CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

Euronext Lisbon encerra leve alta com exterior, PT suporta

27/08/2004 16:48

LISBOA, 27 Ago (Reuters) - O mercado accionista fechou com ganhos ligeiros, acompanhando as valorizações dos pares europeus e norte-americanos, com a Portugal Telecom a fazer uma 'outperformance' face ao mercado.

Traders salientam que a próxima semana deverá ter um arranque morno com a fraca liquidez a manter-se, uma vez que é feriado em Londres e a bolsa estará encerrada.

No entanto, lembram que a meio da semana regressam muitos investidores de férias, com o início de Setembro, mas que deverão tomar uma posição de 'wait and see' em relação aos mercados accionistas.

Aguardam pela divulgação de indicadores dados sobre o mercado de trabalho nos EUA, enquanto acompanham a evolução do preço do petróleo que negoceia, actualmente, na casa dos 43 dólares por barril.

"O feriado de segunda-feira em Londres vai condicionar o apetite dos investidores no resto dos mercados europeus, mas espero que com o início de Setembro a liquidez melhore", apontou um operador.

O PSI20 ganhou 0,17 pct para 7.099,52 pontos, com seis subidas, nove quedas e cinco estáveis.

Desde o início do mês, o indíce nacional já perdeu 0,38 pct mas mantém ganhos de 5,22 pct desde o início do ano.

A PT valorizou 1,56 pct para 8,45 euros, suplantando os ganhos das pares europeias, com o mercado agradado com a notícia de que vai reforçar a sua posição no mercado móvel brasileiro e com expactivas quanto a um aumento do dividendo relativo a este ano.

O BCP e a EDP fecharam inalterados nos 1,71 e 2,27 euros, enquanto a Brisa perdeu 1,47 pct para 6,03, num movimento de correcção ao máximo dos últimos dois ano atingido ontem nos 6,14 euros, na sequncia dos resultados semestrais apresentados.

A Europa subiu entre 0,53-0,81 pct, e nos EUA, o Dow Jones sobe 0,19 pct e o Nasdaq ganha 0,6 pct com os dados do PIB e da confiança dos consumidores a não surpreenderem.

Foram negociados 17 milhões de acções, ou seja, 60,5 milhões de euros.


((---Patrícia Vicente Rua, Lisboa Editorial 351 213 509 207, lisbon.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging:

patricia.rua.reuters.com@reuters.net))





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In CN


Bolsa nacional encerra a valorizar impulsionada pela PT

27/08/2004 16:50

Brisa limita ganhos Bolsa nacional encerra a valorizar impulsionada pela PT A bolsa nacional encerrou a valorizar, em linha com as restantes praças europeias, com a Portugal Telecom â¿¿ que regista uma série de cinco sessões consecutivas sempre a valorizar - a impulsionar o índice e com Brisa a limitar os seus ganhos. O PSI-20 fechou a avançar 0,17% para os 7.099.52 pontos.

Soccer-Porto stronger than last season, says Mourinho

27/08/2004 16:26

By Clare Lovell

HARLINGTON, England, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes his former club Porto are now stronger than when they won the Champions League under his guidance in May.

"They have a better squad than last season," Mourinho said on Friday the day after the two clubs were drawn in the same Champions League group.

He cited shrewd purchases, notably Greece defender Yourkas Seitaridis and Ricardo Quaresma from Barcelona, on the back of the lucrative sales of defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira to Chelsea.

The Portuguese club have been through managerial turmoil since Mourinho left, with Italian Luigi Del Neri lasting only a few weeks before falling out with the chairman and being replaced by Spaniard Victor Fernandez.

"My feeling is that they are now happy and have recovered their balance," Mourinho said.

Mourinho said it was destiny that brought the two clubs together for Chelsea's first home Champions League match on September 29 when he will pick up an award as the Champions League's winning coach.

He had chosen, he said, to avoid the glitz of Thursday's UEFA gala in Monaco, preferring to train his Chelsea players and it had turned out to be a good decision as he would receive his award with his former team in attendance.

Mourinho said Champions League Group H, which also includes Paris St Germain and CSKA Moscow, was tough.

"It's always difficult to play Russian teams. They are physically very strong and can defend well. When we meet them in November it will be very, very cold."

Chelsea have rejected concerns from UEFA about a possible conflict of interest on the part of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich with regard to CSKA.

UEFA has said it is investigating the matter but Chelsea, who have been in contact with European football's governing body several times since the draw, say Abramovich has no direct financial interest in the club.

His only link is as a major shareholder in CSKA's shirt sponsor Sibneft, a Chelsea spokesman said.


DANGEROUS PSG

Mourinho said PSG were also dangerous having strengthened their squad with the winger Jerome Rothen from Champions League finalists Monaco.

"You cannot predict which two will get into the next round but I think we have the quality to earn nine points," he added with characteristic confidence.

Mourinho said he was becoming more confident about his expensively assembled side, who have won all three league games and conceded no goals going into Saturday's home match with troubled Southampton, who sacked manager Paul Sturrock on Monday.

"We are getting better from an organisational point of view, we are defending higher up and have much more possession...I think from match to match we have improved," Mourinho said.

Dutch winger Arjen Robben (ankle) will not be ready to play for another two weeks but Ireland winger Damien Duff returns to the squad for the first time this season after recovering from a dislocated shoulder.

((Editing by Ed Osmond; Reuters Messaging: clare.lovell.reuters.com@reuters.net; 44 207 542 7933))

European shares up for third day, Belgacom shines

27/08/2004 15:36

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - European shares rose for a third consecutive session on Friday, underpinned by gains in oil stocks as crude prices halted a five-day slide, by a rally in Belgacom and steady U.S. economic figures.

Shares in Belgacom hit a record high, rising 3.4 percent to 27.4 euros as brokers such as Goldman Sachs raised their ratings on the stock, citing a strong chance of a share buy-back at the dominant Belgian telecoms group next year.

Belgacom had surprised analysts with a higher first-half profit and forecast an equally robust second half.

By 1408 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index was up 0.6 percent at 979 points, with more than two shares rising for each one that fell, though volume remained light.

"It seems to be a bit more settled than it was. We have seen some weak reports in the last few months, most notably U.S. payrolls, but the data is not falling off a cliff. Relief in oil is also settling the market to a certain degree," said Mark Wall, an economist at Deutsche Bank.

On the downside, Europe's consumer electronics firm Dutch Philips fell after an executive at rival Sony reiterated the Japanese group's concerns about profitability.

And Britain's biggest diary company, Dairy Crest, slumped 17.4 percent to 317 pence after the country's largest supermarket chain, Tesco, said it no longer wanted the milk it produced.

In early trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 percent at 10,190 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6 percent to 1,863 points.


CRUDE MORE SUBDUED

Heavyweight oil groups underpinned the market as the price of U.S. crude oil halted a deep downward correction from last week's record highs.

The commodity edged up 0.3 percent to $43.28 a barrel after falling five days in a row from record highs of nearly $50, though the expectation is for a fall, analysts said.

Shares in European oil majors rose as some stability returned to crude, with BP, ENI, Royal Dutch/Shell, Total and Repsol heading the blue-chip gainers' lists.

GlaxoSmithKline rose 1.3 percent to 1,145p after Europe's drug leader got off more lightly than expected in a high-profile legal clash with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Investors had feared a lengthy and damaging battle after Spitzer filed a suit accusing GSK of withholding negative information about its antidepressant Paxil, but GSK said it had settled the case for just $2.5 million.


MAERSK SHIPSHAPE

Danish shipping and oil giant A. P. Moeller-Maersk pleased investors with a 46 percent rise in first-half profit excluding special items, due to higher freight rates and volumes, and raised its 2004 earnings forecast.

Shares in Maersk, which has operations ranging from supermarkets to the world's largest container line, rose 2 percent to 43,600 Danish crowns.

Meanwhile, on the data front, U.S. economic growth rose by a downwardly revised 2.8 percent in the second quarter, in line with forecasts.

The final University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for August came in at 95.9, better than expected.

Investors look to next week's figures for further guidance on whether the economy's soft patch in the summer was just temporary, as the Federal Reserve has maintained.

"The market is now moving on to what happens with the U.S. payrolls next Friday," Deutsche Bank's Wall said.

"If the payrolls is another weak report, then as much as we try to deny it, three weak payrolls in a row will look a bit like a trend, and then the growth bears would have a much stronger position," Wall added.

U.S. financial markets expect the Fed to raise U.S. interest rates by another quarter percentage point at its meeting




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U.S. stocks flat after GDP, consumer data

27/08/2004 15:37

(Updates to early morning)

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Stocks were flat on Friday after reports showed U.S. economic growth in the second quarter matched economists' forecasts and consumer sentiment picked up above expectations in late August.

In corporate news, shares of Chiron Corp. fell a day after the biopharmaceutical company said it is delaying shipment of its flu vaccine, Fluvirin.

Shares of AMR Corp. , the parent of American Airlines, fell after the carrier said high fuel costs are hurting the company.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 15.26 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,188.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.50 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,107.59. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.21 points, or 0.55 percent, at 1,863.13.

The government said U.S. GDP, which measures total output within U.S. borders, expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, down from the 3 percent pace seen in the Commerce Department's first snapshot last month.

With no real surprise in the figures, the market remained quiet.

"There's not much volume," said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer at Boston-based PanAgora Asset Management Inc. "We think the economy is slowing down to a more sustainable level, and it is very possible that the negative oil shocks will have some impact going forward, but right now things look like they are in pretty good shape. We think the market is nicely valued right now."

The University of Michigan's final reading of its August index of consumer sentiment fell to 95.9 from July's final reading of 96.7, according to market sources who saw the report.

But sentiment picked up from the August preliminary number of 94.0 and was above economists' expectations of a reading of 94.0.

Oil may weigh on the market as prices rebounded on Friday, stemming five days of heavy losses as fresh sabotage attacks threatened Iraqi oil infrastructure.

Shares of Decode Genetics Inc. fell a day after the company said PriceWaterhouseCoopers resigned as its accounting firm. Decode said there were no disputes between the two parties. Decode's stock fell 55 cents, or 8.7 percent, to $5.75 on the Nasdaq.

AMR Corp. shares lost 41 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $8.93 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Chiron's stock fell $4.20, or 9 percent, to $43.47 on the Nasdaq. ((Reporting by Michael Flaherty

Editing by Kenneth Barry

Reuters Messaging

rm://michael.flaherty.reuters.com@reuters.net

Telephone: +1 646 223 6000)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com

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In CN

Petróleo valoriza mas analistas prevêem mais quedas na próxima semana

27/08/2004 15:38

Após cinco sessões a descer Petróleo valoriza mas analistas prevêem mais quedas na próxima semana
O petróleo valorizava em Nova Iorque e em Londres com a preocupação de que o cessar-fogo em Najaf não seja suficiente para que o Iraque acabe com as interrupções de fornecimento da matéria-prima. No entanto, os analistas consultados pela Bloomberg consideram que este deverá cair na próxima semana.

O contrato do crude com entrega em Outubro valorizava 0,93% para os 43,50 dólares (35,9 euros) na New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), enquanto o futuro do «brent», com entrega no mesmo mês, avançava 1,04% para os 40,75 dólares (33,7 euros) na International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) em Londres.

Os soldados do «Exército de Mehdi», o grupo armado criado pelo líder xiita radical Modqtada al-Sadr, começaram a entregar as armas, depois de Modqtada ter chegado a acordo de paz ontem com o líder iraquiano religioso xiita Ali al-Sistani para pôr fim aos combates em Najaf, que duravam há três semanas naquela cidade santa.

Ainda esta manhã um carro armadilhado explodiu em Mossul, uma cidade que fica a 360 quilómetros a norte de Bagdade, provocando ferimentos a 10 pessoas, à passagem de uma coluna militar norte-americana.

No entanto, apesar desta valorização após cinco sessões em queda, os analistas consultados pela Bloomberg consideram que a matéria-prima deverá cair na próxima semana.

Dos analistas consultados, 90 ou 49% dos mesmos prevêem uma queda no petróleo na próxima semana, contra apenas 17 a acharem que a matéria-prima vai valorizar.

Há uma semana, apenas 24% dos inquiridos achavam que o petróleo iria desvalorizar. Os preços da matéria-prima têm encerrado a cair em todas as sessões desde o último inquérito feito pela agência noticiosa norte-americana.

As preocupações com os ataques no Iraque e a disputa entre o governo russo e a petrolífera Yukos, levaram o crude a atingir o valor recorde de 49,40 dólares (40,8 euros) por barril dia 20 de Agosto. Desde essa altura, o Iraque tem aumentado as exportações e a Yukos disse que a sua produção iria avançar 6% este ano.

...

In CN


Acções dos EUA sobem após PIB e resultados da Tech Data (act)

27/08/2004 15:02

Acções dos EUA sobem após PIB e resultados da Tech Data (act)
As acções americanas iniciaram a última sessão da semana a valorizar, depois do Departamento do Comércio ter divulgado que o produto interno bruto da maior economia do mundo cresceu 2,8% no segundo trimestre, mais do que o estimado por alguns economistas. O Nasdaq crescia 0,37% e o Dow Jones somava 0,11%.

O Nasdaq marcava 1.859,24 pontos e o Dow Jones seguia a valer 10.184,8 pontos.

No acumulado da semana os índices accionistas preparam-se para a terceira semana de ganhos, suportadas pelas quedas consecutivas no preço do petróleo.

Hoje o preço do petróleo interrompia uma série de cinco sessões em queda, com o crude a valorizar 0,58% até aos 43,35 dólares e o «brent» a somar 1,04%, para os 40,75 dólares

O produto interno bruto dos Estados Unidos cresceu a uma taxa anual de 2,8% no segundo trimestre deste ano, face aos três meses anteriores, um valor que ficou abaixo da primeira estimativa avançada pelo Governo, mas que ficou acima das previsões dos analistas.

Os investidores temiam que a revisão em baixa fosse mais acentuada, explicando assim a tendência de ganhos das bolsas americanas na sessão de hoje. Estes aguardam ainda o discurso que Alan Greenspan, presidente da Reserva Federal, vai proferir às 15h00 (hora de Lisboa).

A impulsionar as tecnológicas estava a Tech Data, com as acções da retalhista de computadores e material informático a avançarem 3,12% depois da empresa ter anunciado resultados acima das estimativas.

No sector a Microsoft crescia 0,66%, a Intel progredia 0,6% e a Cisco Systems avançava 0,68%.

A Merck continuava a pressionar os mercados, ainda penalizada pelo facto de um estudo revelar que um seu medicamento tem maiores probabilidades de provocar ataques cardíacos, face aos da concorrência.




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Índices Bolsas às 1430 horas locais

27/08/2004 14:34

* Dow Jones +0,10 pct
* Nasdaq +0,17 pct
* FTSE +0,41 pct
* Ibex +0,01 pct
* Dax +0,03 pct
* Cac +0,11 pct
* Mib30 +0,37 pct
* PSI20 +0,32 pct

((---Lisboa Editorial, +351 21 3509207
lisbon.newsroom@reuters.com))

In CN

Praças europeias seguem com orientação mista

27/08/2004 13:02

Praças europeias seguem com orientação mista
As praças europeias seguiam com orientações distintas, Madrid, Paris e Frankfurt a recuar e Londres e Amesterdão a valorizar. As petrolíferas apreciavam após uma nota da Morgan Stanley defender que os preços das acções ainda não reflectem a valorização do petróleo, que voltou hoje a subir. O Dow Jones Stoxx 50 avançava 0,17%, para 2.633,37 pontos.

O FSTE-100 [ukx] valorizava 0,20%, para 4.462,70 pontos. A companhia BP aumentava 2%, para 494,5 pence, a liderar os ganhos do Stoxx 50.

Em Amesterdão, o AEX apreciava 0,05%, para 324,67 pontos. A Univar, a maior distribuidora de químicos nos EUA, avançava 5,8%, para 14,70 euros, depois de ter comunicado que os lucros do primeiro semestre quase duplicaram para 33,8 milhões de dólares, face a 17,2 milhões de dólares um ano antes.

O índice francês CAC-40 [cac] recuava 0,08%, para 3.627,10 pontos. A companhia petrolífera Total avançou 1%, para 160,10 euros, depois da Morgan Stanley ter defendido que as acções da indústria ainda não beneficiaram da alta dos preços do petróleo.

Em Madrid, o IBEX-35 [ibex] deslizava 0,13%, para 7.828,20 pontos. A petrolífera Repsol avançava 1,6%, para 16,82 euros.

Em Frankfurt, o DAX [dax] diminuía 0,29%, para 3.821,10 pontos. A Siemens recuava 1%, para 55,83 euros, depois de ter anunciado que não pode confirmar previsão de lucros operacionais no trimestre para a sua unidade móvel.





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US stock futures flat before GDP data, Fed speech

27/08/2004 13:02

(Updates prices, adds Novellus)

By Michael Flaherty

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were nearly unchanged on Friday as investors awaited key data on the economy that could determine the market's early direction.

Shares of ConocoPhillips will also be in the spotlight after an industry source told Reuters the oil major is seeking to buy up to 25 percent of Russia's Lukoil .

Novellus Systems Inc.'s stock may also move a day after the maker of tools used to make microchips said quarterly orders for new equipment would be at the low end of its prior estimates.

Oil prices rose on Friday, stemming five days of heavy losses as fresh sabotage attacks threatened Iraqi oil infrastructure.

S&P 500 futures were about even with fair value accounting for dividends, interest rates and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial index futures dipped 3 points while Nasdaq 100 futures gained a point.

Investors were waiting for data on preliminary second-quarter gross domestic product, due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT), and consumer confidence, due at 9:45 a.m. (1345 GMT). In addition, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan speaks about demographic changes at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"Even though the futures are not showing very much, we're going to have a lot of news to digest," said Barry Hyman, chief investment strategist at Ehrenkrantz, King, Nussbaum.

"The GDP is the most important figure," he said. "I think you'll see the markets move if the GDP or consumer confidence numbers are different from consensus."

U.S. GDP, a key indicator of the economy's health, is expected to be revised slightly lower. Analysts see a 2.8 percent annualized pace of growth compared with a 3 percent rise in the advance estimate by the Commerce Department.

The final reading of the University of Michigan's index is expected to show consumer confidence remained steady in August despite high oil prices.

In recent speeches, Greenspan and other Fed officials have said patchy economic data over the past few weeks is just a soft spot that should not alter plans for a gradual rise in interest rates to a more neutral level.

Airline stocks may come under pressure after AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines became the latest carriers to warn investors that high fuel costs are denting earnings. ((Reporting by Michael Flaherty

Editing by Kenneth Barry

Reuters Messaging

rm://michael.flaherty.reuters.com@reuters.net

Telephone: +1 646 223 6000)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com

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ANÁLISE-PT deve reforçar remuneração accionistas com dividendo

27/08/2004 12:34

Por José Barata

LISBOA, 27 Ago (Reuters) - O investimento nas OPAs que a Portugal Telecom (PT) vai realizar no Brasil para aumento de posição nas suas subsidiárias móveis locais e mesmo a eventual aquisição do controlo da Telemig não deverão impedir a telecom de anunciar até final do ano um reforço da remuneração aos accionistas, disseram analistas.

Acrescentaram que este reforço de remuneração não deverá ser feito via um novo share buy back, ao contrário do que muitos analistas chegaram a admitir, especialmente depois do anúncio de novos investimentos no Brasil, mas de um aumento substancial do dividendo relativo ao exercício de 2004, que poderá ser superior a 30 cêntimos por acção contra 22 cêntimos em 2003.

A PT anunciou, esta semana, a intenção de, através da Brasilcel, a joint-venture que tem com a Telefónica para o mercado móvel brasileiro, e da Telesp Celular Participações (TCP) , reforçar as participações em quatro subsidiárias móveis.

Esta intenção, que, no limite e ao câmbio actual, poderá mobilizar cerca de 170 milhões de euros, e uma eventual compra do controlo da Telemig, a operadora móvel de Minas Gerais, juntamente com a Telefonica, foram interpretados pelo mercado como inibidoras do lançamento de um novo programa de share buy back por parte da PT.

"A eventualidade da PT enveredar por outros activos no Brasil, como por exemplo a Telemig, torna menos provável um novo share buy back, mas a remuneração ao accionista vai continuar a aumentar", disse Nuno Vieira, analista do Millennium bcp .

"A probabilidade de um novo share buy back é muito baixa, mas a PT pode reforçar a remuneração aos accionistas pela via do dividendo e o referente ao exercício de 2004 (a distribuir em 2005) pode ter um aumento substancial", disse Rui Cesário Pereira, analista do Espírito Santo Research (ESR).

Alguns dos analistas contactados apontam que a PT poderá anunciar, a 7 de Setembro, quando apresentar as suas contas semestrais, a intenção de distribuir um dividendo superior a 30 cêntimos em 2004, um aumento de cerca de 40 pct.

"As nossas estimativas apontam para reforço do dividendo que pode ser de 35 cêntimos, mas também não excluímos que a PT possa avançar para um novo share buy back após terminar o actual programa", disse Andrew Hogley, analista da Lehman Brothers.

"Penso que o dividendo referente ao exercício de 2004 seja de 30 cêntimos", disse um analista de um grande banco internacional que não quis ser identificado.

Um dividendo de 30 cêntimos assegura um dividend-yield de 3,6 pct contra 2,6 pct referente ao exercício de 2003.

Transaccionaram-se 2.620.908 acções da PT a subirem 1,44 pct para 8,44 euros, tendo atingido o máximo de 8,47 euros.

A PT tem em curso um programa de share buy back de 10 pct do capital que ficará concluído até final do ano.

Analistas disseram que entre acções já adquiridas e equity swaps a PT já terá assegurado entre sete e oito pct do capital.

Em Junho último, a PT anunciou ter um total de 6,51 pct do capital, entre acções próprias e equity swaps.

Uma analista da Caixa-Banco de Investimento é, no entanto, mais cautelosa, considerando que a PT tem sido muito generosa para os accionistas e, por isso, pouco provável que anuncie um novo share buy back já em Setembro quando apresentar as contas.

"A PT tem sido generosa com os accionistas, estão a surgir oportunidades de investimento mais interessantes que vão mobilizar fundos e não podemos esquecer que acabou de remunerar os accionistas com um investimento significativo com 10 pct do capital", disse Helena Barbosa, analista da Caixa.

A chave de uma remuneração adicional aos accionistas passa, assim, pelas oportunidades de investimento da PT, designadamente no Brasil que continua a ser a sua prioridade em termos de inte

PT diz Dedic passa atender clientes todas empresas EDP Brasil

27/08/2004 12:17

LISBOA, 27 Ago (Reuters) - A Dedic, empresa de 'contact center' da Portugal Telecom , vai começar a fornecer serviços à Bandeirante Energia, passando a ser a única fornecedora de serviços de atendimento aos clientes das empresas da EDP-Energias de Portugal no Brasil, anunciou a PT.

"Pelo acordo firmado com a Bandeirante Energia, a Dedic assume integralmente a responsabilidade pela infra-estrutura, recursos humanos e gestão da operação", adianta a PT em comunicado.

Empresa do grupo EDP, a Bandeirante Energia atende 28 municípios do Estado de São Paulo, distribuídos nas regiões do Alto Tietê e Vale do Paraíba.

Lembra que a Dedic já actuava desde o ano passado nas duas outras concessionárias da EDP no Brasil, Escelsa e Enersul.


((---Lisboa Editorial 351 21 3509205, lisbon.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: elisabete.tavares.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Reuters World News Summary

27/08/2004 12:17

Investigators suspect terror in Russian crashes

MOSCOW - Russia's security services said on Friday they had found traces of explosives among the wreckage of one of two Russian planes which crashed within moments of each other, calling it a terrorist attack.

The FSB declined to comment on a claim by an Islamist group on the Internet that its followers had hijacked both planes and brought them down, killing at least 89, to avenge the killing of Muslims in Russia's rebel Chechnya province.

- - - -

Iraq rebels hand in arms, leave Najaf shrine

NAJAF, Iraq - Shi'ite rebels began handing in weapons and leaving a holy shrine on Friday in Iraq's Najaf, where tens of thousands of pilgrims flocked to celebrate a peace deal reached overnight to end a bloody three-week uprising.

Fighters tossed AK-47 assault rifles and mortar launchers into wooden carts being pushed around near the sacred Imam Ali mosque after an order from renegade cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for his Mehdi Army militia to disarm and leave the shrine.

- - - -

Bush admits Iraq "miscalculations" - NY Times

NEW YORK - President George W. Bush acknowledged for the first time on Thursday that he had miscalculated post-war conditions in Iraq, the New York Times reported.

The paper quoted Bush as saying during a 30-minute interview that he made "a miscalculation of what the conditions would be" in post-war Iraq.

- - - -

Kidnappers say they have killed Italian hostage-TV

DUBAI - The hostage takers who grabbed Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni on the road between Baghdad and Najaf in Iraq have killed him, the Italian government confirmed on Thursday.

"We can confirm it was him, unfortunately," a spokesman for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

- - - -

U.S. study links human activity to global warming

WASHINGTON - Warmer temperatures in North America since 1950 were probably caused in part by human activity, the Bush administration said in a report that appeared to contradict the White House position there was no clear scientific proof on the causes of global warming.

In a report sent to Congress this week, the administration noted a recent government-sponsored study supported the view of many scientists that human action from driving automobiles to running power plants helped cause global warming.

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U.S. jobless claims rise on back of hurricane

WASHINGTON - The ranks of Americans filing for initial unemployment compensation rose more than expected last week, swelled in part by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Charley, the government said on Thursday.

Initial jobless claims, a rough guide to the pace of U.S. layoffs, rose 10,000 to 343,000 last week from an upwardly revised 333,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

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Pinochet loses immunity in 'Operation Condor' case

SANTIAGO, Chile - Chile's Supreme Court on Thursday stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution in a notorious human rights case, raising hopes of victims that he may finally face trial for abuses during his 17-year regime.

The 9-8 ruling upheld a lower court decision in May that removed the immunity granted Pinochet as a former head of state.

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Indonesia, Australia try to resolve missile spat

JAKARTA - Australia has briefed Indonesia on its plan to create the most lethal force of fighter jets in Southeast Asia, and Jakarta said on Friday it welcomed the effort to explain.

Australia announced on Thursday it would spend up to A$450 million ($319 million) to arm F/A-18 Hornet fighters and AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft with air-to-surface missiles capable of hitting targets up to 400 km (250 miles) away, which would be