Australian Shares Decline, Led by BHP, Macquarie on U.S. Economic Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks fell for a third
day. Stocks that depend on global growth, such as BHP Billiton
Ltd. and Macquarie Bank Ltd., dropped as the Australian dollar
traded near an 18-year high, and as concern intensified that U.S.
banks will be saddled with losses on mortgage bonds.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 52.90, or 0.8 percent, to 6329.70
at the close in Sydney. About 15 stocks declined for every four
that gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Copper Little Changed in Asian Trade as Strike at Codelco Mine Averted

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices were little changed in
Asia as a strike was averted at Codelco, the world's largest
producer, averting the threat of protests by the workers at a
time when global stockpiles are falling.

Stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange, the
world's biggest metals market, fell 1.5 percent and Shanghai
inventories slumped 3.8 percent, the exchanges said June 22.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Japan's Topix Drops, Led by Property Developers; Takeda, Nintendo Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Topix index declined, led by
property developers such as Mitsubishi Estate Co., as investors
shifted funds out of shares that may be hurt by the trend of
increasing interest rates.

Limiting losses, some exporters such as Advantest Corp. and
Fanuc Ltd. gained as investors judged the benefit of a weaker
yen outweighed the implications of mortgage defaults in the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Two-year yields dip before housing data

(Reuters) - Treasuries continued to draw support from such concerns, said
a trader for a U.S. brokerage, although he added that Asian
investors seemed to be staying on the sidelines this session.




"There haven't been any particularly big flows. Asian
investors are waiting for New York trading and data coming up
this week," the trader said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Taiwan Dollar Rises After Rate Increase; Bonds Gain as Debt Sales Reduced

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's dollar rose to near the
highest in more than five months after a bigger-than-expected
interest-rate increase last week boosted the allure of local-
currency assets. Bonds gained.

The currency advanced for a fifth day after the central
bank raised its key rate a quarter percentage point to 3.125
percent on June 21. The increase was twice as much as expected,
according to Bloomberg News survey. The gain in the local dollar
in the past 10 days has reduced this year's loss to 0.4 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's 10-Year Bonds Advance After Treasuries Gain on Flight to Safety

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds rose after
U.S. Treasuries gained last week as investors sought a haven
from possible hedge fund losses.

Ten-year bonds climbed for a second day as the Nikkei 225
Stock Average fell on concern losses in the U.S. subprime market
will be worse than expected, triggering a decline in global
stocks. Treasuries, which often lead Japan's bond prices, rose
June 22 after Bear Stearns Cos. offered to provide $3.2 billion
in loans to bail out one of its money-losing hedge funds.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

As Real Soars, Brazilians Make Love to Gucci, Porsche, Prada and Tiffany

(Bloomberg) -- Never have Gucci, Porsche, Jaguar,
Prada and Tiffany been so in love with Brazil, home of the
world's best-performing currency over the past three years.

The waiting list for Prada SpA's new spring-summer line of
leather bags has swelled to 120 people at Dona Santa, a luxury
goods store in the Brazilian coastal city of Recife. The most
expensive bag in the collection costs $3,600, equal to about
half the annual income of the average Brazilian household.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

South Korea's Kospi Declines, Led by Samsung, Shinhan Financial, Kookmin

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, fell 1.03 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 729 companies traded on the Korea Exchange
fell 18.26 to 1,752.72. Among the stocks in the index, 160 rose,
464 fell and 105 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Taiwan's Export Orders Probably Climbed 10 Percent in May on China Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's export orders probably grew
in May at a similar pace to April as electronics demand in China,
the island's biggest overseas market, offset weaker sales to the
U.S.

Export orders, indicative of actual shipments in one-to-
three months, climbed 10.1 percent from a year earlier,
according to the median estimate of 10 economists in a Bloomberg
News survey. Export orders advanced 11.3 percent in April from a
year earlier. The report is due at 4 p.m. in Taipei today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Stocks Trading in U.S. Post Worst Weekly Drop in 2 Months; BHP Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks trading in the U.S. had
their worst weekly decline in almost two months amid concern
China may boost interest rates to cool economic growth and the
damage from a collapse in U.S. subprime market may be worse than
expected.

Toyota Motor Corp. and BHP Billiton led the retreat.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Road show planned to raise funds in Chrysler deal: WSJ

(Reuters) - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bear Stearns Cos. , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley are helping Cerberus raise some $62 billion in debt for the deal, which includes Chrysler's finance arm, WSJ said.




On May 14, DaimlerChrysler AG announced that it was selling Chrysler to Cerberus in a $7.4 billion deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

WEEKEAHEAD-Emerging debt investors wary of subprime, Fed

(Reuters) - Fears that the subprime mortgage crisis could spill over
into other markets already led some investors to flee risky
assets on Friday, in an initial flight to safe-haven U.S.
Treasury notes.




Emerging debt spreads over Treasuries, an important measure
of risk aversion, widened 6 basis points to 159 basis points
during the week, according to the JP Morgan's EMBI+ index
. Only on Friday, spreads widened 4 basis points.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Banks face stern test when credit cycle turns

(Reuters) - "Given the key role that a benign credit environment has
been playing in boosting the performance of the financial
sector over the past years, a turn in the credit cycle
represents a significant risk to its outlook," the Basel-based
BIS said in its annual report.




A combination of low interest rates and unusually
infrequent rates of default among borrowers in many countries
have played a big part in boosting profits at financial
services companies.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan's Bull-Dog OK's poison pill for Steel Partners

(Reuters) - At a general shareholders' meeting on Sunday, more than
two-thirds of votes were cast in favour of the scheme that
would give shareholders other than Steel Partners three new
shares for each existing one, while paying Steel Partners in
cash.




Steel Partners's unsolicited tender offer for Bull-Dog is
one of several fights the activist fund is waging in Japan. It
has spent about $3 billion to take stakes of more than 5
percent in some 30 Japanese firms.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Modest WTO free trade deal seen better than nothing

(Reuters) - Even a modest global trade pact may be better than nothing, according to economists and analysts who say the implosion of faltering World Trade Organisation talks would carry big costs.

Countries have missed deadline after deadline in their near six-year pursuit of a new WTO accord meant to give poorer nations a leg-up in world trade and reduce worldwide barriers to commerce in agriculture, manufacturing and services.


Read more at Reuters Africa