U.S. Stocks Retreat on Drop in Durable Goods; GE, Countrywide Shares Fall

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for a fourth day
after a government report said orders for durable goods
declined more than forecast and concerns lingered that losses
may worsen in bonds tied to mortgage loans.

General Electric Co., which makes products ranging from
appliances to jet engines, retreated. Countrywide Financial
Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, helped push a gauge of
financial shares to its lowest since April.


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Zimbabwe reviews inflation calculation, delays data

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe is reviewing how it calculates inflation and will delay the release of May data, a government official said on Wednesday, as the country grapples with hyper-inflation.

President Robert Mugabe's government has declared the country's galloping inflation -- put at more than 3,700 percent in April -- as its number-one enemy. But prices continue to rise relentlessly, jumping by as much as 300 percent in the past week alone after the local currency tumbled.


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US STOCKS-Shares flat after oil rise lifts energy shares

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 27 - U.S. stocks were little
changed in seesaw trading on Wednesday as a rise in oil's price
lifted energy shares, helping to erase most of the market's
losses.




Major indexes had fallen after weaker-than-expected durable
goods data hurt industrial shares and added to uneasiness about
the outlook for corporate profits.


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S.Africa stocks fall 1.6 pct, led by miners

(Reuters) - Mining and resource stocks, led by Anglo American, dragged South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index 1.62 percent lower on Wednesday as lower metal prices and fears about U.S. economic growth scared off investors.

The Top-40 index ended 1.62 percent down at 25,568 points while the broader All-share index ended 1.6 percent down at 28,285 points.


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Colombia's Peso Weakens Sixth Day, Bonds Decline on U.S. Subprime Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Colombia's peso weakened for a sixth
day and local government bonds declined as concern about losses
in the U.S. subprime market led investors to shun riskier,
emerging-market assets.

``Worries about the mortgage market shows how a shift in
external conditions reverses the peso's rally,'' said Alvaro
Camaro, head analyst at Stanford Financial Group's unit in
Bogota. ``Some local investors will likely begin investing in
dollars, taking advantage of a still strong peso.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Merck wins speedy U.S. review for HIV drug

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 27 - Merck & Co. on Wednesday said U.S. regulators will review its experimental HIV drug Isentress on a priority basis, and that it anticipates a decision on the first in a new class of medicines by mid-October.



Merck said the drug, if approved, would be used alongside standard oral HIV drugs among patients that were no longer adequately protected by their current treatments because of viral resistance.


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Chile's Andina outlines dividend payments

(Reuters) - Andina, which has operations in Argentina and Brazil as
well as Chile, posted a net profit of $41.3 million in the
first quarter, up 3 percent from a year earlier.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News