PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 25

(Reuters) - * The near-meltdown of two Bear Stearns hedge funds
underscored and aggravated a growing fear that hard-to-trade
investments may spur a broader market retreat.




* Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. continued
negotiations over Murdoch's takeover bid after talks nearly
collapsed over an editorial-independence safeguard plan.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Home Resales in U.S. Declined to Four-Year Low Last Month, Economists Say

(Bloomberg) -- Home resales dropped in the U.S.
last month as demand remained near a four-year low, reinforcing
concerns about a protracted housing slump, economists said
before an industry report today.

The National Association of Realtors may report home
resales fell 0.3 percent to an annual rate of 5.97 million, the
lowest since June 2003, according to the median forecast of 55
economists in a Bloomberg News survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.K. Pound May Gain on Speculation BOE to Resume Raising Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound may gain on
speculation Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will this week
reiterate that the central bank is ready to raise the highest
interest rates among the Group of 7 nations even more.

The pound climbed last week after minutes of the bank's June
policy meeting showed King was among policy makers who backed
higher borrowing costs. King is due to testify in Parliament this
week. Nationwide Building Society will this week probably say
U.K. house prices quickened for the fourteenth month during June,
according to economists in a Bloomberg survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Gold Little Changed in Asian Trading as Equity Markets Fall a Second Day

(Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed amid
speculation a fall in Asian equity markets for a second day may
reduce demand for the precious metal.

Stocks in Asia declined on concern rising interest rates may
hurt future earnings. The Morgan Stanley Capital International
Asia-Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent to 153.21 as of 1:18 p.m. in
Sydney, after dropping 0.6 percent on June 22.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Soybeans, Corn May Fall as Rains Revive Stressed Crops in U.S. Midwest

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans may drop from a three-year
high on the Chicago Board of Trade, and corn might fall as rains in
the U.S. Midwest revive crops threatened by dry weather.

Thirteen of 23 traders, farm advisers and merchants surveyed
June 22 said to sell soybeans and 12 said corn will fall. Soybeans
for November delivery last week fell 5.7 percent to $8.3075 a
bushel after rising for seven weeks. December corn tumbled
8.9 percent to $3.815 a bushel, the largest weekly drop since July
1997. Corn is still up 66 percent from a year ago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Posco to Construct Third Steel-Processing Plant in Thailand, Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Posco, Asia's third-biggest
steelmaker, plans to build a third processing plant in Thailand
and is looking for potential partners.

The company, based in Pohang, South Korea, will complete
the 120,000 metric ton plant by October next year, Ko Min Jin, a
Posco spokeswoman, said by phone from Seoul, confirming comments
made by In Chan Moon, Posco's head of Thai operations. The three
plants will process a combined 400,000 tons by 2011, Ko said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Japanese Stocks Drop, Led by Property Developers; Takeda, Matsushita Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined led by
property developers, such as Mitsubishi Estate Co. as investors
shifted funds out of shares that may be hurt by the trend of
increasing interest rates.

Limiting losses, some exporters such as Canon Inc. and
Honda Motor Co. advanced as investors judged the benefit of a
weaker yen outweighed the implications of mortgage defaults in
the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Pallinghurst ups bid for Australia's Consolidated

(Reuters) - The new bid values Consolidated at A$2.82 a share, compared with Friday's close of A$2.84.




Pallinghurst, headed by former BHP Billiton Ltd. chief Brian Gilbertson, increased the cash component of the offer in response to the demand from institutional investors.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Li Ka-shing, Barrack Outwit Shell, Marathon, Buy Refineries as Prices Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Li Ka-shing and Thomas Barrack have
found a way to make more money from record gasoline prices than
Marathon Oil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

The billionaires are buying refineries in Europe and the
U.S. for about $12,000 per barrel of processing capacity, 33
percent less than the oil companies pay to build them along the
Gulf of Mexico. Charges for contractors, labor, cement and steel
have doubled and the new plants are years away from completion.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Oil Has `Substantial' Risk of Surging as Non-OPEC Output Peaks, Bank Says

(Bloomberg) -- Oil prices have a ``substantial''
risk of surging higher and boosting inflation because non-OPEC
production may soon peak, the Bank for International Settlements
said in its annual report.

``The short-run risks of sharp increases in oil prices
remain substantial,'' the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said in
its 77th annual report today. ``The impact of oil price increases
could be significant; a recent analysis estimates that a supply-
induced doubling of prices would boost inflation in emerging Asia
by as much as 1.4 percent points above baseline.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Yahoo reorganizes ad sales; Millard to Martha Stewart

(Reuters) - Recently elevated Yahoo President Susan Decker said in a phone interview that the consolidation of Yahoo's two advertising arms -- display and Web search advertising -- reflects growing demand by customers for campaigns that combine both types of ads, with newer types of video advertisements.




The restructuring of top U.S. sales management follows the company's warning last week that a nearly year-old slowdown in its display ad business -- the online banner ads and other methods -- would lead to weaker second-quarter results.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Norddeutsche says to bid 30 eur/shr for Cumerio

(Reuters) - Norddeutsche will make a cash tender offer of 30 euros per
Cumerio share, which would be a premium of 28.5 percent to the
closing share price on June 21, valuing Cumerio at 777 million
euros , Norddeutsche said in a statement.




"This is the ideal combination for both companies. It
provides a unique opportunity to lead the consolidation of our
industry and create an international leader and a growth
platform in the sector beyond Europe," Norddeutsche Chief
Executive Werner Marnette said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Customer service a casualty of U.S. airline recovery

(Reuters) - If carriers want to ensure long-term survival, they say
they have no choice but to restrain capacity, fill as many
seats as possible and cut costs wherever they can.




And for travelers who don't like it, there is always the
bus.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nice Systems may buy Actimize for $280 mln -paper

(Reuters) - Nice and Actimize spokesmen declined to comment.




Actimize was established in 1999 and is owned by several
Israeli venture capital funds, which have so far invested some
$24 million in the company.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Central bankers upbeat on global growth outlook

(Reuters) - The strong outlook for global growth is helping to lift long-term interest rates and correct market pricing of risks, central bank governors said on Saturday.

But some expressed concern about the prospect of faster growth fanning commodity prices and inflation, which might require tighter monetary policy in countries such as China.


Read more at Reuters Africa