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

U.S. backs Microsoft against Google complaint: NYT

(Reuters) - The complaint, which is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's behavior, has not been made public by Google or the judge overseeing the consent decree, the article said.




State officials told the newspaper that a memo by Thomas Barnett, an assistant attorney general, rejected the Google complaint, repeating legal arguments made by Microsoft.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil prices may hit $80 a barrel

(Reuters) - Oil prices could surge to $80 a barrel this year because of tropical storms, rising demand for gasoline and disruptions in crude supplies from Nigeria, a senior Iranian oil official said on Sunday.

"The $80 price is a maximum forecast for oil in the current year but the average price of oil in the current year will be $66.20," Mohammad Ali Khatibi, deputy director for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said.


Read more at Reuters Africa