Redstones takes family squabble public

(Reuters) - Viacom and CBS Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone fired the first volley when, in a letter posted on Friday at Forbes magazine's Web site, he slammed his daughter, Shari Redstone, for having made "little or no contribution" to the building of the conglomerate.




Shari Redstone, in response, suggested through a spokeswoman she would be willing to part with her stake -- valued at $1.6 billion.


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Emerging debt-Bonds fall as global credit jitters mount

(Reuters) - Overall emerging market returns fell 0.30 percent,
reversing Thursday's 0.23 percent gain, according to JP
Morgan's Emerging Markets Bond Plus Index .




Emerging bond spreads over U.S. Treasuries widened 7 points
to near a four-month high of 180 basis points, as investors
worldwide turned their back on credits with a taint of risk.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Stock bull riders eye home sales, earnings

(Reuters) - A sharp drop in shares of equipment-maker Caterpillar Inc. on Friday showed just how badly a stock can be hurt when there is an earnings shortfall. The company reported an earnings decline that was greater than expected. The stock fell 4.4 percent and spoiled the Dow's day.




Despite Caterpillar's problems, multinational corporations have been in a position to benefit from stronger economies overseas.


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Wall St fear gauge spikes upward on subprime woes

(Reuters) - The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index ,
shot up 11.3 percent on Friday, continuing an upward trend now
in its fourth month as investors fret over widening problems in
the U.S. credit and housing markets, and more recently,
earnings shortfalls.




The VIX, as it is commonly called, is Wall Street's
favorite measure of investor fear and measures projected stock
market volatility embedded in near-term Standard & Poor's 500
option prices.


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Double-Take Software files for 3.8 mln share offer

(Reuters) - Double-Take will use its net proceeds, estimated at $16.8
million, for working capital and general corporate purposes.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks sink, US bonds rally on more subprime woes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - Global stocks and riskier
corporate bonds tumbled on Friday, as investors scrambled to
get into safe-haven Treasuries amid an unrelenting stream of
worries about the U.S. subprime mortgage market.




U.S. junk bonds took a beating, while the dollar sank to a
record low against the euro and a 26-year trough against
sterling.


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Alitalia board adjourns talks on fate to next week

(Reuters) - Alitalia, which the Rome government has warned could be shut down unless a buyer is found, set a board meeting for July 27 to finish talks it began over an industrial plan to guide the ailing airline in coming months.




Sources familiar with the matter have said the airline is working on a contingency plan for the next year focused on redesigning its network and curtailing losses.


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US STOCKS-Indexes slide on earnings misses, subprime

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. stocks tumbled on
Friday, battered by disappointing results from bellwether
stocks such as Caterpillar Inc. and Google Inc.
, and worry that fallout from the risky subprime
mortgage market may spread.




Caterpillar, the heavy equipment maker, said quarterly
earnings fell more than expected due to a sharp drop in truck
engine sales and weakness in North American construction. For
details, see [ID:nL20191126]. Its shares slid more than 6
percent.


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Corn, Soybeans Fall as Cool, Wet Weather May Aid Growth of Midwest Crops

(Bloomberg) -- Corn futures in Chicago headed for
the biggest weekly drop in 10 years and soybeans fell on
speculation rains and cooler weather will promote development of
the two biggest U.S. crops.

Midday forecasts from the National Weather Service showed
no threat of a heat wave and more rains likely in the Midwest, a
shift from earlier outlooks for warmer, drier weather, said Mike
Tannura, a meteorologist for T-Storm Weather in Champaign,
Illinois. Some fields received as much as four times the normal
rain this week, easing crop stress.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

ArcelorMittal US mill sale deadline extended

(Reuters) - The company, which had been ordered to sell the mill by the
U.S. Department of Justice after Mittal bought Arcelor, said it
had asked on Friday that the deadline be moved until Aug. 6.




"We continue to work closely with the DOJ throughout all
phases of the divestment process," it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Gasoil Is Little Changed Amid Disruption to North Sea Oil Output

(Bloomberg) -- European gasoil prices were little
changed near seasonal highs as disruption to production in the
North Sea cut crude supplies to refineries in Europe and the
U.S., and refining margins declined.

Refiners in Sweden and the Netherlands reduced operating
rates after refining margins for Brent crude turned negative,
making processing of the most expensive benchmark grade
unprofitable. Producers in the North Sea curbed output earlier
this month after an undersea natural-gas pipeline was shut for
maintenance.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Sugar Futures Decline on Speculation Indian Exports to Add to Global Glut

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar fell in New York on speculation
that India, the second-largest producer, may offer to sell
unrefined supplies of the sweetener, adding to a global surplus.

Investors and traders expect India to issue a tender on
July 23 for up to 265,000 metric tons of raw sugar, according to
a report yesterday by BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New
York. Until recently, India only exported white, refined sugar. A
record crop in India may lead the country to double total
exports, a minister said last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Rinker deal to give Mexico's Cemex US sales boost

(Reuters) - That is well up from an earlier forecast of a 4 percent
decrease, despite a U.S. housing construction slowdown, because
80 percent of Rinker's operations are in the United States.




"Rinker's consolidation during the second half of the year
will have a positive contribution to our volumes in the United
States. As such, we expect our reported cement volume for the
full-year 2007 ... to grow in the mid-single-digit range,"
Hector Medina, Cemex's planning and finance chief, told an
analysts' conference call.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Brazilian Companies Sell Another $1.2 Billion of Stock, Adding to Record

(Bloomberg) -- MRV Engenharia & Participacoes SA, and
three other Brazilian companies sold shares in public offerings
today, adding to a record-breaking year for share sales in the
country.

The companies raised 2.3 billion reais ($1.24 billion) today,
for a total of 36.4 billion reais in initial and secondary
offerings this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

US corporate credit derivative indexes hit records

(Reuters) - The U.S. high yield credit derivative index traded at 490
basis points, about 6 basis points wider on the day almost 200
basis points wider than its record tight.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Rand softer as inflows excitement fades

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand softened against the dollar on Friday as the previous day's market excitement over possible investor inflows into the country faded and emerging market nerves re-emerged.

At 1545 GMT the rand stood at 6.8845 versus the dollar, about 0.36 percent weaker than Thursday's close of 6.86 in New York.


Read more at Reuters Africa

S&P upgrades 16 CDO tranches, cuts 14 tranches

(Reuters) - The ratings affected 12 separate CDOs, with ratings ranging
from "AAA," the highest investment-grade ranking, to
"BBB-plus," the third-lowest investment grade.




S&P also affirmed its ratings on two CDO tranches.


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Mexican Peso Declines After China Raises Interest Rates to Cool Expansion

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's peso fell after China raised
interest rates, sparking speculation that demand for commodities
including oil, Mexico's biggest export, will fall.

Revenue from oil exports is Mexico's biggest source of
dollar inflows and funds almost 40 percent of government
spending. Oil for September delivery fell 0.1 percent to $76.01 a
barrel at 10:51 a.m. in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Petrobras Sells 50 Percent Stake in Argentine Power Utility to Government

(Bloomberg) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's
state-owned energy company, sold a stake in an Argentine power
utility to government-owned energy companies.

Petrobras sold its 50 percent stake in Transener SA for $54
million to a group formed by Argentine state-energy company
Enarsa and Cordoba-based power unit Electroingenieria, the
Brazilian company said today in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Hulamin sees H1 loss due to one-off item

(Reuters) - South African semi-fabricated aluminium maker Hulamin expects a interim headline loss of about 70 million rand or 33 cents per share due to once-off corporate structuring costs, it said on Friday.

Hulamin said it incurred costs of about 160 million rand after the introduction of black investors into the firm.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Bonds Rally, Pushing Benchmark Yield to the Lowest in Seven Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds rallied, pushing 10-
year yields to the lowest in almost seven weeks, as the risk of
owning corporate debt rose to a two-year high and investors
switched into safer government assets.

Benchmark yields were headed for the biggest weekly drop in
3 1/2 years on concern defaults on U.S. home loans to people
with poor credit histories will spread. Government debt around
the world rose this week after Bear Stearns Cos. told investors
they weren't likely to get money back from two of its hedge
funds that bet on securities backed by subprime mortgages.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

US stock indexes open down as earnings disappoint

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after disappointing results from Caterpillar Inc. and Google Inc.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 58.45 points, or 0.42 percent, at 13,941.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index


Read more at Reuters Africa

US STOCKS-Indexes open down as earnings disappoint

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 58.45
points, or 0.42 percent, at 13,941.96. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 3.56 points, or 0.23 percent, at
1,549.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 10.94
points, or 0.40 percent, at 2,709.10.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Kenya's bourse revises share index

(Reuters) - The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) said on Friday it had revised the companies listed on its main share index to replace inactive stocks.

The bourse has two indexes, the blue chip NSE-20 Share Index and the AIG 27-share Index.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Nestle faces pressure to bulk up or break up

(Reuters) - ZURICH, July 20 - Nestle , the world's largest food company, faces increasing pressure to buy another nutrition company or break up as consolidation in the food sector intensifies.



Nestle was shoved unwillingly onto the dance floor this week after a report that it had held exploratory merger talks with U.S. snack and soft drink giant PepsiCo , a scenario Nestle immediately downplayed.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

PSS World Medical cuts FY08 EPS view; set Q1 outlook

(Reuters) - PSS World forecast first-quarter earnings of 12 cents to 13
cents a share.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TREASURIES-10Y yield falls to 6-week low on credit concerns

(Reuters) - The benchmark 10-year note's yield dipped briefly below
4.984 percent to the lowest level since June 7th.
Bond yields and prices move inversely.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Bonds Rally, Pushing Benchmark Yield to the Lowest in Six Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds rallied, pushing 10-
year yields to the lowest in more than six weeks, as the risk of
owning corporate debt rose to a two-year high and investors
switched into safer government assets.

Benchmark yields were also headed for the biggest weekly
drop in more than a year on concern defaults on home loans to
people with poor credit histories will spread. Government debt
around the world rose this week after Bear Stearns Cos. told
investors they weren't likely to get money back from two of its
hedge funds that bet on securities backed by subprime mortgages.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Mozambique plans to revamp national parks

(Reuters) - Mozambique plans to invest $54 million to revamp national parks and wildlife still struggling to recover more than a decade after the end of the African country's 17-year civil war, a senior official said on Friday.

National Tourism Director Albino Mahumana told Reuters the government-sponsored investment would start this year and run for five years, with a goal of boosting Mozambique's status as an African safari destination.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-CompuGroup trumps IBA offer for iSoft

(Reuters) - CompuGroup, which listed in Frankfurt in May, said it was
offering 66 pence in cash for each iSoft share, valuing the
British firm at around 160 million pounds .




Shares of iSoft, which is developing much of the software
for a 12.4 billion pound IT overhaul of Britain's public health
service, jumped 18.2 percent, to an 11-month high of 65 pence a
share.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Masimo sees IPO of 11.9 mln shares at $16-$18 each

(Reuters) - Masimo said it plans to list its common stock on the Nasdaq
under the symbol "MASI".





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News