CAT execs say internal issues key in earnings miss

(Reuters) - In an interview with Reuters, Chief Finance Officer Dave
Burritt and Mike DeWalt, head of investor relations, said
Caterpillar's effort to streamline manufacturing and the
bankruptcy of a key European supplier contributed to the big
second-quarter miss.




Caterpillar said net profit fell 21 percent to $823
million, or $1.24 a share, from $1.05 billion, or $1.52 a
share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, on average, had
expected a profit of $1.49 a share on machinery and engine
sales of $10.34 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 2-Internet entrepreneur details Dow Jones proposal

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - Internet entrepreneur Brad
Greenspan outlined a new proposal on Friday to keep Dow Jones &
Co Inc out of Rupert Murdoch's hands, saying his plan
could help boost the stock price to above $100.




Urging shareholders to reject Murdoch's $5 billion takeover
bid, Greenspan offered to lend members of the Bancroft family,
which controls Dow Jones, $400 million to $600 million to buy
out other Bancrofts who want to cash out at $60 per share --
the price Murdoch's News Corp has offered.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Subprime Investors Who Lost Money `Deserve It,' Fed's William Poole Says

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
President William Poole said investors who lost money buying
subprime mortgage-linked securities got what they deserved.

Poole criticized the underwriting standards and interest-
rate assessments of Wall Street and endorsed the Fed's steps to
strengthen consumer safeguards. His remarks come after Chairman
Ben S. Bernanke committed to tougher rules to protect consumers
during his semiannual monetary policy testimony this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Greens rejoice as analyst sours on U.S. coal

(Reuters) - NEW YORK - An across-the-board downgrading of
U.S. coal company stocks by a Citigroup Inc. analyst is the
latest victory in a fight against plans for new coal-fired
power plants, environmentalists said.




Citigroup analyst John Hill downgraded coal company stocks
across the board in a report this week, saying that expected
U.S. greenhouse gas regulations on coal, which emits more of
the main heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide than any other fuel,
paint a bleak outlook for the sector.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Orange Juice Futures, Little Changed, Gain for Week on Increasing Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Orange juice, little changed in New
York, ended with the biggest weekly gain since October after a
steady drop in futures sparked buying from processors.

The price had dropped 36 percent this year as of July 13 on
slowing demand and speculation that Florida, the world's second-
biggest grower, would boost production next year. Orders from
commercial buyers increased this week after futures fell
2.7 percent last week, said Sterling Smith, vice president at
FuturesOne in Chicago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Shell ordered to suspend Arctic offshore drilling

(Reuters) - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 20 - A U.S. federal
appeals court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc to
suspend oil exploration operations in the Beaufort Sea off the
north coast of Alaska pending a legal challenge being brought
by environmental activists and Alaska native groups.




The ruling deals a serious blow to Shell's plan to drill up
to four exploration wells during the brief Arctic summer to
test a $44 million bet the company placed on the region in
2005. Oral arguments in the case are set for Aug. 14.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

EXCO Resources Q2 net production volume rises 209 pct

(Reuters) - The company said its proved reserves remain in the range of
2 trillion cubic feet equivalents.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 2-WesBanco to buy Oak Hill Financial for $201 mln

(Reuters) - Shareholders of Ohio-based Oak Hill will receive either
1.256 shares of WesBanco common stock, or $38 a share in cash,
about 60 percent more than Oak Hill's Thursday close of $23.30.




"This is a very sizeable transaction for WesBanco, as it
will double our Ohio deposit market share and give WesBanco
more than a 30 percent increase in total assets," WesBanco
Chief Executive Paul Limbert said in a conference call.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Hifn swings to Q3 profit; shares jump

(Reuters) - BANGALORE, July 20 - Network- and
storage-security company Hifn Inc. posted its first
profit in seven years, helped by sales of its data compression
technology products and cost-reduction initiatives.




Shares of the Los Gatos, California-based company jumped
more than 18 percent to $7.48 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.
Earlier, they had touched a new year high of $7.65.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

RBS-led group launches 71 bln euro ABN bid

(Reuters) - AMSTERDAM, July 20 - A consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday it had formally launched its 71.1 billion euro bid for Dutch bank ABN AMRO as it attempts to beat rival suitor Barclays to the biggest ever bank takeover.



The consortium, which also includes Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch group Fortis , said the initial offer period would run from July 23 until Oct. 5.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RBS group launches $98 bln ABN bid

(Reuters) - The consortium said its offer is equivalent to 38.40 euros per ABN share, of which the cash component is 93 percent.




The consortium's offer is about 10 percent higher than an all-share offer from Barclays, currently worth about 35 euros per ABN share.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-InterGen delays bond pricing to Monday -banker

(Reuters) - The credit market has been very volatile on Friday, with the
widely watched iTraxx Crossover widening as much
as 38 basis points to 347 basis points and U.S. junk bonds
falling sharply.




InterGen on Thursday boosted the yields on offer on the debt
and boosted investor protections in the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-US FDA reviewers question GPC Biotech cancer drug

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 20 - U.S. drug reviewers will
ask an advisory panel if they should wait for more data before
deciding whether to approve GPC Biotech AG's proposed
prostate cancer pill, a summary released on Friday said.




Food and Drug Administration staff raised five issues with
GPC's application for the drug Orplatna, known generically as
satraplatin. The reviewers asked whether one of the main goals
in a GPC study was an acceptable basis for approval, and if
pain measurements were reliable, among other things.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Hogs Rise, Head for Biggest Weekly Gain Since March; Cattle Futures Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago headed for
the biggest weekly gain in four months on speculation China may
import more U.S. pork to make up for a drop in domestic
supplies. Cattle also rose.

China may have to buy as much as 100,000 additional tons of
pork worldwide after the spread of ``blue ear,'' a respiratory
disease in pigs, led to a culling of herds that drove domestic
pork prices up 75 percent in the past year. Hog futures have
surged 6 percent this week, the most since mid-March.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

US STOCKS-Market drops on earnings misses, housing woes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. stocks fell on Friday,
with major indexes sliding 1 percent, after bellwether stocks,
including Caterpillar Inc. and Google Inc ,
posted disappointing earnings.




Worries over the impact of the housing slump and losses
from risky mortgages also weighed on stocks and the dollar
while government bond prices jumped.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Congo customs strike ends, mineral exports resume

(Reuters) - A pay strike by customs officers in Democratic Republic of Congo has ended and exports, including mineral deliveries, have resumed from ports and across land borders, a union leader said on Friday.

"We've signed an agreement (with the government) and we've restarted work since yesterday," Tati Nsungani, head of the Customs Officers Union Federation, told Reuters by telephone.


Read more at Reuters Africa

TREASURIES-Rocky credit markets spark bond-buying spree

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 20 - U.S. Treasury debt prices
jumped on Friday as ongoing credit worries and weaker stocks
allowed bond bulls to test six-week lows in benchmark yields.




A mix of hard data and anecdotal evidence have underpinned
a week-long rally. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's
testimony, which referred extensively to the problem in the
subprime mortgages sector, only added fuel.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Pound Advances to 26-Year High Versus Dollar on GDP Report, Rates Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- The pound rose to a 26-year high
against the dollar after a report showed U.K. economic growth
unexpectedly quickened in the second quarter, stoking
expectations of higher interest rates.

The U.K. currency headed for its longest rally in more than
a year on speculation the Bank of England will raise rates half a
percentage point from 5.75 percent by year-end while the Federal
Reserve stays on hold. The pound also advanced as the Fed trimmed
its forecast for economic growth and Bear Stearns Cos. reported
losses on hedge funds that bet on bonds backed by subprime loans.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CORRECTED - US STOCKS-Shares fall on earnings; Nasdaq drops 1 pct

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average was down 106.49
points, or 0.76 percent, at 13,893.92. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index was down 11.01 points, or 0.71 percent, at
1,542.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 28.16
points, or 1.04 percent, at 2,691.88.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

E.Africa firms see worse security, power supply

(Reuters) - Businesses in Kenya expect security to deteriorate, while their Tanzanian and Ugandan counterparts expect access to reliable and affordable energy to worsen in 2007, a survey released on Friday said.

Tanzania and Uganda suffered severe power cuts in late 2005 and most of 2006 after drought depleted their hydropower generation capacity.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Is Steady, Close to 11-Month High, Amid Growing Demand in U.S., China

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near $76 a barrel in
New York, close to an 11-month high, on rising demand for fuel in
the U.S. and China.

U.S. gasoline demand rose last week to its highest in two
years, according to Department of Energy data. China's economy
expanded in the second quarter at the fastest pace in 12 years for
the period, heightening speculation Chinese demand will grow.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Journal Register quarterly net and revenue decline

(Reuters) - The company, which in June said Chief Executive Robert
Jelenic would take a leave of absence to undergo treatment for
cancer, posted net income of $5.5 million, or 14 cents a share,
down from $9.8 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier.




Excluding an adverse tax adjustment resulting from a change
in New York state law, the company said profit was 17 cents a
share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Freddie Mac sells $6 bln reference notes

(Reuters) - The 5.125 percent three-year notes were priced at 99.769 to
yield 5.205 percent, or 36.5 basis points over U.S. Treasuries.
The 5.50 percent 10-year notes were priced at 99.916 to yield
5.51 percent, or 51 basis points over Treasuries.




Settlement for both issues is July 23.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Truworths sees FY headline EPS up 30-35 pct

(Reuters) - South African fashion retailer Truworths expected full year headline earnings per share to increase between 30 and 35 percent, the firm said on Friday.

The retailer said group merchandise sales rose 27 percent to 4.8 billion rand for the year to June 24.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Whirlpool profit up; U.S. improvement expected

(Reuters) - ATLANTA, July 20 - Whirlpool Corp. , the world's biggest appliance maker, reported a 77 percent jump in second-quarter profit on Friday, topping estimates, as improved international results outstripped U.S. weakness.



The company backed its prior full-year profit forecast and said it expected performance in North America, its largest market, to improve in the second half as U.S. demand rises.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wilmington Trust Q2 profit rises

(Reuters) - For the latest quarter, analysts on average expected
earnings of 67 cents a share, excluding items, according to
Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-ImaRx IPO price cut to $5/shr

(Reuters) - According to a July 11 filing with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, the company was expecting the proposed
maximum price of its IPO to be $7.50 a share.




The Tucson, Arizona-based company expects to use net
proceeds of about $12.3 million from the IPO for product
development, sales and marketing costs, for working capital and
general corporate purposes.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canada's Dollar Heads for Fifth Weekly Increase as Crude Oil Prices Climb

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar was poised for
its fifth weekly gain as crude oil prices surged.

The currency has gained almost 12 percent this year on a
strengthening economy and higher prices for Canada's commodities
including oil, which account for about half of exports.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Yen Declines as Company Profit Outlook, Equities Spur Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The yen fell on speculation profit
growth will support stock prices, prompting investors to borrow
in Japan and buy equities elsewhere.

The yen slid against all 16 most-active currencies this week
as investors added to so-called carry trades, taking advantage of
Japan's interest rate, the lowest among industrialized nations.
The Japanese currency also dropped after China raised rates to
cool economic growth, prompting speculation demand for Japanese
exports in its third-largest market will slow.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Stocks set to slip after Google, Microsoft

(Reuters) - Shares of Google fell 5 percent in extended trading hours on Thursday as the Internet search company reported disappointing earnings due to the costs of a recent hiring spree and a jump in other operating expenses.




Shares of Microsoft declined 1 percent in extended trading hours after it reported quarterly results that were in line with analysts' estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Virgin Mobile USA files for $506 million IPO

(Reuters) - The provider of wireless communications services said it applied for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "VM."




The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or the expected price.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News