Thursday, May 10, 2007

Asian Oil Product Tanker Rates Set for Fourth Week of Gains on Ship Supply

(Bloomberg) -- The cost of hiring tankers to ship gasoline, diesel and other so-called clean petroleum products on Asian routes is set for a fourth weekly gain as demand for ships in the Atlantic draws vessels away from the Far East.

This week, four fixtures were made to ship a total of 148,000 tons of oil products to the U.S. Atlantic Coast from Europe, according to Bloomberg data. Exports have increased this year as U.S. gasoline demand outstripped supply. Gasoline supplies in the week ended May 4 were 8 percent below the five- year average, the U.S. Energy Department said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gold off 1-month low, Tokyo futures rebound

(Reuters) - Gold rebounded from lows on Friday on the back of physical buying in Asia but investors remained nervous because of a firm U.S. dollar and after a sharp drop the previous day.

"There's some physical buying in the Asian region. The market has dropped so much and it attracts some buying interest," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Benq's K.Y. Lee, Mired in Graft Probe, Must Reduce Costs, Investors Say

(Bloomberg) -- Benq Corp., a Taiwanese electronics company whose chairman faces insider-trading charges, must cut costs and bolster profits to revive its stock price from a decade low, fund manager Hiroki Lu said.

Shares of Benq have tumbled 30 percent this year, dragged down by a two-month investigation that resulted in the indictment of Chairman K.Y. Lee and four executives this week, and losses from its acquisition of Siemens AG's handset unit. Lee has denied the charges and won't step down, Taoyuan-based Benq said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Chicago Corn, Wheat Little Changed Ahead of U.S. Supply and Demand Report

(Bloomberg) -- Chicago corn was little changed ahead of a government supply and demand report after falling to a five- week low as U.S. planting accelerated and exporters sold less grain. Wheat and soybean futures were also little changed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is to release its monthly report for world markets and trade for grains, livestock and poultry, oilseeds and cotton at 9:30 a.m. in Washington today. The government will also issue world agricultural production data.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

TREASURIES-Inch up in Asia as equity markets slide

(Reuters) - "Equities are driving us, no question," said Adam Mackillop, head of U.S. rates trading at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. "Technically, you're coming into the part of the year that is poor for equities, and you're in overbought territory."

The market shrugged off comments by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that the U.S. economy faced a one-third chance of falling into recession, reiterating comments he made in March. Greenspan spoke via satellite to a Merrill Lynch event in Singapore.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Singapore's Chemoil Q1 profit up 25 pct

(Reuters) - Chemoil was listed on the Singapore Exchange in December, raising $81 million in its initial public offering.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Fitch Says North Korea Nuclear Issue Is a Constraint on South Korea Rating

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's credit rating isn't likely to be raised until there is a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue, a Fitch Ratings analyst said.

``It's difficult for South Korea's rating to move in absence of a long-term solution to the North Korea nuclear issue,'' James McCormack, head of Fitch's Asian sovereign ratings, said in an interview in Seoul today. ``We're pretty comfortable with the rating we've got'' on South Korea.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UPDATE 1-Japan foreign reserves hit record high for 3rd mth

(Reuters) - The reserves reached $915.623 billion at the end of April, up $6.665 billion from the March figure of $908.958 billion, the previous record.

A rise in the euro, which boosted the dollar value of Japan's euro-denominated reserve holdings, and a fall in yields overseas that boosted the value of bonds held in Tokyo's reserves also pushed up the reserves, a ministry official said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Democrats, Bush strike deal on trade

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, May 10 - The Bush administration and Congress reached a deal on Thursday that paves the way for U.S. approval of free-trade pacts with Peru and Panama but leaves agreements with South Korea and Colombia in doubt.

The leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the deal set the stage for a "free and fair" U.S. trade policy by incorporating enforceable labor and environmental standards into bilateral trade deals.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Cosi

(Reuters) - Volatility of near-term comparable sales and new restaurants that are yet to reach their expected operating levels, hurt restaurant operating margins, Cosi Chief Financial Officer William Koziel said in a statement.

Based on first-quarter results and uncertainty of the consumer environment in the coming quarters, the company said it now sees a 2007 loss of 18 cents to 23 cents a share, and was withdrawing its 2008 forecasts.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Crude Oil May Rise Next Week on Increased Refinery Demand, Survey Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil may rise next week on speculation that consumption will jump as U.S. refineries increase gasoline production before summer.

Seventeen of 45 analysts surveyed, or 38 percent, said oil prices will rise. Fifteen, or 33 percent, said prices will decline and 13 forecast little change. Last week, 41 percent of respondents said prices would fall.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Senators plan new bill on foreign takeover reviews

(Reuters) - Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and the panel's top Republican said their bill would reform takeover reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States .

The bill is meant to be a compromise between CFIUS reform passed by the Senate last year and a more business-friendly version passed by the House in February, one source said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

New Zealand Dollar Falls a Third Day on Speculation No More Rate Increases

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar dropped for a third day on speculation economic growth is starting to slow, damping the prospect central bank Governor Alan Bollard will increase the benchmark interest rate again this year.

New Zealand's record 7.75 percent rate has helped boost the currency 16 percent in the past year. Bollard increased borrowing costs a quarter point in both March and April to curb consumer demand and subdue inflation. There is a 17 percent chance the rate will be raised at the bank's June 7 meeting, according to a Credit Suisse index based on overnight trading in interest-rate swaps.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Bush admin: college student aid system broken

(Reuters) - With scandal sweeping through the $85-billion student loan business, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings told a congressional panel there is a desperate need for change.

"Federal student aid is crying out for reform. The system is redundant, it's Byzantine, and it's broken," Spellings told the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mistrial declared in Squawk Box conspiracy charge

(Reuters) - Prosecutors accused former stock brokers at Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc., Citigroup and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. of taking bribes in exchange for allowing day traders at the now-defunct broker-dealer A.B. Watley Inc. to listen to their firms' squawk boxes through open telephone lines.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Argentina's Grupo Galicia 1st-qtr net loss widens

(Reuters) - Grupo Galicia posted a net loss of 18.1 million pesos in the first quarter, compared with 14.3 million pesos a year ago.

The result fell short of market expectations. A Reuters poll of five analysts had put the company's net loss at a median of 10 million pesos, with estimates ranging from a net profit of 17.1 million to a loss of 35 million pesos.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Force Protection, RadioShack, Tweeter, Versar: U.S. Equity Movers Final

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares had unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are as of 4 p.m. New York time.

Aeropostale Inc. (ARO US) rose $2.85, or 6.9 percent, to $44.35. The retailer of apparel for teens boosted its first- quarter earnings forecast to 24 cents to 25 cents a share, up from its previous estimate of as much as 23 cents a share.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Allstate won't offer new California homeowner cover

(Reuters) - Allstate said it took the latest of a series of cutbacks in its nationwide homeowners coverage in order to "responsibly manage" its exposure in "catastrophe-prone" California.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

REFILE-U.S. wind industry to add 3000 MW in 2007 -group

(Reuters) - More than 3,000 megawatts of wind power turbines will be added in the United States -- enough to power about 825,000 households, the American Wind Power Association said.

At the end of 2006, there were about 11,600 megawatts of U.S. wind power, which was a 20 percent increase from 2005, the AWEA said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Argentine Stocks Slide, Led by Tenaris and Galicia; Brazil's Vale Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Argentine stocks fell the most in almost four weeks, led by banks and energy companies, as investors shed equities worldwide on concern that slower U.S. growth will curtail profits.

Argentina's Merval index fell 50.30, or 2.3 percent, to 2104.96 at 2:43 p.m. New York time, the steepest drop since March 13 and the second-biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks. Brazil's Bovespa index fell 786.02, or 1.5 percent, to 50,514.11.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Duke Energy reaffirms EPS growth of 4-6 ptc through '09

(Reuters) - Duke Energy also said it could spend between $10 billion to $15 billion over the next nine years to develop new power generation capacity.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Capital One cuts 280 credit card jobs

(Reuters) - "We're competing directly with the country's largest banks in the credit card business," Rakes said. "We're reorganizing the card business to have a more competitive cost structure and become more efficient."

The cuts represent about 5.8 percent of the 4,800-person unit, and will be made in marketing and analysis, customer operations, and technology divisions, Rakes said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Actavis chairman offers $4.5 billion for drug company

(Reuters) - The offer to take the company private follows the group's recent failure to clinch two major acquisitions, which would have made it one of the world's top three makers of generic medicines.

Actavis said in a statement that Novator, run by Bjorgolfur Bjorgolfsson, intended to offer 0.98 euros per share for all the A class shares in the firm, valuing the company at around 3.3 billion euros .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dutch court to rule on ABN LaSalle appeal in 4 months

(Reuters) - "This involves an emergency matter," said a court spokeswoman. "Usually we reach a decision in a year and a half, but for this case we estimate three to four months."

ABN said on Wednesday it would appeal against the Dutch commercial court's decision to freeze the $21 billion sale of its U.S. unit LaSalle to Bank of America.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Treasuries Pare Gains After $5 Billion Auction of 30-Year Securities

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries pared their gains after a $5 billion auction of 30-year securities.

Indirect bidders, the class of investors that includes foreign central banks, bought 10.4 percent of the sale. The new 30-year issue sold at a 4.838 percent yield, more than the 4.831 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey of five bond trading firms before the sale. There were $1.97 in bids for every $1 sold.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Lawyers plead guilty to fraud in trading case

(Reuters) - Randi Collotta, who worked for Morgan Stanley's compliance division in New York, admitted to giving information about upcoming mergers and acquisitions to her husband, who is in private practice.

Christopher Collotta told the court he shared some of the insider information with Florida broker Marc Jurman, who agreed to share part of his profits with the Collottas and also passed the information along to others.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Mexico's 10-Year Bonds Decline on Concern About Rising International Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's 10-year peso-denominated bond fell as expectations of rising interest rates in developed countries dimmed the allure of riskier assets.

Yields on Mexico's 10-year benchmark rose for the first time this week after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled a rate increase is likely next month and the Bank of England raised borrowing costs by a quarter-percentage point to 5.5 percent, a six-year high.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Brazil sees higher dollar inflows on Fitch upgrade

(Reuters) - Fitch raised Brazil's sovereign rating to 'BB+' from 'BB', putting it one notch below investment grade.

Godoy, speaking in the lower house of Congress, said the upgrade showed Brazil's economy is safer for asset managers and companies to invest their funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hillenbrand, Interpublic, Visual Sciences, Whole Foods: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Air Methods Corp. (AIRM US) rose $4.96, or 17 percent, to $33.54 and traded as high as $33.65. The provider of emergency medical transportation said it earned 30 cents a share in the first quarter. Analyst Robert Labick at CJS Securities expected profit of 10 cents.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Rand softens as dollar recovers

(Reuters) - The rand shed around one percent against the dollar on Thursday as the greenback trimmed recent losses, firming to a one-month high against the euro, the currency of South Africa's main trading partner.

The rand was at 6.9770 to the dollar at 1515 GMT, after earlier weakening 1.29 percent to 7 against the greenback from its previous New York close of 6.9095.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 2-Canada trade surplus down, economy seen improving

(Reuters) - OTTAWA, May 10 - Canada's trade surplus fell in March but imports and exports hit record highs, suggesting the economy was picking up speed at a pace higher than that predicted by the Bank of Canada.

Statistics Canada said on Thursday that the surplus fell to C$4.6 billion in March, even though transportation flows returned to normal after a 15-day rail strike in February.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Rebounds, Paced by Hammerson; Yell Group Shares Climb

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rebounded, paced by Hammerson Plc and Yell Group Plc.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 13.9, or 0.2 percent, to 6563.5 at 3:24 a.m. in London after earlier falling as much as 0.5 percent. The FTSE All-Share Index added 7.09, or 0.2 percent, to 3411.09. Ireland's ISEQ Index lost 49.89 to 9529.01.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. April retail sales rise 0.5 pct-SpendingPulse

(Reuters) - Retail sales after stripping out car and gasoline sales grew just 0.1 percent in April, half the 0.2 percent rise in March, the firm said.

SpendingPulse's "core" retail sales gauge dipped 0.1 percent last month versus a 0.2 percent rise in March. The core reading excludes autos, gasoline and building materials.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Pope & Talbot, Ralcorp, Steak n Shake, Torch Energy: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are as of 10:15 a.m. New York time.

Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ US) fell $1.67, or 4.5 percent, to $35.70 and traded as low as $35. The oil company said first- quarter profit, excluding some items, was 75 cents a share. Five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated, on average, 77 cents.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Sara Lee profit rises on new products, weak dollar

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time items, earnings matched the average analyst forecast of 13 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales rose 9.2 percent to $3.01 billion. Excluding the impact of currency, acquisitions and divestitures, sales rose 4.9 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Spectrum posts large quarterly loss, shares plunge

(Reuters) - The company, which grew rapidly through acquisitions, has been trying to sell its home and garden business for months and is looking at selling other assets.

Any home and garden sale is being put on hold during the unit's important spring and summer season, Chairman and Chief Executive David Jones said during a conference call.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE1-Pacific Sunwear April same-store sales fall;sees Q1 loss

(Reuters) - The teen apparel retailer and operator of surf-inspired mall-based stores said it cut its outlook for the first half of fiscal 2007 after a much weaker than expected April, in which total sales for the four weeks ended May 5 fell 10.5 percent to $79.3 million.

Shares of the company fell more than 4 percent to $19.90 in pre-market electronic trade.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Canada March new housing prices rise by 0.3 pct

(Reuters) - New housing prices, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for signs of inflationary pressure, rose 9.3 percent in the 12 months through March, down from the 10 percent year-on-year increase recorded in February.

The two main cities in the energy-producing western province of Alberta, where expansion of the oil sands has prompted rapid economic development, led the increases on a year-over-year basis although the rate of growth slowed.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Tweeter posts loss, says may file Chapter 11

(Reuters) - The operator of Sound Advice and hifi buys stores reported a loss for the second quarter ended March 31 of $35.2 million, or $1.38 a share, compared with a profit of $424,000, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Retreats, Led by Rio Tinto, BHP; Hammerson Advances

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell, paced by Rio Tinto Group after the world's third-largest mining company damped speculation of a takeover approach from BHP Billiton Ltd. Antofagasta Plc retreated as copper fell in London.

Hammerson Plc led real-estate trusts higher on a report Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co may make a bid for the company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Children's Place April same-store sales down

(Reuters) - Wall Street, on average, had been expecting a same-store sales decline of 1.4 percent, according to a Reuters survey, with five analysts anticipating a range from a decline of 5 percent to a rise of 7 percent.

The children's clothing retailer said sales were $140.3 million for the four-week period that ended May 5, up 1 percent from sales of $139.2 million for the four-week period that ended April 29.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-J.C. Penney April same-store sales fall

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, had estimated that same-store sales would fall 0.5 percent, according to a Reuters poll.

The Plano, Texas-based company said total department store sales fell 2.7 percent in the four weeks ended May 5, while Internet sales rose about 15 percent for the month.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Federated April sales weaker than expected

(Reuters) - Analysts on average were expecting a rise of 0.8 percent, according to a Reuters poll, and Federated itself had forecast April same-store sales would increase 2.5 percent to 4 percent. April marked the third straight month that Federated posted weaker-than-expected same-store sales.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Federated, which plans to change its name to Macy's Inc., said total sales were $1.84 billion for the four weeks that ended May 5, down 2.1 percent from the year-ago period.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

TREASURIES-Bonds still soft after post-Fed fall

(Reuters) - The Fed's inflation focus will keep traders focused on upcoming economic reports, though Thursday's offering of data would not prove decisive in shaping market views on the Fed's future policy.

At 8:30 a.m., markets will get weekly claims for jobless benefits, the March trade deficit and April import price data. At about 1 p.m. , the results of the Treasury's $5 billion auction of 30-year bonds will be published.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Murdoch told Dow Jones of interest in end-March: report

(Reuters) - Murdoch expressed an interest in buying Dow Jones at the meeting with Zannino but did not make an offer or mention a price, the paper reported.

News Corp. made its formal offer on April 17, the paper said. The $5 billion takeover bid was first reported publicly on May 1.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Colombia's Uribe Urges Central Bank to Take Measures to Halt Peso Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe called on the central bank to consider more measures to stop ``speculative'' capital inflows and prevent the peso strengthening further.

``I think new mechanisms need to be considered because the exchange rate is affecting us a lot,'' Uribe said during a conference in Medellin, according to the presidential Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Talbots first-quarter same-store sales fall

(Reuters) - Same-store sales fell 3.9 percent at Talbots stores and 1.2 percent at J. Jill stores. Total sales for the thirteen weeks ended May 5 were $573.6 million, up from $453 million a year earlier.

Talbots said it still expects to post a first-quarter profit of 7 cents to 11 cents per share, and said it would release full quarterly results on May 23. Analysts, on average, expect Talbots to earn 9 cents per share in the quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

EchoStar quarterly profit rises

(Reuters) - Revenue for the quarter rose to $2.64 billion from $2.30 billion.

Analysts expected a profit of 44 cents a share on revenue of $2.64 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News