Qinhuangdao Coal Prices Rise to Record on China Summer Electricity Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Prices of coal at Qinhuangdao,
China's largest port for the fuel, rose 8 percent to a record as
the country increased consumption of electricity in summer.

The price climbed 40.38 yuan ($5.30) a metric ton to 560.40,
without shipping cost, for immediate delivery for the week ended
June 15, according to the McCloskey Group. Coal producers
additionally pay as much as 40 yuan for every ton they mine as a
fee toward conserving the country's natural resources.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 2-PetroChina plans $5.7 bln Shanghai share sale

(Reuters) - By Judy Hua and Lu Jianxin




HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, June 20 - PetroChina Co. Ltd.
plans to tap a red-hot market to raise up to
US$5.7 billion in a Shanghai listing, sending its Hong Kong
shares up 8 percent to a record and valuing it higher than
Royal Dutch/Shell .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Malaysia Won't Sell Its Entire Stake in Proton to Volkswagen, Najib Says

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's government, seeking a
partner for carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd., ruled out selling its
entire 43 percent stake to Volkswagen AG, raising concern that
disagreements over control will threaten alliance talks.

Volkswagen, the government's preferred partner for
unprofitable Proton, wants a ``substantial'' stake in the carmaker,
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said in an interview.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Sapporo, Hynix Semiconductor, State Bank of India, BW: Asia Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales
in Asia expected in the coming days and weeks.

Investment Grade


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Esker, Maximiles, Meetic, Oberthur Card, Solucom: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies
may rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Stock symbols are
in parentheses and prices are from the last close.

The CAC 40 Index declined 15.48, or 0.3 percent, to
6071.67. The SBF 120 Index also fell 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Blackstone eyes $500 mln stake in BlueStar: paper

(Reuters) - The talks were still at an early stage, the newspaper quoted market sources as saying.




New York-based Blackstone is making a big push into China to catch up with rivals.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CORRECTED: Canon tops list of climate-friendly companies

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON - Canon, athletic gear leader Nike Inc. and food and consumer goods giant Unilever Plc topped a list rating climate-friendly companies released on Tuesday.




There was a cluster at the bottom of the list of 56 companies. Six tied for last, with a score of zero on a 100-point scale -- Jones Apparel Group Inc., CBS Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc., Darden Restaurants Inc., Wendy's International Inc. and Amazon.com.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Yen Is Little Changed as Muto Says Bank of Japan to Raise Rates Gradually

(Bloomberg) -- The yen was little changed after Bank
of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto signaled the central bank
will raise interest rates as wages and prices gradually increase.

Japan's currency traded near an all-time low against the
euro and a 4 1/2-year low versus the dollar as investors borrow
yen at the lowest rates in the industrialized world to fund
purchases of higher-yielding assets, known as carry trades.
Minutes released today from BOJ meetings in April and May showed
policy makers agreed that rates can be raised gradually.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Senate banking head to examine Blackstone bill

(Reuters) - Under legislation introduced last week by U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley, publicly traded partnerships would be taxed at the corporate rate of up to 35 percent, instead of the 15 percent rate their partners now pay.




Montana's Baucus and Iowa's Grassley, the Democratic chairman and senior Republican, respectively, of the Senate Finance Committee, expressed specific concerns about the planned $4 billion initial public offering of Blackstone set to be priced on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Japan big manufacturers' sentiment worsens in Q2

(Reuters) - The data suggested that the Bank of Japan's closely watched
tankan quarterly survey, due out on July 2, may show a slight
deterioration in corporate sentiment, economists said.




"Overall, the figures are not that good. The headline figures
suggest that the upcoming BOJ tankan's diffusion index for
big manufacturers may show a flat or slightly worse reading than
in the previous survey," said Yoshiki Shinke, senior economist at
Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 2-Canada softens tone on securities regulation

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, June 19 - Canada's government appeared to
soften its push for a national securities regulator on Tuesday,
saying it would also consider an alternative regulation scheme
favored by most provincial authorities.




Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has tried for the past year
to convince his 13 provincial and territorial counterparts to
streamline their securities regulators into a single body, a
goal that won the blessing of the International Monetary Fund.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan, Thai Baht, Korean Won: Asian Currency Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Lawmakers ask SEC to clarify subprime rule

(Reuters) - A letter sent by 11 Democrats to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox sought clarification on the rule known as "FAS 140," which governs asset-backed securitized products like mortgage-backed securities.




At issue is when a mortgage can be modified if it is part of a pool of securities that includes subprime adjustable rate mortgages made to borrowers with a poor credit history.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Brazil's stocks fall after records, real steady

(Reuters) - The Bovespa index of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange
fell 0.16 percent to close at 54,643.72 points, erasing earlier
gains which had built on its record high close on Monday of
54,730 points. The index closed at record highs also on
Thursday and Friday and has gained 22.9 percent in 2007.




The index was dragged down by the shares of mining giant
CVRD, the second heaviest stock at the Bovespa. CVRD
slumped 3.04 percent to close at 73.8 reais.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US credit cycle turn not expected in 07-Barclays

(Reuters) - "But clearly the big factor is going to be inflation,"
McAdie said. If inflation picks up enough to prompt the Federal
Reserve to raise interest rates, "we definitely are going to
see short-term volatility in both in equity and in credit," he
said.




Fears of higher global interest rates pushed yields on
benchmark 10-year Treasuries to a five-year high of 5.33
percent last week, though they have since eased to 5.09
percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Home Depot confirms sale of supply unit for $10.3 billion

(Reuters) - Atlanta-based Home Depot also said its board approved a
$22.5 billion increase in its stock buyback program that will
be partly funded with proceeds from the sale of the supply
business.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BC Partners buys Intelsat $4.6 bln majority stake

(Reuters) - The private equity group is buying a 76 percent stake in Intelsat, leaving the current private equity owners Apax Partners , Permira , Apollo Management and Madison Dearborn Partners, as well as management, with a 24 percent stake.




Intelsat has $11.4 billion of debt and the company will take on another $3.85 billion of debt at closing.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wheat Falls Most in Five Months in Kansas City on Forecast of Dry Weather

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat futures fell the most in five
months in Kansas City and the most in two months in Chicago on
forecasts of dry weather in the southern Great Plains that may
allow U.S. farmers to speed up a harvest delayed by heavy rains.

Fields from Texas to Nebraska are in for above-average
temperatures and below-normal rainfall for the next 10 days,
which will help improve prospects for the mature hard-red winter
crop, according to Meteorlogix LLC, a Woburn, Massachusetts-based
private forecaster.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Kennedy seeks student lender cuts, shares up

(Reuters) - Kennedy wants to reduce to 97 percent from 98 percent the insurance paid by the government to lenders on defaulted loans and to kill a rule that designates some lenders as "exceptional performers" and makes them eligible for a 2-percentage-point boost in their federal bad-loan insurance rate.




Bush has proposed cutting the insurance rate to 95 percent and the rate for exceptional performers to 97 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Brazil posts record budget surplus in April

(Reuters) - The result was much higher than the 13 billion reais median
estimate of 15 economists in a Reuters poll. The estimates
ranged from 9.2 billion reais to 18 billion reais.




The government posted a primary surplus of 7.14 billion
reais in March.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-BC Partners to buy Intelsat in $5 bln deal

(Reuters) - Including Intelsat's $11.4 billion of debt, the implied
enterprise value is $16.4 billion. As part of the acquisition
financing, the company will take on another $3.85 billion of
debt at closing.




The deal is the largest in BC Partners' history and its
first acquisition of a company with a U.S. headquarters. It
recently opened a small office in New York.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil Is Little Changed Close to Nine-Month High Amid Signs of Supply Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil in New York was little
changed, close to a nine-month high, amid speculation that an
Energy Department report tomorrow will show U.S. gasoline
inventories rose for a seventh week.

Gasoline stockpiles increased 1.44 million barrels in the
week ended June 15, according to the median of responses by 14
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Refiners probably increased
operating rates for the first time in four weeks, the survey
showed. Crude-oil prices often follow gasoline during the driving
season, which lasts from late May to early September.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Boeing CEO hails Paris orders, rival's resurgence

(Reuters) - Airbus has claimed orders for 387 planes so far at the show, compared with Boeing's 109. Boeing's orders tend to be more evenly spread out over the year, whereas Airbus's often come in bunches at major air shows.




The latest order figures, if classified as firm, would even up the race for sales this year between the two firms. Boeing outsold Airbus more than two to one in the first five months of the year.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Canada should allow bank mergers - IMF

(Reuters) - Rato also urged Canada to adopt a common national
securities regulator to replace the patchwork system of
provincial bodies it now uses.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Watanabe: No intention of diversifying dlr reserves

(Reuters) - Diversifying Japan's dollar holdings, one of the world's
largest, would have a huge negative impact on markets, Watanabe
said on the sidelines of an investment seminar in New York.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Best Buy, Circuit City, DirecTV, Universal Display: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Best Buy Co. (BBY US) slid $2.40, or 5 percent, to $45.61.
The largest U.S. consumer-electronics chain said profit fell 18
percent on sales of less profitable laptop computers and lower
prices for flat-panel televisions. Net income dropped to 39 cents
a share for the first quarter from 47 cents a year ago. Analysts
estimated Best Buy would earn 50 cents a share. The company also
cut its annual profit forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Retreat on Housing Data, Best Buy Profit Decline; Centex Falls

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks posted their second
straight drop after a decline in Best Buy Co.'s profit and a
slide in housing starts added to concern that consumer spending
will falter in the face of higher interest rates.

Best Buy, the biggest consumer electronics chain, plunged
the most in a year after reporting earnings that trailed analyst
estimates. NVR Inc., Centex Corp. and Hovnanian Enterprise Inc.
led a gauge of homebuilders to its lowest level in 11 months.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Citigroup sign Vietnam finance deals

(Reuters) - None of the companies are listed.




Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet who arrived in New
York on Monday in the first visit to the United States by a
Vietnamese head of state since the U.S. war in Vietnam ended in
1975.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Drug, Food Risks Stay Secret as Requests for Records Pile Up at U.S. FDA

(Bloomberg) -- Claudia Krcmarik can't get documents
about her father-in-law's death during a medical study. Meryl
Nass keeps asking for records she thinks will show an anthrax
vaccine is dangerous. The American Bakers Association's request
for a paper on the safety of imported honey has languished.

All filed public information requests with the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration at least four years ago and have yet to
receive what they asked for -- even though American law says
agencies must release records ``promptly.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-AIRSHOW-Finmeccanica unit takes 25 pct in Sukhoi Civil

(Reuters) - The Superjet deal with ItAli, based in Pescara, Italy, was
the first Sukhoi has made with a Western airline, the companies
said.




"With this new order the firm orders for Sukhoi Civil
Aircraft Company's aircraft reach a total of 71 for the
Superjet," Alenia Aeronautica and Sukhoi said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Best Buy, Bristol-Myers, Gentex, Regency Energy, UAL: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 10:10 a.m. New York time.

Best Buy Co. (BBY US) slid $2.40, or 5 percent, to $45.61.
The largest U.S. consumer-electronics chain said profit fell 18
percent on sales of less profitable laptop computers and lower
prices for flat-panel televisions. Net income dropped to 39 cents
a share for the first quarter from 47 cents a year ago. Analysts
estimated Best Buy would earn 50 cents a share. The company also
cut its annual profit forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Futures stay in red as Best Buy weighs

(Reuters) - But as the leading U.S. electronics chain Best Buy Co. Inc.
posted a quarterly profit below Wall Street's
expectations ahead of the housing data, futures remained in the
red.




S&P 500 futures were down 2.80 points, but above
fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into
account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down
25 points while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.50.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sallie Mae says waiting period for buyout ends

(Reuters) - The transaction is expected to close late this year. Shares
of Sallie Mae rose 69 cents to $57.80 in morning trading on the
New York Stock Exchange.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Amex sale of private bank "in final stages"-source

(Reuters) - ZURICH, June 19 - American Express Co is now in the final stages of negotiating the sale of its private and transaction banking units to another bank, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.



The source did not know who would get the businesses but said of the several potentially succesful bidders it was most likely to be a large global financial institution, although a medium-sized buyer could also clinch the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Home Depot in $10 bln deal to sell unit: sources

(Reuters) - Carlyle could not immediately be reached. All other companies declined to comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Actuant Q3 profit up, raises 2007 view

(Reuters) - June 19 - Controls and hydraulic tools maker Actuant Corp. said quarterly profit rose, driven by strong sales growth in three of its four segments.



The company also raised its fiscal 2007 outlook for the third time in a row and gave fourth-quarter earnings estimates, the top end of which was in line with Wall Street expectations.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Futures slip before housing data, Yahoo higher

(Reuters) - Shares of Internet media company Yahoo Inc. traded
up more than 5 percent in Europe, however, so a bounce in
technology could cushion the market.




Expedia Inc. could also lend support with news the
online travel company planned to buy back up to $3.5 billion of
its stock. Its stock shot up 13.7 percent in electronic trade
to $29.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Best Buy quarterly profit falls

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, had been expecting it to earn 50 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Revenue rose to $7.93 billion, beating analyst targets of $7.83 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bond Selloff to Benefit Global Stocks as Economy Gathers Pace, HSBC Says

(Bloomberg) -- A selloff in bonds will benefit
stocks because it reflects stronger-than-estimated economic
growth and will prompt investors to switch to equities,
according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

Indexes worldwide fell earlier this month as yields on U.S.
10-year Treasuries reached a five-year high, eroding the appeal
of company dividends. Benchmarks rebounded last week after the
U.S. Federal Reserve said the world's biggest economy is growing
without causing inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Futures dip ahead of housing data, Yahoo up

(Reuters) - Shares of Internet media company Yahoo Inc. traded
up more than 5 percent in Europe, however, so a bounce in
technology could cushion the market.




Data on U.S. housing starts is due before the bell, a day
after a survey showed sentiment among U.S. home builders fell
in June to the lowest since February 1991.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

German DAX Index Pares Gains After ZEW Index; Siemens Drops as Bayer Rises

(Bloomberg) -- German stocks erased earlier gains
after investor confidence in the country unexpectedly fell in
June. Siemens AG declined, while Bayer AG and SAP AG paced
rising shares.

The benchmark DAX Index dropped 8.40, or 0.1 percent, to
8027.72 at 11:31 a.m. in Frankfurt, ending a four-day winning
streak. DAX futures expiring in September also lost 0.1 percent.
The HDAX Index of the country's 110 biggest companies decreased
0.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-RedZone pays $175 mln for Dick Clark Productions

(Reuters) - The deal includes nearly 900 one-hour broadcasts of
American Bandstand, which aired from 1957 to 1989. Also
included are The American Music Awards, the Golden Globes, the
Academy of Country Music Awards, and Dick Clark's "New Year's
Rockin' Eve."




Red Zone said Terry Bateman would become CEO of Dick Clark
Productions, replacing Allen Shapiro, who is stepping down.
Bateman was formerly the marketing chief of the Washington
Redskins football team, which Snyder owns.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Euro Falls After German Investor Confidence Unexpectedly Declines

(Bloomberg) -- The euro extended losses against the
yen and the dollar after a report today showed investor
confidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy, unexpectedly
declined.

The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim,
Germany, said today its index of investor and analyst
expectations fell to 20.3 from 24 in May, which was below
economists' expectations for 29 in a Bloomberg News survey. The
single currency earlier touched a record against the yen and
reached its highest in more than a week versus the dollar on
speculation the European Central Bank will keep raising interest
rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Yahoo Gains, Microchip Falls

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before a housing report that may show the real-estate
slump will continue to weigh on economic growth.

Yahoo! Inc. climbed in Europe after the owner of the
country's most-visited Web site said Chief Executive Officer
Terry Semel stepped down and was replaced by co-founder Jerry
Yang. Exxon Mobil Corp. gained as oil traded near a nine-month
high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index Rises, Paced by Rio Tinto, Capita Group; Tesco Falls

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rose, led by Rio Tinto
Group. Capita Group Plc rallied as Citigroup Inc. recommended buying
shares in the operator of London's traffic congestion charge.

Tesco Plc tumbled the most in almost two years after the
nation's largest supermarket chain reported sales growth in the
first quarter that trailed analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Botswana central bank cuts bank rate to 14.5 pct

(Reuters) - Botswana's central bank has cut its bank rate by 50 basis points to 14.5 percent, citing a positive outlook for inflation, it said in a statement.

"The reduction in the Bank rate reflects the positive outlook for the path of inflation," the bank said in a statement issued late on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Tesco's UK sales slow as consumers cautious

(Reuters) - By Rachel Sanderson



LONDON, June 19 - Tesco , the world's fifth-largest retailer, reported a slowdown in its core UK sales in the first quarter and said it expected a "tougher year" as four interest rate hikes make consumers wary.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Network Rail, Italy, Carphone Warehouse to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales
denominated in euros or pounds and expected in the coming days
and weeks.

Investment-Grade Sales


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BP, Cadbury, Pearson, Tesco, Vodafone Group: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from the June 15 close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell 28.90, or 0.4 percent, to
6703.50 in London. The FTSE All-Share Index fell 13.87, or 0.4
percent, to 3465.12.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News