Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: The nation should steadily work toward yuan
convertibility, China Money magazine reported Aug. 3, citing
Wang Yungui, deputy director general of the Balance of Payment
Department at the currency regulator. China should improve the
system of foreign-exchange settlements and increase the currency
market's demand and supply, Wang said according the magazine.
China Development Bank plans to sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64
billion) of fixed-rate seven-year bonds this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Crude Oil Falls on Concern U.S. Economic Growth, Energy Demand Will Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel
after a government employment report prompted concern that U.S.
economic growth will slow, reducing demand for gasoline and other
fuels.

Job growth slowed to 92,000 in July from 126,000 the prior
month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless
rate rose to 4.6 percent. Economic growth in the U.S. and China
has helped spur the rise in energy demand and fuel prices.
Gasoline, diesel and heating-oil inventories rose last week, a
government report showed on Aug. 1.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - Aug 3

(Reuters) - * China's high-profile investment in the Blackstone Group
LP has produced an unusual backlash within China as
shares in the equity firm have dropped steeply since it went
public in June.




* Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. , the video
game publisher, said on Thursday that it was postponing the
release of the latest game in its wildly popular Grand Theft
Auto series. The delay is likely to have ripple effects on the
broader video game industry during its crucial holiday selling
season.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S., China Start Food, Drug Safety Talks, Aim for Agreement by End-2007

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said it aims to reach
agreements with China on food and drug safety by December as a
U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing for talks to head off further
trade friction over the Asian nation's food exports.

A team led by U.S. Health and Human Services Department
Chief of Staff Rich McKeown will focus on developing joint plans
with China to address the safety of food, livestock feed, drugs
and medical devices, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
Michael Leavitt said in a statement sent by e-mail.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

China's 2007 Steel Production May Rise by 14 Percent, Industry Guild Says

(Bloomberg) -- China, producer of one third of the
world's steel, may increase output of the metal by 14 percent
this year, the China Iron and Steel Association said.

Production may reach 480 million tons this year, the
association said in a statement in Beijing. That compares with
its previous forecast of 475 million tons.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China Yangtze Power Profit Jumps 72 Percent on Output, Sale of Bank Stake

(Bloomberg) -- China Yangtze Power Co., operator of
the world's biggest hydropower project, said first-half profit
jumped 72 percent after the company sold shares in a bank and as
electricity output rose.

Net income surged to 2.25 billion yuan ($298 million), or
0.268 yuan a share, from 1.31 billion yuan, or 0.16 yuan, a year
earlier, Yangtze Power said in a statement to Shanghai's stock
exchange today. Sales rose 12 percent to 3.4 billion yuan.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Paulson's Yuan Appreciation Anticipated by Pictet, Western Asset's Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Investors from Switzerland to
California are banking on U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
convincing China to let its yuan appreciate more than 5 percent
in coming months.

Western Asset Management Co. in Pasadena and Pictet Asset
Management in Geneva are buying contracts tied to the future
value of the yuan, driving the price so high that the currency
must strengthen at least 5.5 percent in the next 12 months
before they see any profit. The so-called non-deliverable
forwards are rising at the fastest pace in two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

In China, Paulson eyes debate shift to environment

(Reuters) - Aiming to keep his strategic economic dialogue with China
on track amid controversies over Chinese product and food
safety and currency legislation gaining momentum in the U.S.
Congress, Paulson will visit Qinghai lake in western China on
Monday before meeting President Hu Jintao and Vice Premier Wu
Yi on Tuesday and Wednesday.




The lake and surrounding glacial watershed are threatened
by global warming and encroaching desert, with Paulson saying
the area was a strong symbol of the need for U.S.-China
cooperation on environmental issues.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Shanghai Auto tie-up may create Chinese car champion

(Reuters) - Shanghai Automotive Co. said on Friday that parent groups of the two companies had signed a letter of intent to discuss ways of achieving a "complete union" between the firms through business cooperation and restructuring.




China's central government and local authorities are pushing the tie-up as a way to build Shanghai Auto into a comprehensive auto maker that can compete with European, Japanese and U.S. giants at home and eventually overseas, industry sources and analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Richemont Lures Investors With China Demand for Piaget Polo Luxury Watches

(Bloomberg) -- Xinhai Liao wants to splurge on a
status symbol: a new watch. Rather than buy an imitation out of a
suitcase on a Hong Kong street corner, the Chinese financial
adviser went two blocks away to check out genuine Piaget Polo
watches.

``It has to be perfect,'' Liao said. Piaget maker Cie.
Financiere Richemont SA's sales of luxury watches are surging in
China as consumers snub domestic timepieces to show they can
afford the real thing. Piaget Polo gold watches have a
recommended retail price of more than 15,000 euros ($20,000),
according to The Watch Quote's Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 2-Kennametal posts stronger-than-expected profit

(Reuters) - The company expects "moderation" in the North American
market will persist in the near term, while demand remains
favorable in Europe and robust in developing economies like
China and India.




Net income fell 62 percent to $62.1 million, or $1.57 a
share, in the fiscal fourth quarter from $164.2 million, or
$4.11 a share, a year earlier. However, results were 7 cents
better than analysts polled by Reuters Estimates had expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Barclays gets nod to buy stake in China trust firm

(Reuters) - London-based Barclays Bank Plc will be allowed to buy a nearly 20 percent stake in New China Trust & Investment Co., one of the country's oldest trust firms, after negotiations for more than one year between the two companies, the sources said.




The purchase will make Barclays the first foreign bank with a stake in a Chinese trust firm, while others, including Morgan Stanley and UBS , are still in talks with potential Chinese partners.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-JPMorgan says wins approval to incorporate in China

(Reuters) - SHANGHAI, July 23 - Wall Street bank JPMorgan
said on Monday it had won final approval to set up a
wholly owned unit in China to strengthen its wholesale banking
business in the world's fastest growing major economy.




This move will make JPMorgan the second U.S. bank to
incorporate in China, after Citigroup Inc. did so early
this year, while more than a dozen foreign banks queue to secure
regulatory approval for their China-incorporated units.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

China's CSI 300 Index Posts Biggest Two-Day Gain Since Launch; Banks Rise

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks rose, completing the
CSI 300 Index's biggest two-day gain, on speculation government
curbs on lending and investment will prevent production gluts
from driving down earnings. Shenzhen Development Bank climbed.

China's central bank raised interest rates on July 20 for
the third time since March to cool the fastest pace of economic
growth in 12 years and restrain inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Barclays raises offer for ABN AMRO to $93 bln

(Reuters) - Barclays said on Monday its new bid was 42.7 billion euros
in shares and 24.8 billion euros in cash, up from its previous
all-stock offer of around 65 billion euros.




The raised offer will be helped by a 3.6 billion euros
investment in Barclays from China Development Bank and
Singapore's Temasek [TEM.UL], which may invest a further 9.8
billion euros if the takeover of ABN goes ahead.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FACTBOX-Key facts about China Development Bank

(Reuters) - Following are some key facts about China Development Bank:




-- The bank is mainly engaged in domestic infrastructure
investments, with the mission of "enhancing national strength
and improving people's lives".


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Barclays raises offer for ABN AMRO to $93 bln

(Reuters) - However the new offer, which has been helped by a big investment in Barclays from China Development Bank and Singapore's Temasek, is still below a 71 billion euro bid from a group of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland .




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Shanghai Copper Prices Rise on Speculation China Demand May Outpace Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in Shanghai rose for a
fourth day to the highest in 10 weeks, tracking gains in London,
on speculation that supply may lag behind demand growth in China,
the world's largest consumer of the metal.

Nine Chinese copper smelters, which produce 68 percent of
the nation's production, may lower output by between 10 percent
and 15 percent in the second half of this year because they can't
cover the cost of buying and processing imported raw material.
Imports of refined copper and alloy to China fell 6.8 percent in
June from May, the customs office said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

China's June Thermal Coal Prices Increase as Much as 2.7 Percent From May

(Bloomberg) -- Prices for power station coal in
China rose by as much as 2.7 percent in June from the previous
month, increasing fuel costs for electricity producers in the
world's fastest-growing major economy.

The price of thermal coal climbed as much as 12 yuan to
between 445 yuan ($58.8) and 455 yuan a metric ton at the end of
last month at Qinhuangdao, China's largest coal port, the
Beijing-based National Development and Reform Commission said in
a statement posted on its Web site July 20. Average coal prices
and transportation costs were ``stable,'' it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Australian Dollar Trades Near 18-Year High as Commodities Prices Advance

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar traded near an
18-year high against the U.S. currency as prices of raw
materials the country exports rose.

The currency may gain a 12th straight day after the Westpac
Commodity Futures Index, an export weighted average of exchange-
traded commodity futures prices, advanced 4.5 percent on July 20
to an all-time high. The local dollar has surged 17 percent over
the past 12 months as demand from China has pushed up prices of
raw materials, which add about 14 percent to Australia's economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News