UPDATE 2-Hillary Clinton slams private equity tax rate

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, July 13 - New York Sen. Hillary
Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner, on Friday
urged closing a tax "loophole" that she said unfairly benefits
a few top Wall Street financiers.




Clinton joined other lawmakers in a push to raise the tax
rate on "carried interest" gains made by senior partners in the
booming private equity and hedge fund businesses.


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Edward Jones to pay $75 million in SEC settlement

(Reuters) - Edwards Jones settled without admitted or denying the charges.




As part of the settlement, Edward Jones agreed to increase disclosures on its Web site about the preferred mutual fund family program and the savings plan. It also agreed to pay $37.5 million in disgorgement and $37.5 million in civil penalties.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 2-Icahn takes stake in Kraft Foods - WSJ

(Reuters) - The newspaper said it was unclear how much of a stake Icahn
has taken or when he bought the shares, but it did say he was
not seeking radical changes, as he has at other companies in
which he has invested.




The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, also said Kraft
Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld planned to meet next week with
another activist investor, Nelson Peltz.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Hog Prices Rise on Speculation China Will Import More Pork; Cattle Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures rose in Chicago on
speculation that China will import more pork, the most widely
consumed meat in the nation of 1.3 billion people. Cattle
futures fell.

Higher grain costs and the spread of so-called Blue Ear
disease in hogs drove up retail pork prices 12 percent in China
last month, according to the Chinese government. China was the
sixth-largest importer of U.S. pork last year, buying 113.5
million pounds (51.5 million kilograms), the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said in a report.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Icahn takes stake in Kraft Foods: report

(Reuters) - Neither Kraft nor Icahn could be reached immediately for comment.




The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, also said Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld planned to meet next week with another activist investor, Nelson Peltz.


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Performance Food to be distributor for O'Charley's, Stoney River

(Reuters) - The new business roll-out, which is expected to be
completed in the fourth quarter of 2007, would add about $200
million in annualized revenue, the company said in a
statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Redstone expects Viacom to beat digital revenue target

(Reuters) - Redstone made the comment to reporters after arriving at the 25th annual Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.



When asked about acquisition targets in digital media, Redstone said, "Our goal is not to spend tons of money on stuff that has arrived." Viacom "is so strong we don't have to make a transformative deal," he said.


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U.S. federal IT service providers seek M&A to fuel growth

(Reuters) - The government has also bundled contracts, making them
harder for smaller players to win.




This has put pressure on federal IT service providers to
chase revenue growth through acquisitions, either to improve
their contract bidding prospects or to pick up companies that
already have government contracts.


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GE may sell some finance units

(Reuters) - "Are we going to be opportunistic about value-creation because of liquidity? I think it's a good time," Keith Sherin, GE's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in a phone interview. "That'll be more in the financial services space today, where we may have things that are less strategic that someone else may be able to do more with."




The timing appears good to try to sell off pieces of that unit, said Matt Collins, capital goods analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

NY Gov: Turn NYC railyard into a Rockefeller Center

(Reuters) - The Democrat, at a news conference, declined to estimate
what one of the largest blocks of open space left in Manhattan
might fetch. However, the mass transit agency has said it
expects to get $1 billion from the bids.




As much as 12 million square feet of offices, apartments, a
hotel and a cultural center can be built on the site.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Sugar Rallies to Highest Price Since March as Brazil Makes More Ethanol

(Bloomberg) -- Sugar rose in New York to its
highest price since March on signs that processors in Brazil,
the world's largest grower, are churning out more ethanol and
less sweetener.

Mills in the center-south region, where 85 percent of
Brazil's sugar cane is grown, cut sweetener output by 8.7
percent from last year to 7.34 million metric tons, the Center
South Sugar and Ethanol Industry Association, known as Unica,
said yesterday in a statement. Ethanol output rose 11 percent to
5.56 billion liters (1.5 billion gallons), the group said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Rand holds tight range

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand ditched its volatile ways this week by remaining stuck in the same range.

At 1510 GMT, the rand was trading at 6.9650 versus the dollar, below its New York close of 6.9575 on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

MercadoLibre sees IPO of 16.1 mln shares at $16-$18 each

(Reuters) - The company had earlier filed to raise up to $100 million
in the IPO, according to a May 11 filing with the regulators.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Baker Hughes warns on Canada, hits oil svc co's

(Reuters) - But the Baker Hughes announcement, which sent its shares down more than 5 percent, surprised Pierre Connor, analyst with Capital One SouthCoast in New Orleans, who expected the Houston-based company's oil rig business to protect it from the weaker gas environment.




"It's obviously worse than expected," he added.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

July consumer sentiment climbs to 6-month high

(Reuters) - Although the jump in the index was impressive, it was coming off a 10-month low in June.




"We're a bit surprised at the Michigan numbers, given where oil prices are and the problems in the housing sector. It perpetuates this on-again, off-again feeling about the U.S. economy," said Shaun Osborne, senior currency strategist at TD Securities in Toronto.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Coffee Falls Most in Two Weeks in New York on Inventories, Brazil Weather

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee fell the most in more than two
weeks in New York after stockpiles swelled and the threat of
frost abated in Brazil, the world's largest producer.

Inventories in warehouses monitored by the New York Board of
Trade stood at 4.23 million bags on July 11, the most since
October 2005. Supplies have surged 28 percent in the past year at
the exchange's delivery points in New York, New Orleans, Hamburg,
Miami and Antwerp, Belgium. Each bag weighs 132 pounds, or 60
kilograms.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Consol says air in idled Buchanan mine improves

(Reuters) - Two monitoring stations showed carbon monoxide levels were
declining, indicating no active combustion in the mine.




Consol said it had submitted plans to regulators to drill
bore holes in the mine near Maisdale, Virginia, to give access
for additional monitoring and to pump in inert gas or water in
an effort to flush out carbon monoxide, but it did not give an
expected production restart time.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Victory Nickel angry at Lundin's bid for Rio Narcea

(Reuters) - Victory Nickel said it had been working to finance a
competing bid for Rio Narcea. It said the "true value" of Rio's
assets could be maximized through a combination with Victory.




Last week, junior miner Rio recommended that shareholders
accept Lundin's sweetened takeover bid, which was extended to
July 16 and, under a support agreement, cannot be extended
beyond July 19.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED - Victory Nickel angry at Lundin bid for Rio Narcea

(Reuters) - Victory Nickel said it had been working to finance a
competing bid for Rio Narcea. It said the "true value" of Rio's
assets could be maximized through a combination with Victory.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Novartis falls to year low on hepatitis trial halt

(Reuters) - "The shares are coming under pressure after the Idenix report," one trader said.




Shares were also pressured after an experimental cancer drug developed with Antisoma Plc failed in a mid-stage clinical trial for ovarian cancer, which was announced Wednesday, and profit taking ahead of second-quarter results due next week, traders said.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Alcoa Shares May Reach $59 in a Possible Takeover, Credit Suisse Says

(Bloomberg) -- Alcoa Inc. shares may be valued as
high as $59 if the world's second-largest aluminum company is
taken over, according to Credit Suisse Group. That would be 26
percent higher than the company's record reached yesterday.

Alcoa yesterday withdrew its hostile $27.7 billion takeover
bid for Alcan Inc. after mining company Rio Tinto Group topped
the offer by agreeing to pay $38.1 billion. Alcoa's failure to
buy Alcan has led to speculation that Alcoa itself might become
a takeover target.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

GE profit meets forecast, to sell subprime unit

(Reuters) - Those businesses helped offset weakness at the company's WMC Mortgage subprime lending unit, which recorded a loss. GE said it would sell that unit.




Another weak spot was GE's health care business, which makes diagnostic imaging tools like CAT-scan and MRI machines. Profit in that unit fell 8 percent due to regulatory changes.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Retail sales June unexpectedly drop 0.9 pct

(Reuters) - Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting retail sales to rise 0.1 percent after a rise in May that was revised up to 1.5 percent. Excluding auto sales, analysts had expected retail sales to rise 0.2 percent in June.




The biggest drop in retail sales since August 2005 came as purchases of motor vehicles parts, which make up around 20 percent of sales, slipped 2.9 percent. Gasoline sales fell 1.1 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Corporate Bond Risk in U.S., Europe Falls Second Day, Credit Indexes Show

(Bloomberg) -- Corporate bond risk declined for a
second day, according to credit-default swap traders who bet on
creditworthiness.

Credit-default swaps on $10 million of debt in the CDX North
America Investment Grade Index of 125 companies fell $750 to
$44,750 at 7:31 a.m. in New York, according to broker Phoenix
Partners Group. Europe's iTraxx Crossover Index of 50 companies
dropped 4,500 euros ($6,201) to 270,500 euros at 12:57 p.m. in
London, JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices show.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Benin suspends two cellphone networks in dispute

(Reuters) - COTONOU, July 13 - Benin suspended the networks of
two of its four mobile phone operators late on Thursday, cutting
off nearly 1 million subscribers in a dispute over contracts,
the West African country's telecoms regulator said.




The regulator silenced the networks of South Africa-listed
MTN and Atlantique Telecom, which is controlled by
Emirates Telecommunications Corp. .


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

European Stocks' Four-Year Rally Faces Threat From LBO Risk, Goldman Says

(Bloomberg) -- A four-year rally in European stocks
may be threatened amid expectations that financing costs for
leveraged buyouts will increase, according to Goldman, Sachs &
Co. strategists.

The collapse of a debt-funded acquisition would rattle
investors' confidence in takeovers, which have been ``a great
driver'' for stock markets, Georgina Taylor, a London-based
European portfolio strategist at Goldman, said in an interview. A
bailout of a failed fund or bank would also pose risks, she said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Morocco May Build $3 Billion Oil Refinery, Energy Minister Boutaleb Says

(Bloomberg) -- Morocco may build a $3 billion oil
refinery to reduce dependence on the country's two existing
plants, Minister of Energy and Mines Mohammed Boutaleb said.

The new refinery would be located in Jorf Lafar, 80
kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Casablanca on the Atlantic
Ocean, the government news service Maghreb Arabe Presse reported,
citing Boutaleb at a news conference in Rabat.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Blackstone partners may avoid tax on IPO gain - NYT

(Reuters) - Congress is currently weighing whether to raise taxes on the profits made by private equity and hedge fund firms, which would more than double the tax rate from 15 to 35 percent.




The Times said Blackstone's tax move hinged on its use of goodwill, an accounting term for the value of the intangible assets built up by a company over time.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Barclays CEO says ABN ruling removes uncertainty

(Reuters) - "The ruling is definite and therefore removes uncertainty
from the situation, which is good for ABN AMRO customers and
employees," Varley said, adding the ruling was consistent with
the legal advice it had had over time.




For details click on [nL13181342].


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Fortis says evaluating Dutch ruling on ABN AMRO

(Reuters) - Fortis, Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander
together are seeking to buy ABN AMRO. A rival bid was
made earlier by Britain's Barclays , which now seems set
to acquire ABN AMRO's North American unit LaSalle.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FACTBOX-Key facts on ABN AMRO's U.S. unit LaSalle

(Reuters) - -- LaSalle had a 14.1 percent share of deposits in the Chicago area as of June 30, 2006, trailing only JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s 15.3 percent, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.




-- Roughly one-third of LaSalle's branches, but close to 60 percent of assets, are in the Chicago area.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Asian shares dazzle on M&A, led by miners

(Reuters) - Australian, South Korean, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indian stock market indexes all chalked life-time peaks.




The firm tone was set to continue in Europe, where financial bookmakers expect the FTSE 100 Index to open 26 to 33 points higher, the DAX to open 59 to 66 points higher and the CAC 40 to open 35 to 48 points higher.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

French Benchmark Index Advances; Schneider, Air France, Axa Shares Gain

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks climbed, paced by
Schneider Electric SA, Air France-KLM Group and Axa SA.

The CAC 40 Index jumped 47.54, or 0.8 percent, to 6150.59 at
9:06 a.m. in Paris. The SBF 120 Index advanced 0.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News