China Bohai Bank Wins Approval to Open Beijing Branch, First Outside Base

(Bloomberg) -- China Bohai Bank, the first national
lender set up in the country in a decade, won regulatory approval
to open a branch in Beijing, the first step in expanding outside
its home base.

Bohai Bank, one-fifth owned by Standard Chartered Plc., has
started hiring for the Beijing outlet and will commence
operations in the nation's capital later this year, the Tianjin-
based company said in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China's 2007 LNG Imports May Rise Fourfold as Power Plants Increase Usage

(Bloomberg) -- China, the world's second-biggest
energy user, may increase liquefied natural gas imports from
Australia fourfold this year as power plants use gas to generate
electricity to cut pollution, an official said.

Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co., China's only LNG import terminal,
may import 2.6 million metric tons of the fuel this year,
compared with 687,533 tons in 2006, said an official from the
plant, asking not to be named because of company policy. China
National Offshore Oil Corp. and BP Plc own the terminal.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japan Shares Tumble; Mizuho, Banks Fall on Drop in Profits; Kyocera Slips

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell after Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said
their quarterly profit dropped because of increasing credit-
related costs.

A measure tracking banks plunged 4.5 percent, the worst
performer in the 33 industry groups included in the Topix. Mizuho
had the biggest loss since May 10, 2004.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dow Jones sale to end Bancroft media reign

(Reuters) - The Bancrofts are among a group of centenarian newspaper families that includes the Sulzberger clan, who run The New York Times Co., and the Chandlers, who cashed out of Tribune Co. earlier this year.




In the sepia-toned years of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these families were stewards of what many historians characterize as the golden age of news.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-LandAmerica posts lower 2nd-qtr earnings

(Reuters) - The real estate insurer said net earnings were $7.9 million
or 42 cents a share, down from $35.6 million or $2.06 a share
in the year-earlier quarter.




The company also raised its dividend by 8 cents, or 36
percent, to 30 cents a share, payable on Sept. 14 to
shareholders of record Aug. 31.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bear Stearns halts redemptions in third hedge fund

(Reuters) - "We believe the fund portfolio is well positioned to wait
out market uncertainty and we believe by suspending redemption
we can ensure the best long term results for our investors,"
Bear Stearns spokesman Russell Sherman said.




Unlike the two funds that collapsed, the third Bear Stearns
hedge fund is not leveraged.



Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

FACTBOX: Companies chosen for U.S. IT contract

(Reuters) - -- Accenture National Security Services LLC




-- Advanced Management Technology


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Tupperware posts higher 2nd-qtr quarter profit

(Reuters) - The company said second-quarter net income increased to
$35.5 million, or 56 cents per diluted share, from $25.2
million, or 41 cents, a year earlier.




Tupperware, best known for its food storage containers sold
at in-home parties, said sales climbed to $492.9 million from
$436.6 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bear Stearns Shares Decline, Stock-Index Futures Fall: U.S. After-Hours

(Bloomberg) -- Bear Stearns Cos. shares declined in
extended U.S. trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that
it faces losses from a third hedge fund that has $900 million in
mortgage investments.

Shares of the New York-based company retreated $4.21, or 3.5
percent, to $117.01 as of 6:37 p.m. in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-American Financial Q2 profit falls on charges

(Reuters) - However, the company's core earnings for the quarter rose
22 percent, helped by improved underwriting profit within the
specialty property and casualty operations and higher
investment income.




The Cincinnati-based company posted second-quarter earnings
of $67.0 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with earnings
of $122.9 million, or $1.02 a share in the year-ago quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Brasil Telecom 2nd-quarter profit up 39 pct

(Reuters) - Brasil Telecom Participacoes is the holding company that
runs Brasil Telecom SA , the country's No. 3
fixed-line operator. Its controlling shareholders include
Citigroup Inc. and several Brazilian state-run pension
funds.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-US officials say Iraq role to last years, cost more

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 31 - President George W. Bush's
nominee to be top military adviser said on Tuesday the United
States will be in Iraq for "years not months" and a Pentagon
official said the war was costing even more than expected.




Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, picked as chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, warned U.S. lawmakers unhappy with the
conflict against seeking a rapid pullout from Iraq, saying it
could turn the country into a "caldron."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Bonds jump higher as stock market tumbles

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. government bond prices
climbed on Tuesday, taking direction from weaker stocks on
continued concerns that a housing market slump and
deteriorating credit conditions could crimp economic growth.




Bonds have been closely mirroring stocks recently, gaining
when stocks fall as investors turn to the relative safety of
bonds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Buffalo Wild Wings quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - Total revenue rose 22 percent to $76 million, the operator
of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar restaurants said in a
statement.




Analysts on average expected the company to earn 22 cents a
share, before items, on revenue of $77.92 million, according to
Reuters Estimates.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Aon explores options, including spinoff, for CICA

(Reuters) - Case said Aon is "prepared to respond accordingly."




Aon has hired Credit Suisse Securities LLC, Merrill
Lynch & Co and Aon Capital Markets as advisors on any potential
transaction.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TXU's Lenders Will Go Ahead With Biggest Ever Leveraged Buyout, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co.
and four more banks won't back out of an agreement to finance
the $32 billion takeover of TXU Corp. if they fail to sell debt
issued in the deal to investors, two people with knowledge of
the situation said.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Inc. agreed in
February to take the Dallas-based power producer private. The
banks said they would sell as much as $26.1 billion in loans to
fund the leveraged buyout, the second largest after the planned
acquisition of Canadian phone company BCE Inc. by a group
including Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Madison Dearborn
Partners LLC.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Brookfield to spin off 60 pct infrastructure stake

(Reuters) - TORONTO, July 31 - Brookfield Asset Management Inc. will spin off a 60 percent stake in its infrastructure operations to its shareholders in a deal worth about $600 million, it said on Tuesday. Brookfield will create a new publicly traded partnership called Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and keep a 40 percent stake, spinning off the rest to existing Brookfield class A shareholders in a special dividend.



The company said the new partnership plans to seek a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Mexico tax reforms won't end oil dependency -Ortiz

(Reuters) - President Felipe Calderon unveiled a long-awaited tax
proposal in June to try to plug fiscal gaps as economically
vital oil reserves falter.




"It's a step in the right direction. But it obviously
doesn't resolve the country's structural fiscal problems,"
said Guillermo Ortiz, the head of the central bank.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

News Corp looks set to win Dow Jones

(Reuters) - A senior executive at Dow Jones said he had received an internal e-mail that said the Bancrofts, who control the company's voting shares, had agreed to the $5 billion deal.




"Up-to-date purchase news: it appears that the Bancroft family has accepted and we're going to be part of News Corp. That just in," John Prestbo, editor and executive director of Dow Jones Indexes, told reporters in Chicago.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wells Fargo sued for racial bias in mortgage loans

(Reuters) - In their complaint, Nancy and Johnny Jeffries accused Wells
Fargo of marking up interest rates or adding fees for black
borrowers seeking mortgages after agreeing to lend based on
more well-defined criteria such as credit histories and home
values. The southwest Chicago homeowners said this violates the
federal Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act.




The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and was filed on
Monday against San Francisco-based Wells Fargo in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of California.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Strengthen as Investors Seek Refuge Amid Renewed Credit Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose as evidence of
losses among providers of riskier mortgages encouraged investors
to seek the safety of U.S. government debt.

Ten-year note yields fell to near the lowest in two months
as American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., a lender whose stock
stopped trading after it disclosed a cash shortage, said it may
have to liquidate assets. Standard & Poor's may downgrade an
additional $1 billion of collateralized debt obligations.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

US STOCKS-Earnings lift blue chips, credit woes linger

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. blue-chip stocks rose on
Tuesday, lifted by positive earnings from companies, including
General Motors Corp. , and by reassuring reports on the
economy.




But two major stock indexes were off their highs for the
session and the Nasdaq was little changed as concerns about
deteriorating credit conditions -- which led to last week's
market rout -- returned.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

American Home can't fund loans, may liquidate assets

(Reuters) - American Home shares closed Friday at $10.47. They have not traded since trading was halted on Monday morning.




Spokeswoman Mary Feder did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. Her telephone mailbox was not accepting messages.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexico stocks jump and peso firms aided by US data

(Reuters) - The benchmark IPC stock index moved up to 31,132
points, an increase of 0.75 percent. The peso currency
also firmed by 0.19 percent to 10.93 per dollar.




In debt trading, the price of the benchmark 10-year
government peso bond gained 0.248 point to bid
101.958, with a yield of 7.68 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 3-Brazil primary budget surplus rises to June record

(Reuters) - BRASILIA, July 31 - Brazil's consolidated primary
budget surplus grew to a record for the month of
June, climbing to 11.65 billion reais from a
surplus of 10.44 billion reais a year earlier, the central bank
said on Tuesday.




The result was higher than the 9.9 billion reais median
estimate of 18 economists in a Reuters poll. The estimates
ranged from 6.0 billion reais to 12.1 billion reais. In May,
the consolidated primary surplus was 9.3 billion reais.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.African trade union calls off De Beers strike

(Reuters) - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called off a planned strike at the world's biggest diamond producer De Beers on Tuesday after the company increased its wage offer.

Workers had been due to down tools on the evening shift, but the two sides agreed a deal in last-minute talks, NUM negotiator Peter Bailey said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Saputo reports higher profit, increases dividend

(Reuters) - Saputo, one of North America's biggest cheese makers,
earned C$68.4 million , or 66 Canadian cents a
share, for the three months ended June 30. That was up from a
profit of C$53.3 million, or 51 Canadian cents a share, in the
same period a year earlier.




The company said its results included a one-time tax
reduction of about C$4 million to adjust future tax balances
due to lower Canadian federal tax rates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Chile's Pinera quits as director of airline LAN

(Reuters) - Pinera, one of Chile's richest men, was fined about
$700,000 by the stock exchange regulator on July 6 after buying
3 million LAN shares in July last year while he had information
about the company's unpublished second-quarter results.




The regulator accepted the transaction was not driven by
his knowledge of that information.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Marathon to buy Western Oil Sands

(Reuters) - Marathon said it will pay about $3.6 billion in cash plus 34.3 million shares or securities exchangeable for shares. It will also assume about $650 million of debt.




Houston-based Marathon -- which also posted a higher-than-expected second quarter profit -- has been looking for a partner in the Canadian oil sands for two years.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Carbon Emission Permits Rise for Sixth Day; Power Prices Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon dioxide permits
rose for a sixth day, the longest consecutive gain in more than two
months. German and French next-day power prices advanced.

Permits for December 2008 advanced as much as 60 cents, or 2.9
percent, to 21.45 euros ($29.39) a metric ton on the European
Climate Exchange in Amsterdam. They traded at 21.05 euros a ton at
5:49 p.m. local time.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Aftermarket, Avon, Dow Jones, Masco, Waste Management: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 11:40 a.m. in New York.

Aftermarket Technology Corp. (ATAC US) rose the most since
September 2001, jumping $3.60, or 14 percent, to $30.09. The car-
parts maker increased its 2007 forecast, saying it expects to
earn $1.55 to $1.70 a share. The company earlier predicted profit
of as much as $1.55.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-ImClone 2nd-qtr earnings fall; sees new CEO soon

(Reuters) - Net income fell to $31.9 million, or 36 cents a share, from
$37.2 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier.




Revenue rose to $150.4 million from $149.9 million a year
ago


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-St. Lawrence Cement reports lower earnings

(Reuters) - St. Lawrence said Holcim completed the acquisition of
minority shareholders in the company.




The company reported sales of $366 million, compared with
$364 million in the same period last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

George Weston quarterly profit drops 30 pct

(Reuters) - The results were lower than analysts' average expectation of a profit of C$1.02 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.



Sales for the quarter were C$7.74 billion, up from C$7.51 billion in the corresponding quarter of last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Hilton profit rises ahead of Blackstone deal

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - Hilton Hotels Corp , which is being acquired by private equity firm Blackstone Group , posted a better-than-expected 15 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by higher room rates.



The strong earnings, fueled by robust demand from business and leisure travelers, highlights the continuing boom in the lodging industry, which has made hotel companies sought-after assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Wall St. rises on data, GM earnings

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday after General Motors Corp. added to optimism about corporate earnings and a key inflation indicator showed a smaller-than-expected rise.

GM shares jumped 6 percent to $34.56 after the blue-chip automaker swung to a profit in the second quarter and handily topped Wall Street's expectations. For details, see ID:nN30442082.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 2-Shoppers help Canada's economy rebound in May

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, July 31 - Canada's economy grew slightly
less than expected in May but at a still-strong 0.3 percent
pace from the previous month, setting the stage for a second
interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada in September.




Statistics Canada said on Tuesday that a surge in retail
and wholesale trade mainly drove the growth, putting the
economy on track for second-quarter annualized growth of about
3 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-US Midwest business grew more slowly in July

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - Business activity in the U.S.
Midwest expanded less than expected in July and at its slowest
pace since April, constrained by a drop in new orders even as
hiring expanded, a report showed on Tuesday.




The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago
business barometer fell to 53.4 from 60.2 in June.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nymex Profit Rises 9.4 Percent on Increase in Electronic-Trading Volumes

(Bloomberg) -- Nymex Holdings Inc., owner of the
world's largest energy market, said second-quarter net income
rose 9.4 percent as growth in electronic trading increased
revenue.

Net income climbed to $41.7 million, or 44 cents per share,
based on 94.8 million shares outstanding, from $38.1 million, or
44 cents per share, based on 81.6 million shares, in the year-
earlier period, New York-based Nymex said in a statement.
Operating revenue jumped 34 percent to $163.6 million from $122.5
million.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Hilton Hotels earnings rise on higher rates

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time items, including a gain from the sale of
the Scandic hotel chain, the company said it posted
second-quarter earnings of 38 cents per share.




On July 3, Hilton agreed to be acquired by Blackstone for
$47.50 a share in cash, or about $20 billion, in what would be
the largest private equity buyout of a hotel company.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Marathon to buy Western Oil Sands for $5.56 bln

(Reuters) - The company also said its second-quarter profit fell on a decline in oil and gas output and the absence of a year-ago gain from the sale of Russian operations.




Houston-based Marathon has long been looking for a partner in the Canadian oil sands. Still, it is expensive and requires special equipment to turn the tar-like sludge that comes from the region -- called bitumen -- into usable fuel.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US RATE FUTURES-Falter despite mild June inflation

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, July 31 - U.S. short-term interest rate
futures weakened on Tuesday in a profit-taking setback from
recent gains, but bounced from the day's lows after news of
mild inflation in June.




No change to overnight lending rates rates is expected to
be made at the Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting on
Aug. 7 and implied prospects for a rate cut at the Sept.
18 FOMC meeting are at 25 percent, down from 40 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold gains in nervous market, may rise further

(Reuters) - Gold drifted higher on Tuesday as stock markets recovered and the dollar weakened, but investors remained nervous due to recent falls in bullion price.

Spot gold was quoted at $666.60/667.40 an ounce by 0959 GMT, compared with $664.60/665.40 late in New York on Monday and Friday's two-week low of $656.90.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Group 1 Automotive's quarterly profit dips

(Reuters) - The Houston-based company, the fourth-largest auto retailer in the United States, said earnings declined to $24.2 million, or $1.01 per share, from $24.9 million, or $1 per share, a year earlier.



Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.03 per share. Analysts, on average, had expected 98 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Uribe Can't Escape Death Squad Scrutiny as Beach Tourism Fortifies Economy

(Bloomberg) -- The three-car train pulls past miles
of lush banana plantations into the Colombian town of Aracataca
after a 55-mile (89-kilometer) trip inland from the Caribbean
coastal city of Santa Marta. Remote Aracataca is the birthplace
of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and was
fictionalized as Macondo in his novel ``One Hundred Years of
Solitude.''

The train, which will start making regular runs in 2008, is
Colombia's latest effort to attract tourists to a country
plagued by more than four decades of drug-funded violence and
kidnappings. Garcia Marquez himself, 80, is aboard for this test
run in June. His boyhood home is being refurbished like that of
the novel's Buendia family and will be opened to the public.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

PMI Group quarterly earnings fall

(Reuters) - Analysts on average expected earnings of $1.15 a share,
excluding any exceptional items, according to Reuters
Estimates.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Czech Koruna Posts Biggest Monthly Advance Versus Euro Since November 2005

(Bloomberg) -- The Czech koruna posted its biggest
monthly gain since November 2005 as risk-averse investors unwound
carry trades funded in the currency.

The currency snapped a three-month losing streak in July as
investors withdrew from these trades, which took advantage of the
Czech Republic's 3 percent interest rate to buy higher-yielding
assets elsewhere. The koruna was the second best-performer
against the euro this month, just beating the Japanese yen, which
has the lowest rates among industrialized countries.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Glaxo shares climb as U.S. panel backs Avandia

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 31 - Shares in GlaxoSmithKline Plc
, Europe's biggest drugmaker, gained more than 3 percent
on Tuesday after a U.S. advisory panel recommended its diabetes
pill Avandia should stay on the market.




Even though data suggested Avandia may increase the risk of
a heart attack for some patients, panel members voted 22-1 to
keep the medicine on sale -- but most advisers backed stronger
warnings on the widely used drug.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Japan state pension had $30 bln profits in FY06/07

(Reuters) - About 75 percent of the profit came from investments in
foreign stocks and bonds, which accounted for just a quarter of
the total marketable financial assets, the fund said.




As of March 31, the end of fiscal 2006/07, the pension fund
held about 84.9 trillion yen of marketable financial assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RWE Stops Neurath C Lignite-Fired Plant, Reduces Nuclear Power Generation

(Bloomberg) -- RWE AG, Germany's second-largest
utility, reported a shutdown at a lignite-fired power plant and
said it cut capacity at its Gundremmingen C nuclear plant.

RWE's 291-megawatt Neurath C lignite-fired plant stopped
yesterday at 9:48 p.m. Central European Time, the Essen,
Germany-based company said today on its Web site. Neurath C is
expected to remain halted for less than one day, the company
said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European shares off to strong start; GSK climbs

(Reuters) - European shares got off to a strong start on Tuesday, gaining 1 percent in early trade to break a five-day losing streak as credit market worries eased and company news returned to centrestage.

At 0714 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1 percent at 1,532.78 points. Shares on Germany's DAX rose 1.3 percent, while benchmarks in Britain and France rose around 1 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

AngloGold Earns $152 Million in Second Quarter on Gold Prices, Contracts

(Bloomberg) -- AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa's
largest gold producer, earned a profit in the second quarter,
compared with a loss in previous period, after bullion rose and
a stronger rand cut losses on forward sales contracts.

Net income was 1.08 billion rand ($152.3 million), or 3.85
rand a share, in the three months through June 30, after a loss
of 150 million rand, or 53 cents, in the first quarter, the
Johannesburg-based company said today in a statement to the
city's stock exchange. Net income was $111 million in U.S.-
currency terms, a measure that excludes the conversion of the
forward contracts into rand.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Rand steady vs dollar, global sentiment eyed

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand steadied versus the dollar on Tuesday and dealers said the currency would take its direction from global investor sentiment towards emerging markets.

The rand stood at 7.0975 at 0645 GMT, not far off its New York close of 7.1010 on Monday. Dealers said the unit would likely trade between 7.05 - 7.15/dollar during Tuesday's session.


Read more at Reuters Africa