CME buy of CBOT looks likely as shareholders vote

(Reuters) - Most analysts are predicting victory for Chicago Mercantile
Exchange Holdings Inc. after the company improved its
bid for a third time on Friday in an 11th hour move to quell
dissent among CBOT Holdings shareholders.




A vote that looked like it might be a toss-up, given a
higher competing bid for CBOT from IntercontinentalExchange
Inc. ., now has the makings of a landslide.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sarkozy May Clash With EU, Trichet Over Plans to Revive France's Economy

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has
a message for European finance ministers and central bankers
criticizing his plans to revive France's economy: Back off.

Sarkozy, 52, heads to Brussels today to meet officials from
the 12 other nations that share the euro. At the meeting, he
will defend his plan to cut taxes even though they may cause the
budget deficit to exceed government forecasts in 2008.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Retail Sales Stalled in June Amid Housing Recession: U.S. Economy Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers stalled in
June following the biggest gain in more than a year as the
housing recession led consumers to tighten their belts, a report
this week may show.

Retail sales were probably unchanged last month after a 1.4
percent gain in May, according to the median estimate in a
Bloomberg News survey ahead of a July 13 report. Rising fuel
prices boosted the cost of imports, caused the trade deficit to
swell and hurt consumer confidence, other reports may show.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bristol-Myers Shares, With Few `Buys,' May Rise More on Experimental Drugs

(Bloomberg) -- Just when a majority of analysts say
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has done about all it can for
shareholders, new medicines for diabetes and cancer, together
with takeover speculation, may keep the stock rising.

Seventeen of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg rate the
stock ``hold'' or ``sell'' after the New York-based drugmaker
reached the highest in five years. Bristol-Myers's revived
research pipeline helped the shares to the second-biggest gain
among the eight largest U.S. drugmakers this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Mom and pop to buy more global stocks: study

(Reuters) - By 2025, they will quintuple to nearly $700 trillion with
60 percent of future growth coming from Russia, India and
China, among the top prospect markets.




That is more than twice the growth rate expected from
developed markets like the United States, the study noted.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EADS, EDF, Suez, Gaz de France, Total and Alstom: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may
rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in
parentheses after company names, and prices are from the July 6
close.

The CAC 40 Index advanced 43.16, or 0.7 percent, to 6102.69,
and rose 0.8 percent for the week of July 2 to July 6. The SBF
120 index gained 0.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Asia's Currencies Strengthen as Demand for Riskier Assets May Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies, including the Thai
baht and the Malaysian ringgit, strengthened on speculation signs
of improving global growth will encourage investors to put money
in riskier emerging-market assets.

Seven of the 10 most-active Asian currencies, excluding the
yen, also gained today as rising regional equities may attract
more funds into the region. Taiwan's dollar and the yen, used as
funding currencies for the so-called carry trade, declined as
investors borrow them to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil, Essar Oil, CPC Corp.: Asian Energy Tender Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of oil and
coal sales and purchase contracts in Asia. Some may be concluded
in the next few days and weeks.

India


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Rubber Trades Near Six-Month Low in Tokyo Amid Speculation Supply to Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Rubber futures in Tokyo, the global
benchmark, were little changed near a six-month low amid
speculation supply will rise after the low production season.

Rubber supply tends to increase after the end of wintering,
or the low production period, in top-producer Thailand.
Plantation work in the Southeast Asian had been disrupted by
rains last month.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Australia's IAG in JV talks with India's HDFC-paper

(Reuters) - IAG, Australia's top car and home insurer, is in "advanced"
talks to buy the stake, the newspaper said, citing unnamed
sources.




Other "strong contenders" were U.S. insurer Travelers
and Munich Re's insurance unit ERGO
, the paper said, adding HDFC expected to receive a
premium for the stake.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Australian Banks' Ratings Benefit From Low Risk on Mortgages, Moody's Says

(Bloomberg) -- Ratings on Australian banks are
benefiting from low risks on residential mortgages and the
fastest economic growth in three years, according to Moody's
Investors Service.

The outlook for the country's banking system is stable, the
company said in a report today. Still, deteriorating asset
quality and increased competition may threaten that forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

TREASURIES-Steady in Asia after jobs report

(Reuters) - That dampened sentiment for Treasuries, keeping benchmark
10-year yields near two-week peaks.




A rise in stock markets across the region on Monday also
prompted investors to shift their money to equities from bonds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

HSBC Is Recruiting More Bankers in Push to Win Wealthy Customers in Japan

(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest
bank by market value, is recruiting bankers to provide asset
management and other services to wealthy clients in Japan.

HSBC, which opened its first Japanese branch in Yokohama in
1866, said it's seeking to hire branch managers, relationship
managers and service associates in Japan, in an advertisement
carried in yesterday's Nikkei newspaper.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China Plans to Scrap Exporters' Foreign Exchange Checks, Regulator Says

(Bloomberg) -- China will scrap the system of
checking exporters' foreign-exchange earnings because of its
economic development, the State Administration of Foreign
Exchange said on its Web site.

The currency regulator and Ministry of Commerce have decided
to do away with the policy ``and will no longer examine the
earnings,'' SAFE said today. It didn't elaborate on why the
decision was made.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Copper Rises in Asia on Labor Disputes, Low Stockpiles; Zinc, Aluminum Up

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in Asia on concern
about supply shortages as labor unrest in Latin America threatens
to further deplete global stockpiles that are at their lowest
since December.

Contract workers at Chile's Codelco, the world's biggest
copper miner, have been on strike since June 25, while a union at
Dona Ines de Collahuasi, Chile's third-largest mine, plans to
begin a walkout today. Inventories tracked by exchanges in London,
New York and Shanghai shrank 7.4 percent last week to 208,636
metric tons, the equivalent of five days of global use.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

ANZ financing China iron pellet plant for CVRD venture

(Reuters) - Zhuhai YPM Pellet Co. Ltd is a joint venture set up by Zhuhai
Yueyufeng Iron & Steel Co. Ltd, Pioneer Iron & Steel Group and
CVRD in 2006.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Japan's Shares Rise After Machinery Orders Jump; Fanuc, Komatsu Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks advanced after a
government report showed machinery orders climbed more than
forecast in May. Komatsu Ltd. led gains.

Energy-related shares including Inpex Holdings Inc. and
Itochu Corp. also rose after crude oil climbed to a 10-month high
last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Index Advances; Chipmakers Rise, LG Household Falls

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks advanced for a
sixth day. Samsung Electronics Co. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
rose after chipmakers raised prices of computer memory.

LG Household & Health Care Ltd. fell after the company said
it's in exclusive talks to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd.'s bottling
unit in Korea for as much as A$545 million ($467 million).


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan May core machinery orders up 5.9 percent

(Reuters) - Compared with a year earlier, core orders, which exclude those for ships and machinery at electric power firms, fell 3.1 percent, against a median forecast for a 6.7 percent decline.




The Cabinet Office said in May that core orders, a highly volatile series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, were expected to show a fall of 11.8 percent in April-June from the previous quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Rural towns struggle in two-speed Britain

(Reuters) - "I want to go to university and stay there, wherever I am."




She is not alone. Thousands of young Britons are deserting rural towns such as Melton in search for opportunity in bigger cities such as London and Manchester.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Crude Oil Trades Near 10-Month High on U.S. Gasoline Demand, Nigeria Risk

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York near a 10-month high on concern gasoline supplies in the U.S.
may be insufficient during the peak summer demand period and
unrest in Nigeria may disrupt shipments.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles are 3.5 percent below their five-
year average, the Energy Department said July 5, raising concern
that inventories aren't enough to counter potential shocks such
as the approaching hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico.
Militants in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, released a
3-year-old British girl, the U.K. Foreign Office said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average, Topix Rise; Honda Motor, Sony Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose
77.57, or 0.4 percent, to 18,218.51 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The
broader Topix index added 6.73, or 0.4 percent , to 1786.40.

Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. led the advances.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia Stocks Advance, Led by BHP Billiton on Higher Crude Oil Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index, the
S&P/ASX 200 Index, rose 0.28 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 201 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange rose 18.10 to 6,369.20. Among the stocks in the index,
107 rose, 65 fell and 29 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australian Dollar Advances to 16-Year High Versus Yen on Yield Advantage

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar rose to a 16-
year high against the yen on speculation stronger global growth
will give investors confidence to buy higher-yielding currencies
with funds borrowed in Japan, in so-called carry trades.

The local dollar is the second-biggest gainer versus the
yen in the past 12 months among the 16 most-traded currencies as
investors are attracted to Australia's 6.25 percent interest
rate, which compares with 0.5 percent in Japan. The currency
rose for a fourth day versus the yen after a U.S. non-farm
payrolls report on July 6 increased faster than expected,
suggesting global economic growth is strengthening.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yuan's Fastest Gains Fail to Quiet U.S. Lawmakers as Trade Deficit Widens

(Bloomberg) -- China's yuan is rising at the fastest
pace since the nation's central bank abandoned its link to the
dollar in 2005, and U.S. lawmakers still aren't satisfied.

The yuan appreciated 1.5 percent last quarter as prices for
items such as food, rent and transportation increased the most in
27 months. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
predict that inflation will force America's second-largest
trading partner to let its currency strengthen at least 7.5
percent in the next year, more than twice as much as in 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japanese Exporter, Energy Shares May Gain; Sony May Pace Rise on Weak Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese exporter shares such as Sony
Corp. and Canon Inc. may advance on speculation a weakened yen
will inflate the value of their overseas sales and boost profits.

Energy-related shares including Inpex Holdings Inc. and
Itochu Corp. may also gain after crude oil jumped to a 10-month
high last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Qantas Airways, Wesfarmers, Woodside Petroleum: Australian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes
news announced after markets closed on Friday. Prices are from
Friday's close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in September rose
0.6 percent to 6403 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York
Australia ADR Index added 1.2 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yen Declines to Record Low Against Euro as Investors Extend Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell to a record low against
the euro on speculation signs of stronger global growth will
give investors confidence to buy higher-yielding currencies with
funds borrowed in Japan in so-called carry trades.

The yen was at 168.26 per euro at 6:57 a.m. in Tokyo and
dropped as low as 168.30, the weakest since the 13-nation
currency started trading. It traded at 168.05 per euro late in
New York July 6. The yen was at 123.43 per dollar from 123.34.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Goldman,Morgan Stanley eye Allianz property-paper

(Reuters) - Bidders for the properties, Allianz offices the firm
intends to lease back, include German property company IVG
, Australian financial investor Babcock and Brown
and U.S. real estate investor Tishman Speyer. IVG is
seeking property for a real estate investment trust it aims to
list in 2008, the FTD added.




The second tranche of properties, around 2 billion euros of
German shops and offices that Allianz purchased as an
investment, is likely to be sold by August. Bidders include
Goldman Sachs's Whitehall real estate fund and a similar fund
operated by Morgan Stanley.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

ITW shares seen rising more than 20 pct: Barron's

(Reuters) - Shares in Illinois Tool Works, which have risen about 21 percent so far this year, closed on Friday at $55.81.




"It's exceptionally attractive," Barron's quotes Goldman Sachs analyst Deane Dray as saying. "It has had a nice pop, but has a lot more room to run."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Boeing set to unveil 787 amid order flurry

(Reuters) - European, Middle Eastern and Australian carriers trumpeted
new orders at various Boeing events in Seattle, as the U.S.
plane maker got ready to host 15,000 or so employees, customers
and suppliers at its nearby Everett, Washington, plant.




All are waiting for the first glimpse of the mid-sized,
long-range jetliner, which is the company's first all-new plane
in 12 years.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Bear Market Tightens Grip on Treasuries as Jobs, Inflation Trump Housing

(Bloomberg) -- The bear market in U.S. Treasuries
is just getting started as investors turn their attention to
the strengthening labor market and faster inflation instead of
the decline in home prices.

That's the conclusion of economists at Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and RBS Greenwich Capital. They
estimate 10-year government notes will return 1.28 percent this
year, not even enough to cover inflation. The performance would
be the worst since 1999, when they lost 8.25 percent, Merrill
Lynch & Co. index data show.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Aramco, Dow to award Ras Tanura contracts soon

(Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and U.S. firm Dow Chemicals are expected to award the engineering, design and project management contracts for the giant Ras Tanura petrochemical plant by the end of July, industry sources said on Sunday.

Dow's investment in the plastics and chemicals plant would be the largest foreign investment to date in the Saudi energy sector.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Libya launches gas licencing round for 41 blocks

(Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) launched on Sunday a licencing round to award foreign energy companies gas exploration licences involving 41 contracts, it said in a statement.

All companies and/or consortia interested in taking part in the bidding process shall be required to apply to the NOC, with certain qualification documents, no later than August 22, 2007, it added.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Bristol, Pfizer anti-clot drug hits goals in trial

(Reuters) - Patients treated with apixaban, a pill, had comparable
rates in two main measures to those on the standard of care --
an injected therapy plus one drug from the class that includes
the widely used warfarin. The measures included rates of blood
clots and dangerous bleedings.




Though effective at alleviating clotting, many
anticoagulant therapies come with serious drawbacks. Heparin
drugs must be injected or given intravenously, and warfarin is
notoriously difficult to regulate properly because of its
interactions with food and other medicines.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Bronfman-held Isralom in talks to buy Olimpia stake

(Reuters) - Olimpia owns a 29 percent stake in Dutch Nanette Real
Estate Group , which has residential projects in
Hungary, Romania, and Poland.




The Bronfman-Fisher group, led by U.S.-Canadian businessman
Matthew Bronfman, owns 57.19 percent of Isralom and intends to
turn it into Bronfman-Fischer's real estate investment arm in
Israel.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News