Intel, Cisco, J&J, Growth Stocks Lure Value Funds as Price Ratios Converge

(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and
Johnson & Johnson, perennial favorites of money managers seeking
U.S. stocks with the fastest profit growth, are becoming staples
for so-called value investors.

Shares of growth companies in the Standard & Poor's 500
Index trade at an average 16.3 times estimated earnings, while
value stocks, those priced at a discount to the market or their
historical average, trade at 14 times profits. The gap between
them, now 2.3 points, has narrowed from 25.5 at the beginning of
the decade, data compiled by Bloomberg show.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Tumble a Third Week on Lending Crisis; Bear Stearns Declines

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, pushing the Standard
& Poor's 500 Index to its steepest three-week skid since 2003, on
deepening concern that mortgage losses will hurt bank earnings
and reduce the pace of takeovers.

Bear Stearns Cos., the manager of two hedge funds that
collapsed last month because of rising defaults in home loans,
tumbled the most since September 2001. Shares of the largest U.S.
mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., had the biggest
loss in almost three years.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CNA, Ingersoll-Rand, RadioShack, ValueClick, Vivus: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 11:40 a.m. in New York.

Some mortgage lenders fell after American Home Mortgage
Investment Corp. (AHM US) delayed its quarterly dividend and
raised doubts about whether it has enough cash to stay in
business. Shares of American Home were halted.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

American Home Mortgage tumbles on liquidity issues

(Reuters) - Shares of American Home were down 39 percent, falling in pre-market trading to $6.39 from Friday's close of $10.47. On Friday the shares hit their lowest level since April 2003. Trading on Monday was halted for news pending.




The announcement late Friday evening reflects how liquidity and credit issues affecting subprime lenders are extending to companies that make home loans to borrowers considered to be good credit risks.


Read more at Reuters.com Business 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

Baidu Shares Surge on Profit Increase, Forecast for Third-Quarter Revenue

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Baidu.com Inc., operator
of China's most-used Internet search site, rose 19 percent after
the company said second-quarter profit surged and forecast
third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts' estimates.

The company's American depositary shares climbed $34.82 in
U.S. after-hours trading yesterday to $218.05. That will be the
largest one-day increase in more than a year if the gain is
maintained in Nasdaq Stock Market trading today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-Alexion Pharma Q2 loss narrows

(Reuters) - Shares of the biotech company jumped almost 15 percent to
$56.98 in morning trade on the Nasdaq. Earlier, they reached a
new year high of $57.45.




Second-quarter revenue, which came solely from Soliris,
soared to $9.8 million from $300,000 reported a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

KKR's Delay on Alliance Boots Loans Places `Moratorium' on LBOs, UBS Says

(Bloomberg) -- Delays in financing the takeover of
Alliance Boots Plc have placed a ``moratorium on large-scale
leveraged buyouts'' that may weigh on European stocks, according
to a UBS AG strategist.

Shares of companies that have benefited from bid
speculation, including Adidas AG, Smith & Nephew Plc and Reed
Elsevier Plc, ``are less likely to retain a private equity''
support to their valuations, Daniel Stillit, London-based market
analyst at UBS, wrote in a report today. All three stocks have
risen at least 13 percent this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Laurus shares surge on buyout talk: traders

(Reuters) - "Shares are up on takeover speculation. French Casino, which holds about half of Laurus, could delist it," said Kempen & Co. analyst Erwin Dut, adding that other firms looking to enter the Dutch retail market might also be interested.




Shares in Laurus earlier rose as much as 20.3 percent to 5.1 euros, its highest level since late 2004.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Tellabs shrs jump on report of Nokia Siemens offer

(Reuters) - HELSINKI/NEW YORK, July 23 - Shares of Tellabs Inc. surged 19 percent on Monday after a financial news Web site reported the U.S. telecommunications equipment maker was entertaining a $7 billion bid by a joint venture of Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG .



TheStreet.com said Nokia Siemens Networks [NSN.UL] was offering about $16 to $17 a share for Tellabs, citing a source familiar with the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Multiplex formally recommends Brookfield bid

(Reuters) - Shares in Multiplex last traded at A$4.97.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

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

US STOCKS-Profits push indexes up, led by IBM and Juniper

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday
as forecast-topping results from multinational companies such
as IBM and Juniper Networks Inc. shifted investor
focus back to corporate profits and away from subprime
mortgage concerns.




Shares of International Business Machines Corp. ,
the world's largest technology services company, rose 4
percent, after it posted a jump in quarterly profit and raised
its 2007 earnings forecast late on Wednesday. For details, see
[ID:nN18415715].


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Harley-Davidson U.S. sales disappoint, shares fall

(Reuters) - The company called the U.S. results "disappointing" and acknowledged that dealers had resorted to promotions and price cuts that resulted in some bikes selling below suggested prices. Shares fell to their lowest level in nearly four months.




Harley reported a second-quarter profit of $290.5 million, or $1.14 a share, compared with $243.4 million, or 91 cents a share, a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Whitbread up on talk of Accor bid interest: traders

(Reuters) - Shares in Accor were up 0.8 percent in a strong market. Whitbread's shares were among the top gainers in the FTSE 100 index , which was up 0.8 percent.




By 0830 GMT, more than 1.4 million Whitbread shares were traded, compared with average full-day volume of 3.48 million shares traded over the past 30 days.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Orica Shares Climb on Speculation of Offer After Earlier Buyout Rejected

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Orica Ltd. rose 5.5
percent on speculation the world's largest explosives maker may
receive a second takeover offer after the company rejected a
A$9.95 billion ($8.7 billion) buyout in April.

There's talk of a bid of A$37 a share, said Albert Landman,
who manages more than $70 million at Tricom Futures Services in
Melbourne. Orica had ``no comment,'' said spokesman John Fetter.
Stuart Barton, a spokesman for UBS AG, which advised Orica when
it rejected the earlier offer, also declined to comment.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US STOCKS-Futures flat after record rises, GE gains

(Reuters) - General Electric Co posted quarterly profit that
beat Wall Street's forecasts by a penny and said it was exiting
the subprime mortgage lending market.




Shares of GE, the world's second-largest company by market
capitalization, rose 1.3 percent in Europe. The conglomerate also said it had raised its share repurchases to $14 billion.
For details, see [ID:nWNAS5926]


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US stock indexes gain on earnings optimism; Yum up late

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as a scarcity of profit warnings fueled optimism over the corporate reporting season, enabling the market to regain its footing after a sharp drop the previous session.

Shares of fast-food company Yum Brands, which jumped 4.9 percent during the regular session, extended gains after the close when it reported higher quarterly earnings and raised its profit forecast for the year.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Alstom, Gemalto, L'Oreal, Sanofi-Aventis, Radiall: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may
rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in
parentheses after company names, and prices are from the previous
close.

The CAC 40 lost 18.13, or 0.3 percent, to 6001.09 points.
The SBF 120 index also fell 0.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Carrefour, Jacquet Metals, Laroche, Orapi, Safran: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies
may rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in
parentheses after company names, and prices are from the
previous close.

The CAC 40 Index lost 85.44, or 1.4 percent, to 6019.22.
The SBF 120 index fell 1.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News