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

McDonald's posts loss on Latin America charge

(Reuters) - Excluding the Latin America charge, McDonald's earned 71 cents a share, in line with the better-than-expected forecast the fast-food chain gave last week.




In April, McDonald's said it would sell about 1,600 restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean to a franchisee so it could focus resources on markets where it sees the biggest opportunities for growth, such as China.


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Kenya says wins EU pledge of equal trade access

(Reuters) - Kenya has been promised the same level of access to European Union markets as received by its poorer neighbours Uganda and Tanzania once a new trade deal takes effect in 2008, Kenya's trade minister said on Tuesday.

The EU is negotiating new economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to replace the Cotonou Agreement that guarantees preferential access for their goods into Europe until the end of 2007.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Africa must seal new trade deals with EU - Michel

(Reuters) - African countries must agree new trade deals with Europe by the end of the year or risk losing valuable commerce, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel said on Friday.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) outlawed the European Union's preferential trade terms for nearly 80 of its African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) former colonies in 2001, but granted a waiver until the end of 2007.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Crude Oil Climbs on Concern Gasoline Demand to Outpace Production in U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Rates to ship crude oil in the
Caribbean basin rose, rebounding from a 12 percent drop last
week, on signs of increased demand from U.S. refineries.

Four Aframax tankers, which can each transport about 600,000
barrels of oil, were hired today to move crude from the Caribbean
to the U.S. for an average rate in the industry Worldscale
measure of WS 155, an increase of 3.3 percent from the day
before, according to a daily report from Lone Star, R.S. Platou
in Houston.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News