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13/08/07

Asia's central banks take steps to calm markets

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia's central banks took further steps on Monday to calm markets roiled by fears over a credit squeeze, with the Bank of Japan injecting $5.1 billion into the banking system and others pledging to follow suit if needed. South Korea's finance ministry said it stood ready to supply emergency funds if credit dried up due to the turmoil in U.S. subprime mortgages. The country's banks and insurers have invested $850 million in the U.S. subprime mortgage loan sector, it added.

Source says Sanyo mulling cellphone operation sale

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. <6764.T> is considering selling its loss-making mobile phone operations and is already in preliminary talks with several domestic cellphone makers, a source close to the matter said. Sharp Corp. <6753.T> and Kyocera Corp. <6971.T> are among the likely candidates for buying the unit, which accounts for about 15 percent of Sanyo's group sales, the source said on Monday.

Dubai port operator eyes $2 billion IPO

DUBAI (Reuters) - DP World, the world's third-largest container port operator, may this year sell $2 billion of shares in an initial public offering and list the stock in Dubai, Middle East Economic Digest reported. The Dubai government-owned company may list the shares on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, unidentified analysts close to the port operator said, according to the London-based weekly magazine.

Venezuela's Chavez says oil headed for $100 barrel

CARACAS (Reuters) - World oil prices are headed for $100 per barrel, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez predicted on Saturday, and said he will cut supplies to the United States if the U.S. government "attacks" the South American nation again. "I've always said that oil prices are headed straight to $100 per barrel," he said during a televised speech. "We should prepare ourselves for those prices of one hundred dollars."

Oil climbs near $72, support from robust demand

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed towards $72 a barrel on Monday as central bankers injected cash into jittery financial markets and as expectations of energy demand remained robust. U.S. crude for September delivery rallied 46 cents to $71.93 a barrel by 0030 EDT, after ending 12 cents down on Friday. London's Brent crude rose 33 cents to $70.72, adding to the previous session's 18-cent gains.

Expect subprime to stay primetime

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Things got downright serious this past week when central banks rushed to infuse financial markets with cash -- and made noise about it. It showed that North American and European monetary leaders needed no more proof that the impact of the U.S. credit crisis has spread from high-risk mortgages to other, far less murky, parts of the financial world, including Canada's stock market.

Asian stocks tentatively higher, yen steady

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stock markets made a tentative recovery on Monday following last week's hammering as fears of a global credit crisis eased after central banks around the world pumped money into banking systems. The yen also held steady and commodity prices firmed as credit jitters calmed a little, with oil prices rallying after a 5.5 percent slide last week.

AirTran ends talks as Midwest accepts rival offer

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - AirTran Holdings Inc. said on Sunday it has walked away from its hostile bid to acquire Midwest Air Group Inc. as Midwest has accepted a rival takeover offer. AirTran said Midwest's board has chosen to sell the airline to a private equity firm and a 'passive' investor. Additional details were not immediately available. Midwest said it would put out a statement shortly.

Sources say IPIC to choose bidders for Hyundai stake

SEOUL (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), top shareholder of South Korea's Hyundai Oilbank Corp., will pick preferred bidders for a 35 percent stake in the refiner, sources close to the deal said on Monday. IPIC had picked Merrill Lynch to manage the deal, and the brokerage will narrow down the candidates this week, they said.

NZ Telecom in mobile services deal with Telstra

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Telecom Corp. , New Zealand's dominant phone provider, said on Monday it would allow rival TelstraClear to offer a mobile phone service over its network. The deal comes as the competition regulator proposes tougher rules to force mobile companies to share infrastructure, after an investigation into why New Zealand has only two operators -- Telecom and the local subsidiary of British mobile company Vodafone Group . TelstraClear, the local subsidiary of Australia's Telstra Corp. , is New Zealand's second largest provider of fixed line phone and Internet services, but currently has no mobile offering.

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