U.S. Treasuries Decline as Rebound in Global Stocks Dims Allure of Debt

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasuries fell for the
first time in a week as a rebound in global stock markets reduced
the appeal of fixed-income securities.

Treasuries declined as Asian shares rebounded from a slump
after higher profits at Japanese companies helped ease concerns a
U.S. housing slowdown would crimp the economy. U.S. notes snapped
four days of gains that had been driven by investors seeking the
relative safety of government debt as equity markets dropped.


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Asian Stocks Rebound From 1-Month Low; JFE, Nippon Steel Rise, Sony Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rebounded from a one-
month low after higher profits at JFE Holdings Inc. and Nippon
Steel Corp. helped offset concerns of a slump in U.S. housing.

Sony Corp., the maker of Cyber-shot cameras and PlayStation 3
consoles, and James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest supplier of
home siding in the U.S., led declines after a report showed a
decline in U.S. housing investment.


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Deutsche Bank Payday Burgeons With Trading Bets Against Subprime Mortgages

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG analyst Eugene Xu
recognized a financial train wreck in the making two years ago
when he predicted ``quite probable'' losses from the least
creditworthy home loans in America's runaway property market.

Now Germany's largest bank is poised to reap a bonanza of at
least $270 million and as much as $540 million from a strategy
that enabled its traders to sell subprime mortgage loans with
derivatives contracts that appreciated as the U.S. housing market
suffered its worst slump in 16 years.


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Wall Street often shelved damaging subprime reports

(Reuters) - The mortgage consultants, known as "due-diligence firms", were hired by investment banks to make sure blocks of mortgages conform to the mortgage seller's own standards. The studies provided a first glimpse of loan quality for ratings agencies and investors who do not normally see the full reports.




As the U.S. housing boom reached its crescendo in 2006 and investors showed a strong appetite for mortgages, lenders relaxed their underwriting standards, and millions of borrowers with poor credit records were able to obtain subprime mortgages as a result.


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S.Africa stocks hit 4-week low amid global sell-off

(Reuters) - South African stocks slid to an almost four-week closing low on Thursday as softer metal prices hit mining stocks and global jitters about the U.S. housing market and high oil prices hurt broader sentiment.

The Johannesburg Top-40 index of blue-chip stocks fell 1.85 percent to 25,844.39 points -- its lowest closing level since June 29. The Johannesburg All-share index slid 1.78 percent to 28,585.84 points.


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US STOCKS-Indexes sink on housing, oil, credit fears

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 26 - U.S. stocks tumbled on
Thursday on signs of further deterioration in the U.S. housing
market, a jump in oil prices and a worsening climate for
financing corporate takeovers.




The broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index fell 2 percent
at one point, and the steep decline led the New York Stock
Exchange to impose trading curbs which restrict large-block
sales when a stock was falling.


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Canadian Stocks Drop, Led by Barrick. Teck, on Signs of Slower U.S. Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks dropped a fourth
straight day, led by metals producers Teck Cominco Ltd. and Barrick
Gold Corp., as falling U.S. home sales heightened concern that
demand for raw materials may cool.

Home resales fell for a fourth straight month in June as the
U.S. housing market remained in the worst slump in 16 years,
according to the National Association of Realtors. Yesterday,
Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, cut
its profit forecast as a growing number of homeowners fell behind
on home-loan payments.


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CORRECTED-U.S. home builder woes reach into other industries

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - The anemic U.S. housing
market has hurt various industries from makers of air
conditioners to earth movers, with several manufacturers
reporting their top lines have been bruised by the slowdown.




Still, several investors remain positive about the long-
term outlook for U.S. home builders, although a rebound may be
years away.


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Rand Trades Near Two-Week High Versus Dollar on Concerns About U.S. Growth

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand traded near a
two-week high against the dollar on speculation a slowdown in the
U.S. housing market will spill over to the rest of the economy.

The rand yesterday touched its highest since July 3,
supported by investors seeking out South Africa's 9.5 percent
interest rate in trades funded by borrowing Japanese yen or Swiss
francs more cheaply. The dollar traded near a record low against
the euro today before reports that are expected to show inflation
and home building slowed.


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New Zealand's Dollar Plunges Versus Yen as Investors Trim Riskier Bets

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar fell to its lowest
in almost two weeks against Japan's currency as a decline in U.S.
stocks tied to concerns about subprime mortgages prompted traders
to unwind riskier bets.

So-called carry trades, where investors borrow cheaply in yen
to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere, have boosted the New
Zealand dollar by 35 percent against the yen the past 12 months.
U.S. stocks fell for the first time in six days after Standard &
Poor's warned it may cut ratings on debt backed by subprime
mortgages because a U.S. housing slump is worse than it earlier
anticipated.


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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.


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Dollar Trades Near Three-Week Low as Weak Housing Data May Weigh on Growth

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar traded near the lowest in
almost three weeks against the euro before a report today that
may show existing home sales last month were the worst in almost
four years.

The currency may extend last week's biggest drop in 10 on
speculation a slump in the U.S. housing market will restrict
economic growth, increasing the likelihood the Federal Reserve
will need to cut interest rates. The yield premium on U.S. two-
year Treasuries over similar-maturity German debt narrowed to the
least in 2 1/2 years.


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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.


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US STOCKS-Futures dip ahead of housing data, Yahoo up

(Reuters) - Shares of Internet media company Yahoo Inc. traded
up more than 5 percent in Europe, however, so a bounce in
technology could cushion the market.




Data on U.S. housing starts is due before the bell, a day
after a survey showed sentiment among U.S. home builders fell
in June to the lowest since February 1991.


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