[R]4:00PM NY, 10:00 PM Frankfurt, 1:30AM Mumbai – Global Markets[/R]

Yields edged lower on 10-year U.S. bonds and closed at 5.09% and 30-year bond rose to close at 5.21%.

Crude oil down 8 cent to close at $69.06 per barrel, natural gas down 14 cent to close at $7.00 per mBtu, and gasoline futures gained 2.60 cents to close at 231.25 cents per gallon.

Gold gained $2.30 to close at $654.70 per ounce, silver lost 14 cents to close at $12.87 per ounce, and copper futures lost $3 to close at $7,483 per metric ton.

In New York trading, three widely followed averages fell on the worries that sub-prime mortgage problems may hurt earnings of brokerage companies. Rumors and negative mood in the brokerage circles in the sub-prime bond market hurt market sentiment and dragged major indexes near 1% loss at mid-day trading. Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers fell between 2% and 3%. Nymex and CBOT shares fell 3%.

Blackstone (BX: chart) on the second day of its trading fell 7.5%. Largest private equity group Blackstone Group priced its IPO at $31 per share and raised $4.6 billion and saw its stock jump 14% at the end of first day of trading on Friday.

Latin Markets fell across the region led by 1.2% loss in Mexico and Argentina followed by 0.4% decline in Brazil but Chile rose 0.02%.

In Mexico City trading, IPC Index fell 1.2% for the second day after the Central Bank decided to leave the interest rates unchanged to 7.25%. The Mexican market suffered along with other emerging markets on the worries that rising bond yields will slow fund flows from the developed markets. American Movil and Cemex fell more than 2% and Homex, Telmex, and Coca Cola Femsa lost 1%.

In Sao Paulo trading, Bovespa dropped 0.4% on worries that rising yields in the U.S. will hurt investment flows to the country. Petrobras, Tam Air, Bradesco and Itau fell close to 1% in trading. Weak mining and metal stocks in European trading, dragged steel stocks lower. Cosan, largest sugar producer, plans to sell stocks of $2 billion in New York and list stock as ADR.

European markets closed lower across the region on profit taking in mining, banks and insurance stocks and worries related to rising rates. A decline of 0.5% in Norway led the region followed by 0.3% fall in Germany, France and Switzerland. Spain gained 0.4% and U.K. edged 0.3%.

In Frankfurt trading, DAX Index fell 0.3% on the worries that interest rate hike may slow down the economic growth. Deutsche Bank and Hypo Real Estate fell 1.3% followed by 1% decline in Daimler Chrysler. KarstadtQuelle AG gained 1.4% on the company statement that more than fifteen buyers are interested in acquiring real estate properties controlled by a joint venture with Goldman Sachs. Allianz after climbing on speculation of Dresdner Bank spin-off fell today. Norddeutsche Affinerie fell 5% on the company agreement to buy Cumerio NV. The company will pay 30 euros per share of 777 million euros in cash for the Cumerio.

In London trading, FTSE index gained 0.3% on takeover rumors and strength in telecom stocks. British pound traded above $2.000 barrier but settled below $2.000 mark in the late evening trading. The takeover rumor on J. Sainsbury lifted its stock 1.8% on the hope of a bid as high as $21.5 billion. Vodafone jumped 1% ahead of court decision involving tax refund for third generation wireless licenses paid in 2000. London Stock Exchange fell 1% after company winning a bid to buy Borsa Italia for $2.2 billion. Antofagasta and Anglo American fell 1.4%. Pendragon, used car dealer, fell 16% on lower than expected operating profit forecast.

In Paris trading, CAC-40 fell 0.3% on the worries that bond yields may rise. France Telecom fell 2% on the news that the government plans to sell 5% of the company to raise 2.7 billion euros.

Asian Markets fell for the second day after two weeks of rally lifting indexes in several countries near record levels. Today’s regional decline was led by 4% fall in Shanghai followed by 1.3% decline in Philippines, 1% in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Hong Kong and Australia lost 0.8% and Japan fell 0.6%. Taiwan in the region gained 1.4% followed by 0.2% rise in India. Banks and financial companies stocks declined across the region as worries of rising bond yields and interest rates resurfaced. Talks of inflation fighting from China’s central bank governor affected market sentiment n Shanghai trading.

In Tokyo trading, banks, exporters, property and insurance companies fell the most. Mitsui Fudosan fell 3% and Nomura Holding dropped 2%. Sony fell 1.4% but pharmaceutical company Takeda gained 1.2% on a promising trial related to Actos drug for treatment of hear disease.

In Shanghai trading, CSI Index fell 4% on the worries that government is likely to increase interest rates to cool rising markets. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp lost 3% in Hong Kong and 6% in Shanghai on the news that company CEO has resigned amidst corruption allegations. Jiangsu Sopo Chemical, Yunnan Jingu Forestry, and Henan Lianhua Gourmet fell daily limit of 10%.

In Hong Kong trading, Hang Sang Index lost 0.8%. The index had gained 7% steadily in the last week of trading. Sinopec lost 3%, China Construction Bank fell 2.5%, and Bank of China and ICBC fell 0.8%.

In Mumbai trading, Sensex Index gained 0.14%. Larsen & Toubro advanced 3% after the plan to issue extraordinary dividend. Reliance Telecom gained 2% and ONGC jumped 1% on the 7% rise in profit for the fiscal 2007.


[R]1:00PM NY, 5:00 PM Frankfurt European markets finished mostly lower, pressured by rate-sensitive and mining stocks.[/R]