Ex-press baron Black seeks freedom before sentence

(Reuters) - More likely, Judge Amy St. Eve of U.S. District Court in Chicago will allow the 62-year-old Black to remain free pending the November 30 sentencing date at which she may order him to prison for 15 to 20 years, legal experts said.




"The court can set conditions as to the range of places that he can go to, whether he can be confined to his residence, whether electronic monitoring will take place," said Stuart Gerson, a former assistant U.S. attorney specializing in criminal prosecutions.


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UnitedHealth posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - The Minneapolis-based company, the No. 1 U.S. health
insurer by market value, has largely emerged from a
stock-option scandal that plagued it last year. But operational
missteps -- including cuts to its Medicare forecasts and
worrisome medical cost trends -- have spooked investors.




Shares of UnitedHealth have fallen slightly in 2007,
underperforming a more than 7 percent rise for the S&P Managed
Health Care index , a barometer of large U.S. health
plans.


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Harry Potter Fans Bet Boy Wizard Kills Self in Final Book as Wagering Ends

(Bloomberg) -- Author J.K. Rowling cried when she
wrote the seventh and final Harry Potter book. She may soon be
joined by millions of fans, given the surge in wagers on Harry
ending the story by killing himself.

William Hill Plc, a London-based bookmaker, closed bets on
Harry sacrificing himself at 2/5 odds on July 17, cut from an
original quote of 33/1 in early July. Lord Voldemort, who
murdered Potter's parents, is at 9/4 to kill Harry, and Professor
Severus Snape is at 4/1 odds to murder him. The bookmaker took
more than 50,000 pounds ($100,000) in bets on Harry's fate, the
first time in the company's history it had ever bet on a book.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; IBM, Microsoft, Motorola Climb in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained as
investors speculated a flurry of second-quarter earnings reports
today will show profits are holding up amid an economic slowdown.

International Business Machines Corp. advanced in Europe
after the world's biggest computer-services company increased its
annual earnings forecast after beating analysts' quarterly
estimates. Microsoft Corp., the largest software maker, and
Motorola Inc., the second-biggest mobile-phone maker, rose before
posting earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gold Gains in London, Erasing an Earlier Decline; Silver Also Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose in London, erasing an
earlier decline. Silver also advanced.

Gold for immediate delivery added $1, or 0.2 percent, to
$674 an ounce at 10:03 a.m. local time, after earlier falling as
much as $1.51. Prices this year peaked at $694.25 an ounce on
April 23.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Kazakhstan Kagazy Raises $240 Million in IPO After Cutting Price and Size

(Bloomberg) -- Kazakhstan Kagazy Plc, a cardboard
maker with real-estate assets, raised $240 million in an initial
public offering of stock after cutting the deal's price and size.

The company, with customers including PepsiCo Inc. and
Gallaher Group Plc, sold global depositary receipts at $5 apiece,
Kazakhstan Kagazy said today in a statement. The price is lower
than the original range of $7.50 to $9.50 per receipt that it was
seeking. Existing investors that planned to sell stock in the IPO
didn't dispose of their shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Standard Bank S Africa sets dlr bond guidance - lead

(Reuters) - The Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd has set price guidance on a five-year benchmark-sized dollar floating-rate note (FRN) it plans to sell, one of the lead managers said on Thursday.

Guidance for the senior FRN has been set at Libor plus 50 basis points area, the lead said.


Read more at Reuters Africa