Tongdu Copper Shares Soar After China's Regulator Approves Sale of Stock

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Anhui Tongdu Copper Stock
Co. soared after China's third-biggest producer of the metal got
regulatory approval to sell as much as 2.49 billion yuan ($327
million) of shares to buy mines.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved
Tongdu's plan to issue as many as 430 million yuan-denominated
shares to buy mines from parent Tongling Nonferrous Metal (Group)
Inc., the Anhui province-based copper producer said in a
statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Bond yields soar, crippling US stock indexes

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as bond yields shot to their highest in five years, stoking fears that higher borrowing costs could cut into corporate profits and discourage takeovers.

Bond market investors have all but given up expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut this year as the pace of economic activity strengthens, fueling concerns about inflation. That weighed on the financial and utility sectors, which are the most sensitive to higher interest rates.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Wall Street Journal set for editorial shakeup: report

(Reuters) - Brauchli, in an e-mail message, declined to confirm or deny the Times report, but said, "key elements of the Times story are wrong or misleading." He did not provide more detail.




A Wall Street Journal spokesman declined to comment, while a spokeswoman for Dow Jones did not immediately return a call.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

South Korea's Economic Growth to Pick Up `Modestly' on Exports, IMF Says

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's economic growth will
pick up ``modestly'' this year, driven by rising exports and a
rebound in domestic demand, the International Monetary Fund said.

The fund has been ``happily surprised'' with the pace of
the nation's export growth, Jerald Schiff, assistant director at
the IMF's Asia-Pacific department, told reporters in Gwacheon,
South Korea today. The economy is ``susceptible'' to threats
such as rising oil prices or global financial market volatility,
he said, adding the risks from a U.S. slowdown may be receding.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Icelandic Stocks, Currency Lure Investors (Again) a Year After Meltdown

(Bloomberg) -- Iceland's stock market and currency
are among the world's best performers this year after teetering
on the brink of collapse in 2006. The island's rebounding economy
and high interest rates will drive more gains.

``Stocks will rally another 10 to 15 percent,'' said
Gudmundur Gudmundsson, head of trading at Kaupthing Bank hf in
Reykjavik. ``The krona is still going strong and will retain its
strength in 2007'' on expectations rates will stay near records.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nymex Gasoline Futures Fall on Speculation Inventories May Rise Sixth Week

(Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures fell before a U.S.
Energy Department report tomorrow that may show inventories grew
for a sixth week.

Gasoline stockpiles probably rose 1.5 million barrels last
week, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates in a
Bloomberg News survey. Stockpiles increased 3.51 million barrels
to 201.5 million barrels in last week's report, down 5.3 percent
from the five-year average.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Legal Firms Going Public Get Closer to Reality With Slater & Gordon's IPO

(Bloomberg) -- When Slater & Gordon in Australia
became the first law firm in the world to go public last month,
it turned up the heat on lawyers around the world to do the same.

U.K. lawyers may be poised to follow Australia when a bill
that would allow British firms to list shares is voted on by
lawmakers later this year. American lawyers say they're watching
to see if the law gives their rivals an edge.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Caving to Shareholder Activists May Prompt Rating Downgrades, Moody's Says

(Bloomberg) -- Corporate bonds rated by Moody's
Investors Service are likelier to face lower ratings after
management gives in to shareholder activists, according to a
report from the credit-rating service.

Short-term shareholders, with an investment horizon of less
than two years in a stock, have commonly used media coverage and
the threat of proxy fights, among other tactics, to push for
strategic or financial changes such as acquisitions, asset sales
and share buybacks, Moody's said today in its report.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

European Stocks Decline, Paced by HBOS, Royal Bank, STMicroelectronics

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined after HBOS
Plc said its share of the U.K. mortgage-lending market may
decline and Texas Instruments Inc. said sales will miss its
highest estimates, sending technology shares lower.

HBOS, Britain's biggest mortgage bank, had its steepest drop
in almost three months. STMicroelectronics NV, Europe's largest
maker of semiconductors, declined for the first time in three days.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Congo denies cutting power supply to Zimbabwe

(Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo denied a report on Tuesday by Zimbabwe state media that it had cut off power supplies to the energy-starved southern African state.

"There was a problem with the line over the weekend. A cable fell. But we worked on it Saturday and Sunday," Energy Minister Salomon Banamuhere told Reuters. "We fixed it on Sunday at around 20h00, and there is now electricity going through."


Read more at Reuters Africa

Bosch sees 2007 auto business adj sales up 4 pct

(Reuters) - Bosch is counting on demand for diesel technology and
low-cost cars to help spur growth.




It aims to sell 1 billion euros worth of technology a year
by 2010 for cars that cost less than 7,000 euros, giving it a
quarter of this market segment, Bohr said.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Futures drop on rate worry, Texas Instruments

(Reuters) - The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 5.19 percent. Analyst say a decisive break above 5.15 percent could spook investors into selling stocks. Bond yields move inversely to prices.




"Since the 10-year note broke 5 percent, that's put the market mentality on the defensive," said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey, adding:


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan poison pills won't stop buyouts: Steel Partners

(Reuters) - "Poison pills have not stopped unsolicited takeovers in the U.S. and won't stop unsolicited takeovers in Japan," said Warren Lichtenstein, chairman and chief executive of Steel Partners, Ltd. during a media briefing.




"We believe that Japanese corporate law echoes our sentiment."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

European Stocks Erase Gains; HBOS, Veolia, Deutsche Bank Shares Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks erased earlier gains
as shares of HBOS Plc, Veolia Environnement SA and Deutsche Bank
AG declined.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index decreased 0.1 percent to
388.48 at 11:00 a.m. in London after gaining as much as 0.3
percent earlier. The Stoxx 50 lost 0.2 percent and the Euro Stoxx
50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, dropped 0.3
percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Toyota surpassed GM as top carmaker in 2006: journal

(Reuters) - Detroit-based weekly Automotive News, whose data centre publishes a widely quoted ranking of the world's automakers around this time every year, said Japan's top carmaker outsold GM by about 128,000 units last year based on a technicality that excludes sales of vehicles at minority-held subsidiaries.




"A little-known Chinese microvan played a role in Toyota's victory," the magazine, published by Crain Communications, said on its website.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

IEA sees higher world oil demand, ups pressure on OPEC

(Reuters) - In its June monthly report, the adviser to 26 industrialized countries lifted its forecast for 2007 growth in world oil demand to 1.7 million barrels per day or two percent, up 200,000 bpd from the previous forecast.




The report marked the fourth month running the Paris-based agency has urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to open the taps to lower prices that are close to $70 a barrel, up from about $50 in January.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

CSM buys U.S. bakery company Titterington's

(Reuters) - AMSTERDAM, June 12 - Dutch food group CSM NV said on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Massachusetts-based bakery products company Titterington's for $23 million, reinforcing its market position in the U.S.



Titterington's, which supplies scones, muffins, cakes and pastries to the food service industry, has 190 employees and annual sales of $30 million, CSM said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Vietnam's Five-Year Bonds Decline for a Third Day on Reserve Requirements

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam's five-year benchmark bonds
fell for a third day on speculation banks sold some of their
debt holdings to meet a central bank requirement for higher
reserves.

The State Bank of Vietnam on June 1 asked commercial
lenders to raise the amount of money they keep on reserve in a
bid to reduce liquidity in the financial system. The increase
left banks with less spare cash to buy government debt.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

EU court rules in favor of Anheuser-Busch vs Budvar

(Reuters) - Budejovicky -- the state-owned maker of Budweiser Budvar -- took the case against the rival brewer of Budweiser after it was granted the right to register terms such as Bud and AB Genuine Budweiser King of Beers as trademarks across the 27-nation bloc.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European shares fall early, hounded by rate worries

(Reuters) - The recent rise in global bond yields has put the broader European equities market on course for its worst month since February, but the index is still up over 6 percent this year.




Banks were the largest declining sector, hit by rising government bond yields as investors prepared for global interest rates to keep climbing as central bankers tackle inflation.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Rand firmer vs dollar, looks abroad

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed slightly versus the dollar on Tuesday and traders said the lack of key economic data meant it would continue to look abroad for direction.

The rand was trading at 7.2045 to the dollar at 0640 GMT, about 0.5 percent firmer than the New York close of 7.2425 on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa