Gold ticks up on oil, Tokyo futures at 2-week high

(Reuters) - By 0345 GMT, cash gold was trading at $654.40/655.00 an ounce from $653.80/654.60 late in New York on Friday, when it rose more than $4 an ounce.




"Fresh funds are flowing into gold as we're in the early part of the third quarter, although the market is still nervous because of uncertainty over the outlook for global interest rates," said Shuji Sugata, manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Asia's Currencies Strengthen as Demand for Riskier Assets May Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies, including the Thai
baht and the Malaysian ringgit, strengthened on speculation signs
of improving global growth will encourage investors to put money
in riskier emerging-market assets.

Seven of the 10 most-active Asian currencies, excluding the
yen, also gained today as rising regional equities may attract
more funds into the region. Taiwan's dollar and the yen, used as
funding currencies for the so-called carry trade, declined as
investors borrow them to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Air Berlin, Alitalia, Banesto, EADS, EDF, UBS: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 rose 0.6 percent to 397.27. The Dow
Jones Stoxx 50 Index gained 0.8 percent to 3979.32. The Euro
Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro,
climbed 0.7 percent to 4524.45.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Dow Jones to meet with Ron Burkle - source

(Reuters) - A committee of Dow Jones's board is expected to meet with
the Los Angeles billionaire on Monday, the source said. Dow
Jones and Burkle were not immediately available for comment.




Burkle has been exploring a structure for Dow Jones that
would incorporate an employee stock ownership plan, sources
previously told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

ANZ Pays $88 Million for 10 Percent Stake in Vietnam's Saigon Securities

(Bloomberg) -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
Ltd., Australia's third-largest lender, bought 10 percent of
Vietnam's Saigon Securities Inc., joining HSBC Holdings Plc and
Shinhan Bank in investing in the Southeast Asian nation.

Under the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval
in Vietnam, ANZ will pay $88 million for the stake and may
appoint a representative to Saigon Securities' board, the
Melbourne-based bank said in a statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Rand to Gain 12.5 Percent Versus Yen on Uridashi Bond Sales, Okasan Says

(Bloomberg) -- The rand may gain 12.5 percent
against the yen after a three-fold increase in sales of South
African bonds to Japanese investors, said Tsutomu Soma, a
dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo.

The currency has risen 3.8 percent versus the yen in
2007 as the difference in yield between two-year South
African and Japanese bonds widened to a three-year high of
8.462 percentage points. Sales of rand Uridashi bonds, local
currency debt sold to individual investors in Japan, climbed
248 percent to $652.9 million in the first half from a year
earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South Korea's Kospi Index Climbs, Led by Samsung Electronics, Kookmin

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 0.76 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 731 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
14.17 to 1,875.18. Among the stocks in the index, 372 rose, 237
fell and 122 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia's Dollar Advances to 105.98 Yen, Strongest Since October 1991

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar rose to 105.98
yen, the highest since October 1991, before trading at 105.89
yen at 7:31 a.m. in Sydney. It was at 105.84 yen late in New
York July 6.

The currency was little changed against the U.S. dollar at
85.79 cents from 85.82 cents late last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Declines to Record Low Against Euro as Investors Extend Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell to a record low against
the euro on speculation signs of stronger global growth will
give investors confidence to buy higher-yielding currencies with
funds borrowed in Japan in so-called carry trades.

The yen was at 168.26 per euro at 6:57 a.m. in Tokyo and
dropped as low as 168.30, the weakest since the 13-nation
currency started trading. It traded at 168.05 per euro late in
New York July 6. The yen was at 123.43 per dollar from 123.34.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Venezuela Doesn't Have `Short-Term' Plans to Devalue Bolivar, Cabezas Says

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela has no ``short-term'' plan
to devalue its currency, the bolivar, Finance Minster Rodrigo
Cabezas said today.

``If we have to devalue eventually, it will be for
macroeconomic reasons,'' Cabezas said in interview on Caracas-
based TV station Televen. ``But in the short term, the
government doesn't have cash flow problems so there is no need
to devalue the currency.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Bristol, Pfizer anti-clot drug hits goals in trial

(Reuters) - Patients treated with apixaban, a pill, had comparable
rates in two main measures to those on the standard of care --
an injected therapy plus one drug from the class that includes
the widely used warfarin. The measures included rates of blood
clots and dangerous bleedings.




Though effective at alleviating clotting, many
anticoagulant therapies come with serious drawbacks. Heparin
drugs must be injected or given intravenously, and warfarin is
notoriously difficult to regulate properly because of its
interactions with food and other medicines.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News