RPT-RLPC-Investors mull proposed changes to Boots loan

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 23 - Banks and funds are considering
proposed changes to the 9 billion pounds financing backing the
buyout of UK health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots, with
margins boosted and discounts offered across the capital
structure to counter credit market turmoil, banking sources said
on Monday.




The deal will also add an interest cover covenant to the
covenant lite loan to offer additional protection to investors
spooked by a steep sell-off in the debt markets in recent weeks,
sources told Reuters Loan Pricing Corporation.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Turkish Benchmark Index Rallies, Paced by Akbank: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish stocks posted the biggest
gain this year, lifting the benchmark index to a record, on
optimism that July 22 parliamentary elections may produce a
stable government.

Banks including Akbank TAS led the advance after ING Groep
NV upgraded Turkish lenders to ``overweight.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Academics urge acceptance of Canadian bank mergers

(Reuters) - Banks "must be allowed to realize further efficiency gains
and risk reductions mainly through specialization and
internationalization of their operations," they said.




Their paper, published by the C.D. Howe Institute economic
policy thinktank, said mergers would allow some Canadian banks
to become bigger international players, while others would
become specialized domestic retail banks.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-PNC to buy New Jersey bank Yardville for $403 mln

(Reuters) - Pennsylvania's largest bank announced the purchase three
months after paying $6 billion for Baltimore's Mercantile
Bankshares Corp., becoming the 10th-largest U.S. bank.




Yardville shareholders will receive 0.2923 of a PNC share
and $14 in cash for each of their shares. The terms value the
company at $35 per share, a 2 percent discount to the stock's
Wednesday closing price of $35.77 on the Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japanese Shares Rise After Mizuho Forecasts Record Profit; Nintendo Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for a third day,
with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average reaching the highest since
February. Banks led indexes higher after Mizuho Financial Group
Inc. forecast a record profit for this financial year.

Mizuho jumped by the most in more than a year. Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which forecast on May 21 profits
will climb this year, surged 4.5 percent, adding to a 5.7
percent gain yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China shares sink on monetary tightening

(Reuters) - But many investors believe the tightening is designed partly to prevent a bubble building in the stock market, where the index soared 130 percent last year and a further 53 percent this year to last week's all-time, intraday high of 4,081.426.




By raising deposit rates more than lending rates, the central bank narrowed banks' lending margins. Banks are heavily weighted in the index, so the damage to their earnings may dampen the entire market.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News