UPDATE 1-Reynolds American profit falls short

(Reuters) - The maker of Camel cigarettes and Grizzly smokeless tobacco
said second-quarter profit was $325 million, or $1.10 a share,
compared with $376 million, or $1.27 a share, a year earlier.




Excluding costs related to debt refinancing, earnings were
$1.14 a share. On that basis, analysts on average forecast
$1.21 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

T. Rowe Price posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Wall Street analysts had expected earnings of 58 cents a share.




T. Rowe Price, which has been managing money in Baltimore since 1937, said revenue rose 18 percent to $551 million as assets under management, used to calculate fees in the money-management industry, climbed to a record $379.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Celera posts wider 4th-quarter loss

(Reuters) - The company, a unit of Applera Corp., reported a net loss
of $7.8 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a loss of
$5.3 million, or 7 cents a share, a year ago.




The latest-quarter results included pre-tax restructuring
charges of $3.8 million and $0.5 million of employee-related,
primarily severance, costs. The year-ago results included $5.3
million of restructuring costs before tax.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Futures jump on Boeing, Amazon.com optimism

(Reuters) - The recovery followed stocks' worst one-day performance in four months on Tuesday after disappointing earnings and increased concern about the impact of housing losses on the economy.




Shares of Boeing, a Dow component, rose 6 percent to a record in electronic trading before the bell, while Amazon.com shot up 23.8 percent as several brokerages raised their ratings on the stock.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European Stocks Pare Declines; GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks pared declines as
shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc and AstraZeneca Plc advanced.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was little changed at
389.03 at 12:30 p.m. in London, after losing as much as 0.9
percent. The Stoxx 50 added 0.1 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50,
a measure for the euro region, fell 0.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South African Rand Gains on Speculation Yield Advantage Over U.S. to Stay

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand gained versus the
dollar on speculation the central bank will keep raising interest
rates, improving the appeal of the country's assets.

The rand was the third best performer today as the spread,
or yield gap, between 10-year South African bonds and equivalent
U.S. Treasuries rose to near the highest in six months. This and
the Reserve Bank's 9.5 percent main lending rate makes local
assets attractive for so-called carry trade investors who fund
their purchases by borrowing other currencies more cheaply.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Ambac Second-Quarter Profit Falls on Losses From Subprime Bond Investments

(Bloomberg) -- Ambac Financial Group Inc., the
world's second-largest bond insurer, said second-quarter profit
dropped 27 percent after a slump in the value of subprime
mortgage securities.

Net income declined to $173 million, or $1.67 a share, from
$238.6 million, or $2.22, a year earlier, the New York-based
company said today in a statement. Unrealized mark-to-market
losses on collateralized debt obligations containing subprime
mortgage bonds cost $56.9 million, or 36 cents a share, Ambac
said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News