Australia & New Zealand
Financial News
Al Habtoor Leighton Group Plans to Sell 40% Stake Publicly in Dubai in May Al Habtoor Leighton Group, the Dubai-based contractor that's constructing the Paris Sorbonne University campus in Abu Dhabi, plans to sell as much as 40 percent of its shares in an initial public offering in May.
BHP Hearing on Rio Offer Delayed for South African Antitrust Agency Talks BHP Billiton Ltd.'s hearing tomorrow before South African antitrust regulators, who subpoenaed documents related to the company's hostile bid for Rio Tinto Group, has been postponed for negotiations.
Alcatel-Lucent Rises on Speculation Australia's Quigley May Take Charge Alcatel-Lucent SA, the world's largest supplier of fixed-line phone networks, gained for a second day in Paris trading on speculation the company will hire former manager Mike Quigley as chief executive officer.
Macquarie-Backed Chartreuse & Mont Blanc Offers $147 Million for Rossignol Quiksilver Inc., the maker of surfing and skateboarding gear, rose the most in seven months in New York trading after getting a 100 million-euro ($147 million) offer for its Rossignol Group ski unit from Chartreuse & Mont Blanc.
Crude Oil Extends Gain on Risk Gustav May Strengthen, Enter Gulf of Mexico Oil, natural gas and gasoline rose on speculation Tropical Storm Gustav will become the most damaging hurricane since Katrina as it moves toward production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Wheat Falls For Fourth Day; German Harvest Adds to Improving Global Output Wheat tumbled for the fourth straight session in Chicago as higher grain production in Germany and Russia signaled less demand for U.S. supplies.
Woodside Petroleum First-Half Profit Increases 67% on Record Price, Output Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-biggest oil and gas producer, beat analysts' estimates to post a 67 percent increase in profit as prices rose to records and output started at an oil project off the northwest coast.
Worldwide
Financial News
U.S. Stocks Gain as Durable-Goods Orders Increase; Fannie, Freddie Advance U.S. stocks rose for a second day after orders for durable goods unexpectedly advanced in July and analysts said new investments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will boost their earnings.
SEC May Allow U.S. Companies to Switch to International Accounting Rules The Securities and Exchange Commission may let large U.S. companies switch to international accounting rules in six years, a step it says will lower compliance costs and make American firms more competitive.
Fannie Chief Mudd Replaces Three Top Executives Amid Concern About Bailout Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd replaced three top managers at the beleaguered mortgage-finance provider as the company struggles to convince investors it has enough capital to weather the housing slump.
Lehman May Get Neuberger Bids From KKR, Bain as Carlyle, Hellman Fall Out Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is weighing bids from buyout firms KKR & Co. and Bain Capital LLC for the investment bank's asset management unit, three people briefed on the negotiations said.
Moody's Says It's Reviewing All Prime-Jumbo Mortgage Bonds From 2006, 2007 Moody's Investors Service is stepping up scrutiny of all prime-jumbo mortgage securities issued in 2006 and 2007 as the surge in U.S. foreclosures spreads beyond subprime loans.
UBS AG's Municipal Chief Shulman Leaves Firm Amid Auction-Rate Settlements David Shulman, UBS AG's global head of municipal securities, left in the wake of settlements by the bank with state and federal regulators over the sale of auction- rate securities before the market collapse in February.