Some people can buy iPhone without 2-year contract

(Reuters) - AT&T, the exclusive U.S. service provider for iPhone until 2009, had said in the months leading up to the phone's launch that customers would be required to sign up to a two-year contract in order to buy the device, which costs up to $600.




The companies did not widely publicize that customers who do not pass its credit test have the option to pay for their service on a month-by-month basis, escaping what some consider a restrictive two-year plan.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan's Government Bonds Complete Worst Quarter Since 2006 on Rate Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds completed
their worst quarter in more than a year on speculation the
central bank will increase borrowing costs again by August.

Benchmark 10-year bonds dropped the most since the first
three months of 2006 as reports signaled the economy is
resilient enough to allow the Bank of Japan to raise interest
rates. Trading was limited last week before the central bank's
Tankan survey July 2, which may show business confidence held
near a two-year high, said Naomi Hasegawa, a senior fixed-income
strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Dobson, Electronics for Imaging, Sempra, Sycamore: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges on
July 2. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Dobson Communications Corp. (DCEL US): AT&T Inc. (T US)
agreed to acquire Dobson, a wireless carrier, for about $2.8
billion, according to a PR Newswire statement. The stock fell 1
cent to $11.11 in regular trading.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Argentina stocks fall on repositioning, bonds flat

(Reuters) - Traders said the market was also influenced by declines in
U.S. stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down
0.10 percent on Friday.




"The session's selectivity was due to the MerVal's new
profile and the volatility was due to the U.S. market," said
Ruben Pascuali, a trader at Mayoral Bursatil brokerage.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Stocks Rise in U.S. Trading on U.S. Economy; Toyota, Sony Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks gained in U.S. trading
after reports showed inflation eased in the U.S. while
manufacturing and consumer confidence beat economists' forecasts.
Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. led the advance.

The Bank of New York Co.'s Asia ADR Index, tracking the
region's American depositary receipts, rose 0.3 percent to
167.43, ending the week up 0.3 percent. The index jumped 5.8
percent this quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Fall on London Bomb Scare, Subprime Loan Concern; Bear Drops

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, erasing a 102-
point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after a bomb
scare swept London and concern grew that banks face more losses
from subprime loans.

Bear Stearns Cos., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc. led brokers to the steepest retreat among 24
industries in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. The S&P 500
posted its first monthly decline since February on speculation
losses on subprime mortgages will deepen after two Bear Stearns
hedge funds nearly collapsed.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Ex-CVS execs settle charges on toy accounting

(Reuters) - Philip Galbo, former treasurer at CVS, and Larry Solberg,
former principal accounting officer, agreed to collectively pay
$53,204 to settle claims they helped CVS materially overstate
its pretax earnings for the third quarter of 2000 by about
$18.1 million.




"The commission will continue to hold public companies and
their employees accountable when they fail to accurately
portray their financial results," said David Bergers, head of
the SEC's Boston office. "The investing public must be able to
count on the results reported each quarter."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

NewWest Gold stock soars on Fronteer approach

(Reuters) - NWG Investments has agreed to support a Fronteer offer to all NewWest shareholders at a ratio of 0.26 of a Fronteer common shares for each NewWest share, the companies said.




Based on Thursday's closing share prices, the proposed transaction would be worth about C$3.20 per NewWest share, a 36 percent premium to its C$2.35 closing price, or about C$187 million for NewWest overall.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's $6 per phone offer

(Reuters) - David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president of intellectual property litigation, said the company's offer translated to around 2 percent to 2.5 percent of the price of each handset.



Qualcomm rejected this offer, he said, but added that further negotiations were likely.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-US mortgage bond issuance rises in 1st half 2007

(Reuters) - Stress in the subprime mortgage market kept issuance
contained.




Lehman Brothers was the top underwriter of U.S.
mortgage-backed securities for the first half of 2007, the
financial data firm said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Expedia says debt could soar on buyback

(Reuters) - In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the top online travel company said its debt would rise to about $4.1 billion if it completed the buyback at the top of the range it set. That compares with its debt of about $500 million as of June 15.



"This indebtedness could adversely affect Expedia's ability to raise additional capital to fund its operations and react to changes in the economy or our industry," the company said in the filing.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Federal agency debt issuance rose in first half

(Reuters) - JPMorgan was the top underwriter during the half,
with a 9.3 percent market share. Citi was in second place
and Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of UK lender
Barclays , was in third, according to Thomson.




A total of $665 billion was issued for all of 2006, an
increase of 6.7 percent from 2005, Thomson Financial said at
the end of last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bear Stearns `Not an Iceberg, Not The Titanic;' Buy Bonds, Citigroup Says

(Bloomberg) -- Bonds of Bear Stearns Cos., the
fifth-biggest securities firm, were raised to ``buy'' from
``hold'' by Citigroup Inc. because the bonds became cheap after
the firm offered $1.6 billion to bail out a hedge fund.

In a report titled `Not an Iceberg, Not the Titanic,''
Citigroup reversed a June 11 call that lowered the rating to
``hold'' on New York-based Bear Stearns's 5.55 percent notes due
in 2017. The recommendations are made ``solely on the basis of
valuation,'' analysts led by Ryan O'Connell said in a report.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Mexico cenbank to release data earlier in the day

(Reuters) - Other data to be released at this time are the central
bank's weekly reserves rundown and the quarterly announcement
of the amount of dollars it will sell daily.




The time change does not apply to the bank's weekly
treasuries auctions, the results of which will still be
published on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m..


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

CBOT says Glass Lewis recommends CME merger

(Reuters) - IntercontinentalExchange Inc. , or ICE, an
Atlanta-based exchange, made a higher bid for CBOT in March
that was rejected by CBOT's board. CME's bid, with a special
dividend, values CBOT at roughly $10.5 billion against $11.4
billion from ICE.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

French bank Natixis to buy U.S. firm Gateway

(Reuters) - The acquisition is being carried out by Natixis subsidiary IXIS Asset Management U.S. Group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.



"Gateway enjoys a highly competitive long-term track record based on a well-tested risk management methodology. We expect demand for its style of risk-adjusted investment products to be strong and growing, particularly in the rapidly expanding retirement market," Pierre Servant, head of asset management at Natixis, said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Alabama County Commissioner Testifies to SEC on Interest-Rate Derivatives

(Bloomberg) -- A Jefferson County, Alabama,
commissioner was questioned by federal regulators about how
banks were chosen to arrange $5.6 billion of interest-rate swaps
and why there was no competitive bidding for the contracts.

Larry Langford, who gave testimony for more than three
hours at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Miami
office on June 21, said officials hired banks such as JPMorgan
Chase & Co. to arrange the derivatives because of the firms'
knowledge of Jefferson County's finances. Officials relied on
advisers to look out for the county's interests, Langford said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

New York takes precautions after London bomb

(Reuters) - New York normally puts police on heightened alert in response to security incidents in other countries.




As a city that has twice been attacked by Islamic extremists -- a truck bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the attacks of September 11, 2001, -- New York has police representatives in hot spots around the world, including London.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gadget fans speak out from iPhone lines

(Reuters) - NEW YORK CITY




Jose Sanchez, 22, employee of athletic shoe store Foot Locker, who arrived on Tuesday to camp out in front of Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue:


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Goldman Sachs Recommends Buying Northern Rock Shares Following Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Investors should buy stock of
Northern Rock Plc, the U.K. mortgage lender that two days ago
said it expects to miss analysts' profit estimates, according to
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The world's biggest securities firm by market value added
Northern Rock to its ``conviction buy list,'' saying its shares
have fallen too far. Northern Rock shares dropped 12 percent to
829 pence yesterday before rising 3 percent today to 856 pence
as of 2:30 p.m. in London. Goldman Sach's 12-month target price
for the stock is 1,097 pence.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US clears Rexam deal for Owens-Illinois

(Reuters) - Rexam, the world's biggest drinks can maker, said earlier
this month it wanted to buy O-I Plastics.




The company hopes the purchase of O-I Plastics will help it
ride a boom in the plastic packaging market. The $4 billion
U.S. market is expanding 7 percent annually as an aging and
healthcare-conscious population uses more medicines.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

American Home Mortgage, CryoCor, PMI Group, Talbots: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 10:10 a.m. New York time.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM US) fell $2.85,
or 14 percent, to $18.06. The lender specializing in adjustable-
rate mortgages withdrew its fiscal 2007 earnings guidance and
said it will likely have a second-quarter loss.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US stock indexes rise on tame inflation

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday after a inflation gauge watched by the Federal Reserve showed its lowest reading since March 2004, putting the Dow industrials on track to end the quarter on a strong note.

Among top gainers, shares of Research In Motion Ltd. surged after the BlackBerry maker posted a quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates and announced a 3-for-1 share split. The results triggered a flood of brokerage upgrades. For details, see ID:nN2838412.


Read more at Reuters Africa

NAPM-Milwaukee says purchasing index up in June

(Reuters) - The index of the region's blue-collar employment rose in
June to 67 from 60, while white-collar employment was up 2
points at 57.




New orders jumped 19 points to 75 and production was at 72
against 63 in May. Supplier lead times fell 6 points to 38 and
order backlogs were up 13 points to 68.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Brazil's Real Rises as U.S. Price Index Eases, Boosting Local Investments

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency rose as signs of
slowing inflation in the U.S. boosted speculation that returns
on high-yielding local assets will remain attractive.

``Concerns about inflation and higher rates in the U.S.
seem to have lifted, so the real is back on its appreciating
trend,'' said Ovidio Pinho Soares, a currency strategist at
Finabank Corretora in Sao Paulo.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UK Alzheimer's drug case ends, judgement reserved

(Reuters) - The judge had been asked to quash the decision of the
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to
restrict access to Alzheimer's drugs on the state National
Health Service.




Manufacturers argued that the way in which NICE reached its
decision to deny drugs costing around $5 a day to NHS patients
newly diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease was flawed and
unlawful.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Treasuries Advance as Inflation Gauge Preferred by Federal Reserve Slows

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose after a government
report showed the Federal Reserve's most closely watched measure
of inflation slowed in May and consumer spending increased less
than economists forecast.

U.S. government securities also got a boost from investors
who typically buy Treasuries at the end of the month to match
changes in benchmark indexes. The 10-year note's yield has
declined on the last business day of June each of the past five
years.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.N. chief in Afghanistan, focus on lack of law and order

(Reuters) - The meeting took place amid heavy security at the presidential palace, which still bears the scars of the past 30 years of conflict in the central Asian state.




Journalists were called to the palace, but there was no news conference.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US RATE FUTURES-May PCE data taken in stride

(Reuters) - The core personal consumption expenditures index rose by
0.1 percent in May, in line with Wall Street forecasts. The
year-on-year core PCE slowed to a 1.9 percent advance from 2.0
percent in April.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Ariba, Black Box, Priceline.com, Research in Motion: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM US): The lender
specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages withdrew its fiscal
2007 earnings guidance and said it will likely have a second-
quarter loss. The shares fell 52 cents to $20.91 in regular
trading yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan Asks Brokerages for Views on 10-Year Auction After Call for Re-Issue

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Ministry of Finance is
asking securities firms and banks their views on next week's 10-
year bond auction, including whether to issue a new security or
sell existing debt.

Some brokerages asked the ministry to re-issue the No. 286
10-year bond with a 1.8 percent coupon at the sale on July 3,
said Kazuo Katayama, director for market finance division of the
ministry's finance bureau. The brokers said there has been a
shortage of the debt in the repurchase market, in which debt is
lent out for an agreed time, according to Katayama.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Futures fall with inflation data on tap

(Reuters) - In earnings news, Research In Motion Ltd. may give a lift to the Nasdaq after the maker of the Blackberry reported results that beat analysts' estimates.




Research in Motion stock jumped 8.1 percent to $179 in electronic trading.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Uganda wins $110 mln from AfDB for power project

(Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Friday it had lent Uganda $100 million to finance a power plant.

"The project will finance, built and operate a 250-MW run-of-the-river plant ... and link the power plant to the national electricity grid," the bank said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Marriott to triple India hotel portfolio

(Reuters) - The hotel operator expects its moderately priced Courtyard brand will expand faster than its more premium brands as India's middle class grows more prosperous and more international operators crowd the luxury segment.




"If you look at markets like China and India, most operators are coming in at the higher end, maybe from an ego standpoint," said Geoff Garside, executive vice president of Asia Pacific.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

South African Credit Growth Unexpectedly Slowed to 24.8 Percent in May

(Bloomberg) -- South African credit growth slowed to
an annual 24.8 percent in May as four interest-rate increases last
year crimped consumer spending on cars.

The pace of growth in borrowing by households and companies
slowed from 25.1 percent in April, the Pretoria-based central bank
said on its Web site today. Credit growth was expected to be
little changed at 25.4 percent, according to the median estimate
of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Government Bonds Set for Biggest Quarterly Drop in Almost 8 Years

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds are set for
their steepest quarterly decline in almost eight years as signs
of quickening economic growth and inflation underpin the case for
further interest-rate increases by the European Central Bank.

German bunds, Europe's benchmark, dropped for a fourth
month, with 10-year yields touching a five-year high, as the ECB
raised its lending rate to a six-year high and indicated further
increases are needed to curb inflation. ECB President Jean-Claude
Trichet has said borrowing costs are low enough to stimulate
expansion in the $10.4 trillion economy.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Marks & Spencer Entices Short Sellers as Tesco, Sainsbury Squeeze Shares

(Bloomberg) -- Marks & Spencer Group Plc revived
growth by selling gourmet food to Britons. Now, it's fighting to
keep customers from defecting to larger rivals.

Marks & Spencer's sales of food such as spicy, smoked trout
and crayfish salads are growing at a slower pace than at Tesco
Plc and J Sainsbury Plc, which are selling more organic and
premium food for less money.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China Approves $200 Billion Sale for Fund to Buy Reserves, Boost Returns

(Bloomberg) -- China approved a 1.55 trillion yuan
($200 billion) sale of government bonds to set up a fund that
will seek higher returns on the nation's currency reserves.

The Ministry of Finance will use proceeds from the sale to
buy a portion of China's $1.2 trillion foreign-exchange reserves
from the central bank and establish a new asset-management
company. The plan was approved by the National People's Congress,
China's parliament, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S. Notes Rise; Report May Show Inflation Held in Fed's Preferred Range

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year Treasuries rose for the
first time in three days on speculation a government report today
will show an inflation gauge held within the Federal Reserve's
preferred range.

The yield on the benchmark 4 1/2 percent security due in May
2017 fell 2 basis points to 5.09 percent as of 7:49 a.m. in
London, according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price
rose 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000 face amount, to 95 15/32.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News