched negotiations with foreign copper mining firms on raising taxes, but expects to agree new deals in September instead of this month, Commerce and Trade minister Felix Mutati said on Tuesday.

Mutati said negotiations, including raising the mineral royalty rate to 3.0 percent from 0.6 percent, would take longer than initially expected.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Morocco further reduces wheat import tariffs

(Reuters) - Morocco has again cut soft and durum wheat import tariffs in a bid to keep domestic prices down ahead of higher imports, a government official said on Tuesday.

"The decision on the cut in wheat import tariffs was taken by the authorities and an executive order will be endorsed by a cabinet meeting on Wednesday," a government official said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Apple, AT&T set three price plans for iPhone

(Reuters) - Individual monthly plans, based on a two-year service agreement with AT&T, will be priced at $59.99 for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes, the companies said, adding that family plans were also available.




The plans include unlimited data, visual voice mail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, they said.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Benchmark ABX subprime indexes fall to new lows

(Reuters) - The ABX 06-2, which references loans from the first half of
2006, also traded at a new low of 61.78 after closing at 62.16
on Monday, they said.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

HSBC North America hires GE exec as CFO

(Reuters) - Mackay joins from General Electric Co.'s GE Healthcare subsidiary, where he was chief financial officer for the unit's global diagnostic imaging business, its largest operating business.




He succeeds Chris Spooner, who had filled the CFO position on an interim basis following the year-end retirement of Simon Penney. Spooner is head of group financial planning and tax at HSBC Holdings.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Telus says will not make bid for BCE

(Reuters) - Telus, which revealed it was in talks to acquire BCE last Thursday, said the "inadequacies of BCE's bid process did not make it possible for TELUS to submit an offer."






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Brazil's Real Strengthens as Concern About U.S. Mortgage Losses Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency rose as concern
eased that losses tied to U.S. subprime mortgages will hurt
financial institutions, helping bolster demand for riskier
emerging-market assets.

``Investors are returning after the stress we experienced
over the past few sessions,'' said Joao Prado, a fixed-income
options trader at Agora Corretora, a brokerage in Rio de Janeiro.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. New-Home Sales Decreased 1.6 Percent to a 915,000 Annual Pace in May

(Bloomberg) -- Purchases of new homes in the U.S.
dropped in May, signaling demand is still faltering in the second
year of the housing slowdown.

Sales fell 1.6 percent to an annual pace of 915,000 last
month from a revised 930,000 rate the prior month that was lower
than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in
Washington. The supply of unsold homes at the current sales pace
rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Canadian Stock Index Rises, Led by Royal Bank and Telus; BCE Shares Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks were little changed.
BCE Inc., the country's biggest phone company, dropped after Telus
Corp. said it won't submit a takeover offer. Shares of Telus rose.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index slipped 3.69, or
less than 0.1 percent, to 13,838.18 as of 10:08 a.m. in Toronto.
Earlier it rose as much as 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

New home sales fell 1.6 percent in May

(Reuters) - Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting May sales to fall to a 925,000 unit pace from a previously reported rate of 981,000 units in April.




In May, the median sales price of a new home rose 1.5 percent to $236,100 from $232,700 in April. Last month, new homes prices took a record tumble while sales rose strongly.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-Brazil April current account widens, FDI jumps

(Reuters) - The surplus was higher than the $1.5 billion median
forecast of 21 economists surveyed by Reuters. The forecasts
ranged from $1.2 billion to $2 billion.




In the 12 months through April, the current account surplus
was equivalent to 1.37 percent of gross domestic product,
compared with 1.23 percent of GDP in the 12 months through
March.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

US stock indexes climb on M&A, lower bond yields

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as European companies made takeover offers for U.S. companies in the health-care and chemicals sectors and bond yields dipped, sending rate-sensitive stocks higher.

Utility stocks dominated the top percentage gainers on the S&P 500 as the yield on the 10-year Treasury held near 5.08 percent. Hefty dividend-paying utilities are seen as more attractive when bond yields are falling.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canadian Stocks May Extend Decline on Commodity Prices; BCE May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may fall for a third
day, led by such commodity producers as Aur Resources Inc. and
Suncor Energy Inc. as prices for some metals and crude oil extend
declines.

Losses in the market may be limited as shares of BCE Inc. rise
on expectations takeover bids today may reach as much as C$45 a
share for Canada's biggest phone company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-NY seeks Wal-Mart records on alleged surveillance

(Reuters) - In a letter to Wal-Mart Corporate Secretary Thomas Hyde
dated June 21, Comptroller William Thompson said he has "a
credible basis to believe that certain employees, directors or
agents of Wal-Mart have improperly expended corporate assets in
connection with conducting surveillance, investigations or
'threat assessments' of proponents of shareholder proposals."




Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said that since the company
received the comptroller's letter late on Friday, it still
needed time to read it.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Indexes open up on M&A news, bond yield dip

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was up 36.33
points, or 0.27 percent, at 13,388.38. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was up 5.25 points, or 0.35 percent, at
1,502.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11.99
points, or 0.47 percent, at 2,589.07.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold, Silver Decline in New York as Investors Shift to U.S. Treasuries

(Bloomberg) -- Gold fell for the second straight
day, and silver tumbled in New York on speculation that
investors will seek higher returns from U.S. Treasury bonds.

Gold, which bears no interest, has slumped 3.8 percent
since June 1. Yields on the benchmark 10-year note remained
above 5 percent after reaching a five-year high of 5.327 percent
on June 13. Before today, the precious metal had gained 2.6
percent this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

CardioDynamics to sell Vermed unit for $8 mln in cash

(Reuters) - The sale is expected to close in the latter part of the
third quarter.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

South Africa Corn-Crop Estimate Unchanged at 7.05 Million Metric Tons

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa, the biggest corn
producer in Africa, kept its forecast of this year's crop
unchanged at 7.05 million tons from an estimate a month ago.

That's 9.2 percent lower than the original forecast of 7.76
million tons made in February and 6.5 percent more than last
year's crop of 6.62 million tons, data released today by the
government's Crop Estimates Committee showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Lead Falls The Most in a Month on London Exchange, Erasing Earlier Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Lead fell the most in a month on the
London Metal Exchange, erasing earlier gains.

Lead for delivery in three months on the LME dropped $110,
or 4.1 percent, to $2,600 a metric ton as of 1:13 p.m. local
time, the biggest intraday decline since May 24. Earlier, the
contract gained as much as 1.3 percent to $2,745, a record for a
fifth consecutive session.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Navistar vehicle shipments fall 31 pct in 2nd qtr

(Reuters) - Like other companies exposed to the North American trucking
market, Navistar is experiencing a sharp decline in demand for
big trucks and engines because of tough new clean-air rules
that went into effect Jan. 1. Many fleet operators, worried
about the cost and reliability of the new engines designed to
comply with the rules, stocked up on new vehicles last year and
are not buying this year.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

NYSE Euronext won't oppose MBE stake sale-sources

(Reuters) - The second source said, "Borsa Italiana has received a
letter from Euronext in which it acknowledged exercise of the
call and suggested meeting soon to negotiate a fair value for
the operation."




Borsa Italiana and Euronext declined comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Lennar posts loss, says housing market may worsen

(Reuters) - "Given uncertain market conditions, we continue to lack visibility as to future results, but we currently expect to be in a loss position in our third quarter," he said.




Lennar recorded a net loss of $244.2 million, or $1.55 a share, for its fiscal second quarter, ended May 30, compared with a profit of $324.7 million, or $2 a share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Steelcase posts higher profit

(Reuters) - The company said it earned $33.6 million, or 23 cents a
share, in its fiscal first quarter, up from from $18.2 million,
or 12 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.2 percent
to $808.5 million, from $727.3 million a year ago.




The results were better than expected. Analysts on average
expected the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company to report a
profit of 19 cents a share on revenue of $785.3 million,
according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Sarkozy Says European Carbon Emissions Limits Should Apply to Airlines

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said airlines should be subject to limits on carbon emissions to
help combat global warming.

Sarkozy, speaking at an event in Paris today, said proposed
European Union limits must be applied to all airlines, not just
European carriers.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Futures gain on M&A, steady bond yields

(Reuters) - Ventana Medical Systems Inc. , a tissue-based diagnostics specialist, received a takeover offer from Swiss drug maker Roche late on Monday, sending Ventana shares up 52 percent to $78.75 in electronic composite trading.




"There have been so many rumors that there will be no more deals being done. VMSI getting taken out by Roche helps the market out," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co. in New York.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

TREASURIES-Prices flat ahead of confidence, housing data

(Reuters) - The funds made bad bets on collateralized debt obligations
linked to subprime mortgages and worries over the magnitude of
local banks' exposure to troubles in the subprime sector has
unnerved investors.




"The flight-to-safety will continue at least until the Fed
meeting. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty right
now," said Doug Roberts Chief Investment Strategist, Channel
Capital Research in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks down, yen up as investors trim risks

(Reuters) - Wall Street fell and swap spreads widened on Monday as
problems at two hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns
rekindled worries about U.S. subprime mortgages, which cater to
borrowers with troubled credit histories, and the potential
impact on the world's biggest economy.




This attracted flows into safe-haven government bonds and
revived prospects for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this
year.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Treasuries Are Little Changed Amid Concern Losses at Hedge Funds to Widen

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed amid
concern hedge fund losses tied to subprime mortgages will become
more widespread.

Two-year yields touched the lowest this month as investors
shifting out of riskier assets pushed equity indexes down across
Europe. Government securities may also be buoyed before reports
forecast to show consumer confidence fell to a 10-month low in
June and new home sales declined.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

CBRL June same-store restaurant sales up 1.1 pct

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 26 - CBRL Group Inc. , parent of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants and gift shops, on Tuesday said sales at its restaurants open at least 18 months rose 1.1 percent in June.



The increase was due to a 2.2 percent increase in the average check following a menu price increase, the company said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Mohawk to buy wood flooring assets of Columbia Forest

(Reuters) - The assets, which include plants in the U.S. and Malaysia, are currently experiencing losses but are expected to add to earnings after the first year, Mohawk said in a statement.



The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

New York Transit Authority, Colorado City Lead U.S. Municipal Borrowers

(Bloomberg) -- New York State's Metropolitan
Transportation Authority and the city of Aurora, Colorado, will
borrow more than $800 million combined in today's largest sales
of U.S. state and local government bonds.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, operator of the
largest U.S. public transit network, will sell $425 million of
bonds in a deal managed by UBS AG. Aurora, Colorado's third
most-populous city, will offer $426 million of debt with
JPMorgan Chase & Co. tapped to manage the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Higher Lake Victoria boosts Uganda's electricity

(Reuters) - Rains have rescued Lake Victoria from its lowest water levels since 1923, enabling Uganda to boost hydroelectric power, but blackouts are likely to continue, the minister of state for energy said on Tuesday.

The east African country of 27 million people has suffered power shortages over the last three years as two dams near the Nile's source at the lake struggled to keep pace with demand rising by 8 percent a year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canada mulls new foreign-takeover rules - report

(Reuters) - He said many governments have policies in place and take this concern into account when scrutinizing foreign purchases.




"For most countries, national security is actually one of the variables they take into consideration," the paper quoted Flaherty as saying.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Lennar posts quarterly loss on lower revenue

(Reuters) - June 26 - Lennar Corp., the second largest U.S. home builder, on Tuesday reported a quarterly loss, citing charges related to land values and declining demand related to the subprime-mortgage meltdown.



Lennar posted a net loss of $244.2 million, or $1.55 a share for the fiscal second quarter that ended April 30, compared with net earnings of $324.7 million, or $2 a share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Slovakia's Central Bank Keeps Benchmark Rate Unchanged for Second Month

(Bloomberg) -- The Slovak central bank kept its
benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second month as it
assesses how a weaker koruna and previous reductions will affect
inflation.

The Bratislava-based bank today left the two-week repurchase
rate at 4.25 percent, spokeswoman Jana Kovacova said in a
conference call with journalists. She didn't elaborate on the
decision, which was predicted by all 21 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg. The central bank will hold a press conference at 1 p.m.
in Bratislava, Slovakia.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-Trelleborg says cartel probe to hit earnings

(Reuters) - Trelleborg said on Tuesday its legal advisors had estimated
the cartel investigations at two subsidiaries in Europe and the
United States might lead to "significant costs of a nonrecurring
nature in gradual stages during 2007 and 2008".




The firm said last month its French subsidiary was one of
several companies being investigated by the U.S. Department of
Justice and EU authorities in connection with an alleged cartel
involving certain types of marine hoses.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-SEC sees mutual recognition of rules step by step

(Reuters) - BRUSSELS, June 26 - A landmark move by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission to accept the market rules of
a foreign operator's country would be done on a selective basis
first, a senior SEC official said on Tuesday.




The SEC is reviewing how to allow banks, brokers and
exchanges from the European Union and elsewhere to operate on
the U.S. market more easily, without going through a full,
cumbersome U.S. authorisation process.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

S.Africa unions spurn coal sector 6 pct wage offer

(Reuters) - South African trade unions said on Tuesday they had rejected a 6 percent wage increase offered by coal producers as negotiations kicked off.

The Chamber of Mines, which represents seven coal producers in the talks, was not immediately available to comment.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Emerging Markets Offer Safest Stock Investments, Schroder's Conway Says

(Bloomberg) -- Developing nations' stocks markets
and economies are less risky for investors than their developed
counterparts because they're best able to weather a U.S.-induced
slowdown, according to Schroder Investment Management Ltd.

``The safe haven in a storm would be emerging markets,''
Allan Conway, who oversees $10 billion as London-based head of
global emerging-market equities at Schroder, said today in Seoul.
``It is true to say the economic fundamentals in emerging
markets are stronger now than in the developed economies. It has
never been possible to make that statement in the past.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Pound Little Changed Vs Dollar; Yesterday's Rally Viewed as Excessive

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound traded little changed
against the dollar as traders judged its rise to an eight-week
high yesterday was excessive.

The pound broke through the $2 barrier yesterday for the
first time since May 2 as investors bet Bank of England Governor
Mervyn King will this week tell lawmakers interest rates need to
rise further to cap inflation. Futures traders have raised bets
the U.K. currency will rise, pushing so-called net long positions
to a four-month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Gold extends losses, silver hits one-month lows

(Reuters) - Gold slipped further and silver touched a one-month low on Tuesday as a firmer dollar versus the euro reduced investor appetite for the metals.

Weaker oil prices and expectations for higher interest rates around the world also dampened sentiment, with the metals vulnerable to further drops on technical selling, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters Africa