Live Financial And Business News By SaneBull

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Several leading reformists detained after last month's disputed presidential election have been accused of acting against national security, a Iranian lawyer said Saturday.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's only known pig trotted out of quarantine on Saturday, two months after he was locked away because of swine flu fears, to bask again in the mud at the Kabul Zoo.

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday his request to meet detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been denied by the ruling junta's top general Than Shwe.

KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi army forces arrested a man on Saturday suspected of being behind two vehicle bombs in the northern city of Kirkuk that killed more than 100 people, an Iraqi army official said.

(Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1:30 p.m. British time (1230 GMT) on Saturday.

FRANKFURT, July 4 (Reuters) - General Motors EuropePresident Carl-Peter Forster expects to sell German unit Opel toCanadian auto parts supplier Magna soon, he told aGerman newspaper.

* Says energy costs still down yr/yr despite oil rebound

BERLIN, July 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkelwill promote the consolidation of public finances at next week'sGroup of Eight Summit, according to German weekly "Tagesspiegelam Sonntag".

* ZKB, Mirabaud dropping clients who pay US taxes, NZZ says

WARSAW, July 4 (Reuters) - Poland's troubled insulin maker,Bioton , said on Saturday it had clinched a deal withU.S. investment fund GEM Global Yield Fund on financing worth asmuch as 363 million zlotys ($117 million)."The agreement guarantees Bioton financing at the level of200 million zlotys over three years starting with the signatureof the deal," Bioton said in a statement.

NEW DELHI, July 4 (Reuters) - India has allowed the exportof 900,000 tonnes of wheat by state-run firms and 650,000tonnes of wheat products by private trade as monsoon rainsrevived after a dry spell.

TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) --Toyota Motor Corp plansto start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with aprojected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units,the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

July 3 (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said onFriday she will resign this month and will not run forre-election as governor amid speculation that she will seek theRepublican party's nomination for president in 2012.[ID:nN03165564]

(For factbox on Republicans seen as potential candidates fortheir party's nomination in 2012, click on [ID:nN03184162]

* Memorial service, cost shrouded in mystery (Recasts lead with number of applicants; adds URL anddeadline details; adds that event will be streamed online)

BOGOTA, July 3 (Reuters) - Colombia posted a trade deficitof $106.4 million in April versus a surplus of $183 million inthe same month last year, the government said on Friday.

LIMA, July 3 (Reuters) - Peru's prime minister said onFriday he planned to step down next week following heavycriticism of the government's handling of violent Amazonprotests in which at least 34 people died last month.

* US job cuts dampen recovery hopes, dent stock markets

(For more stories on the Japanese economy, click [ID:nECONJP])

For German corporate events diary click on [WEU/EQUITY]

For Today in Germany diary double-click on [DE/DIARY]

======================================================

* Ford Canada CEO expects overall market rebound in Q4 (Adds details, background)

SINGAPORE - Global Interdependence Center holds "Food andWater: Basic Challenges to International Stability" conference.Participants include Federal Reserve Bank of PhiladelphiaPresident Charles Plosser. Agenda, other details TBA. Contact:215 898 9453 or jfornito@interdependence.org.Information/online registration:http://www.interdependence.org/Event-11-12-09.php-------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. M-2 money supply rose by$300 million in the June 22 week to $8,369.2 billion, theFederal Reserve said on Thursday.

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Staples Inc stock

slid 10.6 percent to $37.50 in after-hours trading

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Shares of Hartford Financial

(Corrects in first paragraph to show shares fell instead ofrose)

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of FlextronicsInternational Ltd jumped 5 percent to $3.93 inafter-hours trading on Thursday after the contract electronicsmanufacturer posted second-quarter results.

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of Microsoft Corp rose 5.3 percent to $23.50 in extended trade onThursday after the software maker's quarterly earnings beat theaverage Wall Street estimate. For details see [ID:nWNAB1062]

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of Juniper Networks Inc rose 2.4 percent after the company postedthird-quarter results and expressed cautious optimism aboutnear-term opportunities.

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Allstate Corp fell 7.1 percent to $26.23 in extended trade onWednesday after the insurer reported its quarterly results. Fordetails, see [ID:nWNAB0122]

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Amazon.com fell 13.4 percent in extended trading on Wednesday after theonline retailer's fourth-quarter revenue expectations fellshort of analyst expectations.

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Shares of iPhone-maker Apple rose 2.7 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday,after reporting quarterly results.

WARSAW, July 4 (Reuters) - Poland's troubled insulin maker,Bioton , said on Saturday it had clinched a deal withU.S. investment fund GEM Global Yield Fund on financing worth asmuch as 363 million zlotys ($117 million)."The agreement guarantees Bioton financing at the level of200 million zlotys over three years starting with the signatureof the deal," Bioton said in a statement.

July 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asiancompanies were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday.

MADRID, July 3 (Reuters) - State-run China NationalPetroleum Corp (CNPC) is among bidders looking to buy theArgentinian unit of Spanish oil major Repsol , newsagency Bloomberg quoted a Chinese government official as saying.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has hikedits 2009 and 2010 copper price forecasts, partly because of astrong recovery in China, the world's largest consumer of themetal used in power and constrution.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - PVM Oil Futures Limited said onFriday Steve Perkins, a senior broker based at the firm's Londonoffice, was responsible for unauthorised trades earlier thisweek which landed the firm with a loss of nearly $10 million.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 3 (Reuters) - Global investorsCarlyle [CYL.UL] and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as thetroubled U.S. insurer looks to divest some of its global assets.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 3 (Reuters) - Global investors Carlyle[CYL.UL] and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as the troubledU.S. insurer aims to get rid of some of its global assets.

* Fund ABP interested in buying Jackson's Beatles collection

BEIJING, July 3 (Reuters) - China's state asset watchdog isencouraging China Mobile , the world's biggest mobilephone carrier by users, to buy shares in the country's biggestcommercial bank ICBC , state media reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators closedseven institutions on Thursday, including six banks in Illinoiscontrolled by one family and a small bank in Dallas, bringingthe total number of U.S. bank failures to 52 so far this year.

FRANKFURT, July 4 (Reuters) - General Motors EuropePresident Carl-Peter Forster expects to sell German unit Opel toCanadian auto parts supplier Magna soon, he told aGerman newspaper.

* Says energy costs still down yr/yr despite oil rebound

BERLIN, July 4 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkelwill promote the consolidation of public finances at next week'sGroup of Eight Summit, according to German weekly "Tagesspiegelam Sonntag".

WARSAW, July 4 (Reuters) - Poland's troubled insulin maker,Bioton , said on Saturday it had clinched a deal withU.S. investment fund GEM Global Yield Fund on financing worth asmuch as 363 million zlotys ($117 million)."The agreement guarantees Bioton financing at the level of200 million zlotys over three years starting with the signatureof the deal," Bioton said in a statement.

July 3 (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said onFriday she will resign this month and will not run forre-election as governor amid speculation that she will seek theRepublican party's nomination for president in 2012.[ID:nN03165564]

(For factbox on Republicans seen as potential candidates fortheir party's nomination in 2012, click on [ID:nN03184162]

* Memorial service, cost shrouded in mystery (Recasts lead with number of applicants; adds URL anddeadline details; adds that event will be streamed online)

(For factbox on Republicans seen as potential candidates fortheir party's nomination in 2012, click on [ID:nN03184162]

VINA DEL MAR, Chile, July 3 (Reuters) - Finance ministersfrom the Americas and multilateral lenders sought to shore upresponses to the global economic crisis on Friday and pave theway for a vigorous recovery.

* Memorial service, cost shrouded in mystery (Updates throughout with quotes, police staffing)

* Says energy costs still down yr/yr despite oil rebound

TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) --Toyota Motor Corp plansto start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with aprojected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units,the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

Broadcaster Sir David Frost and the manager of Englishfootball team Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, are set tojoin forces in a 1 billion pound ($1.64 billion) propertyventure. Their investment company, aAim Capital Finance, isbacked by Middle Eastern investors to snap up real estate atbargain prices. "I continue to be confident in a recovery on thereal estate front and am sure that the aAim people will flourishagain with their knowledge and adaptability to changingsituations," sai

A number of expensive rail franchises due for increasedgovernment aid could result in a further 400 million poundburden on the taxpayer. So-called "cap and collar" arrangementsfor major rail contracts that are honoured after approximatelyfour years mean that the Department for Transport must cover themajority of any revenue shortfalls. With the recession making asignificant dent on rail profits, there is already speculationthat the government may be forced to cover as much as 80 percent

TORONTO (Reuters) - Teck Resources said on Friday it will sell a 17.2 percent equity stake to state-owned China Investment Corp in a deal that will help the Canadian miner pay down its debt while expanding China's portfolio of commodity investments.

* Cemex disputes decision, considering court action (Adds analyst comment, debt details, share price)

* Budget revision and EU impasse seen as key challenges

(Reuters) - The dollar's status as the top global reserve currency is unlikely to be mentioned explicitly in the final communique at next week's Group of Eight summit, a European G8 source involved in preparations for the meeting said on Friday.

* Forecasts higher jobless rates in Canada, U.S. (Adds context, remarks on regulation, paragraphs 2-3, 14-15)

BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - The following are plannedmergers under review by the European Commission and a briefguide to the EU merger process:

WARSAW, July 4 (Reuters) - Poland's troubled insulin maker,Bioton , said on Saturday it had clinched a deal withU.S. investment fund GEM Global Yield Fund on financing worth asmuch as 363 million zlotys ($117 million)."The agreement guarantees Bioton financing at the level of200 million zlotys over three years starting with the signatureof the deal," Bioton said in a statement.

July 3 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers,acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asiancompanies were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday.

MADRID, July 3 (Reuters) - State-run China NationalPetroleum Corp (CNPC) is among bidders looking to buy theArgentinian unit of Spanish oil major Repsol , newsagency Bloomberg quoted a Chinese government official as saying.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has hikedits 2009 and 2010 copper price forecasts, partly because of astrong recovery in China, the world's largest consumer of themetal used in power and constrution.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - PVM Oil Futures Limited said onFriday Steve Perkins, a senior broker based at the firm's Londonoffice, was responsible for unauthorised trades earlier thisweek which landed the firm with a loss of nearly $10 million.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 3 (Reuters) - Global investorsCarlyle [CYL.UL] and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as thetroubled U.S. insurer looks to divest some of its global assets.

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, July 3 (Reuters) - Global investors Carlyle[CYL.UL] and Primus are among the bidders for AIG's Taiwan insurance unit, sources said on Friday, as the troubledU.S. insurer aims to get rid of some of its global assets.

* Fund ABP interested in buying Jackson's Beatles collection

BEIJING, July 3 (Reuters) - China's state asset watchdog isencouraging China Mobile , the world's biggest mobilephone carrier by users, to buy shares in the country's biggestcommercial bank ICBC , state media reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators closedseven institutions on Thursday, including six banks in Illinoiscontrolled by one family and a small bank in Dallas, bringingthe total number of U.S. bank failures to 52 so far this year.

TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) --Toyota Motor Corp plansto start mass producing plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, with aprojected first-year output of about 20,000 to 30,000 units,the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - British coffee retailer Coffee Republic Plc looked set to go into administration on Friday after it asked for itsshares to be suspended from trading.

(Recasts lead, adds management comments, share price)

FRANKFURT, July 3 (Reuters) - Porsche's squabbling owners are set to discuss an investment by Qatar inthe next two weeks, a milestone which could change the dynamicsof a Porsche/Volkswagen merger, people close to the talks said.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, July 3 (Reuters) - Viterra plans to insure against weather-related crop disasters in SouthAustralia if it completes its acquisition of Australia's ABBGrain Ltd , the Canadian grain handling and farm supplycompany said on Thursday.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, July 3 (Reuters) - DANONE : * CEO says cannot exclude using proceeds of capital increase for acquisitions * "I do not know," he said when asked whether he could use the proceeds forbuys.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - The Artemis High Income fund was the topperformer among British-registered mixed asset funds in June, data from ThomsonReuters fund research firm Lipper showed on Friday.

MUNICH, July 3 (Reuters) - Volkswagen chiefexecutive Martin Winterkorn said Europe's largest auto makersold 6 percent more cars and transporters in June than in thesame month a year earlier.

* Union resolution on migrants' treatment easily defeated

(Recasts lead, adds management comments, share price)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the United States focused on curbing climate change as soon as a new president took office -- or sooner -- it could help pull the world from the financial brink, environmental policy experts told Reuters.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A global financial crisis could distract the world's lawmakers and investors from supporting initiatives and technologies to reduce greenhouse gases, delaying what many see as critical efforts to combat climate change.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the United States focused on curbing climate change as soon as a new president took office -- or sooner -- it could help pull the world from the financial brink, environmental policy experts told Reuters.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has backed companies like Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc, recently made its first clean technology investment in India, a top executive told Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Payments from polluters in rich countries to tropical communities in exchange for slowing deforestation may soon play a bigger role in combating climate change if problems like measuring preservation efforts can be overcome.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has backed companies like Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc , recently made its first clean technology investment in India, a top executive told Reuters.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Payments from polluters in rich countries to tropical communities in exchange for slowing deforestation may soon play a bigger role in combating climate change if problems like measuring preservation efforts can be overcome.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Solar cell maker First Solar Inc has felt no immediate effect on its business from the financial markets crisis and could take on a role in financing new projects or buying into new technologies, Chairman and CEO Michael Ahearn said on Wednesday.

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Worsening damage to nature is jolting the world into doing more to protect animals and plants and new economic arguments will bolster the case for action, the head of a global conservation network said.

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - The world's burgeoning cities must do more to safeguard animals and plants by increasing parkland, planting trees and recycling resources, the U.N.'s top biodiversity official said on Wednesday.