US STOCKS-Indexes climb as Wall St ends strong quarter

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. stocks rose on Friday
after data showed strength in the economy while an inflation
measure moderated, putting the stock market on track to end the
quarter on a strong note.




Among advancing shares, Research In Motion Ltd.
surged after the BlackBerry maker posted
stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and announced a stock
split. For details, see [ID:nN2838412.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

New York takes precautions after London bomb

(Reuters) - New York normally puts police on heightened alert in response to security incidents in other countries.




As a city that has twice been attacked by Islamic extremists -- a truck bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the attacks of September 11, 2001, -- New York has police representatives in hot spots around the world, including London.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Copper Rises to Three-Week High in New York as Global Inventories Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose to a three-week
high in New York as declining global inventories of the metal
increased supply concerns.

Chinese stockpiles fell 5.6 percent to 90,617 metric tons,
the biggest decline in six months, the Shanghai Futures Exchange
said in a weekly report today. Inventories in warehouses
monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell 1.4 percent to
114,700 tons today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Rand gains from trade, bonds consolidate

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand gained on the dollar on Friday after a smaller than expected trade deficit, while bonds firmed in step with the currency.

The rand was trading at 7.0425 against the greenback, 0.75 percent above its New York close after touching a five-week high of 7.0280.


Read more at Reuters Africa

CHC Helicopter wins C$1.1 bln in Statoil contracts

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, June 29 - CHC Helicopter Corp. said on Friday it has been awarded two contracts by Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA for helicopter services in the Norwegian Sea valued at about C$1.1 billion .



CHC, a provider of helicopter services to the global offshore oil and gas industry, said the five- and seven-year contracts, each with options to extend for up to four years, represent the largest bundle of helicopter service contracts ever awarded.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BCE confirms it is reviewing several proposals

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 29 - BCE Inc. has received
and is examining several proposals as part of its review of
business alternatives, the country's largest telecom company
said on Friday.




In a terse statement, BCE also said there are no assurances
that the review of alternatives will lead to a deal. Three
separate buyout consortiums are bidding for BCE in hopes of
taking it private.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Commerce Bancorp replaces CEO, fixes governance

(Reuters) - Analysts said Hill's exit makes New Jersey's largest bank a target for a takeover, which Hill had long resisted. Commerce executives would not rule out that possibility but pledged to continue rapidly opening branches to fuel growth. Commerce shares rose as much as 11.4 percent in early trading.




Hill, 61, will retire on July 31 from the Cherry Hill-based company he founded 34 years ago. He stepped down immediately as chairman and chief executive of its banking unit.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Apple, AT&T shares raise ahead of iPhone release

(Reuters) - AT&T, for now the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, has said that of those making early inquiries about the device, around 40 percent were not already AT&T customers.




The company hopes to capture new subscribers who might switch carriers to buy the iPhone, which combines regular talk functions with music- and video-playing and Web browsing.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Argentine's Peso Trades Near Two-Month Low on Subprime Mortgage Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Argentina's peso was little changed
after falling to an almost two-month low yesterday as
uncertainty over the impact of U.S. subprime mortgages damps
emerging markets.

``We'll continue to see some mild volatility with the peso
over the subprime mortgages,'' said Guillermo Estebanez, a
currency strategist at Banc of America Securities LLC in San
Francisco. ``The market has become more comfortable with the
subprime issue, but the problem is still there and it will
recur.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

FACTBOX: Features of Apple's iPhone

(Reuters) - * Its main feature is a 3.5-inch touch-sensitive screen with one physical button. Programs are accessed by touching icons, and text is entered with an on-screen keyboard.




* It uses AT&T Inc.'s GSM network for voice calls and its EDGE network for data transmission. AT&T has exclusive rights to the phone for at least two years.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TREASURIES-Quarter-end buying lifts bonds,stocks cap gains

(Reuters) - That was comforting news to some investors, but a rise in
stocks reduced some of the safe-haven appeal of Treasuries.




Month-end and quarter-end buying kept bond prices, which
move inversely to yields, at higher levels.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S&P cuts Tyco's debt ratings on reorganization

(Reuters) - "The ratings reflect Tyco's business profile, which despite
the loss of the healthcare and electronics businesses will
still benefit from significant business and geographic
diversity and leading positions in large though fragmented and
highly competitive markets that have moderate growth
prospects," S&P said in a statement.




S&P cut Tyco's senior unsecured debt one notch to "BBB,"
the second-lowest investment grade ranking, from "BBB-plus."
The outlook is stable, indicating an additional ratings change
is not anticipated over the next two years.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-U.S. construction spending up 0.9 percent in May

(Reuters) - Economists polled ahead of the report were expecting a much
weaker 0.1 percent rise in the overall construction spending
figure.




Spending on private homebuilding, however, fell 0.8 percent
to a seasonally adjusted $549 billion annual rate, the 15th
consecutive monthly decrease as U.S. housing market troubles
continue.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

U.K. Stocks Rebound, Paced by Shares of Northern Rock, Shell; Segro Drops

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced, paced by
Northern Rock Plc after Goldman, Sachs & Co. recommended
investors buy the shares.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc climbed with the price of oil while BT
Group Plc rose after the phone company said analysts are too
pessimistic about sales growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CPP, Teachers frontrunners in BCE race: papers

(Reuters) - Consortiums led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan have filed identical C$41-per-share all-cash offers, valuing the bid at almost C$33 billion , not including debt, according to the Financial Post.



Both consortiums are backed by U.S. private equity firms. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is in the CPP group and Providence Equity Partners is in the Teachers' group.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Share of Global Reserves Declines to Lowest Since 1999, Says IMF

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar's share of global
foreign-exchange reserves fell to the lowest level in at least
eight years as central banks accelerated purchases of euros, the
International Monetary Fund said.

Dollars accounted for 64.2 percent of reserves in the first
quarter, down from 64.6 percent in the prior three months, the
IMF said today in Washington. The share of euros climbed to 26.1
percent from 25.9 percent, reaching its highest proportion since
the single currency was introduced in 1999.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Platinum Is Little Changed on South Africa Labor Talks; Palladium Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum was little changed in New
York, heading for a weekly decline, after Anglo Platinum Ltd.,
the world's largest producer of the metal, raised a wage offer
in an attempt to avert a strike in South Africa.

Anglo Platinum is offering pay raises of 8 percent to
10 percent, after a 7 percent increase was rejected, Solidarity
labor union said. At Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world's
second-largest producer, workers in South Africa turned down an
increased pay offer this week. The country produces about
80 percent of the world's platinum.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Core inflation edges down, lowest in 3 years

(Reuters) - In a report that also showed consumer spending and income was a bit softer than expected, the Commerce Department said on Friday overall prices rose a stiff 0.5 percent last month but core prices edged up just 0.1 percent.




The subdued core price increase pulled the year-on-year reading down to its lowest since March 2004, welcome news for policy-makers at the Fed, some of whom have said they would like to see core inflation in a 1 percent to 2 percent range.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

EU drug agency to finalise Acomplia review in July

(Reuters) - The EU watchdog had initially said it was likely to give a
view this month.




The close review of Acomplia's safety profile comes two
weeks after a U.S. advisory panel said the medicine should not
be approved in the world's biggest drugs market because it may
increase suicidal thinking and depression.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US Midwest business expands strongly in June

(Reuters) - The employment component of the index fell to 52.7 from
57.3 in May. Prices paid fell to 68.1 from 70.2 and new orders
slipped to 65.7 from 71.1.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-RESEARCH ALERT-UBS cuts MGIC, PMI Group to neutral

(Reuters) - The brokerage downgraded PMI and MGIC to "neutral" from
"buy." UBS also cut its price target on MGIC to $62 from $75
and on PMI to $52 from $56.




UBS now estimates that reserve building would be
substantially greater than its previous forecast, and that it
would reduce earnings and return on earnings through 2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Midwest expansion slows in June but still strong

(Reuters) - The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago
business barometer eased to 60.2 from 61.7 in May.




Economists had forecast the index at 58.0. A reading above
50 indicates expansion.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UAW expected to announce Delphi pact vote Friday

(Reuters) - Voting on the agreement, which includes wage and benefit
cuts and eventual plant closings, is cumulative among the
eligible 17,000 UAW members, but results reported independently
from some of the largest locals showed a majority in favor.




Delphi has said it must have the cuts in labors costs to
complete its reorganization. The deal would also remove the
threat of a strike that could cripple the company and former
parent General Motors Corp. , Delphi's biggest customer.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Lilly May Face More Zyprexa Lawsuits After U.S. Raises Side Effect Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. may attract more
lawsuits alleging it failed to warn users that a psychiatric drug
was linked to diabetes after the pharmaceutical company received
a letter from U.S. regulators.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Lilly in March it
would delay the approval of Symbyax for depression because the
agency wanted more information about the risk of diabetes in the
medicine's prescribing label. Symbyax combines Lilly's
antipsychotic pill Zyprexa and the antidepressant Prozac.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Banco de Chile soars on Citigroup alliance talks

(Reuters) - The shares were up 9.1 percent after earlier registering a
rise of 11.9 percent.




On Thursday night, Banco de Chile's majority shareholder,
manufacturing conglomerate Quinenco , said it was
talking to Citigroup again about an alliance.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Stocks Advance in Quarter; Total, Linde, Swatch Pace the Gains

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks headed for a fourth
consecutive quarterly advance on speculation companies will keep
increasing profit and takeovers will lift shares.

Linde Group and BASF AG led chemical makers higher on
expectations they may merge. Swatch Group AG rallied after
Deutsche Bank AG recommended buying shares in the watchmaker
because revenue and profit margins may increase. Total SA and
Royal Dutch Shell Plc as oil climbed to a 10-month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Crude Oil Futures Rise to 10-Month High as U.S. Refineries Increase Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a 10-month high in
New York on speculation that consumption will increase as
refineries bolster gasoline output.

Prices climbed above $70 for the first time since September
yesterday after an Energy Department report showed that U.S.
gasoline, diesel and heating oil inventories fell last week as
refineries increased operating rates. Crude-oil supplies at
Cushing, Oklahoma, where oil traded in New York is delivered,
plunged 5.7 percent, the June 27 report showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

US STOCKS-Indexes gain at open on tame inflation

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was up 23.90
points, or 0.18 percent, at 13,446.18. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was up 2.25 points, or 0.15 percent, at
1,507.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.91
points, or 0.42 percent, at 2,619.28.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Banco de Chile Controller Resumes Alliance Talks With Citigroup

(Bloomberg) -- Quinenco SA, the Santiago-based
controller of Chile's second-largest bank Banco de Chile, has
resumed strategic alliance talks with Citigroup Inc.

Negotiations cover a possible alliance between Citigroup and
Quinenco's financial and banking operations, which include Banco
de Chile, the Santiago-based holding company said in a filing to
securities regulators after the market closed yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

S.Africa maize follows Chicago higher

(Reuters) - South African maize futures bounced higher on Friday, cheered by an overnight rally in U.S. corn which has overshadowed local crop concerns for the past few months.

July white maize fetched 1,657 rand a tonne, advancing by 1.97 percent on the previous session's close but still staying below the important 1,700 rand mark.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Hudson's shareholder sells 14.9 mln shares

(Reuters) - The company said it intends to buy back about 1.2 million
additional shares through a tender offer, increasing total
shares to be retired to 6.9 million.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Canada economy stands still in April

(Reuters) - April was the first time since June 2006 that gross
domestic product did not grow, according to Statscan's revised
figures.




Analysts had forecast, on average, 0.2 percent growth in
April, after a robust 3.7 percent growth in the first quarter
and 1.5 percent expansion in the fourth quarter of last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Oil above $71 on drop in US fuel stocks

(Reuters) - Oil rose above $71 a barrel on Friday as investors focused on falling gasoline inventories in top consumer the United States and a regional drop in crude stocks.

A U.S. government report on Wednesday showed gasoline stocks fell 700,000 barrels last week and crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U.S. crude benchmark, dropped 1.4 million barrels.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.N. chief in Afghanistan, focus on lack of law and order

(Reuters) - The meeting took place amid heavy security at the presidential palace, which still bears the scars of the past 30 years of conflict in the central Asian state.




Journalists were called to the palace, but there was no news conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, bonds turn higher after U.S. data

(Reuters) - The core Personal Consumption Expenditure index -- the
Federal Reserve's favourite measure of inflation -- rose 1.9
percent in May from a year ago, its lowest reading since March
2004.




"It's good news for the bond market, and so that means bond
yields will come down, and lead to a firmer tone in stock data
... This suggests that core inflation is moderating, but as the
Fed said, it isn't conclusive yet," said Scott Brown, chief
economist at Raymond James & Associates in Florida.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canadian Stocks May Gain on Research In Motion's Profit; BCE May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks may rise after Research
In Motion Ltd. announced a stock split and first-quarter profit
exceeded analyst estimates.

Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry e-mail phones,
surged 17 percent in trading before the open of Canadian exchanges.
BCE Inc., Canada's biggest phone company, gained after the Ontario
Teachers' Pension Plan said it made bids for all BCE shares it
doesn't already own.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper Rises For Third Session in New York as Global Inventories Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures rose for a third
session in New York as global inventories of the metal shrank.

Chinese stockpiles fell 5.6 percent to 90,617 metric tons,
the biggest decline in six months, the Shanghai Futures Exchange
said in a weekly report today. Inventories in warehouses
monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell 1.4 percent to
114,700 tons today. Copper has gained 20 percent this year,
partly on supply concerns.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Canada's Dollar Falls From 30-Year High as April Economic Growth Is Flat

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar fell from a 30-
year high after the nation's economic growth unexpectedly
stalled in April.

Canada's currency dropped to 94.22 U.S. cents at 8:50 a.m.
in Toronto, from 94.39 U.S. cents yesterday. One U.S. dollar
buys C$1.0596. The currency earlier touched 95.51 U.S. cents, or
C$1.0471, the strongest since May 1977 as crude oil prices rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Valeo says to continue talks with fund

(Reuters) - The Financial Times reported earlier that Valeo had been in
talks since March with PAI and U.S. funds Apollo Investment
Management and Cerberus [CBS.UL] about a possible leveraged
buyout.




The FT added that Valeo and PAI had failed to agree on a
price.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Ariba, Black Box, Priceline.com, Research in Motion: 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 7:30 a.m. New York time.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM US): The lender
specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages withdrew its fiscal
2007 earnings guidance and said it will likely have a second-
quarter loss. The shares fell 52 cents to $20.91 in regular
trading yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Treasuries Extend Advance After Consumption Report Shows Slowing Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries extended their gains as a
gauge watched by the Federal Reserve showed slowing inflation.

The yield on benchmark 10-year notes fell 3 basis points,
or 0.03 percentage point, to 5.08 percent at 8:35 a.m. in New
York, according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price
of 4 1/2 percent securities maturing in May 2017 rose 6/32, or
$1.88 per $1,000 face amount, to 95 17/32.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures turn higher after inflation data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 29 - U.S. stock index futures
reversed direction on Friday, turning higher, after a gauge of
inflation in May showed its lowest reading since March 2004.




The report was likely to give the Federal Reserve some
assurance it is making progress in its effort to curb
inflation.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Darling Inherits a Fraying U.K. Economy as Brown's Successor at Treasury

(Bloomberg) -- Alistair Darling, Britain's new
chancellor of the exchequer, faces what may be the toughest task
in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government: steering a fraying
economy with Brown looking over his shoulder.

Brown, who as chancellor oversaw the longest expansion in
two centuries, appointed the 53-year-old Darling as his
successor yesterday. Darling worked under Brown at the Treasury
in 1997, then ran the Departments of Trade and Industry and of
Work and Pensions for former Prime Minister Tony Blair.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Bank of England's Jenkinson Warns on Weaknesses Shown by Subprime Fallout

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. subprime lending crisis has
shown weaknesses in risk controls which could affect the whole
financial system in the event of a bigger shock to deeper markets
such as corporate credit, a Bank of England official said.

``Recent distress in the U.S. subprime lending market'' has
``exposed weaknesses in risk management,'' Nigel Jenkinson, the
bank's executive director for financial stability, said today.
``In a more severe stress scenario, perhaps in a more significant
market such as corporate credit,'' the effect ``could have more
serious consequences for the financial system.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bond prices edge up ahead of inflation data

(Reuters) - "People yesterday were a bit concerned about the PCE
deflator that is coming out this morning," said Doug Roberts,
chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research in
Shrewsbury, New Jersey.




"Now they are realizing the Fed probably wouldn't have
moderated their statement if they thought the PCE was going to
come in somewhat ... massively different from what they
anticipated. Although it might not come out on target, probably
it will come in pretty close."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Talbots names Liz Claiborne president as CEO

(Reuters) - Liz Claiborne, which is in the process of restructuring, said it plans to eliminate the position of president and that it is almost finished searching for an executive vice president for its newly formed "partnered brands" division, which includes the Liz Claiborne, Dana Buchman and Ellen Tracy brands.




The company's namesake, designer Liz Claiborne, died in New York on Tuesday at the age of 78.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.K. Stocks Retreat, Paced by Segro, Liberty; Shares of Drax Group Slide

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks declined, paced by Segro
Plc as HSBC Holdings Plc recommended investors reduce their
stakes in the property company. Liberty International Plc and
Hammerson Plc also fell. Standard Life Plc and Prudential Plc led
insurers lower.

Drax Group Plc declined after the utility said it sold
electricity at cheaper prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Intertape Polymer shareholders reject plan to sell co

(Reuters) - The company also said Eric Baker was appointed Chairman, after shareholders elected Baker, Melbourne Yull and Dale McSween to its board at an annual shareholder meeting.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Symetra Financial files for $750 mln IPO

(Reuters) - In addition to the affiliates of White Mountains Insurance
Group Ltd. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc., who led the investor
group that formed Symetra, others from the original investor
group may participate in this offering as selling stockholders.




The Bellevue, Washington-based company, which has applied
for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "SYA,"
told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a
preliminary prospectus that Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman,
Sachs & Co., among others, were underwriting the IPO.



Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US STOCKS-Futures fall with inflation data on tap

(Reuters) - In earnings news, Research In Motion Ltd. may give
a lift to the Nasdaq after the maker of the Blackberry reported
results that beat analysts' estimates. For details, see
[ID:nN28384123]




Research in Motion stock jumped 8.1 percent to $179 in
electronic trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News