Brazilian company to rebuild crucial Angola dam

(Reuters) - Brazilian company Odebrecht is set to rebuild a crucial hydroelectric dam in Angola, raising hopes that foreign investment will boost an electricity industry battered by civil war, a state official said on Thursday.

The $158 million, 20-month project approved by the Angolan cabinet on Wednesday, has raised hopes that businesses in the southern region stand to benefit from investment.


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July job growth slowest since February

(Reuters) - In another sign of slowing growth, the Institute for Supply Management reported signs of a weakening service sector as its index of July activity fell to 55.8 from 60.7 in June. Any reading over 50 indicates growth.




Problems in the housing sector, where lenders are encountering difficulties with rising mortgage defaults and prices are declining in many metro markets, appeared to spread into hiring as construction businesses cut jobs.


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BAE Systems says completes Armor takeover

(Reuters) - "The acquisition expands the company's business in the United States and strengthens BAE Systems' position as one of the world's leading land systems businesses," BAE said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.



BAE announced the transaction valued at $4.53 billion on May 7. Armor makes wheeled military vehicles and vehicle and individual armour systems.


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Morgan Stanley's MSCI plans $200 mln IPO

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday it plans to sell part of its stake in index and risk analytics provider MSCI Inc. through an initial public offering as it focuses on its core brokerage business.



The investment bank, which owns 96.6 percent of MSCI's shares outstanding, said that while it plans to initially sell a minority interest later this year, "it would be beneficial to ultimately divest its remaining interest in MSCI."


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UPDATE 1-Entergy posts lower 2nd-qtr earnings

(Reuters) - Net income fell to $267.6 million, or $1.32 per share, from
$281.8 million, or $1.33 per share, a year earlier.




Excluding special items, Entergy's earnings rose on higher
energy prices and output at its nuclear units and lower tax
expenses at its wholesale power business. The company earned
$1.32 per share compared with a year-ago profit of $1.22 per
share when it excluded results from its bankrupt Entergy New
Orleans unit.


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Lone Star extends tender offer for Accredited Home

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 30 - Private equity firm Lone Star, which agreed to acquire Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. in June, said on Monday it was extending its tender offer by 10 business days for all outstanding shares of the struggling subprime mortgage lender's common stock.



The date has been extended till Aug. 14 because Accredited Home had not obtained regulatory approvals required to close the tender offer by the previous deadline of July 27, Lone Star said.


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RPT-KPN says Getronics offer price is "fair" - CNBC

(Reuters) - KPN said earlier in a statement the takeover offer for
Getronics, worth 766 million euros in total, was
part of its strategy to move from providing communications links
to more value-added services in the business market.




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Pearson H1 profit up, raises education sales forecast

(Reuters) -



LONDON, July 30 - Book and newspaper publisher Pearson reported a sharp rise in first half profits on Monday and raised its full-year sales forecast for its core professional education business to growth of 5-7 percent.


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US economic growth rebounds in second quarter

(Reuters) - U.S. economic growth rebounded during the second quarter to its strongest pace since the beginning of last year on a surge in business investment, more government spending and a better trade performance, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Gross domestic product that measures total output within U.S. borders gained at a 3.4 percent annual rate -- the fastest since 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2006 -- after barely growing at a downwardly revised 0.6 percent pace in the first quarter. Second-quarter growth exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 3.2 percent rate of increase.


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Ford shares up on forecasts for faster turnaround

(Reuters) - Johnson is now forecasting a narrower 2007 loss for Ford of 62 cents per share from his earlier estimate of a loss of $1.77. He expects Ford to lose 23 cents a share in 2008.




Ford on Thursday posted a profit of $750 million, its first in two years, on improved auto business and cost-cutting in its troubled U.S. operations.


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UPDATE 2-Ingersoll-Rand 2nd-quarter profit meets forecast

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 27 - Industrial conglomerate Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. , in the midst of remaking its portfolio of businesses, reported higher quarterly profit on Friday, reflecting a large gain from discontinued operations.



The company also disclosed it received a notice from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, proposing adjustments to its past tax filings, and said it would contest the proposed adjustments.


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Forest City in $607 mln sale of retirement homes

(Reuters) - "Current valuations for this business have increased
significantly, and we have chosen to take advantage of this
extraordinary market to dispose of these properties at full
stabilized value," Charles Ratner, Forest City's chief
executive, said in a statement.





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UPDATE 1-FBR to sell nonprime mortgage unit to Sun Capital

(Reuters) - FBR said the unit, which made more than $7.4 billion of
mortgage loans in 2006, will be recapitalized, with Sun Capital
investing $60 million and FBR investing $15 million. FBR also
expects to fund $15 million of expected losses in the unit, and
will keep ownership of $250 million of new mortgages, which it
hopes to sell or securitize.




In a statement, FBR Chief Operating Officer J. Rock Tonkel
said the transaction gives First NLC "liquidity to navigate
through an exceptionally difficult mortgage market environment,"
while leaving FBR with exposure to improvement in the business
once the market begins to recover.


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Siemens says Continental paid best price for VDO

(Reuters) - U.S. car-parts maker TRW , which is majority owned by
Blackstone , had also been interested in buying the
business.




Earlier, Siemens announced it would sell VDO to Continental
for 11.4 billion euros .


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UPDATE 1-Corporate Executive Q2 net falls; cuts '07 view

(Reuters) - The company, which provides business research and analysis
services, also cut its earnings outlook for the third quarter.




The Washington D.C.-based company now expects 2007 earnings
of $2.05 to $2.15 a share, down from its prior view of $2.13 to
$2.24 a share. It, however, targets 15 percent to 20 percent
growth in revenue for the full year.


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UPDATE 1-Fed banks wanted flat discount rate in May, June

(Reuters) - But the Fed regional bank directors were concerned about a
potential threat from a slumping housing market, according to
minutes of meetings of the Washington-based Fed Board of
Governors, which must approve changes in the discount rate
governing Fed lending to commercial banks.




"Directors considered it likely that business investment
would begin to strengthen soon, buoying overall economic
growth, but they noted that activity in the housing market was
continuing to contract and cautioned that the housing sector
posed a downside risk to economic performance," according to
minutes from a June 25 meeting.


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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.


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UPDATE 1-Meridian urges patience on Yamana takeover bid

(Reuters) - Meridian said Goldman, Sachs & Co. and BMO Capital Markets
are acting as financial advisors, and that it will announce a
recommendation within the next 10 business days.




Yamana is offering 2.235 Yamana common shares and C$3.15 in
cash for each common share of Meridian, which is based in Reno,
Nevada.


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India's Satyam says FY08 margins to drop 125 bps

(Reuters) - Wage increases would impact margins by 350 basis points in
the July-September quarter, he said.




New York-listed Satyam , which specialises in
business software, reported a lower-than-expected 7 percent
rise in net profit for the fiscal first quarter ended June as a
stronger rupee dented margins. )


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UPDATE 1-PNC Financial second-quarter profit rises

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - PNC Financial Services Group Inc. , a fast-growing Northeast U.S. regional bank, said on Thursday that second-quarter profit rose, helped by acquisitions and growth in existing businesses. Net income for the Pittsburgh-based company rose to $423 million from $381 million. Earnings per share fell to $1.22 from $1.28 because PNC had more shares outstanding.



Adjusted earnings rose to $434 million from $386 million, and fell to $1.25 from $1.30 on a per-share basis.


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