European Stocks Fall, Led by IKB, UBS, Commerzbank; ICI Gains on New Bid

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell for a fifth day,
led by financial-services companies after IKB Deutsche
Industriebank AG of Germany said profit will be ``significantly''
lower than forecast, hit by the U.S. subprime mortgage rout.

IKB tumbled 20 percent. UBS AG, the biggest money manager,
and 3i Group Plc, Europe's largest publicly traded buyout and
venture-capital firm, led declines by financial companies.
Commerzbank AG slid after saying it expects to make provisions
for losses tied to the U.S. subprime mortgage market.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Siemens shares up on rumour of special div -traders

(Reuters) - Siemens, which last week sold its automotive unit VDO to
German car-parts supplier Continental for 11.4 billion
euros , said it has no reason to speculate on
the dividend for its fiscal year 2007.




Siemens shares were up 0.6 percent at 95.40 euros at 1315
GMT, while Germany's DAX index was up 0.2 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Akzo Nobel says ICI rejects new takeover bid

(Reuters) - Akzo Nobel said it had teamed up with Germany's Henkel
for the offer and that ICI had considered that the
offer did not reflect its full value.




In June, Akzo Nobel had make an indicative offer of 600
pence a share, which ICI also rejected as too low. The UK
Takeover Panel had set an Aug. 9 deadline for Akzo to make a
firm bid or walk away.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RWE Reports Lignite-Fired Power-Plant Shutdowns, Reduced Nuclear Capacity

(Bloomberg) -- RWE AG, Germany's second-largest
utility, reported shutdowns at three lignite-fired power plants
and a capacity reduction at a nuclear plant.

RWE's 289-megawatt Neurath B lignite-fired plant stopped on
July 27, the Essen, Germany-based company said today on its Web
site. Neurath B is expected to remain halted for between six days
and eight days, the company said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy 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

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

European Swaptions Demand Increases as Subprime Mortgage Concerns Spread

(Bloomberg) -- Demand for interest-rate swap
options in Europe is rising as concern spreads that losses from
collateralized mortgage obligations will increase after Bear
Stearns Cos. said two failed hedge funds are almost worthless.

The near collapse of the funds, which invested in subprime
mortgage bonds, is dimming demand for other risky assets and
prompting investors to seek protection through financial
instruments such as options. Government bonds in the U.S. and
Germany advanced today as investors sought the safety of the
highest rated debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

German 2008 Power Trades at 12-Week Low as Carbon-Emission Costs Decline

(Bloomberg) -- German electricity for delivery next
year fell to the lowest in more than 12 weeks as a reduction in
carbon-emission permit prices cut the cost of power generation at
plants that burn fossil fuels.

Next-year baseload power prices in Germany, Europe's biggest
electricity market, dropped as much as 0.2 percent to 54.60 euros
($75.30) a megawatt-hour, according to broker GFI Group Inc. The
contract was unchanged from yesterday at 54.70 euros a megawatt-
hour at 9:45 a.m. Berlin time. That's the lowest since April 24.
Baseload refers to electricity delivered around the clock.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Deutsche Bank, Freenet and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG: German Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in German markets.

Germany's X-DAX Index lost 0.3 percent to 8074.17. The index
provides an estimate of the DAX Index, based on trading in DAX
futures after the Xetra electronic market closes. The DAX
increased 0.2 percent to 8105.69 on the Xetra electronic-trading
system.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

First Solar shares may be overvalued - Barron's

(Reuters) - Barron's said though First Solar's technology is more
cost-effective than competitors, it still falls short of the
huge potential for Solar 2.0, a thin-solar energy technology
based on chemicals and vapor deposition.




First Solar is also highly dependent on European government
subsidies, especially in Germany, which said two weeks ago it
wants to cut subsidies further for solar, Barron's reported.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Russia's New Oil Export Pipeline to Cut Supply to Central Europe, PVM Says

(Bloomberg) -- A new Russian crude oil export
pipeline may cut supplies to refineries in Hungary, Slovakia,
Germany and some other central European countries, PVM Oil
Associates GmbH said.

Russia plans to build a link that will deliver at least 1
million barrels of oil a day for export by tanker from the port
of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea. The pipeline will also reduce
supplies of Urals, Russia's major export blend of oil, to
refiners in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic,
said PVM's Managing Director Johannes Benigni.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Buyout firms bid for HeidelbergCement unit-sources

(Reuters) - The buyout firms were among those that submitted first-round
bids for the business last week, the sources said.




Other parties interested in the unit, which Germany's
largest cement maker plans to sell to pay for a takeover,
include EQT, CVC Capital Patners [CVC.UL] and Bain, Dow Jones
had reported after markets in Europe closed on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sweden's Oskarshamn-3 Nuclear Reactor Start Delayed; No New Date Is Given

(Bloomberg) -- E.ON AG, Germany's biggest utility,
said the resumption of production has been delayed at its
Oskarshamn-3 nuclear reactor in Sweden, which was halted on July
8 following the discovery of a faulty valve.

The 1,150-megawatt unit will be halted for an unspecified
amount of time, the company said in a message distributed by the
Nord Pool ASA power exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Germany's DAX Index Climbs; DaimlerChrysler, Allianz Gain After Upgrades

(Bloomberg) -- Germany's benchmark DAX Index climbed
for a third day, led by DaimlerChrysler AG, Allianz SE and
Deutsche Boerse AG after brokerages lifted their recommendations
or price estimates for the shares.

The DAX gained 24.72, or 0.3 percent, to 8102.11 at 9:42
a.m. in Frankfurt. DAX futures expiring in September increased
0.3 percent to 8165. The HDAX Index of the country's 110 biggest
companies added 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UK Takeover Panel sets Akzo deadline for ICI bid

(Reuters) - Source familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Akzo Nobel, the world's largest maker of industrial coatings, is considering a higher bid for ICI but is prepared to delay a move as the disclosure of its 600p offer for ICI may flush out a rival bid.




Media reports have said U.S. groups Dow Chemical and DuPont , Germany's BASF and India's Reliance may bid for ICI, which makes Dulux paints.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Vattenfall's Kruemmel May Perform Annual Maintenance Before Re-Start

(Bloomberg) -- Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany's
fourth-largest utility, was asked by state regulators to perform
annual scheduled maintenance before restarting its Kruemmel
nuclear reactor.

The company has been asked to move forward maintenance to
allow more time for state examinations of the plant, the social
ministry of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, where the reactor
is based, said today in an e-mailed statement. Maintenance had
been scheduled for the beginning of August, the ministry said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

White Sugar Gains on Speculation Weather Will Reduce Output in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- White sugar advanced in London,
heading for a weekly gain, on speculation adverse weather
throughout Europe may reduce sugar-beet crops.

Rain has affected sugar-beet growing areas of the U.K.,
France and Germany in recent weeks, with flooding expected in
several areas, according to Woburn, Massachusetts-based weather
forecaster Meteorlogix LLC. Drought in eastern Ukraine and
southern Russia may have damaged crops there, the forecaster
said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

GLOBAL ECONOMY-U.S. factories hum in June; Germany paces Europe

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON/PARIS, July 2 - The U.S.
manufacturing sector picked up more than expected in June,
overcoming a housing market slump, while strength in Germany
drove European factory growth, according to data released on
Monday.




Surveys of purchasing managers at thousands of companies
around the globe showed broad-based expansion -- with notable
accelerations in the United States, Germany and Spain but
eye-catching slowdowns in growth rates in Britain and Japan.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Solarworld Plans German Factory to Double Production, Wins New Contracts

(Bloomberg) -- Solarworld AG, Germany's second-largest
solar-energy company, said it plans to build a new factory after
orders surged.

The company expects to double its annual production capacity
to turn out devices with 1,000 megawatts, Bonn-based Solarworld
said today in a statement distributed by DGAP newswire. The company
said it has won more than 500 million euros ($677 million) in new
orders from international customers.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Yen Gains Versus Euro on Speculation of Funds From German Bund Redemptions

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rebounded from a record low
versus the euro on speculation Japanese investors will bring back
money invested in German bunds.

Germany pays more than 16 billion euros ($21.7 billion) in
coupon and principal on government debt July 4, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. The yen last month declined to an all-time
low against the euro and a 4 1/2-year low versus the dollar as
investors sent funds overseas in search of higher yields.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News