Goldman, JPMorgan Get Stuck With LBO Debt They Can't Sell to Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan
Chase & Co. and the rest of Wall Street are stuck with at least
$11 billion of loans and bonds they can't readily sell.

The banks have had to dig into their own pockets to finance
parts of at least five leveraged buyouts over the past month
because of the worst bear market in high-yield debt in more than
two years, data compiled by Bloomberg show.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Wells Fargo profit rises 9 pct to record

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 17 - Wells Fargo & Co. , the fifth-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday second-quarter profit rose 9 percent, as growth in several fee categories offset a decline in mortgage banking income.



Net income for the San Francisco-based company increased to a record $2.28 billion, or 67 cents per share, from $2.09 billion, or 61 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 13 percent to $9.89 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Russian Stocks Fall After U.K. Expels Diplomats; Gazprom Leads the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Russian stocks dropped for the first
time in five days after the U.K. expelled four Russian
diplomats, adding to political tensions between the two
countries. OAO Gazprom led the retreat.

``Politics is certainly affecting sentiment,'' said Julian
Rimmer, head of sales trading at UralSib Financial Corp. in
London.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Yen Approaches Record Low Versus Euro as Rising Stocks Spur Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen dropped to near a record low
versus the euro and the weakest since 1992 against the pound as
concern eased that losses will mount in securities backed by
subprime mortgage loans.

Investors pushed the yen lower as U.S. stocks advanced on a
better-than-expected earnings report from Merrill Lynch & Co.,
the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, cooling speculation that
U.S. financial companies would be hurt by losses in subprime
debt. Rallying stocks encouraged buying of risky assets funded
by loans in Japan, a strategy known as the carry trade. The yen
also fell versus the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

TREASURIES-Bonds slip on PPI jump, firmer Wall St

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 17 - U.S. Treasury debt prices
fell on Tuesday as a gauge of producer prices rose more than
forecast and stronger earnings raised the possibility of a
firmer open on Wall Street.




Industrial output also came in higher than estimates,
rising 0.5 percent and making any interest rate cut by the
Federal Reserve appear even less likely this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Atlanta Fed names new research director

(Reuters) - His start date is being determined.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil Rises to $75 in New York on Expectations Refineries to Use More Crude

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $75 a barrel in
New York for the first time in more than 11 months on
expectations that U.S. demand will rise as refiners bolster
gasoline production.

Valero Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, three of the
four biggest U.S. refiners, started up units over the past week.
A government report tomorrow may show that U.S. oil supplies
fell last week as refineries increased production. Iran, OPEC's
second-biggest producer, said there was no need for the group to
hold an emergency meeting.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News