• The National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Housing Market index held at 16 in August for a second straight month, the group said yesterday (Monday) in a statement. Despite the weak reading, the NAHB said its members hope a recently enacted homebuyer tax credit would help the housing market regain some traction. “Builders are anticipating the stimulative effects of this legislation and are optimistic that the tax credit will give those buyers who’ve been sitting on the fence the reason they need to jump back into the market,” NAHB President Sandy Dunn said in a statement.

• Copper sales surged 8.8% in the first seven months of the year over the same period a year prior, in Chile – the world’s largest copper producer. Chile’s central bank said copper sales totaled $25.06 billion through the end of July. Total exports reached $45.62 billion through July, The Associated Press reported.

• Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (LOW) reported fourth straight quarterly profit decline yesterday (Monday) as earnings fell 8% to $938 million. However, total sales actually rose 2.4% to $14.5 billion. The company said it now expects a full-year profit of $1.48 to $1.56 a share, compared to the $1.45 to $1.55 a share it forecast in May.

• BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADR: BHP), the world’s largest mining company, yesterday (Monday) reported record annual profit and said it expects demand for commodities to remain strong. Net profit for the year ended June 30 climbed 14.7% to $15.39 billion, from $13.42 billion in the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax, was $24.28 billion, up 21%.

• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (ADR: MTU) yesterday (Monday) announced it had raised its bid for UnionBanCal Corp. (UB) to $73.50 per share, a total of $3.5 billion for the remaining minority stake. The sweetened offer represents a 17% increase from the initial $63 per share bid, which UnionBanCal advisors dismissed as too low, Reuters reported.

• The Air Transport Association of America predicted yesterday (Monday) that a combination of high rates and schedule cutbacks will combine to keep more travelers at home over the coming Labor Day holiday, BusinessWeek reported. The airline trade group estimates a 5.7% decline in airline passengers from Aug. 23 – Sept. 3 for the same period a year ago.

• The New York Mercantile Exchange, owned by Nymex Holdings Inc. (NMX), declared a temporary halt in the sale of seats (or trading rights) as its members meet to vote on a proposed merger with CME Group Inc. (CME). Sale of seats will be suspended between 3 p.m. EDT yesterday (Monday) and 9 a.m. EDT tomorrow (Wednesday), MarketWatch reported.

• Brinker International Inc. (EAT), parent company of Romano’s Macaroni Grill announced it would sell a majority stake to private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital Inc., The Phoenix Business Journal reported. “Golden Gate is well-known for partnering with corporations to help grow established consumer and retail brands,” Brinker Chairman and CEO Doug Brooks said in a release.

Source: Global Investing Roundups Tuesday, August 19, 2008

“The proposed price does not reflect the strength of UnionBanCal’s strong capital position, the superior credit quality of its assets, and its potential for profitable asset and core deposit growth in the current market environment,” Richard Farman, chairman of the special committee said, The Financial Times reported.

Soon after the $3 billion offer was announced, investors bid the share price higher. Shares closed at $65.46, yesterday, over $2 more than Mitsubishi’s offer price.

The $63-a-share offer, “is not in the best interest of UnionBanCal’s minority stockholders,” the bank said in a statement.

UnionBanCal’s majority stakeholder is, of course, Mitsubishi itself. The Japanese financial group currently controls 65% of UnionBanCal shares. Many analysts anticipate a higher bid as Mitsubishi seeks full control of its American investment.

“If Mitsubishi UFJ offers a little bit more, I think the deal will go through smoothly,” Edwin Merner, president of Tokyo-based Atlantis Investment Research Corp., told Bloomberg News. “Both Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the other two big banks in California, will have to back off now for a while, so it’s a great chance for Mitsubishi UFJ.”

The advisory committee said it was opened to continued negotiations with Mitsubishi, lending weight to the theory that a sweeter offer might be all that’s needed to close the deal.

“It is pretty much standard form in the U.S. [to reject an offer]. Those independent directors have a legal obligation to protect the interests of minority shareholders,” Brett Hemsley, banking analyst at HSBC in Tokyo, told FT.

Hemsley went on to say that while a $68 per share offer might seem expensive, compared to the average share price of other beaten down American financial shares, many U.S. banks “have problems that Union Bank of California doesn’t have.”

Source: Japanese Bank Bid Suffers Setback