Old Mutual Q1 profit up 5 pct, currency headwinds

(Reuters) - Insurer Old Mutual posted a 5 percent rise in first-quarter operating profit on Thursday, but said it expected exchange rates and infrastructure costs to continue to hold back growth this year.

South Africa's largest insurer, which is reporting first-quarter profits for the first time since it bought Sweden's Skandia last year, said adjusted operating profit, on an IFRS basis, was 398 million pounds.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Doctor told FDA of Glaxo's Avandia risk in 2000

(Reuters) - The FDA sent Glaxo a warning letter in July 2001 after its
own monitoring, saying the company's sales representatives had
played down safety concerns and asking the company to send out a
letter to doctors warning them of the risks.




The company sent out the letters on Sept. 6, 2001, according
to an article in the New York Times, which first reported the
story.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Philippine Government Bonds Rise on Growth, Inflation Outlook; Peso Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine bonds rose after the
government said the economy may grow faster than expected this
year as an appreciating peso cuts interest payments on the its
debt, freeing up capital for spending.

A 6.3 percent gain in the peso this year may save 23.8
billion pesos ($515.7 million) in interest, Budget Secretary
Rolando Andaya said in an interview in Manila.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nomura Says It's Interested in Advising Philippines on State Asset Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest
brokerage, said it is interested in being a financial adviser in
the Philippine government's asset-sale program.

Nomura executives expressed their interest in taking a role
during a meeting yesterday with President Gloria Arroyo in Tokyo,
spokesman Michiyori Fujiwara said. They didn't say the company
would bid for the assets, Fujiwara added.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Stocks slip after warning on China stocks

(Reuters) - Greenspan said he feared a "dramatic contraction" in Chinese stocks after the recent boom, adding the run-up was "clearly unsustainable."




The comments come almost three months after a sharp drop in Chinese stocks on concerns about speculative investments triggered a global equity rout.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

China's Stocks Decline After Greenspan's Comments; Shenergy Leads Falls

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks fell after former
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he was concerned
that Chinese equities might undergo a ``dramatic contraction.''

Daqin Railway Co. and Shenergy Co. paced the decline.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JGB futures hit month low as overseas yields rise

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are
expected to boost interest rates further, while speculation has
receded that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later in
the year.




Since the BOJ ended its extraordinary, super-loose monetary
policy in March 2006, it has raised interest rates twice to a
decade-high 0.5 percent , and many market players expect a third
rate hike in the July-September quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News