Investors Bancorp, Summit Federal announce merger deal

(Reuters) - This will be followed by the merger of Summit Federal
Savings Bank into Investors Savings Bank, with Investors
Savings Bank surviving.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Polish Zloty Set for Weekly Gain as Investors' Appetite for Risk Revives

(Bloomberg) -- The Polish zloty was poised for a
weekly gain, advancing to an eight-day high against the euro as
investors regained their appetite for emerging-market assets.

Investors resumed buying stocks and higher-yielding
currencies such as the zloty, the Turkish lira and the South
African rand as concern abated that losses on U.S. subprime
mortgages would slow global economic growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Futures turn negative on employment report

(Reuters) - Investors were bracing for data on the vast U.S. services sector at 10 a.m. ET.




Financial companies' shares were dragging after American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said it plans to close most operations on Friday and lay off nearly 7,000 employees.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Credit worries return, driving Wall St. lower

(Reuters) - Stocks had risen Monday and the first half of Tuesday's session, but the relief rally was cut short when American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said it may have to liquidate assets. Shares of the mortgage lender fell 90 percent.




Investors remain sensitive to news about worsening lending conditions, which pummeled global equity markets last week. Credit market concerns pushed the S&P down 3.2 percent in July, its worst performance in three years.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Taiwan's Stocks Gain for First Time in Five Days; Cathay Financial Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's stocks rose for the first day
in five as investors judged recent declines excessive and a
newspaper reported the island's mutual funds may invest more.
Cathay Financial Holding Co. led gains.

``Investors have regained their composure after being knocked
around in the global stock market turmoil,'' said Vickie Hsieh,
who helps oversees $1.4 billion at President Investment Trust
Corp. ``Leading Taiwan companies offering good value will be the
most appealing.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hungarian Forint Poised for Weekly Slide as Investors Flee Riskier Assets

(Bloomberg) -- The Hungarian forint posted its
biggest weekly drop against the euro in 10 months as tumbling
global stocks and concern about U.S. subprime mortgage losses
prompted investors to shun emerging markets.

The forint was the worst performer against the euro over the
past five days, sliding more than 2 percent, as the NTX Index of
stocks in central Europe's 30 largest companies declined the most
in a week since March. Investors reversed trades where they'd
bought the forint to take advantage of Hungary's 7.75 percent
interest rate, also sending the currency tumbling.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China's Debt Rating Raised to A1 by Moody's on External Payments, Economy

(Bloomberg) -- China's debt rating was upgraded by
Moody's Investors Service, citing the country's swelling
foreign-currency reserves, surging exports and improvements to
the banking system.

The country's long-term foreign-currency rating jumped to
A1, the fifth-highest ranking, from A2, the ratings company said
in a statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasuries Little Changed as $18 Billion Two-Year Auction Attracts Bids

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were little changed, with
yields on 10-year notes near the lowest in almost eight weeks,
amid continuing concern regarding credit-market risk.

Investors seeking safer investments pushed down yields on
two-year notes, which touched the lowest in 10 weeks after the
government's sale of $18 billion of the securities. The notes
sold at a yield below the forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of
eight of the 21 firms that underwrite the government's debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

NYSE margin debt rises to record $378.2 bln in June

(Reuters) - Investors have taken on record amounts of debt to buy
securities since a rule change has made it easier to borrow --
and lure business that had moved offshore, to London in
particular.




Under a pilot program called portfolio margining that began
in April, several brokerage firms are now offering risk-based
margin rules to institutional investors.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Yen Drops to Near Record Low Against Euro as Rising Stocks Spur Risky Bets

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell to near a record low
against the euro as gains in global stocks encouraged investors
to buy risky assets funded by loans in Japan.

Investors put on so-called carry trades amid waning concern
that financial firms will suffer mounting losses from holdings
of debt backed by U.S. subprime mortgages. The yen briefly pared
its decline after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, in
testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, said there will
``clearly'' be losses on subprime-backed debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Approaches Record Low Versus Euro as Rising Stocks Spur Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen dropped to near a record low
versus the euro and the weakest since 1992 against the pound as
concern eased that losses will mount in securities backed by
subprime mortgage loans.

Investors pushed the yen lower as U.S. stocks advanced on a
better-than-expected earnings report from Merrill Lynch & Co.,
cooling speculation that U.S. financial companies would be hurt
by losses in subprime debt. Rallying stocks encouraged buying of
risky assets funded by loans in Japan, a strategy known as the
carry trade. The yen also fell versus the dollar.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Treasuries Fall as Investors' Concern Over Subprime Mortgage Crisis Eases

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell for the first time
in three days as concern ebbed about losses in securities backed
by subprime mortgage loans.

Investors sold government debt after Merrill Lynch & Co.,
the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, said second-quarter
profit rose 31 percent even as revenue declined in the unit that
includes its mortgage business.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dollar May Drop Versus Yen Before Report Forecast to Show Cooler Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may drop against the yen
before U.S. government reports forecast to signal cooling
inflation and waning foreign demand for U.S. securities.

The U.S. currency dropped to a 26-year low against the
pound and the weakest since 1985 against the New Zealand dollar
yesterday on concern that weakness in U.S. housing will curb
economic growth and push the Federal Reserve to cut interest
rates. Investors bought yen yesterday in part on speculation
investors will exit risky trades because of mounting losses in
U.S. securities backed by subprime mortgage loans.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Pound Rally Fools Biggest Traders as Rising Bond Yields Lure Kokusai, Axa

(Bloomberg) -- Investors who listened to the world's
three biggest currency traders and bet against the pound this
year couldn't have been more wrong.

Instead of falling, the U.K. currency has risen 3.8 percent
to a 26-year high of $2.0367. Strategists at Frankfurt-based
Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG in Zurich and Citigroup Inc. of New York
predicted in December it would trade at $1.96 or lower this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.K. Pound Gains for Fifth Week Versus Dollar on Outlook for Interest Rate

(Bloomberg) -- The pound posted its longest winning
run against the dollar in more than a year on speculation Bank of
England policy makers will keep raising interest rates while the
U.S. Federal Reserve stays on hold.

The U.K. currency gained for a fifth week as futures traders
bet the central bank will raise rates a quarter-point and start
pricing in a further move to 6.25 percent by year-end. The pound
touched a 26-year high after Moody's Investors Service cut
ratings on bonds backed by U.S. subprime mortgages and Standard &
Poor's threatened to do the same.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan's Bond Futures Advance After Downgrades of U.S. Subprime-Backed Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bond futures rose in
the past week after downgrades of debt backed by U.S. subprime
mortgages sparked demand for the safety of government securities.

Bond futures on July 11 had the biggest gain since August
after Moody's Investors Service cut ratings on $5.2 billion of
debt backed by loans to homeowners with poor credit histories.
Concern economic growth in the U.S., Japan's largest export
market, will slow helped bond futures rebound from the steepest
weekly drop since last month.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasuries Headed for a Weekly Advance on Concern Over Subprime Mortgages

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries were headed for a weekly
advance on concern weakness in subprime mortgages may slow U.S.
economic growth.

Ten-year note yields were down more than 5 basis points for
the week. They dropped the most in more than four months on July
10 as Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service warned
about the credit quality of subprime mortgages.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasuries Little Changed Before Government Report on U.S. Retail Sales

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries were little changed
before a government report that will probably show retail sales
declined last month, suggesting a housing slump and higher fuel
costs are contributing to weaker economic growth.

Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service prompted
the biggest surge in Treasuries in more than four months on July
10 after they warned about the credit quality of U.S. subprime
mortgages. Benchmark 10-year notes have pared their gains in the
past two days as a rebound in global stock markets eased demand
for less risky assets such as government debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Moody's Says Loans From Washington Mutual, GE Helped Prompt Downgrades

(Bloomberg) -- Units of Washington Mutual Inc. and
General Electric Co. were among four subprime lenders whose loans
helped prompt Moody's Investors Service to downgrade 399 mortgage
bonds, the ratings company said.

Washington Mutual's Long Beach Mortgage, GE's WMC Mortgage,
New Century Financial Corp. and Fremont General Corp. made loans
that backed about 60 percent of the $5 billion bonds that were
downgraded, Nicolas Weill, Moody's chief credit officer for asset
finance, said today on a conference call. Their loans accounted for
30 percent of subprime-mortgage bonds issued last year, Weill said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Government Bonds Rise Worldwide After Moody's Cut Ratings on Subprime Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Government bonds rose around the
world after Moody's Investors Service cut the ratings on $5.2
billion of bonds backed by subprime mortgages, spurring demand
for the safest assets.

Benchmark 10-year Treasuries and German bunds gained for a
third day and Japanese government bonds had their biggest rally
in more than 10 months on speculation a deepening U.S. housing
slump will slow the world's biggest economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News