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