IMF board says nominations for top job open to all

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's board said on Monday that any country could nominate a candidate to succeed IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato, throwing open a job customarily given to Europeans.

"Any executive director may submit a nomination, regardless of nationality, for the position, consistent with past practice," the board of IMF shareholder nations said in a statement, as some European members pushed to maintain a tradition of selecting the head of the institution.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Global local currency emerging bonds on the rise - BIS

(Reuters) - International bonds issued in emerging market currencies are increasingly popular with investors, with volumes up fivefold in the past six years, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Monday.

Global bonds are debt securities issued simultaneously in the international and domestic markets, in a variety of currencies, and settled through various cross border systems.


Read more at Reuters Africa

China's Trade Surplus Soars to Record $26.9 Billion, Surpassing Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- China's trade surplus soared to a
record $26.9 billion in June, outpacing economists' estimates
and supplying extra ammunition for U.S. lawmakers threatening
sanctions unless the yuan appreciates faster.

The surplus almost doubled from a year earlier after
exporters rushed to beat cuts to export tax rebates. The median
estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a
$23.8 billion trade gap. The customs bureau released the figures
on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

NYSE Euronext probes trades in ABN AMRO stock: WSJ

(Reuters) - NYSE Euronext was not immediately available to comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Carrefour, CMB, Finnair, Royal Numico, Sulzer: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 climbed 0.3 percent to 398.52. The
Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index added 0.4 percent to 3993.61. The Euro
Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro,
increased 0.1 percent to 4528.76.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dragon Steel Offers to Pay More for Loan as Taiwan Rates Rise, Bankers Say

(Bloomberg) -- Dragon Steel Corp., a unit of
Taiwan's largest steelmaker, is offering to pay a higher
interest rate on its first loan after it failed to attract banks,
three bankers involved in the transaction said.

The company, 70 percent owned by China Steel Corp., aims to
borrow NT$57 billion ($1.7 billion) for 10 years to build a steel
plant, the three bankers said, asking not to be identified
because the information isn't public.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Korea Exchange Bank, Tokyo Electric Power, Azgard Nine: 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

Asian Stocks Fall From a Record, Led by Toyota and CSL, on Dollar Weakness

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks declined, dragging a
regional benchmark from a record, on speculation exporters'
overseas earnings will be eroded as the yen strengthened and the
Australian dollar traded near an 18-year high.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest automaker by market
value, and CSL Ltd., the No. 2 maker of blood products which made
almost half of its 2006 sales in the Americas, led the drop.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JGB futures inch up on Treasuries,eyes on 5yr offer

(Reuters) - "There aren't many factors to speak of other than
Treasuries," said Takafumi Yamawaki, fixed income strategist for
Morgan Stanley.




"But with a five-year bond auction looming, I don't think
gains in JGBs will pick up much steam, at least in the morning
session," Yamawaki said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

REFILE-SK Telecom considers bid for Sprint Nextel-paper

(Reuters) - The Korea Economic Daily reported brokerage sources as
saying SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile phone operator, has
been contacting several funds since the first half of 2007 to
help finance a takeover.




An SK Telecom executive said the report was "groundless"
and that the company is not considering a hostile takeover of
Sprint Nextel.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CME buy of CBOT easily approved by shareholders

(Reuters) - After an almost 9-month gestation period, the votes delivered one huge, almost $12 billion baby.




CME Group will be the world's largest derivatives exchange and control more than 85 percent of U.S. futures and options-on-futures volume.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

United Community Banks sets $15 mln provision for loan losses

(Reuters) - The bank holding company said it has classified the entire
$23.6 million of individual lot loans within the Spruce Pine
developments as non-performing loans as of quarter-end. It
expects most charge-offs to occur over the next two quarters if
the borrowers default on their loans.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Ex-North Fork CEO Kanas steps down at Capital One

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - Capital One Financial Corp.
, the credit card and banking company, said on Monday
longtime North Fork Bancorp Inc. chief executive John Adam
Kanas will step down as head of banking operations and resign
from its board.




The McLean, Virginia-based company will take a $27 million
second-quarter charge to speed up the vesting of equity awards
to Kanas and John Bohlsen, a former North Fork vice chairman
who is stepping down as head of commercial banking.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcoa Q2 profit slips; extends Alcan offer

(Reuters) - Alcoa also extended its $28.6 billion offer to acquire Canadian rival Alcan Inc by a month. The offer, which has been rejected by Alcan, was due to expire on Tuesday.




Alcoa said earnings from continuing operations were $716 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $749 million, or 85 cents per share, in the same quarter of last year. Revenue rose to $8.1 billion from $7.8 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Weyerhaeuser sells Oregon plywood mill

(Reuters) - The Springfield facility has been closed since December
2006 due to market conditions. It employed 87 people and had
the capacity to produce 114,000 million square feet of 3/8-inch
plywood annually, Weyerhaeuser said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise in relief rally as data dwindles

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - U.S. Treasury debt prices rose
on Monday as bargain-hunting investors snapped up benchmark
bonds following their worst week of losses in more than a
year.




The gains were limited by the series of robust economic
reports that culminated in Friday's strong jobs report, all of
which caused last week's steep drop in bonds. But the rise in
10-year yields on Friday to two-week highs near 5.20 percent
provided an attractive buying opportunity.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Stocks Rise in U.S. Trading; BHP Billiton Advances on Metal Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose in U.S. trading as
mining shares including BHP Billiton followed copper and other
metal prices higher.

The Bank of New York Co.'s Asia ADR Index, tracking the
region's American depositary receipts, added 0.8 percent to
173.07, the seventh gain in eight sessions.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Orange Juice Falls in New York on Florida Rain, Decreased Hurricane Threat

(Bloomberg) -- Orange-juice futures dropped as rain
fell and the threat of damaging hurricanes diminished in Florida,
the world's second-biggest grower.

Rain in Florida's growing regions is aiding fruit growth
even as more moisture is needed, according to Meteorlogix LLC of
Woburn, Massachusetts. Weather conditions won't be ideal for
hurricane development for at least two weeks, said James Cordier,
president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Florida.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Copper spikes through $8,000, lead at new high

(Reuters) - Copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange ended up at $7,990 a tonne from $7,840 on Friday. Earlier it touched $8,015, the highest level since May 9 and a gain of more than 10 percent since late May.




In New York, copper for September delivery settled up 3.50 cents to $3.6295 a lb at the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, its best settlement since May 9. Trading ranged from an overnight low at $3.5890 to a session peak at $3.6650.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Tyco Shares Decline After Citigroup Says Company is Unlikely LBO Candidate

(Bloomberg) -- Tyco International Ltd. shares had
their biggest decline in four months after Citigroup Investment
Research downgraded the stock to ``sell'' and said the company
was unlikely to be a leveraged buyout candidate.

A ``solid'' balance sheet and recurring free cash flow make
Tyco a ``logical'' candidate, Citigroup analyst Jeffrey Sprague
wrote in a note to clients. ``However, this scenario looks less
likely at current valuations.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Carbon Emission Permits Decline After Ireland Contests Allocation for 2008

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
declined for the first day in three as Ireland contested a
November ruling by the European Commission that it hand out 6.2
percent fewer allowances in the five years through 2012.

Emission permits for delivery in December 2008 fell 68
cents, or 3.1 percent, to close at 21.12 euros ($28.76) a metric
ton, according to prices from the European Climate Exchange in
Amsterdam. They earlier today traded at 22.30 euros, their
highest since July 2.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Danone says Numico deal ups net debt by 7 bln euros

(Reuters) - "This is a good opportunity to put more debt on our balance sheet," Danone Chief Finance Director Antoine Giscard d'Estaing said in a conference call with analysts. "...even if the net debt generated with this acquisition is 7 billion euros.."




Giscard d'Estaing also said the deal would boost Danone's revenues in the medium term.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Buffett gives $2.1 bln Berkshire stock to charity

(Reuters) - Each year during the remainder of Buffett's lifetime, the number of shares given to each foundation decreases by 5%. Buffett, among the richest men in the United States, does not participate in the investment decisions of any of the five foundations, Berkshire said in a statement.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Murdoch to be talk of Sun Valley media festival

(Reuters) - Participants will watch closely for any move by the 76-year-old chief executive of News Corp., including a sudden departure from the event, as a sign of a deal that would give him control of The Wall Street Journal, one of the world's most influential business media outlets.




News Corp. hired Allen & Co., the media industry's go-to bankers, to advise on the bid. Perhaps that is one reason why Dow Jones CEO Richard Zannino, a fixture at last year's Sun Valley but who hired Goldman Sachs, is not on the invitation list this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Danone, Numico to merge in $17 bln deal

(Reuters) - Shares in Numico had risen almost 11 percent to a six-year high before they were suspended earlier on Monday, after traders cited market talk of Danone's interest.




Danone's offer is 44 percent above Numico's average closing price over the past three months, the companies said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Cocoa Falls From Four-Year High as Rains Bolster Harvests in West Africa

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa fell from a four-year high on
speculation that rains will swell harvests in Ivory Coast and
Ghana, the world's biggest producers.

The West African nations, which grow 70 percent of the
world's cocoa, may get thunderstorms during the next three days,
according to Meteorlogix LLC of Woburn, Massachusetts. Showers
and thunderstorms over the weekend cooled speculation that dry
weather would reduce the crop, said Jay Schukin, a trader with
Man Commodity Advisers in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 3-Mexico annual inflation ticks higher in June

(Reuters) - MEXICO CITY, July 9 - Mexican consumer prices
rose 0.12 percent in June, in line with expectations, nudging
the country's 12-month inflation figure toward the central
bank's danger zone.




Closely watched core inflation, which strips out volatile
food and energy prices, was 0.30 percent in June, the central
bank said on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Coffee Little Changed as Dry Weather Reduces Threat of Frost in Brazil

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee was little changed in New York
as forecasts for dry weather eased concerns that frost would
damage the crop in Brazil, the world's largest producer.

Temperatures in Brazil's coffee-growing areas are expected
to be near to above normal, with lows in the middle 50 degrees
Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius), according to Meteorlogix LLC in
Woburn, Massachusetts. A ridge of high pressure over northern
Argentina is expected to move across southern Brazil this week,
posing no threat to the coffee belt, the forecaster said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-U.S. mortgage bond prepayments fall in June

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 9 - Prepayments on U.S.
mortgage-backed securities fell in June as higher interest
rates and one less calendar day outweighed seasonal factors,
according to Wall Street analysts.




Prepayment speeds were mostly in line with Wall Street
expectations. The June figures reflected the impact of a
softening housing market and tighter underwriting standards by
lenders affected by the implosion of the subprime mortgage
market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Moody's Challenges LBO Firms for Short-Term Focus, Borrowing for Dividends

(Bloomberg) -- Moody's Investors Service challenged
the leveraged buyout industry's claim that private ownership
allows companies to invest in the long term because it cuts them
free from the pressures of quarterly earnings.

Buyout firms' practice of taking out new loans to pay
themselves dividends from the companies they own runs against
their claim they invest in the long term, the ratings company
said in a report today. Moody's also said there isn't enough
evidence to show buyout firms make gains because they install
better managers at the companies they buy, rather than because
they use debt to inflate returns.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Blue chips boost Egyptian indexes to new highs

(Reuters) - Egyptian blue-chip shares climbed on Monday, driving two major indexes to record closing highs for a second consecutive day as investors moved back to market-leading shares, traders said.

"Speculators left the market and money was re-channelled in to companies like Orascom Construction Industries, Orascom Telecom and EFG Hermes," said Hossam Abdelrahman of Optima Securities.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Stocks in Europe `Decouple' From Rising Credit Market Risk, Lehman Says

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks are less dependent on
increasingly risky credit markets and still have room to gain
because of low share prices and ongoing earnings growth,
according to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The risk of owning European corporate bonds has climbed in
recent weeks on concern that defaults in the U.S. subprime
mortgage market may increase. Even so, stocks, which tend to
react negatively to a rise in so-called credit spreads, have
advanced in the region, Lehman said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Strike halts most S.African metal, engineering work

(Reuters) - Some 260,000 workers went on strike at 9,000 South African metal and engineering firms on Monday, bringing most of the industry to a halt, a union said on Monday.

Trade union Solidarity said most workers in the heavily unionised industry had joined the strike and thousands held rallies in Johannesburg and other main cities to demand better pay and to highlight a skills shortage in the country.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Treasury Notes Rise First Time in Four Days on Concern Over Subprime

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries advanced for the first
time in four days on speculation subprime mortgage losses may
slow U.S. economic growth.

Losses from bonds secured by subprime home loans may reach
$52 billion amid rising foreclosures on the mortgages, analysts
at Credit Suisse Group said in a research note. Benchmark yields
increased last week the most in more than a year on reports for
June showing the economy added more jobs than economists
forecast and services industries unexpectedly grew at the
fastest pace in 14 months.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Gold, Silver Futures Rise on Speculation Dollar's Decline May Spur Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver rose in New York on
speculation a decline in the value of the dollar will boost
demand for precious metals as alternative investments.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction of the U.S.
dollar, which has fallen 1.7 percent in the past three weeks
against a basket of six major currencies. Before today, gold had
gained 2.6 percent this year while the dollar index had fallen
2.6 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Seychelles to boost hotel capacity, tourism

(Reuters) - The Seychelles has approved the building of 60 hotels in four years to boost tourism revenues for the Indian Ocean archipelago, officials said on Monday.

There are currently some 6,000 hotel beds available on the palm-fringed isles, which drew a record 140,627 foreign visitors last year with their pristine white beaches and warm blue seas.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Canada Dollar Reaches 30-Year High on Bets Central Bank to Increase Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar rose a fourth
straight day, reaching a 30-year high, as investors speculated
the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates tomorrow to cool
the economy.

The currency's rally is its longest since April. The
central bank will lift the overnight rate by a quarter-
percentage point to 4.5 percent tomorrow, according to 28 of 29
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Policy makers on May 29
said rate increases may be needed ``in the near term,'' citing
``excess demand'' in the world's eighth-biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

WRAPUP 1-France heads for clash with Eurogroup over deficit

(Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy was to present plans to
kick-start the French economy to finance ministers from the 13
countries using the euro and the European Central Bank at an
informal meeting on Monday evening .




All euro zone countries, including France, agreed in April
to balance their books by 2010. But Paris changed its mind after
Sarkozy became president in May, and now wants a two-year delay
to boost growth rates through various tax cuts.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

DealTalk: KKR aims to take role of banks with IPO

(Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said in its IPO prospectus earlier this week that the $1.25 billion offering will allow the firm to expand its ability to syndicate equity and reduce reliance on third-party sources of capital.




Syndicating leveraged buyout equity is normally the role of investment banks. Does KKR wish to cut banks entirely out of the LBO process? The answer is no, sources close to the firm say, since the firm will still rely on banks to handle the debt borrowed for the deals.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Germany says no final deal on EADS mgmt changes

(Reuters) - Over the weekend, media reports said French and German
shareholders in the company had reached a deal whereby current
co-Chief Executive Thomas Enders would become the sole CEO,
while the chairman and head of Airbus would be French
appointees.




The deal would be part of a simplification of the company's
management structure, which has maintained a delicate balance
between the French and Germans since EADS was created in 2000.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Carbon Emission Permits Pare Gains as Ireland Contests Allocation for 2008

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
pared gains as Ireland contested a November ruling by the
European Commission that it hand out 6.2 percent fewer allowances
in the five years through 2012.

Emission permits for delivery in December 2008 added 4
cents, or 0.2 percent, to 21.84 euros ($29.77) a metric ton,
according to prices from the European Climate Exchange in
Amsterdam at 10:49 a.m. local time. They earlier traded at 22.30
euros, their highest since July 2.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Subprime Mortgage CDO Losses Could Reach $52 Billion, Credit Suisse Says

(Bloomberg) -- Losses from bonds secured by U.S.
subprime home loans may reach $52 billion amid rising
foreclosures on the mortgages, analysts at Credit Suisse Group
said.

Subprime defaults ``are clearly a huge problem'' for
investors in collateralized debt obligations, Credit Suisse
analysts led by Ivan Vatchkov in London wrote in a report. ``But
we do not think that they are a systemic one.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

CORRECTION: Oil eases from 11-month high, supply worries

(Reuters) - SYDNEY - Oil prices edged lower on Monday after reaching an 11-month high late last week, as light post-weekend profit-taking was limited by concerns over U.S. fuel supplies, Nigerian crude shipments and North Sea maintenance.




London Brent crude , currently seen as a better indicator of the global market, eased 14 cents to $75.48 a barrel by 0637 GMT, within sight of Friday's $76.01 peak and near its all-time high of $78.65 a barrel one year ago on August 8.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

OPEC has little power to ease oil prices - Algeria

(Reuters) - Algeria's Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on Monday there was "not much" OPEC could do to bring down high oil prices as global crude oil stocks were already sufficient.

"There is plenty of stocks. It's a problem with capacity and refining," Khelil told Reuters ahead of a gas pipeline conference in Brussels.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Court upholds EU Commission approval of Akzo deal

(Reuters) - "The court has found that the Commission did not breach its
own guidelines as regards the coordinated and non-coordinated
effects of the merger and in relation to market share and
concentration levels," the Court of First Instance said.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Korea Exchange Bank to Sell Dollar Debt After Moody's Boosts Credit Rating

(Bloomberg) -- Korea Exchange Bank, controlled by
U.S. buyout firm Lone Star Funds, plans to sell dollar-
denominated bonds after Moody's Investors Service lifted its debt
rating by three levels.

Seoul-based Korea Exchange hired Calyon, HSBC Holdings Plc,
Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley to arrange the sale of the
five-year floating-rate notes, according to an e-mail sent to
investors today by the underwriters. Korea Exchange will set
terms after marketing the securities to investors in Singapore on
July 11 and Hong Kong on July 12, the e-mail shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Sabic Could Receive Approval for $1.3 Billion Sale of Islamic Bonds Today

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the
world's biggest chemical maker by market value, may get
regulatory approval today to sell as much as 5 billion riyals
($1.3 billion) of Islamic bonds.

Saudi Basic, known as Sabic, plans to sell 20-year bonds to
buyers in six Gulf Arab states including Kuwait and the United
Arab Emirates, according to Alan Lowe, head of corporate finance
at Riyad Bank, which is arranging the deal. Sabic has the right
to buy back the notes after five years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

French CAC Index Gains, Led by Shares of BNP Paribas, Sanofi-Aventis

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks rose, paced by BNP
Paribas SA and Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Gaz de France SA also advanced. Electricite de France SA,
Europe's biggest power generator, may buy gas assets from Suez SA
as part of Suez's merger with Gaz de France SA, Les Echos
reported, citing a source it didn't name.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Russia's MMK owner rules out merger soon - paper

(Reuters) - "The problem is that I don't see myself a minority
shareholder ... Any of these deals is possible in the future,
but not now," he said adding that a merger with Evraz would have
offered the most synergy.




He also said MMK planned to increase rolled steel output to
15 million tonnes by 2013 from 11.3 million last year by
investing over $5 billion in domestic expansion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Copper Workers at Chile's Collahuasi Mine Plan Strike Today; Price Gains

(Bloomberg) -- A union at Dona Ines de Collahuasi,
Chile's third-largest copper mine, plans to begin a strike over
wages today, adding to labor unrest in Latin America that may
curb global supplies of the metal and bolster prices.

``The strike is definitely on,'' union President Hernan
Farias said yesterday. The walkout is set to start at 8 a.m.
local time at the mine, which accounts for 2.6 percent of global
supply, Ferias said. The planned stoppage follows more than a
month of talks with owners Xstrata Plc and Anglo American Plc.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News