Veolia rights issue to dilute 2007 earnings by 1 pct

(Reuters) - The capital increase with preferential subscription rights
will be at a price of 49.70 euros per new share, it said in a
statement earlier on Tuesday.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa union leaders talk tough on strike

(Reuters) - South Africa's powerful COSATU trade union warned on Monday that a crippling civil service strike could "turn violent" if its pay demands were not met.

The public sector workers' strike, which began on June 1, has crippled government hospitals and schools across the country, and unions say a new government offer of a 7.25 percent wage increase was not enough.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Unitech, Parsvnath Costs Rise as India Stops Developers Borrowing Overseas

(Bloomberg) -- Unitech Ltd., India's most valuable
real-estate company, and Parsvnath Developers Ltd. will have to
pay more for loans because of a ban on overseas borrowing,
forcing them to incur the highest interest costs in five years.

The finance ministry's May 18 ruling will push up Unitech's
funding charges at least 5 percentage points, Managing Director
Sanjay Chandra said. Parsvnath was quoted 14 percent interest on
a loan from an Indian state-owned bank, Chief Financial Officer
Ravi S. Pani said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Laiwu Steel Group Extends Accord to Sell Stake in Unit to Arcelor Mittal

(Bloomberg) -- China's Laiwu Steel Group has
extended an agreement to sell 38 percent of its publicly traded
unit, Laiwu Steel Corp., to Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest
steelmaker, as it has yet to receive government approval.

Laiwu Steel Group, the nation's eighth-largest mill, and
Arcelor Mittal extended the accord to Dec. 31, the Laiwu,
Shandong province-based Laiwu Steel Corp. said in a statement to
the Shanghai Stock Exchange today. The statement didn't say when
the initial agreement expires.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Axtel, CCR, Cia. Vale do Rio Doce and Grupo Mexico: Latin Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols
are in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are
from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Toyota tops GM in 2006 global sales: Automotive News

(Reuters) - GM sold 8,679,860, the paper said.




The weekly paper credited the seven-seat microvan and other Wuling-brand vehicles to GM's local partner SAIC Motor, which owns 51 percent of the venture with GM and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Taiwan's Bonds to Drop, Pushing Yield to Three-Year High, Taiwan Life Says

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's government bonds may slump,
pushing yields to the highest since 2004, after traders placed
record bets against the debt, Taiwan Life Insurance Co. said.

Short sales reached a daily average of NT$37.8 billion
($1.1 billion) last week, the highest since records began in
March 2005, according to Huang Bing Jing, senior vice president
at Gretai Securities Market, which runs the nation's biggest
debt exchange. A short position is where an investor borrows an
asset in anticipation of making a profit by buying it back after
its price has fallen.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BW Group, Development Bank, Bank of East Asia, Citigroup: Asia Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond
sales in Asia expected in the coming days and weeks.

Investment Grade


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

FSA Struggles to Prosecute Insider Trading That Doesn't Take Place in U.K.

(Bloomberg) -- Insider trading barely takes place
in the U.K. based on the number of penalties by the nation's
securities regulator: none this year and eight since 2001.

Stock movements ahead of acquisitions suggest otherwise.
Reuters Group Plc rose as much as 8.3 percent minutes before the
company said it received a takeover approach on May 4. Hanson
Plc climbed 4.8 percent just an hour ahead of HeidelbergCement
AG's takeover announcement. Northgate Information Solutions Plc
gained 10 percent a day before saying it had received ``a
number'' of offers from potential buyers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China lathe maker's unit says Jana wins stake bid

(Reuters) - "The deal will still need approval by the relevant government
departments," said the statement, published in the official
Securities Times. It gave no further details.




Sources familiar with the deal told Reuters in May that Jana
was competing with China's Sany Corp., a privately owned
manufacturer of construction machinery, for the 30 percent stake
in Shenyang Machine Tool in a deal with a minimum value of 1.01
billion yuan .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

JGB two-year yield hits 10-yr high on rate worries

(Reuters) - The BOJ is increasingly expected to lift rates to a 12-year
high of 0.75 percent from the current 0.50 percent level in the
coming months.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japanese Stocks May Rise After Commodities Prices Rebound; Banks May Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may rise after prices
for commodities including copper and oil rebounded. Metals
producers such as Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. and trading houses
including Mitsubishi Corp. may pace gains.

Lenders may decline after the Financial Services Agency
ordered Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to improve compliance
in its overseas operations and Credit Suisse Group lowered its
rating on shares of Mizuho Financial Group Inc.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Connecticut AG investigates Pfizer security breach

(Reuters) - Richard Blumenthal said in a news release that he has sent
a letter to Pfizer requesting that they take specific steps to
protect their employees.




"My office will seek all relevant information from Pfizer
about this security breach and fight to assure that its
employees have as much protection as possible from the scourge
of identity theft," Blumenthal said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Greece Summons JPMorgan, North Asset to Inquiry in Pension Fund Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Greek lawmakers are preparing to
question executives from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and hedge fund
North Asset Management after opposition legislators said they
overcharged pension funds that bought 280 million euros ($374
million) of government bonds.

Jakob Stott, JPMorgan's chief operating officer for Europe,
Middle East and Africa, and Louis Plowden-Wardlaw, the general
director of London-based North Asset Management, will appear
before the Parliament's standing committee on economic affairs
later today. Greek regulators are investigating how pension funds
bought the bonds at 100 percent of face value, when New York-
based underwriter JPMorgan sold the debt to North Asset at 92.95
percent hours before.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S. stocks flat on rate fears; dollar gains

(Reuters) - The dollar rose to a 3-1/2-month high against the Swiss franc on higher Treasury yields. In contrast, the New Zealand dollar recorded its largest decline in more than a year on Monday after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand intervened in the market for the first time in 22 years and sold its own currency.




Gold rose, recovering from last week's sharp sell-off.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 2-Atticus meeting with third parties about Freeport

(Reuters) - Atticus said it may consult with outside advisers and
engage in talks with members of management and the board at the
world's largest copper miner.




In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Atticus said it has met with "third parties to
encourage them to consider strategic transactions involving"
Freeport with the purpose of maximizing shareholder value.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. mortgage rates rise on Monday - BestInfo

(Reuters) - The 30-year mortgage rate with two upfront points climbed
1/8 percentage point to 6-1/2 percent.




Rates may stay the same if the mortgage market on Tuesday
maintains its current direction, BestInfo said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

New York Gasoline Futures Climb as Low Inventories May Not Increase Enough

(Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures rose from a seven-
week low on speculation U.S. inventories may not increase fast
enough to meet peak summer demand, and as crude oil gained.

Stockpiles totaled 201.5 million barrels in a report last
week from the U.S. Energy Department, down 5.3 percent from the
five-year average. Gasoline futures tumbled on June 8, two days
after the government's inventory report. Crude oil rose as Saudi
Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, said it would cut
shipments to Asia.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Latin American Stocks Rise, Led by Banco Itau, on Rate Cut; Bolsa Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Latin American stocks rose for a second
day, led by Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA in Brazil, on
speculation that falling interest rates in that country will boost
loan demand and economic growth.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Latin
American shares rose 77.50, or 2.2 percent, to 3677.54 as of 1:35
p.m. in New York. The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on
the Sao Paulo exchange rose 584.26, or 1.1 percent, to 52,913.94.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RLPC-BMO Capital waives loan assignment fees

(Reuters) - These so-called "assignment fees" were traditionally
charged by banks to cover the costs of transferring ownership
of loans, but have proved an effective tool for trading desks
at commercial and investment banks to control the trading of
loans originated by their own firm.




In the world of syndicated commercial loans, only the bank
that originates and administers a loan has the ability to waive
the typical assignment fee of $2,500 to $3,500 per trade. If
the fee is not waived, buying and selling small blocks of loans
becomes more costly.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Platinum Rises on Possible Strike in South Africa; Palladium Also Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum rose the most this month in
New York, rebounding from last week's decline on speculation
miners may go on strike in South Africa, supplier of almost
80 percent of the metal. Palladium also gained.

Wage talks are in their fourth week since Anglo Platinum
Ltd., the world's largest producer, offered a 5 percent raise.
Workers want a 15 percent increase.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 2-Chinalco to buy Peru Copper for C$840 mln

(Reuters) - The offer of C$6.60 a share is a 21 percent premium to Peru
Copper's 20-day volume weighted average price of C$5.45 on the
Toronto Stock Exchange ended May 23.




The company's shares were up 10 Canadian cents at C$6.45
after the announcement on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Carlyle forms team to invest in financial firms

(Reuters) - Edward "Ned" Kelly, former chief executive officer of
Mercantile Bankshares Corp., and David Zwiener, former chief
operating officer of The Hartford Financial Services Group
Inc.'s property and casualty operations, have been
named managing directors of the new group.




Kelly and Zwiener will be based in Washington, D.C. and New
York, respectively, and the new Carlyle group will build a team
to pursue investments around the world.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Warner may make higher offer for EMI: sources

(Reuters) - The two groups have been engaged in a seven-year bid battle.




"It is currently more likely than not," said one of the sources who asked not to be named. The other source said Warner would make a decision either this week or early next week.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Wheat Surges to 7-Month High as U.S. Cuts Crop Estimate After Rain Damage

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat rose to a seven-month high in
Chicago and Kansas City after the government lowered its U.S.
winter-wheat estimate because excessive rains delayed the harvest
and fostered fungal diseases.

U.S. farmers will harvest 1.609 billion bushels of winter
wheat, down from last month's forecast of 1.616 billion bushels
and more than last year's drought-damaged harvest of
1.298 billion bushels, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said
today. The average forecast of 12 analysts in a Bloomberg survey
was for 1.639 billion bushels. Global stockpiles will fall to the
lowest since 1982, the USDA said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Fannie Mae to sell $3.0 bln in bills on Wednesday

(Reuters) - Bids will be accepted from authorized dealers from 9 a.m.
EDT , until 9:45 a.m. EDT .




Settlement is June 13-14.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Barr withdraws patent suit related to generic Zyprexa

(Reuters) - This follows the decision of a U.S appeals court to uphold
a trial court's verdict in favor of Eli Lilly in a patent suit
related to Zyprexa against Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals
Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Top court rules against Philip Morris

(Reuters) - At issue is a suit filed against Philip Morris by two Arkansas women alleging that the company engaged in unfair business practices in marketing its low-tar Cambridge Lights and Marlboro Lights cigarette brands.




Companies facing class-action lawsuits typically prefer to have those cases litigated in federal courts, where they usually fare better than in state courts.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Apple, Ford Motor, Medivation, Netflix, Tyson Foods: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed June
8. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 9 a.m. New York time.

Apple Inc. (AAPL US) rose $1.61, or 1.3 percent, to $126.10
in trading before the open of U.S. exchanges. The Financial Times
reported that the maker of the iPod music player is in talks with
some of Hollywood's largest studios to start an online film
rental service. The service would help Apple compete for
customers with cable and satellite television companies, the
newspaper said. Apple representatives didn't immediately return
phone calls from Bloomberg made before regular business hours.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-James River to be acquired by DE Shaw for $575 mln

(Reuters) - The terms value James River at $34.50 per share, a 1.9
percent discount to its Friday closing price of $35.18 on the
Nasdaq, but 92 percent above the $18 per share that the company
was worth when it went public in August 2005. Forty-five
percent of stockholders have agreed to back the transaction.




James River, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will
have until Aug. 5 to solicit a superior offer, under what is
known as a "go-shop" provision. If it finds a superior offer,
D.E. Shaw would get a $7.2 million termination fee. James River
intends to keep paying dividends until merger is completed. The
transaction is not subject to a financing condition.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Emcor Group raises 2007 outlook; sets stock split

(Reuters) - Emcor expects full-year earnings of $2.75 to $3.00 a share,
on revenue of $5.5 billion to $5.7 billion. It previously
forecast earnings of $2.45 to $2.80 a share, on revenue of $5.3
billion to $5.5 billion.




For 2007, analysts on average expect earnings of $2.86
cents a share, before items, on revenue of $5.6 billion,
according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-UK High Court rejects 'supercasino' challenge

(Reuters) - LONDON, June 11 - Britain's high court dismissed a
challenge to government plans to build a new wave of Las
Vegas-style casinos in the UK on Monday, after a casino industry
body claimed the plans were badly thought out.




The British Casinos Association , which represents 90
percent of Britain's casino operators, had sought a review of
the government's new gambling policy, arguing plans for a 5,000
square-metre supercasino and 16 other large casinos were ill
thought out and put the UK's existing casinos at a disadvantage.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canada's Dollar Little Changed; New-Home Prices, Industrial Capacity Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar was little changed
after a government report showed the nation's new-home prices
rose more than twice as much as expected in April.

A separate report showed the nation's industrial companies
used more of their production capacity in the first-quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

AirTran extends offer for Midwest Air

(Reuters) - AirTran, parent of low-cost airline AirTran Airways, in April increased its hostile offer for Midwest to $15 per Midwest share from an original $11.25.




Midwest shares closed up 8 cents at $15.05 on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Stocks suggest modest Wall St open on M&A

(Reuters) - Lingering worries about possible increases in interest rates, however, with most of the U.S. treasury yield curve above 5 percent, could limit upside momentum, analysts said.




Owens-Illinois Inc. said on Monday it will sell its plastics packaging business to Britain's Rexam Plc , the world's biggest can maker, for about $1.83 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Hoya to delay Pentax offer, to re-evaluate terms

(Reuters) - TOKYO, June 11 - Japanese high-tech glass maker Hoya Corp. said on Monday it will delay launching its tender offer for Pentax Corp. to mid-June or later, while it discusses the proposed takeover with financial regulators.



Hoya's offer of 770 yen for each Pentax share will remain unchanged, but the company is in talks with Financial Services Agency officials about other changes to raise the chances of the bid's success, such as lowering the minimum number of shares it seeks, said Hoya spokeswoman Akiko Maeyama.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

German Power Retains Premium Over France on Wind, Hydroelectric Production

(Bloomberg) -- Forecasts for low wind speeds, which
may reduce production from turbines, helped keep German power at
a premium over prices in France, where hydroelectric plants may
boost output.

German baseload power for delivery on the next working day
rose 1.6 percent to 48.25 euros ($64.41) a megawatt hour,
compared with a last price of 47.50 euros on June 8 for power
delivered today, according to prices on Bloomberg from the
energy broker GFI Group Inc. French power traded at 33.50 euros.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

S.African NUM says unlikely to join sympathy strike

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest mineworkers union said on Monday most of its members would probably not be able to join Wednesday's sympathy strike, in support of striking civil servants.

"We have been consulting with our lawyers, but so far we have not found a legal mechanism," National Union of Mineworkers Deputy Secretary General Oupa Komane told Reuters on the sidelines of a mining seminar. "It's very unlikely that we'll be able to participate (in the sympathy strike)."


Read more at Reuters Africa

UK stocks rebound, boosted by Centrica and Barclays

(Reuters) - A jump in British utility Centrica and bank Barclays on Monday helped UK stocks regain some of the ground they lost the previous week on the prospect of higher interest rates.

At 0813 GMT, the FTSE was up 0.6 percent, having lost about 2.4 percent the previous week when the possibility of further monetary tightening drove benchmark U.S. bond yields above 5.25 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-ThyssenKrupp denies talks with US Steel, Severstal

(Reuters) - "There are no talks about merger or cooperation. Reports to
this effect are false and inaccurate," he said.




Severstal's chief executive, Alexei Mordashov, had also on
Saturday denied the report by the Interfax news agency, which on
Friday cited an unidentified source as saying that ThyssenKrupp
was in discussions to take over Severstal or U.S. Steel.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canada's Talisman Sues China's Cnooc for Stake in Indonesian Gas Venture

(Bloomberg) -- Talisman Energy Inc., the Canadian
oil company spun off from BP Plc, is suing China's Cnooc Ltd.
over a stake in a $5 billion liquefied natural gas venture in
Indonesia, U.S. court papers show.

Talisman's Fortuna Resources (Sunda) Ltd. unit is claiming
the right to 44 percent of Cnooc's 17 percent interest in the
Tangguh development, according to filings in the District Court,
Dallas County, Texas. Fortuna doesn't have the right to share in
the project, and if the court disagrees, Fortuna's interest
would be no more than 5.4 percent, Cnooc claims in its filings.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

South Korea's Kospi Index Falls for a Second Day; Doosan Heavy Declines

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks fell for a second
day, extending the Kospi index's retreat from a record. Doosan
Heavy Industries & Construction Co. tumbled by the most in more
than three years after Goldman, Sachs & Co. said investors should
``sell'' because of ``rich'' valuations.

``The Goldman Sachs report was the trigger today for Doosan
Heavy,'' said Cho Joon Hyuk, who helps manage $750 million at
Nonghyup CA Asset Management in Seoul. ``There's no problem with
the company's earnings but valuations look a bit high now.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European shares off to strong start; Centrica eyed

(Reuters) - Centrica gained 4.6 percent to top European gainers after Russian gas group Gazprom said it was nearing a deal to increase its British market presence.




Gazprom has said it is interested in Centrica as well as a host of other European companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Inflation in China Probably Accelerated Last Month as Pork Prices Soared

(Bloomberg) -- China's inflation probably
accelerated in May as pork prices soared, increasing the
likelihood that interest rates will be raised.

Consumer prices gained 3.3 percent from a year earlier,
according to the median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg News. April's inflation rate was 3 percent, matching
the central bank's target for the year. The statistics bureau
will release the figures at 10 a.m. tomorrow.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Spanish Banks Demand Realtor Inmobiliaria Colonial Pays More for Loan

(Bloomberg) -- Banks demanded that Inmobiliaria
Colonial SA pay more interest to borrow 7.2 billion euros ($9.7
billion) because of the risk Spain's second-largest developer
will be hurt by a slump in property prices.

Colonial will have to pay more than a 1.25 percentage-point
premium over inter-bank rates because underwriters led by
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
can't find enough loan investors, two people involved in the
negotiations said. Chairman Luis Portillo may have to repay part
of the five-year loan after three years, said one of the people.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Singapore's DBS ends talks to buy South Korea's KEB

(Reuters) - DBS hinted at legal issues to explain why it walked away from KEB, one of the few remaining targets for foreign investors seeking growth in South Korea's banking sector.




U.S. private equity firm Lone Star is facing a legal battle over its 2003 purchase of KEB, which has delayed the sale of the bank. Lone Star has a 64.62 percent stake in KEB, which is valued by the market at $10 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Rexam to buy OI Plastic for $1.8bln, to sell shares

(Reuters) - The effective acquisition cost of $1.57 billion, after excluding $260 million tax related charges, represents 2.1 times 2006 sales and 13.7 times 2006 underlying profit, Rexam said.




Rexam said it was placing new shares, amounting to 9.99 percent of its existing shares, to help fund the acquisition, which it expects to result in cost and revenue synergies of around $40 million per year by 2010.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Sudan says still in discussions to join OPEC

(Reuters) - Sudan's oil minister said on Monday the African producer was still in discussions to join OPEC, though he gave no timeframe for a decision.

"The decision is ours -- we're still working on it," said Awad Ahmed al-Jaz at the Asia Oil and Gas conference in Kuala Lumpur.


Read more at Reuters Africa