UPDATE 1-Rexam to buy Russian drinks can maker Rostar

(Reuters) - Rexam, the world's biggest maker of drinks cans, said on
Wednesday it was buying the business from En+ Group Limited, the
parent of Russian aluminium group Rusal.




The deal is expected to cover Rexam's cost of capital,
including synergies, and to be earnings-enhancing in 2008, Rexam
said it a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Hilton Hotels Sells Itself to Blackstone Group for $20 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp., the second-
biggest U.S. hotel chain, agreed to be taken private by buyout
firm Blackstone Group LP for $20 billion, ending more than 60
years as a public company.

Blackstone will pay $47.50 for each share, Hilton said in a
statement. That's 32 percent more than its closing price
yesterday. Barron Hilton, the son of founder Conrad Hilton and
co-chairman of the Beverly Hills, California-based company, will
get $990 million for his 20.8 million shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Buyout group bids for remaining Endemol shares

(Reuters) - The group has already bought 75 percent of Endemol from
Spain's telecoms group Telefonica , a deal that closed
on Tuesday.




The acceptance period for the widely-expected bid for the
remaining shares begins on July 5 and ends on August 3, the
buyout group, called Edam Acquisition, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold stages modest rally, Tokyo dips

(Reuters) - Security worries triggered by the suspected al Qaeda plot to detonate car bombs in London and Glasgow, meant that gold had the potential to gain further on safe-haven buying, but some traders said gold lacked the power to break past resistance at $660-$665.




Spot gold stood at $653.75/654.25 an ounce as of 0200 GMT, versus $652.70/$653.50 in late New York.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Philippine Bonds Drop on Concerns Deficit to Widen: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine 10-year bonds declined,
the biggest fluctuation of any government debt market today, on
concern the nation will miss its revenue target.

Yields rose to the highest in eight months after the
Philippine Star reported that the government may fail to meet
the goal by 25 billion pesos ($543 million) this year, citing
estimates from the Development Budget Coordination Committee, an
inter-agency group that sets economic targets.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Platinum Futures in Tokyo Little Changed Before U.S. Independence Holiday

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures were little changed
in Tokyo as some traders awaited the end of the Independence Day
holiday in the U.S. today to judge whether buying of precious
metals by index investors would resume.

Platinum earlier this week tracked gains in other precious
metals as some investors bought gold to reflect increases in its
weighting within indexes of commodities for the third quarter,
which started Monday, said Kazuhiko Saito, a commodity strategist
at Interes Capital Management.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Yen Rises as Moody's Puts Japan's Sovereign Rating on Review for Upgrade

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose against the euro and the
dollar after Moody's Investors Service put Japan's credit rating
on review for a possible upgrade.

The yen traded at 122.32 to the dollar at 11:56 a.m. in
Tokyo from 122.47 late yesterday in New York. Against the euro,
it was at 166.48 from 166.65.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Boeing may invest in Japan's Mitsubishi jet: report

(Reuters) - Boeing, which dominates commercial jet sales in Japan, places much strategic importance on maintaining its close ties with Japanese aircraft parts manufacturers and airlines.




Mitsubishi Heavy, the nation's biggest machinery maker, is one of the key suppliers for Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Singapore Stocks Gain for Fifth Day; Venture Rises on Manufacturing Data

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore's stock index rose for a
fifth day, headed for its longest winning spell in almost three
months, after a key gauge showed production in the city-state
accelerated in June.

Venture Corp., the city-state's biggest electronics
manufacturer for other customers, gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JGBs fall, hit by weak Treasuries, 10-year sale

(Reuters) - Traders said they were looking at the U.S. bond market for
direction as JGB prices were expected to move in narrow ranges
ahead of next week's policy meeting by the Bank of Japan, having
digested key data, the auction and speeches by BOJ officials.




"Sluggish demand for the new 10-year issue has weighed on
sentiment, at least in that sector, as the paper is seen as
expensive relative to other maturities," said Kenro Kawano, a
fixed income strategist at Credit Suisse.
The 10-year JGB sale on Tuesday drew lower-than-expected
demand from dealers despite a 1.9 percent coupon, which was the
highest since August, because dealers had wanted a re-opening of
the No. 286 1.8 percent issue to ease their shortage in the repo
market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Banks, Brokerages, Exporters, Samsung Electronics: S. Korea Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in South Korea. Prices refer to the previous close. This preview
includes news announced after markets shut yesterday. Stock
symbols are in brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index climbed 1.9 percent to 1805.50. The Kosdaq
added 1.5 percent to 796.71. Kospi 200 futures expiring in
September advanced 2.2 percent to 230.95, while the underlying
index gained 2 percent to 229.29.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Philippine Telephone, SmarTone, Wuhan Iron: Asia Ex-Japan Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in Asian markets, excluding Japan. This preview includes news
that broke after markets closed. Prices are from the local
market's last close. Stock symbols are in parentheses after
company names.

Hong Kong retailers: The city's retail sales growth
accelerated in May on a surge in the number of tourists arriving
from mainland China to buy clothes, jewelry and cosmetics. Sales
by value rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier, the government
said. That was higher than the 7.6 percent median estimate of 12
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FACTBOX-U.S. auto sales down 3 pct in June

(Reuters) - Overall industry




* Total light vehicle sales -- 1.46 million units, down 3
percent from a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 4-Teck Cominco to buy Aur for Chile copper assets

(Reuters) - TORONTO, July 3 - Teck Cominco has
agreed to buy Aur Resources with a friendly cash and
stock offer worth C$4.1 billion that will
significantly boost Teck's copper production, the companies
said on Tuesday.




Cash-rich Teck, one of the world's top zinc producers, has
been reviewing ways to spend its pile of money over the past
nine months. The Aur deal would boost copper production by 43
percent and add deposits under development.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bob Evans says June same store sales rose 4 percent

(Reuters) - Average menu prices for the month were up about 2.6 percent, it said.



Same-store sales are calculated using the 541 Bob Evans Restaurants and 92 Mimi's Cafes that were open at the end of the month and for the full 12 months in both fiscal 2006 and 2007.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

GM's Ballew sees lower industry sales in 2007

(Reuters) - GM's overall forecasts include some heavy-duty trucks that
other automakers and analysts typically exclude from their
forecasts.




Ballew said the industry was hurting from high gas prices,
a weak housing market and tough competition on incentive
spending.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Dell gets extended conditional listing from Nasdaq

(Reuters) - Dell said in a statement it plans to ask Nasdaq's board of
directors for extra time to complete reports that have been
delayed as a Dell audit committee investigates past accounting
practices that it has said may result in restatements.




Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, is also the subject of
investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
and Justice Department over its accounting. The SEC began an
informal review in August 2005, making it formal in November
2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TREASURIES-Bonds fall in short pre-holiday session

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 3 - U.S. Treasuries fell in
holiday-thinned trade on Tuesday as a firm stock market and
surprisingly strong factory orders offset weak data on housing
and any lingering safe-haven bid on global security concerns.




Bonds briefly trimmed their losses after a report showed
pending sales of existing U.S. homes in May unexpectedly fell
to their lowest level in more than 5-1/2 years. For details,
see [ID:nN0385388].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasury 10-Year Yield Is Back Above 5 Percent on Bond Risk, Manufacturing

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell, pushing the 10-year
note yield back above 5 percent, as a measure of the perceived
risk of U.S. corporate bonds dropped and a Commerce Department
report showed factory orders fell less than forecast.

The yield on the benchmark note dropped yesterday below 5
percent for the first time in more than three weeks. The CDX
North America Crossover Index decreased for the first time in
five days after rising to a 10-month high yesterday, according
to Deutsche Bank AG. Stocks rose globally.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Brazilian Corporate Note, Bond Sales Reach a Record in First Half of 2007

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of corporate debt in Brazil
rose 17 percent to a record in the first half as investors,
faced with declining interest rates, sought out riskier, higher-
yielding assets such as mortgage- and receivable-backed notes.

Sales of corporate bonds, debentures and asset-backed notes
rose to 21.72 billion reais ($11.38 billion) in the first six
months of the year -- the highest since at least 1997 -- from
18.5 billion reais in the year-ago period, according to data by
the nation's securities regulator. Last year, about 93 billion
reais were sold in corporate fixed-income securities, with about
two-thirds of those sales in the second half.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-Alcan rebuffs Alcoa request for talks on bid

(Reuters) - Alcan's chief executive, Richard Evans, told Alcoa CEO
Alain Belda in a letter that Alcan had no reason for any
further discussion with Alcoa "at this time."




In an exchange of letters late last month included in a
filing by Alcoa with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Belda had offered to meet Evans in Montreal to
discuss Alcoa's offer, which Alcan has rejected.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.K. Stocks Gain, Paced by Anglo American, Xstrata; Greene King Rallies

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks gained, paced by Anglo
American Plc and Xstrata Plc as base metals rallied in London.

United Utilities Plc climbed on speculation Britain's
largest publicly traded water company may be bought. British
Airways Plc advanced after the airline won approval to fly from
U.S. cities to Europe. Rolls & Royce Group Plc rose after the
engine maker said its customer base grew ``significantly.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nymex Gasoline Futures Fall on Forecasts of Increases in U.S. Inventories

(Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures fell before an
Energy Department report that may show an increase in U.S.
inventories.

Supplies probably grew 500,000 barrels last week, according
the median of 13 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of
analysts. Refineries operated at 90.2 percent of nationwide
capacity, up 0.8 percentage point from the previous week, the
survey predicted. The Energy Department will release the report
on July 5.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Rand steady vs dollar, no further gains see

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand largely held onto the previous day's gains against the greenback on Tuesday but is unlikely to strengthen further this week, with the central bank seen buying dollars off the market.

The rand was at 6.9720/dollar at 1520 GMT, just 0.24 percent off its New York close of 6.9550 on Monday, when it rose to six-week highs, mainly reflecting the dollar's fall against the euro, the currency of South Africa's main trading partner.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Avon Shares Rally as Sanford C. Bernstein Says Company May Meet Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Avon Products Inc. had their
biggest gain in almost five months after Sanford C. Bernstein &
Co. upgraded the world's largest door-to-door cosmetics seller
and said it expects Avon to achieve the broker's second-quarter
profit estimates.

Avon's stock rating was raised to ``market-perform'' from
``underperform'' by Bernstein analysts including Ali Dibadj.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Indexes rise on M&A, manufacturing data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 3 - Wall Street advanced in a
holiday-shortened session on Tuesday, lifted by the latest
takeover news and stronger-than-expected manufacturing data.




In deal news, Kraft Foods Inc. is in exclusive talks
to buy Danone's biscuit and cereal unit for 5.3
billion euros in cash, the companies said. For
details, see [ID:nL03276080]. Kraft's shares fell 1.3 percent
to $35.10.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-US pending home sales lowest since Sept. 2001-NAR

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 3 - Pending sales of existing
U.S. homes in May unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in
more than 5-1/2 years, data from a real estate trade group
showed on Tuesday in a sign of continued weakness in the
housing sector.




The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home
Sales Index, based on contracts signed in May, fell 3.5 percent
to 97.7 from a downwardly revised level of 101.2 in April. The
May index is the lowest since 89.8 in September 2001.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Copper Falls From 7-Week High in New York on Concern Gains Were Overdone

(Bloomberg) -- Copper fell from a seven-week high in
New York on concern gains may have been exaggerated.

The metal rose 2 percent last week as strikes in Chile, the
world's biggest copper producer, threatened global supplies.
Labor unrest is a ``short-term'' threat to copper and prices will
fall as demand slows, Jochen Hitzfeld, a Munich-based analyst at
UniCredit SpA, wrote in a report yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Fannie Mae sells $4.5 bln in bills

(Reuters) - Settlement is July 3 and July 5.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Petrobras, Porto Seguro and Votorantim Celulose: Brazilian Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index rose for a
fifth day, led by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro
SA.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange gained 362.46, or 0.7 percent, to a record 55,733.67 as of
9:32 a.m. New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Banco do Brasil sees 488 million reais charge

(Reuters) - The early retirement package will generate net gains in
2008 of 158 million reais, the bank said.




Brazil's largest bank is expected to issue shares by 2009
to meet governance requirements of the New Market for a
free-float of about 25 percent of total shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Piper Jaffray to buy investment bank for $50 mln

(Reuters) - The consideration will be paid in about 90 percent cash and
about 10 percent stock at the time the transaction closes,
which is expected in the third quarter.




Piper, a middle-market investment bank, sees deal adding
modestly to its earnings in 2008.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Danone biscuit break to speed up acquisition hunt

(Reuters) - Earlier on Tuesday, the world's biggest cookie maker Kraft
Foods agreed to pay 5.3 billion euros in
cash for the second-largest biscuit operation to boost the U.S.
group's European and Asian presence.




Analysts said the deal will wipe out Danone's 2.9 billion
euro debt and give it the money to chase acquisition targets
such as Dutch baby food group Numico , or raise its
stake in Russian food group Wimm-Bill-Dann , buy out
Chinese partner Wahaha or raise its holding in Japan's Yakult
.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Aur Resources, BCE, Teck Cominco, Telus and Thomson: Canada Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets
today. This preview includes news that broke after markets closed
June 29. Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices
are from the close on June 29.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 190.90, or 1.4
percent, to 13,906.57 on June 29. The Canadian stock benchmark has
risen 7.7 percent this year and reached a record 14,176.42 on June
18.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Anaren, Avon Products, Business Objects, Caterpillar: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. in New York.

American Capital Strategies Ltd. (ACAS US): The specialty
finance company will replace Dollar General Corp. (DG US) in the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index, S&P said in a statement. The shares
rose 48 cents to $43 yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Government Bonds Drop as Stock Rally Eases Demand for Safe Assets

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds fell, snapping the
steepest rally in two months yesterday, as gains in global stock
markets eroded demand for the safety of fixed-income assets.

Debt's decline sent 10-year yields up from near a three-week
low after the Nasdaq Composite Index of shares closed at a six-
year high. Equity indexes in Asia and Europe also rose as
speculation weakness in the U.S. subprime mortgage market will
curb global growth eased, and as concerns spurred by terrorist
plots in the U.K. last weekend waned.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Swiss Franc Drops by Most in Two Weeks Versus Euro After Inflation Report

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss franc fell by the most in
more than two weeks after a report showed Switzerland's inflation
quickened by less than economists expected in June, prompting
speculation so-called carry trades will persist.

The currency fell from near a three-week high after a report
showed consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in the year. Economists
in a Bloomberg survey had forecast a rise to 0.7 percent. The
data make it less likely the Swiss National Bank will raise its
main lending rate fast enough to close the gap with the European
Central Bank's, and improve the appeal of holding local assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Danone open over plans for cash from biscuit sale

(Reuters) - Danone and Kraft announced on Tuesday they were in exclusive
talks. Kraft's offer could lead to a definitive agreement during
the last quarter of 2007. It excludes Danone stakes in biscuits
businesses in Latin America and in India.




Some analysts have said Danone could buy Dutch food group
Numico , Russian consumer foods group Wimm-Bill-Dann
, in which Danone owns an 18.4 percent stake, or its
remaining stake in its Chinese Wahaha beverages joint venture.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Citigroup, Lexicon Advance in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained on
speculation that a home-sales report today will show signs the
housing market may be improving.

Citigroup Inc. advanced in Europe after the South China
Morning Post said the biggest U.S. bank is targeting 13 percent
growth in revenue from its Hong Kong operations. Lexicon
Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed after saying preclinical research
showed its experimental antibodies may treat heart disease.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. Power Drops on Lower Natural Gas Prices, Cheaper French Electricity

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. power for delivery a day ahead
declined as the cost of natural gas and French electricity fell.

Day-ahead baseload power for delivery in the U.K. dropped
6.1 percent to 23 pounds ($46.36) a megawatt hour at 8:29 a.m.
in London, according to prices on Bloomberg from the energy
broker GFI Group Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gooogle acquires Web-calling service GrandCentral

(Reuters) - Financial terms were not disclosed.




Grand Central of Fremont, California is one of dozens of innovative companies that are taking advantage of Web-based software to allow consumers and businesses to make voice calls over the Internet while also working with regular phones.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

JGB futures eke out gains despite weak auction

(Reuters) - With a raft of events including the auction, the Bank of
Japan's tankan survey of business sentiment and consumer price
data out of the way, investors are sticking to the sidelines
ahead of the central bank's policy meeting next week.




Traders said while investors may feel comfortable holding
bonds at current yield levels, which have factored in a BOJ rate
hike as early as August, expectations of rising interest rates
will keep them from chasing yields lower.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News