Brazilian Real, Mexican Peso, Colombian Peso: Latin America Market Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Latin American currencies today.
Exchange rates are from the previous session.

Argentine peso: Construction activity probably grew 6.4
percent in June from a year earlier, after expanding 6.1 percent
during the 12 months through May, according to the median
forecast in a Bloomberg survey of six economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Shanghai Copper Falls as World Stock Markets Tumble; Zinc, Aluminum Down

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in Shanghai fell as
stock markets dropped around the world, fueling concern that
economic growth may slow and curb demand for the metal, used in
housing, cars and appliances.

Asian stocks fell the most in four months today, continuing
a rout in global equities, as investors shunned riskier assets
because of a worsening U.S. housing recession. U.S. orders for
durable goods also fell unexpectedly last month, suggesting the
economy will slow in the second half of the year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Treasuries Heading for Biggest Weekly Gain in Five Months as Stocks Slump

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasuries headed for
their biggest weekly gain in almost five months as investors sold
stocks and corporate bonds and sought the relative safety of
government debt.

Benchmark securities headed for a third weekly advance as
Asian stock markets slid today, extending a rout in global
equities on speculation a worsening U.S. housing slump will slow
growth in the world's biggest economy. New home sales fell more
than expected in June, the Commerce Department said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Hynix Second-Quarter Profit Falls 36 Percent, Beating Analysts' Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's
second-largest memory chipmaker, reported second-quarter profit
fell 36 percent after a glut drove down prices of computer chips.

Net income declined to 209 billion won ($228 million), from
324.4 billion won a year earlier, the Ichon, South Korea-based
company said in a statement today. Sales, excluding overseas
affiliates, rose 23 percent to 1.94 trillion won.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

New investor wave buys into films after early kinks

(Reuters) - Hedge funds and private equity firms bought up pieces of many Hollywood films, both big budget and art house-sized, in recent years, and money keeps pouring in from all over the world -- fattening film budgets and adding more titles to theater marquees.




Byzantine movie accounting rules provide that lenders, distributors, theaters and profit participants such as actors and directors, take the first cut of profits, so that a film that clears $100 million at the box office may not immediately return money to its private equity and hedge fund backers.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bush signs law bolstering reviews of foreign deals

(Reuters) - The new law requires regulators to spend more time vetting deals, holds regulators more accountable for their actions and keeps Congress better informed about the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, which reviews deals.




The CFIUS panel is charged with determining if acquisitions would harm U.S. national security. The inter-agency group is led by the Treasury secretary and includes the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice and State.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

ABX Indexes Drop After Subprime Mortgage Delinquencies Accelerate in June

(Bloomberg) -- ABX indexes fell after reports
showed delinquencies on some subprime mortgages accelerated in
June.

Late payments, foreclosures and already seized property
rose among loans that underlie the ABX indexes. That heightened
concerns of bond defaults and sent most indexes to new lows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

FreightCar America quarterly profit falls

(Reuters) - On average analysts had expected earnings per share for the
quarter of 92 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Nuveen 2nd-qtr net up 5 pct, below expectations

(Reuters) - Nuveen, which runs the Symphony brand hedge fund products
and NWQ and Tradewinds brand value-style equities products
among others, said net flows in the quarter were $1.9 billion.




This was mainly attributable to $1.4 billion in
institutional flows, $0.6 billion in mutual fund flows and $1.3
billion outflows in retail accounts, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Siemens gives VDO plant, job guarantees - document

(Reuters) - Compulsory redundancies beyond what was already foreseen in
Siemens' planning until 2011 are also ruled out for three years,
the resolution says.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-FreightCar America profit falls on weak orders

(Reuters) - The Chicago-based company reported second-quarter net
income of $11.5 million, or 93 cents a share, compared with
$36.6 million, or $2.86 a share, a year earlier.




On average analysts had expected earnings per share for the
quarter of 92 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Carpenter posts weak Q4 earnings; shares down

(Reuters) - Shares of the producer of speciality alloys sank $19.69 to
$120.11 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.




Reading, Pennsylvania-based Carpenter posted earnings of
$2.33 a share on revenue of $560.5 million for the fourth
quarter. Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn
$2.76 a share, before items, on revenue of $570.3 million,
according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-Royal Caribbean profit up but lowers view

(Reuters) - Royal Caribbean, the world's second-largest cruise operator
after Carnival Corp. , said second-quarter net profit
rose to $128.7 million, or 60 cents per share, from $122.4
million, or 57 cents per share, in the same quarter last year,
boosted by cost-cutting and firmer pricing.




Revenues rose to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion, as the
addition of Spanish cruise line Pullmantur helped increase
capacity by 12 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-ICT Group posts Q2 loss, again cuts 2007 outlook

(Reuters) - ICT is expanding its operations in the Philippines, India
and Latin America while reducing its North American capacity.
It expects the changes to add additional costs in the second
half of 2007.




ICT shares were down more than 5 percent at $16.52 on the
Nasdaq in afternoon trade.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Schering-Plough pulls EU antibiotic filing

(Reuters) - The European drugs watchdog said the withdrawal of
garenoxacin followed a request for additional information, to
which the company was unable to respond within the permitted
timeframe.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Kenya coffee marketer seeks sales rules clarity

(Reuters) - A Kenyan coffee marketing agent urged the government on Thursday to resolve conflicts of interest among marketing agents who also double up as exporters, saying it denied farmers getting better prices in the market.

Last year Kenya set rules to regulate the direct sales of coffee buyers abroad, allowing farmers to bypass a central auction where all Kenyan coffee had been traded since 1935.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil rises to $77 on increased US refinery demand

(Reuters) - Oil climbed to $77 and U.S. crude hit its highest in almost a year on Thursday on increasing demand from refiners in the world's top consumer.

At one point the rally lifted U.S. oil above London Brent for the first time since February, based on closing prices.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Opteum says unit to sell additional mortgage servicing rights

(Reuters) - The aggregate unpaid principal balance of the loans
underlying the servicing rights sold was about $2.97 billion as
of June 30, the company said in a statement.




Opteum said proceeds from the sale will be mainly used to
repay debt currently secured by OITRS' mortgage servicing
portfolio.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

AmerisourceBergen posts disappointing profit

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 26 - AmerisourceBergen Corp. said on Thursday quarterly earnings rose 9 percent as gains in its drug distribution business offset weakness in its long-term care institutional pharmacy operations.



Fiscal third-quarter net income was $130 million, or 69 cents per share, up from $119 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier, the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based drug wholesaler and pharmacy services provider said. Excluding one-time items, AmerisourceBergen earned 60 cents a share. On that basis, analysts on average had forecast 62 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Navigant Q2 profit falls, cuts 2007 view

(Reuters) - The financial and regulatory consultancy firm now expects
earnings of 92 cents to 97 cents a share, down from its prior
view of $1.02 to $1.07 a share. It lowered its revenue outlook
range by $10 million to $760 million to $780 million.




Analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.06 a share,
excluding items, on revenue of $770.7 million, for 2007,
according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Aetna quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - Excluding special items, operating earnings were 83 cents per share.




Analysts on average expected 80 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. It was not immediately clear whether the estimate was comparable to the reported results.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wendy's posts profit, shares fall

(Reuters) - Second-quarter earnings at the world's third-biggest hamburger chain were $29.2 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $29.1 million, or 25 cents per share.




Wall Street analysts on average had expected a profit of 33 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US June newspaper help-wanted ads dip to 49-yr low

(Reuters) - "Already, there are signs that job advertising volume is
edging a little lower -- with very slight decreases in each of
the past two months," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at
the Conference Board, in a statement.




"Business caution about near-term prospects for the
economy, and perhaps for their own businesses, may lead to a
little less hiring this autumn. Plus, the online business is
mature enough in that this is where help wanted ads originate
and may never appear in newspapers."


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Canadian Stocks Fall on M&A Concern; Brookfield, Toronto Dominion Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell, joining in a
global equity rout on concern that takeovers, which helped lift the
country's main stock index to a record last week, are becoming more
difficult to finance.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Canadian Pacific Railway
Ltd. paced declines. The railroad rose to a record last week after
it said it had been approached about a takeover this year by the
infrastructure investment company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yen Strengthens as Equities Decline, Prompting Unwinding of Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose against all 16 of the
most actively traded currencies as global equities fell and
traders bought back yen used to finance investments in other
countries.

Japan's currency rose to an almost three-month high against
the dollar, 2.2 percent against the New Zealand dollar and 1.2
percent against the pound. The 10-year swap spread, a gauge of
what companies pay over benchmark lending rates, rose to 73.75
basis points, the highest since February 2002.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

US STOCKS-Futures stay in red after durable goods

(Reuters) - S&P 500 futures were down 15.50 points, below fair
value, a mathematical 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 106
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were off 15.75 points.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bonds rally on weak data, dour stocks, credit woes

(Reuters) - An unexpected fall in business investment data spurred an
already strong Treasury market and overshadowed figures that
showed overall durable goods orders rose in June. For details,
see [ID:nN24217294].




The Treasury market that was already gaining on fears of a
sharp selloff on Wall Street and deepening concerns that a
global credit crunch was developing as firms encountered
difficulty in financing buyout activity.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Benchmark quarterly profit falls

(Reuters) - Excluding costs related to restructuring and other items,
the profit would have been 39 cents a share. Sales for the
period rose to $756 million from $749 million a year ago.




Analysts had forecast earnings of 38 cents a share,
excluding items, and revenue of $756.8 million, according to
Reuters Estimates.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Petro-Canada profit up 79 pct on strong production

(Reuters) - Canada's No. 4 integrated oil exploration and refining
firm, said net earnings from continuing operations were C$845
million , or C$1.71 a share for the period
ended June 30, up from C$472 million, or 93 Canadian cents a
share, a year-earlier, when results were burnished by C$57
million in one-time items.




The company last month announced plans to spend C$14.4
billion on a new oil sands plant in northern Alberta producing
140,000 barrels a day while the current quarter includes new
oil from its stake in the North Sea's Buzzard field.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Southern second-quarter earnings rise

(Reuters) - Excluding special items, the company said it had earned 55
cents per share. Analysts on average had expected 52 cents,
according to Reuters Estimates.




Southern shares have underperformed the industry so far
this year, falling about 7 percent, compared with about a 9
percent gain for the S&P utilities index .


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Beazer Homes posts quarterly loss after charges

(Reuters) - For the third quarter ended June 30, Beazer posted a net
loss of $123.0 million, or $3.20 per share, compared with a
year-earlier profit of $102.6 million, or $2.37 per share.




The company said the latest quarter's results included
charges of $188.5 million. A substantial portion of the charges
relate to the write-down of the value of operations in Northern
California, Nevada and Florida, where housing demand has seen a
steep decline as lending requirements tighten and the number of
homes on the market have soared.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Apollo's Ceva to Pay Higher Debt Costs to Buy Transporter EGL, Banker Says

(Bloomberg) -- Ceva Group Plc, the logistics company
owned by Leon Black's Apollo Management LP, will pay higher
interest costs to finance its $1.9 billion purchase of freight
transport company EGL Inc., according to a banker working on the
transaction.

Ceva, based Hoofddorp, Netherlands, will sell $400 million
of so-called second-lien notes that rank below senior debt for
repayment and pay higher interest rates to compensate, said the
banker, who declined to be identified because the deals aren't
completed. The sale of senior notes, which pay lower interest
costs, will be reduced to $1 billion, the banker said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

National City 2nd-qtr profit falls

(Reuters) - Pulte reported a first-quarter loss of $85.7 million, or 33 cents per share, better than the loss of 34 cents to 38 cents per share the company predicted in an announcement last week.



) Keywords: PULTE RESULTS/


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Yen Rises as Stocks Decline, Prompting Unwinding of Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rose to the highest in a
month against the euro and gained versus the dollar as declines
in European stocks and U.S. stock-index futures prompted
investors to unwind carry trades.

The Japanese currency rose to 164.83 per euro as of 7:08
a.m. in New York, from 165.34 late yesterday. It also rose to
120.16 against the dollar, from 120.50, approaching a 2 1/2-month
high of 119.81 reached July 25.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

European Stocks Fall, Led by Legal & General; Thomson Shares Tumble

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined for a third
day after disappointing earnings from Legal & General Group Plc,
Britain's third-biggest insurer, and Thomson SA of France
reignited concern profit growth is slowing.

Legal & General fell the most in four years after the
company said flood claims and a drop in new-business profit held
back first-half earnings. Prudential Plc, the U.K.'s second-
biggest insurer, also slid. Thomson, which processed the film for
``Shrek the Third,'' had its biggest slide since February 2006
after the company's cameras unit posted an unexpected loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Travelers profit up 29 pct, boosts 2007 forecast

(Reuters) - Net income rose to $1.25 billion, or $1.86 per share, up
from $970 million, or $1.36, a year earlier.




Operating earnings, which analysts use to measure
performance because they excludes investments, rose 22 percent
to $1.17 billion, or $1.73 per share, from $959 million, or
$1.34.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

CORRECTED - RLPC-Continental funds VDO buy with 13.5 bln euro loan

(Reuters) - The financing package, which funds the acquisition and
refinances existing debt, is being arranged by Citigroup and
Goldman Sachs, the source told Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.




Continental is acquiring Siemens VDO for 11.4 billion euros,
in a deal that will create one of the leading automotive
electronics suppliers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CEVA revises $1.4 bln high-yield note sale -lead

(Reuters) - All of the notes are available in euros and dollars. Price
guidance is due later on Thursday, with pricing expected early
next week, the bank said.




Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns,
UBS, JP Morgan and ABN AMRO are managing the sale.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Steris to buyback up to $300 mln in shares, ups qtrly dividend

(Reuters) - Steris said its raised quarterly dividend of 6 cents a
share is payable Sept. 12, to shareholders of record on Aug.
15.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold Climbs in London on Speculation Dollar Will Decline; Silver Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold snapped three consecutive days
of declines in London on speculation a drop in the value of the
dollar will increase demand for the precious metal as an
alternative investment. Silver also rose.

Gold has climbed 6.3 percent this year as the dollar
declined 3.8 percent against the euro. The dollar was little
changed today after the biggest gain in four months yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Vattenfall Plans Annual Repairs at Germany's Kruemmel Reactor in August

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany's
fourth-largest utility, will carry out annual maintenance at its
closed Kruemmel reactor in August.

Kruemmel, which has a capacity of 1,260 megawatts, was
stopped June 28 after a fire in a transformer. It will remain
disconnected from the grid ``until all questions and
irregularities are clarified and relevant measures taken,''
parent company Vattenfall AB said today in a presentation posted
on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Emanuel Reaches Out to Buyout-Firm Allies as Congress Weighs Tax Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Madison Dearborn Partners LLC needed
a sympathetic hearing for its concerns about proposed
legislation that would more than double taxes on buyout firms,
so it turned to an old friend: Representative Rahm Emanuel of
Illinois.

Madison Dearborn's chief executive officer, John Canning,
said Emanuel came to the Chicago firm's offices several weeks
ago and listened as executives made the case that any
legislation shouldn't single out hedge funds and buyout firms.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Siemens's Loescher Starts With Mega-Deals, Disappointments, Sliding Shares

(Bloomberg) -- Peter Loescher, less than a month
into his job as Siemens AG's chief executive officer, handed
investors two of the German engineering company's biggest deals
and a 6 percent stock plunge in the same day.

The stock lost the most in more than four years yesterday
after Siemens agreed to buy Dade Behring Holdings Inc. for $7
billion, 38 percent more than the U.S. medical-scanner maker's
market value the day before. Siemens also agreed to sell its VDO
automotive unit to Continental AG for 11.4 billion euros ($15.7
billion). To top it off, he presented earnings that disappointed
investors.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Pound Declines as Report Shows U.K. House-Price Growth Slowed in July

(Bloomberg) -- The pound fell for a second day after
a report showing U.K. house-price growth almost stalled in July,
signaling five interest-rate increases in the past year are
beginning to bite.

The pound slid from a 26-year high against the dollar after
figures from Nationwide Building Society showed house prices rose
0.1 percent from June, the slowest pace of growth in 15 months.
Bank of England Deputy Governor John Gieve said on July 24
interest rates at 5.75 percent are probably ``restrictive.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

New kit to help Africa fight deadly food poison

(Reuters) - Agricultural scientists unveiled a cheap kit on Thursday to let African farmers test crops for a deadly poison that makes them unfit to eat and costs the continent millions of dollars in lost exports.

Aflatoxin, a toxic chemical produced by a fungus, develops on maize, groundnuts, sorghum and cassava during hot weather and droughts. In large quantities it can cause cancer in humans, and it can also be fatal for animals.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Bonds Little Changed Before German Business Confidence Report

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds were little changed
before a survey that's forecast to show business confidence in
Germany, the region's largest economy, fell for a second month in
July.

Benchmark 10-year yields are near the lowest in almost two
months on concern a housing slump in the U.S. will spread to
Europe. The region's exporters are being hurt by an almost 2
percent surge in the euro against the dollar in the past month.
The Ifo institute's sentiment index declined to 106.4 this month
from 107 in June, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News