Hilton profit rises ahead of Blackstone deal

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - Hilton Hotels Corp , which is being acquired by private equity firm Blackstone Group , posted a better-than-expected 15 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by higher room rates.



The strong earnings, fueled by robust demand from business and leisure travelers, highlights the continuing boom in the lodging industry, which has made hotel companies sought-after assets.


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UPDATE 1-MCG Capital posts higher Q2 profit; shares rise

(Reuters) - Shares of the Arlington, Virginia-based company were
trading up almost 6 percent at $14.27 in morning trade on the
Nasdaq. The shares have fallen 34 percent since the begining of
the year before Tuesday's gains.




The main positives for the quarter include
higher-than-expected dividend income, higher-than-expected net
interest margin and $8.6 million of net gains on portfolio
investments, BMO Capital Markets analyst David Chiaverini wrote
in a research note.


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CBS quarterly earnings drop; tv, radio revenue off

(Reuters) - CBS, which runs the most-watched U.S. television network, reported second-quarter net earnings of $404 million, or 55 cents a share, compared with $781.7 million, or $1.02, a year earlier.




Year-ago earnings included income from discontinued operations of $291.9 million, reflecting a gain on the sale of its Paramount Parks. It also had a tax benefit.


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UPDATE 2-Pilgrim's Pride 3rd-qtr profit shatters view

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - Top U.S. chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp. on Tuesday reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly profit due to higher chicken prices and strong demand, sending its shares higher.



The company also raised its estimate of cost savings from its purchase in December of smaller rival Gold Kist Inc. to about $150 million by January 2008 from its previous forecast of $100 million.


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Home prices fell in May: S&P/Case-Shiller

(Reuters) - The composite month-over-month Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 metro areas also showed a 0.2 percent drop, to a 200.04 reading, or a 2.8 percent year-over-year loss.




"At a national level, declines in annual home price returns are showing no signs of a slowdown or turnaround," said Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC, in the release.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Qatar Was OPEC's Wealthiest Per-Capita Exporter Last Year; Nigeria Poorest

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar earned $28,576 per citizen last
year from oil and gas exports, while Nigeria, Africa's most
populous nation, made $391, annual OPEC data shows.

The range reflects large differences in populations among
members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Nigeria's petroleum-export revenue of $52.5 billion was twice that
of the tiny Persian Gulf emirate.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Turkish June Foreign Trade Gap Widens for Second Month on Material Imports

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's trade deficit widened 18
percent in June from a year earlier, the second consecutive
increase, as industry drew in raw materials for manufacture of
products to export.

The trade gap grew to $5.5 billion from a revised $4.7
billion in the year-earlier period, the statistics agency in
Ankara said on its Web site today. The deficit was forecast to be
$4.8 billion, according to the median estimate of 13 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News