Nokia unveils 3 new handsets, sees bigger market share

(Reuters) - While Nokia dominates the market for cheaper phones and has a wide line-up of pricier multimedia models, its weak spot in recent years has been the mid-range or 150-250 euro price level.




Urpo Karjalainen, Nokia's senior vice president for Asia- Pacific, said the models would take the total number of new handsets launched by the Finnish firm this year to 26.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European Bonds May Decline on Speculation Investor Confidence to Increase

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds may fall
on speculation accelerating growth in the $10.4 trillion euro
region economy will prompt central bank officials to raising
interest rates.

European debt had the longest run of weekly losses since
January last week, with benchmark 10-year yields touching the
highest since August 2002. Bonds may extend losses before the
release of a report tomorrow expected to show German investor
confidence on the economy rose to the highest in a year.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 18

(Reuters) - * Airbus is finalizing an order with US Airways Group Inc.
for up to 30 jets valued at $7 billion, in a boost for
its A350 jetliner program.




* Moody's move to slash ratings on 131 bonds backed by
pools of speculative subprime loans could weigh on the already
fragile subprime bond market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Stocks Gain on Yen, Commodities; Toyota Rises, China Reaches Record

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day as
prices of metals and crude oil advanced and the yen weakened
against the dollar.

BHP Billiton Ltd. rose to a third straight record, while Rio
Tinto Group became the first A$100 share on the Australian stock
exchange. Toyota Motor Corp. gained on expectations declines in
the yen will help boost exporters' dollar-denominated sales and
as a report showed U.S. core inflation slowed.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Platinum Gains in Tokyo as Dollar Trades Near Four-Year High Against Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo rose as the
dollar held near a more than four-year high against the yen,
boosting the value of yen-denominated contracts for platinum,
which is traded globally in the U.S. currency.

The dollar traded at 123.50 yen as of 12:13 p.m. in Tokyo,
compared with the 123.67 yen touched on June 15, the highest
since Dec. 12, 2002. Gains in gold futures traded in Tokyo also
drew investors to precious metals, including platinum, Kazuhiko
Saito, a strategist at Interes Capital Management, said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Asian Stocks Rise for Third Day on U.S. Inflation, Yen; Toyota Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day,
led by exporters, after the yen weakened and a report showed
inflation slowed in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. led
technology companies and automakers higher. BHP Billiton Ltd.
climbed to a third straight record after metals prices advanced.
Five of the region's benchmarks jumped to records, with China's
CSI 300 Index adding 3.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Oil rises on thin U.S. gasoline stocks, supply risks

(Reuters) - London Brent crude for August delivery, currently seen as more representative of the global market, rose 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel by 0153 GMT, after gaining 11 cents on Friday when it hit a 10-month high.




U.S. crude for July steadied at $68.00 after climbing 5 percent last week, while U.S. gasoline futures continued to rise to lead oil market gains after data last week showed stockpiles of the motor fuel in the United States unexpectedly failed to build.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Sun to buy Friendly Ice Cream in $337 million deal

(Reuters) - The transaction is expected to close during the third
quarter of 2007.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Australian Stocks Rise, Led by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto on Higher Metals

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index,
the S&P/ASX 200 Index, rose 0.23 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 202 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange rose 14.60 to 6,308.40. Among the stocks in the index,
124 rose, 49 fell and 29 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Chipmakers, Exporters, Lotte, Samsung Corp.: South Korea Stock Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in South Korea. Prices refer to the June 15 close. This preview
includes news announced after markets shut. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index added 0.2 percent to a record 1772.26. The
Kosdaq climbed 2.3 percent to 800.61. Kospi 200 futures expiring
in September advanced 0.2 percent to 225.90, while the underlying
index gained 0.1 percent to 224.61.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Dow Jones rival bid plan may include family-papers

(Reuters) - One option for GE and Pearson would be to allow the
Bancroft family to keep a 20 percent stake in the company,
reported the Financial Times, which is published by Pearson.




Selling Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to
GE and Pearson, would be a better journalistic fit than News
Corp., but there is "no rush" to examine the plan, an
unidentified Bancroft family member told the Financial Times.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Asian Contagion Led by Asset Bubbles May Be Only a Bad Currency Trade Away

(Bloomberg) -- The next Asian contagion may be only
a bad currency trade away.

Ten years after the collapse of Asian governments'
overvalued currencies in 1997, the remedies they embraced to
prevent a recurrence may have only traded one set of risks for
another. Their ``never again'' determination has led them to new
extremes: artificially low currencies, a record $3.4 trillion in
reserves and export-dependent economies.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Israel's Index Gains, Led by Electronic-Payment Equipment Maker VeriFone

(Bloomberg) -- Israeli stocks gained the most since
April, led by VeriFone Holdings Inc., the world's largest maker
of electronic-payment equipment.

The TA-25 Index added 20.79, or 1.9 percent, to 1128.11 at
12:43 p.m. in Tel Aviv, the biggest one-day gain since April 4.
Twenty-four shares advanced and one declined.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News