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  • Enterprise/Teppco tie-up. After years of merger rumors, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) agreed to buy Teppco Partners (TPP) for $3.3B in stock, forming a $26B energy partnership that will be one of the largest natural gas producers in the U.S. The combined firm will own nearly 48,000 miles of pipeline. The deal must be approved by Teppco shareholders.
  • Jury tells Abbott to pay up. A federal jury ordered Abbott Laboratories (ABT) to pay $1.67B in a patent suit brought by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) over its arthritis treatment. J&J had alleged Abbott's Humira arthritis therapy infringed on a patent for J&J's rival treatment Remicade. Abbott plans to appeal the ruling.
  • Broadcom broadens Emulex offer. Broadcom (BRCM) sweetened its hostile takeover offer for Emulex (ELX), raising its bid 19% to $912M and promising to give up its attempts by July 14 if Emulex doesn't indicate support for the deal by then. Emulex said it will review the new terms 'in due course,' and urged shareholders not to take action in the meantime.
  • BG moves into U.S. shale market. BG Group (BRGYY.PK) will pay $655M for a 50% stake in EXCO Resources' (XCO) U.S. shale gas project, and will pay another $400M to fund capital development. This is the latest in a series of BG acquisitions, and follows similar moves by other international oil companies interested in the U.S. oil shale sector.
  • Cablevision wins DVR court fight. The Supreme Court ruled that Cablevision (CVC) can bypass set-top digital video recorders and allow its customers to record programs straight onto its servers. Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) had previously said they would launch similar services if Cablevision's approach was upheld as legal. The news pushed TiVo (TIVO) shares down 4.1%, but the potential impact of the ruling on the DVR set-top firm isn't entirely clear.
  • State Street may face SEC charges. State Street (STT) said its State Street Bank & Trust Co. unit may face SEC charges over some fixed-income trading strategies it used in the run up to the subprime crisis. State Street will have a chance to present its defense before any formal decision is made on a civil enforcement action.
  • RHJ may steal Magna's Opel deal. RHJ International is apparently close to a deal to pick up General Motors' Opel unit, squeezing out auto parts firm Magna International (MGA). Magna reached an agreement with GM in May, but talks have stalled since then, while RHJ has improved its bid and is being taken 'very seriously' by GM.
  • DoJ objects to airline cooperation. The Department of Justice belatedly objected to plans by United Airlines (UAUA) and Continental (CAL) to cooperate on some global routes, and recommended that the airlines form a more limited trans-Atlantic deal instead. The Transportation Department gave the deal preliminary approval three months ago, but the Justice Department said the deal would likely result in higher fares and less competition. Though the Justice Department technically has no jurisdiction over international aviation agreements, its ruling could prompt the DoT to reverse its decision.
  • Elpida wins Japanese aid. Elpida (ELPDF.PK), the world's third-largest maker of memory chips, received a ¥30B ($313M) injection from the Japanese government, bringing its total aid to $1.7B. Elpida, which is struggling to compete with larger South Korean rivals, is the first Japanese firm to qualify for a new program which makes public funds available to businesses hit by the global financial crisis.
  • Chinalco to buy Rio shares. After being snubbed by Rio Tinto (RTP) over a planned $19.5B investment, Chinalco (ACH) plans to participate in Rio's $15.2B rights issue. Chinalco currently owns a 9% stake in Rio, and intends to subscribe to the rights issue to prevent a dilution of its holdings.
  • IEA trims oil outlook. The International Energy Agency slashed its medium-term outlook for global oil demand by 3.7%, forecasting demand of 87.9M barrels per day in 2013, down from a previous 90.25M, and 6.25M lower than its original forecast last July. "The global financial crisis has turned the economic landscape upside down, with huge implications for the oil and gas sector," IEA's Nobuo Tanaka said.
  • Madoff heads to prison. As expected, Madoff received an effective life sentence for orchestrating a $65B Ponzi scheme. The judge, who called Madoff's crimes 'extraordinarily evil,' invoked the maximum sentence of 150 years in jail. Sources say another ten people will face federal charges before the investigation is completed.
  • U.K. GDP tumbles. The U.K. economy shrank 2.4% in Q1, the largest contraction in over fifty years. The revised figure is considerably weaker than the earlier estimate of a 1.9% decline.

Earnings: Monday After Close

  • Apollo Group (APOL): FQ3 EPS of $1.26 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $1B (+26%) in-line. (PR)
  • H&R Block (HRB): FQ4 EPS of $2.10 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $2.5B (-3%) in-line. Sees FY10 EPS $1.60-1.80 vs. $1.66. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asian markets closed mostly down, and European markets are modestly lower.

  • In Asia, Nikkei +1.8% to 9,958. Hang Seng -0.8% to 18,379. Shanghai -0.5% to 2,959. BSE -2% to 14,494.
  • In Europe at midday, London -0.1%. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt -0.03%.
  • U.S. futures: Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.3% to $71.69. Gold +0.01% to $940.80.

Tuesday's Economic Calendar

Seeking Alpha editor Eli Hoffmann contributed to this post.


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This article has 7 comments:

  •  
    Wow! How much oil can be stored in tankers off shore before it reaches deminishing returns?
    Jun 30 08:53 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    "BG Group (BRGYY.PK) will pay $655M for a 50% stake in EXCO Resources' (XCO) U.S. shale gas project, and will pay another $400M to fund capital development. This is the latest in a series of BG acquisitions, and follows similar moves by other international oil companies interested in the U.S. oil shale sector."

    Is this oil shale or gas shale? You mention both in your lead.
    Jun 30 09:26 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    You have a typo in the top of your article. The symbol for Enterprise Products Partners is EPD, not EPE.
    Jun 30 11:06 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    GS and JPM will tell us, ... when they dump out of it!

    HardToLove


    On Jun 30 08:53 AM robert.b.ferguson wrote:

    > Wow! How much oil can be stored in tankers off shore before it reaches
    > deminishing returns?
    Jun 30 12:01 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    made-off is a piker compared to the crooks & scoundrels that caused this mess.dont feel sorry for his lazy,greedy victims that needed such unusual large returns.we now have to share their burden as they can deduct their losses.all of wall st has turned into a ponzi/casino that cant be trusted as lying & no ethics are the name of the game.if you trust all your money to one advisor or fund or broker,you deserve what you get. its your money.do your own thing.my yield last year was 7.2% & im not a college grad.sure it takes sometime but its worth it.nobody has you as a priority except you. too many have learned this too late. the whole thing is rigged unless you are on the inside so you have to be satisfied with crumbs.its the human that cant be removed from the equation.you cant legislate decency & sharing.it will eventually & sadly collapse capitalism.
    Jun 30 12:23 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    NormK-

    Great catch! Thanks for pointing out the typo!

    ~R.G.


    On Jun 30 11:06 AM NormK wrote:

    > You have a typo in the top of your article. The symbol for Enterprise
    > Products Partners is EPD, not EPE.
    Jun 30 12:59 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    News article published today gives more insight into why the SEC didn't investigate Madoff thoroughly.....one of the SEC chiefs assigned to the "investigation" married Madoff's niece in 2007 after "knowing" her since 2004! Gosh, think that played a role in it?

    Well, a great big resounding Duh to that. We all knew from Day One it was something much more than just typical gov't incompetance, as nothing could be that abjectly stupid, even the gov't.
    Jul 02 09:32 AM | Link | Reply