UPDATE 1-Carbon offsetting needs code of practice-UK report

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 23 - Carbon offsetting has a role to
play in fighting climate change but urgently needs a code of
practice, an environment committee of British parliamentarians
said on Monday.




Voluntary offsetting involves individuals and companies
paying others to cut greenhouse gas emissions on their behalf.
It is unregulated, and so distinct from a mandatory
international scheme under the Kyoto Protocol.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Barclays raises offer for ABN AMRO to $93 bln

(Reuters) - However the new offer, which has been helped by a big investment in Barclays from China Development Bank and Singapore's Temasek, is still below a 71 billion euro bid from a group of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland .




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Indian Oil Buys Crude From Chevron, Mitsui, Petronas for September Loading

(Bloomberg) -- Indian Oil Corp., the country's
biggest refiner, bought crude oil for loading in September from
Chevron Corp., Mitsui & Co. and Petroliam Nasional Bhd., said
three traders who submitted offers.

Details of the refiner's purchases are as follows:


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

More U.S. Companies See Economy Improving, Plan to Hire, NABE Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- More U.S. companies plan to increase
hiring and spending in coming months as they anticipate faster
economic growth, a survey by the National Association for
Business Economics found.

The number of businesses planning to boost employment
outstripped those planning to reduce staff by the most in more
than a year, the report from the Washington-based group showed.
A fifth of the companies grew more optimistic about the economy
as sales increased.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

ABN Amro, Alitalia, Arcelor, Enel, Kuehne & Nagel: 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 fell 1.1 percent to 392.59. The Dow
Jones Stoxx 50 Index declined 1.4 percent to 3910. The Euro Stoxx
50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro, dropped
1.7 percent to 4445.23.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. states to help subprime owners refinance - WSJ

(Reuters) - State officials hope this will be enough to keep some
vulnerable low and moderate income neighborhoods from sliding
into decline.




The Journal said some of the programs will be similar to
existing government-lending programs, in which the state
extends mortgages to homeowners and then sells those home
loans, in some cases to companies such as mortgage and finance
giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan's Stocks Fall; Exporters Slip on U.S. Earnings, Tokyo Electric Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese shares dropped, paced by
companies that rely on the U.S. market, after Caterpillar Inc.
said its profit dropped on lower North American sales. Exporters
such as Honda Motor Co. and Komatsu Ltd. declined.

Investors also refrained from betting heavily on stocks
before the upper house election, which will be held on July 29.
The Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday Japan's ruling coalition
may lose its majority in the election, citing its own poll.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Indian Rupee May Rise a Seventh Week as Overseas Investors Buy More Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- India's rupee may advance for a
seventh week on expectations overseas investors will buy more
local stocks, a survey of currency traders showed.

The rupee last week closed at a nine-year high as net
purchases of shares by global funds so far this year surpassed
that for all of 2006, pushing the benchmark stock index to a
record. The fastest pace of growth in almost two decades is
prompting lenders such as HDFC Bank Ltd. to raise funds abroad
to meet local demand for loans.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Chevron Starts California Refinery Crude Unit, Flares Sulfur, State Says

(Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp., the second-largest
U.S. oil company, reported that it flared sulfur oxide during
plant startup at its refinery in El Segundo, California.

The flare occurred at about 12:57 p.m. yesterday, San
Ramon, California-based Chevron said in a filing on a state of
California Web site. A refinery spokesman wasn't immediately
available to comment on the incident.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Oil Options Show $100-a-Barrel Price by 2008, Sooner Than Even Goldman Saw

(Bloomberg) -- The $100-a-barrel oil that Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. said would prevail by 2009 may be only a few
months away.

Jeffrey Currie, a London-based commodity analyst at the
world's biggest securities firm, says $95 crude is likely this
year unless OPEC unexpectedly increases production, and
declining inventories are raising the chances for $100 oil. Jeff
Rubin at CIBC World Markets predicts $100 a barrel as soon as
next year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Resona, Toyota, Idemitsu, Cabin, Japan Steel Works; Japan's Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may move in
Japanese markets on July 23. Prices are as of the close of
trading. Statements were released after the close. Stock symbols
are in parentheses.

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203 JT): Japan's biggest automaker told
Bloomberg News it will decide July 23 a schedule for restarting
production at domestic auto plants shut down for lack of parts
after a July 16 earthquake. Toyota may restart production as
early as July 24 using piston rings in inventory if Riken Corp.,
a supplier damaged in the earthquake, can repair its factories on
schedule, the Yomiuri newspaper reported July 22. Toyota's shares
rose 20 yen, or 0.3 percent, to 7,560.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Apple results eyed for iPhone sales

(Reuters) - The iPhone contributed virtually none of the $637 million Apple is forecast to have earned, but investors are eager for the first official word on how many of the combination phone, Web browser, media player devices were sold at launch.




"Perhaps the most significant catalyst from the report will be feedback regarding initial iPhone demand," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said in a research note. "We believe initial iPhone demand is very robust."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TRW guarantees most jobs should it buy VDO: report

(Reuters) - A stumbling block for any potential buyer is organized labor, however, as unions fear a sale of VDO may result in major job cuts.




The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, that TRW had tried to assuage those fears by making assurances it would keep VDO's administration and "practically cut no jobs".


Read more at Reuters.com Business News