Asian Currencies Decline on Speculation Investors to Cut Regional Holdings

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies declined, led by the
Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso, on speculation investors
are cutting holdings in the region as signs mount that the U.S.
economy is slowing.

The rupiah fell to a one-year low and the South Korean won
slipped to its weakest in a month, joining declines in stocks, as
reports on Aug. 3 showed U.S. employers added fewer jobs in July
and service industries growth slowed. The U.S. is the second-
biggest buyer of Indonesia's and South Korean exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Korean Won Declines to Near the Lowest in a Month as Investors Reduce Risk

(Bloomberg) -- The South Korean won fell, approaching
the lowest in more than a month, on speculation investors are
cutting investments in Asia as signs mount that the U.S. economy
is slowing.

Korea's currency and the benchmark stock index extended two
weeks of losses as reports Aug. 3 showed U.S. employers added
fewer jobs in July and service industries growth slowed. The Bank
of Korea the same day said it will restrict companies from
borrowing in foreign currencies to stem gains in the won that
threaten exporter's profits.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Asian Currencies Complete Weekly Decline, Follow Drop in Regional Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies completed a weekly
decline, led by a 0.9 percent drop in the Indonesian rupiah, as
overseas investors reduced holdings in the region's stocks.

Global funds were net sellers of shares in South Korea,
Taiwan and Thailand this week as benchmark stock indexes dropped.
Indonesia's central bank said Aug. 1 it's not worried by the
rupiah's decline and the International Monetary Fund said the
next day the volatility in financial markets poses a risk to
economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korean Stocks Advance; Steelmakers Gain on UBS Call, Samsung Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks climbed for the
first time in three days. Steelmakers gained after Moody's
Investors Service said it put Posco's debt rating on review for
a possible upgrade.

Posco shares yesterday closed 10 percent lower than the
July 24 record of 567,000 won.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea to Act on Currency When Necessary, Finance Minister Kwon Says

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean authorities will take
action to curb gains in the nation's currency when necessary,
Finance Minister Kwon Okyu said.

``We are ready to take any action if there is a speculative
attack on the currency,'' Kwon told CNBC from Sydney today. ``The
currency has appreciated more than 40 percent since 2002 so it has
affected the Korean economy.'' Kwon is in Australia to attend this
week's annual meeting of Asia-Pacific finance ministers.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

LG Telecom Posts Lowest Profit in a Year on Spending for Handset Subsidies

(Bloomberg) -- LG Telecom Ltd., South Korea's third-
largest mobile-phone operator, reported its lowest profit in a
year after the company spent more on handset subsidies to win
customers from larger rivals SK Telecom Co. and KT Freetel Co.

Second-quarter net income was 54 billion won ($59 million),
from a record loss of 195.4 billion won a year earlier, Seoul-
based LG Telecom said in a statement today. Sales rose 18 percent
to 1.16 trillion won.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korea Stocks Rise, Set for Sixth Month of Gains; Doosan Leads Climb

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks rose, set to
complete a sixth month of gains. Doosan Infracore Co. advanced
after Hyundai Securities Co. said the $4.9 billion acquisition of
an Ingersoll-Rand Co. unit will help the company expand into
developed markets.

``The acquisition will help it make inroads into markets like
the U.S.,'' said Cho Joon Hyuk, who helps manage $1.5 billion at
Nonghyup CA Asset Management in Seoul. ``Investors also like the
deal because the Doosan Group kept saying they were interested in
takeovers and product diversification, and now they're actually
showing us it's true.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cattle Futures Head for Fifth-Straight Weekly Gain on Exports; Hogs Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose to a three-month
high in Chicago, heading for their fifth-straight weekly gain on
expectations that export sales will increase. Hog prices
advanced on speculation of more pork sales to China.

U.S. beef exports to Japan and South Korea, typically the
largest overseas customers, have risen since both countries this
year lifted bans imposed in December 2003 after a mad-cow
disease outbreak. Japan bought $1.4 billion in U.S. beef in 2003
and South Korea bought $814 million worth.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities 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

South Korea Economy Probably Accelerated Last Quarter on Gain in Exports

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's economy probably grew
at the fastest pace in 1 1/2 years last quarter, helped by
exports of LG Electronics Inc.'s mobile phones and Hyundai Heavy
Industries Co.'s ships.

Asia's third-largest economy expanded 1.3 percent from the
first quarter, according to the median estimate of 11 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg News. The gross domestic product report
will be released at 8 a.m. in Seoul tomorrow.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korea's Kospi Advances; Chemical Makers, Daewoo Engineering Climb

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks gained. Chemicals
makers advanced after LG Chem Ltd. reported quarterly profit that
beat estimates, and Honam Petrochemical Corp. announced a joint
venture with Qatar to build a $2.6 billion chemical plant.

``LG Chem's earnings were good across all of its
businesses,'' said Oh Hyun Jung, who helps manage $10.9 billion
at Daehan Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``Honam's
contract has shown the market that they're really going through
with this, which will help cut costs and increase production
significantly.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Advances, Led by Kookmin, Daewoo Engineering, Samsung

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 0.66 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 731 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
12.72 to 1,943.42. Among the stocks in the index, 391 rose, 153
fell and 187 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Bank of America Earnings Trail as Citigroup, JPMorgan, Merrill Go Abroad

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. does more
business in the U.S. than any of its competitors, and that's
eroding returns for shareholders of the Charlotte, North
Carolina-based company.

Demand for financial services is increasing three times as
fast outside the U.S., fueled by companies and investors in
Brazil, China, India and Russia. While Bank of America operates
in 45 countries, they produce only 13 percent of its revenue.
That's puny compared with Citigroup Inc., which derives almost
half its sales from abroad and ranks among the biggest banks in
Mexico, Poland and South Korea.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea, EU to Seek Progress on Free-Trade Agreement as WTO Hopes Fade

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea and the European Union
aim to move closer this week to a free-trade agreement that would
strengthen their 61 billion-euro ($84 billion) relationship while
creating jobs and fueling economic growth.

The EU wants greater access to South Korea's markets for
cars, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemicals and machinery. South
Korea wants EU duties slashed on electronics and auto parts, and
more access to audio-visual industries such as broadcasting and
films. An agreement, which may come within a year, follows on the
heels of a U.S.-South Korea free-trade accord, or FTA.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Asian Stocks Rise the Most in Three Months on Takeovers; Posco, BHP Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose the most in three
months, spurred by Rio Tinto Group's $38 billion bid for Alcan
Inc. and higher sales at U.S. retailers.

Posco surged by the most in four years and BHP Billiton Ltd.
climbed following Rio's offer. Samsung Electronics Co. jumped
after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a newspaper
said billionaire investor Carl Icahn may be planning a hostile
bid. South Korea's Kospi index, the region's best performer in
the past three months, advanced 2.8 percent to a new high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Brokerage Shares Fall on Commission Cut Plan; Samsung Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's Kospi index swung
between gains and losses. Daewoo Securities Co. dropped on
concern the government's plan to lower commissions on fund sales
will dent brokerages' profits.

Samsung Electronics Co. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.
advanced on speculation flash-memory chip prices will rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

REFILE-SK Telecom considers bid for Sprint Nextel-paper

(Reuters) - The Korea Economic Daily reported brokerage sources as
saying SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile phone operator, has
been contacting several funds since the first half of 2007 to
help finance a takeover.




An SK Telecom executive said the report was "groundless"
and that the company is not considering a hostile takeover of
Sprint Nextel.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Cattle Futures Gain as U.S. Exports Indicate Rising Beef Demand; Hogs Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures rose for a third
straight session as a weekly export sales report indicated strong
demand for U.S. beef. Hog prices fell.

U.S. exporters reported net sales of 11,300 metric tons of
beef for the week ended June 28, including 1,300 tons for Japan
and South Korea, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Sales
to those two nations, which had been closed to U.S. beef for much
of the past three years because of mad-cow disease concerns,
indicates longer-term sales growth, said Troy Vetterkind, a
trader at e-Hedger in Chicago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

LG Household to buy Coca-Cola Amatil Korea unit

(Reuters) - SYDNEY, July 6 - Australian soft drinks firm Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. said on Friday it had chosen LG Household and Health Care Ltd. as the preferred bidder for its South Korean operations.



Amatil, 35 percent-owned by Coca-Cola Co. , said the purchase price would be in the range of A$520 million to A$545 million , including debt, and it expected the deal to be completed in three months.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

South Korean Stocks Gain More Than 1 Percent for Fourth Day; Samsung Gains

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks advanced more than
1 percent for a fourth day. Samsung Electronics Co. gained on
speculation prices for dynamic random access memory, or DRAM,
will rise, helping improve earnings.

LG.Philips LCD Co. advanced after brokerages including
Citigroup Inc. said the company will turn to profit in the second
quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News