Asian Energy Stocks Climb, Led by Cnooc on Oil Price Rise; Hon Hai Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Asian energy stocks rose after crude-
oil prices traded near a two-week high and HSBC Holdings Plc
raised its targets for Cnooc Ltd. and PetroChina Co.'s shares.

``Money is heading to commodity-related shares, pushing the
level of the overall market higher,'' said Terunobu Kinoshita,
who helps manage $785 million at Fund Creation Co. in Tokyo.
``Investors should anticipate further gains.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Arcelor Mittal says bought 96.6 pct of Brazil arm

(Reuters) - Arcelor Mittal said it would delist the unit. The steel
group previously said it would delist Arcelor Brasil if it
acquired two-thirds or more of its free float.




It said it would pay $3.699 billion plus 27 million shares
for the tendered shares, representing a total price of $5.412
billion to raise its stake from the previous 67.1 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Belgian shipper Euronav eyes takeover targets

(Reuters) - He also said that in the tanker world, compared to the bulk
world, big is beautiful.




"By getting more attention from international investors in
North America and Asia we would like to double our market
capitalisation," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.K. Pound May Advance Amid Speculation Bank to Raise Rates This Week

(Bloomberg) -- The pound may advance on speculation
the Bank of England will increase interest rates at its monthly
meeting this week.

The currency traded near the highest in almost 15 years
versus the yen yesterday as a gain in Asian stocks encouraged
investors to use the so-called carry trade, taking advantage of
low interest rates in Japan to fund purchases of higher-yielding
assets, such as the pound. BOE policy makers are due to announce
their monthly decision on U.K. borrowing costs on June 7.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Mexican lawmakers expect tax proposals in June

(Reuters) - MEXICO CITY, June 4 - Mexican President Felipe
Calderon is likely to unveil a long-awaited tax reform
proposal
by the end of this month that might include measures to let
states collect more taxes, senior lawmakers said on Monday.




Calderon's team has been in talks with lawmakers since
January on how to boost government revenue and reduce Mexico's
dependence on oil exports.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hong Kong Exchange Seeks Advisers to Plan Commodities Derivatives Market

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.,
manager of Asia's third-biggest stock market, may choose
advisers as early as this month to study the creation of a
commodities derivatives exchange, Chairman Ronald Arculli said.

``We'll be looking at things like precious metals,
energy,'' Arculli, 68, said in an interview yesterday. ``When
you look around in the commodity world, some sectors are already
fairly deeply entrenched.'' Hong Kong Exchanges narrowed the
list of potential advisers to six from 20 and will make a
decision ``in the next few weeks,'' he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 4-Avaya says in $8.2 bln deal with TPG, Silver Lake

(Reuters) - Avaya shareholders will receive $17.50 in cash per share, a
premium of about 28 percent to its closing share price on May
25, when reports about a possible deal began to circulate.




Shares of Avaya closed up nearly 4 percent at $16.72 in New
York Stock Exchange trade on Monday prior to the official
announcement of the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Energy fuels Asia stock rise; China slides again

(Reuters) - The Shanghai Composite Index fell 5.4 percent by 0240 GMT after briefly struggling into positive territory in early trade..




But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index, which is highly sensitive to Chinese developments, held onto its gains, rising 0.3 percent as energy stocks bolted higher. China offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd. rose 2.6 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Citic Securities May Sell $2.5 Billion of Stock to Fund China Expansion

(Bloomberg) -- Citic Securities Co., the most
profitable brokerage in China, plans to sell 350 million new
shares, worth about $2.5 billion at yesterday's closing price, to
finance expansion.

The company didn't say at what price the shares would be
sold in its statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange today. Based
on the stock's closing price yesterday, the offer would be worth
18.9 billion yuan ($2.5 billion).


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan Shares Rise; Toyota, Inpex, Sekisui House Gain, Fast Retailing Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, led by
automotive-related shares such as Toyota Motor Corp., as concern
eased a slowdown in the U.S. economy will drag on the companies'
profit growth.

Energy producers advanced after the price of crude oil
climbed above $66 a barrel in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australian Retail Stocks Drop, Led by Metcash; Woodside Gains on Oil Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Australian retail stocks dropped, led
by Metcash Ltd. after the company posted earnings that missed some
analysts' estimates and forecast next year's profit will grow by
less than 10 percent.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. led energy-related shares higher
after crude oil prices traded near a two-week high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia's Economy Probably Expanded in First Quarter on Retail Spending

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's economy probably grew 1
percent in the first quarter, matching the fastest pace in almost
two years, as consumer spending accelerated, according to economists.

Gross domestic product matched the fourth-quarter pace,
according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 24
economists. That 1 percent expansion was the fastest since the June
quarter of 2005. The Bureau of Statistics releases the report
tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in Sydney.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average, Topix Rise; Nippon Oil, Mitsui & Co. Lead Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
rose 71.22, or 0.4 percent, to 18,044.64 at 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index added 5.29, or 0.3 percent, to
1778.13.

Nippon Oil Corp. and Mitsui & Co. led the advances.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US mutual fund group clashes with insurer proposal

(Reuters) - The letter, dated May 31 and addressed to the Office of
Management and Budget, responded to a letter from the American
Council of Life Insurers, which urged the agency to consider
stable value funds as a default option.




"This suggestion seeks to maintain a status quo that
Congress intended to change for the benefit of participants and
beneficiaries," the Investment Company Institute wrote.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Crude Oil Trades Near Two-Week High on Concerns Over Oman Cyclone, Nigeria

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed near a
two-week high in New York after rising yesterday on risks to
supplies from the Middle East and Nigeria.

Oman evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas in the
path of a cyclone heading toward the coast, Agence-France Presse
reported. Brent crude oil climbed to $70.40 a barrel yesterday on
the risk to tankers operating in the Gulf and the threat of
further strikes in Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Appeals court puts Equitable-Dominion deal on hold

(Reuters) - A lower court judge last month dismissed the FTC's lawsuit
to block Equitable's proposal to buy Pennsylvania-based Peoples
Natural Gas Co., also known as Dominion Peoples, in a deal
valued at $970 million.




U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab had found that the
antitrust lawsuit filed by the FTC in March was superseded by
the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which approved the
deal in April after concluding it would be in the public
interest.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Euro Trades Near Record High Against Yen on Outlook for ECB Rate Increases

(Bloomberg) -- The euro traded near a record high
against the yen on speculation the European Central Bank will
raise interest rates this year to stem inflation.

The 13-nation currency rose from a seven-week low against
the dollar yesterday after Financial Times Deutschland said the
ECB will lift forecasts for inflation and economic growth. The
ECB will lift its benchmark rate tomorrow to 4 percent from 3.75
percent, according to all 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg
News.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.K. Pound to Fall as Nation's Interest Rates Peak, Credit Suisse Predicts

(Bloomberg) -- Investors should use options to bet
the U.K. pound will extend a decline versus the Australian
dollar because the Bank of England will lift interest rates less
than traders currently anticipate, according to Credit Suisse.

The pound, already close to a one-year low year versus the
Australian dollar, will slide further because the central bank
will stop after one more rate increase this year, Credit Suisse
forecasts. At the same time, the Australian dollar is set to
gain as a quicker global economy fuels demand for its commodity
exports, the bank said.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Treasuries Increase as Yields Near Nine-Month High Attract Investors

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries rose the most in more
than three weeks as benchmark 10-year note yields near the
highest since August attracted investors.

The 10-year note's yield reached a nine-month high of 4.96
percent on June 1, having increased from the year's low of 4.44
percent on March 5. Futures traders have cut the odds of a
reduction in borrowing costs by the Federal Reserve for the end
of 2007 to 24 percent from 100 percent at the start of May.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Two ex-Putnam managers settle SEC trading charges

(Reuters) - The SEC said Justin Scott and Omid Kamshad also agreed to a
suspension from an association with an investment adviser for
one year. They settled with the SEC without admitting or
denying the charges.




Attorneys for Scott and Kamshad could not immediately be
reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Modifiable mortgages may get lower ratings - Fitch

(Reuters) - Loan modifications, which are becoming more popular as
lenders try to restore regular payments from record numbers of
delinquent borrowers, can benefit bondholders, who are spared
losses from foreclosures, Fitch said. But modifications also
mask a delinquent loan's underlying status at a time when its
quality will decide if reserves are needed anymore, it said.




Under a loan modification, the lender and loan-servicing
company change the mortgage terms to make it more affordable
to the borrower. Modifications are gaining favor from
regulators and lawmakers, and are expected to be used more
often as trillions of dollars of mortgages are slated for rate
increases later this year and in 2008, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Most U.S. Stocks Rise on Acquisitions; Wal-Mart, Solectron Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks climbed after
analysts upgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and acquisitions boosted
energy and technology shares.

Wal-Mart had its best two-day gain since August 2002 after
at least four brokerages increased their ratings on the world's
largest retailer. Solectron Corp. jumped the most in the Standard
& Poor's 500 Index after the electronics manufacturer agreed to
be acquired by rival Flextronics International Ltd. Oil-related
shares in the S&P 500 jumped to a record, buoyed by higher crude
prices and the $6.5 billion sale of Dominion Resources Inc.'s
onshore oil and gas properties.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise on bargain-hunting as stocks ease

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 4 - U.S. Treasury debt prices rose
on Monday, as weaker stocks offered a signal for
bargain-hunters after weeks of heavy selling that pushed
benchmark yields to 10-month highs.




The day's gains, however, were modest given an expected
flood of safe-haven buying after an 8 percent drop in Chinese
stocks. The equity decline was not enough to change the
pessimistic view on bonds amid a bearish technical outlook,
signs of a strengthening economy and fading prospects of the
Federal Reserve trimming interest rates this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Puerto Rico's Doral soars on rival buyout bid

(Reuters) - San Juan-based Doral said it will review the offer by FBOP Corp., a privately-held Oak Park, Illinois-based banking company, to take an 80 percent stake by acquiring $610 million of stock at $1.41 per share.




That compares with the 63 cents per share offer for a 90 percent stake that Doral on May 17 said it accepted from a group led by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. Doral would also receive $610 million under that agreement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Marriott shares up on private equity buyout talk

(Reuters) - "Marriott shares are up on speculation of a private equity offer," said Paul Foster, options strategist at Web information site theflyonthewall.com in Chicago.




"That is the chatter among trading desks," said Foster, although he added there was only a "low probability" of an offer actually occurring.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Acquisitions by Rite Aid get antitrust approval

(Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission said it would not oppose the deal after the companies agreed to sell 23 pharmacies in markets around the United States to alleviate antitrust concerns.



) Keywords: ECKERD RITEAID/


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Avaya, Digene, Doral Financial, Telik, UTStarcom: 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 12 p.m. New York time.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN US) fell $1.76, or 3.8
percent, to $45 and traded as high as $45.69. The pharmaceutical
company said in a statement send by PR Newswire that it intends
to sell $400 million of convertible bonds to help fund drug
development and market products that are approved for sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Indexes flat on China drop, bond yields' dip

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 4 - U.S. stocks were little
changed on Monday as a tumble in Chinese shares made investors
cautious, but a pause in rising yields in the bond market
offered some relief to the equity market.




Among declining sectors, airline stocks fell on worries
about weak revenues heading into the summer traveling season.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Xinhua Finance Media buys mobile service provider in China

(Reuters) - The company said the deal is expected to add to XFMedia's
earnings in 2007.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wall St opens down after run-up, China drop

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday as investors booked profits from shares that have helped propel equities to records, while another sharp fall in Chinese stocks fueled some concerns, tempering optimism from another wave of takeovers.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 32.75 points, or 0.24 percent, at 13,635.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mexico's Asur adjusts share offer price, expiration

(Reuters) - Pardo said the lower offer reflected a 75 cent per 'B'
share dividend paid to Asur stockholders on May 31.




The acquisition, which would give Pardo a majority stake in
Asur, has been given the green light by the government and
regulatory authorities. The company's board of directors called
the previous offer "fair."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nymex Natural Gas Rises to $8 on Hurricane Worries, Cooling Demand Needs

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas rose in New York as the
second named tropical storm of the year focused trader concerns
on possible supply disruptions of the fuel this hurricane season
and national cooling needs suggested an increase in demand.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, the first of the
official Atlantic hurricane season, continued to move up the
Eastern Seaboard today from the U.S. Southeast, where it
unleashed as much as seven inches of rain and helped knock down
wildfires in Florida and Georgia.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Arcelor Mittal finalises Brazil arm buyout price

(Reuters) - The offer price is based on the New York Stock Exchange
closing price of $63.37 per Mittal Steel shares as of June 1,
converted to Brazilian reais at the average exchange rate of
1.9052 to the dollar on that day.




The results of the offer will be announced after the market
closes in Brazil on Monday. Arcelor Mittal said it would delist
Arcelor Brasil if it acquired two thirds or more of the unit's
free float.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Copper Futures Climb After Global Inventories Tumble Most Since October

(Bloomberg) -- Copper futures in New York rose to
the highest almost two weeks after a gauge of global inventories
tumbled the most in seven months.

Stockpiles monitored by the London Metal Exchange fell
3,3550 metric tons, or 2.8 percent, to 123,900 metric tons, the
biggest daily percentage decline since Oct. 17. Inventories in
China dropped for a second-straight week, the Shanghai Futures
Exchange said on June 1. Copper has rallied 19 percent this year
as LME supplies plunged 32 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

TREASURIES-Wall St losses revive interest in bonds

(Reuters) - The bond market has been reeling over the past month as
strong economic data prompted investors to reassess prospects
for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.




A softer U.S. stock market has provided some relief for
Treasuries, although analysts predicted the rebound could be
short-lived.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Laureate accepts increased $62 a share offer

(Reuters) - The investor group, led by Laureate Chief Executive Douglas
Becker, includes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Citi Private
Equity, S.A.C. Capital Management and others.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

RPT-No smoking gun yet in Conrad Black fraud trial

(Reuters) - But the prosecution, which wrapped up its case last week,
constructed a solid argument that Black and three co-defendants
at former Chicago-based media giant Hollinger International
Inc. committed a $60 million fraud and abused company perks.




"There were no smoking gun documents. But this is the case
they were dealt and I think the prosecution did a very good
job," said Hugh Totten, an attorney who handles white collar
criminal defense cases and has attended parts of the trial in
U.S. District Court.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Noble says probing Nigerian operations

(Reuters) - It has engaged Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP to lead
the internal probe, the company said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Wall St set to start lower, China shares drop

(Reuters) - Pharmaceutical shares rose following news from the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago. Shares of Onyx Pharmaceuticals jumped before the open and after its Nexavar liver cancer treatment was shown to extend the lives of patients.




"What's causing pressure on futures is the precipitous fall in the Chinese market, but if we look at how the global markets are doing, there's just a very mild sell-off and many markets are actually trading higher," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Global stocks test peaks despite China fall, dollar firm

(Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries remained under pressure after Friday's strong non-farm payrolls data further dampened expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, while technical problems disrupted early bond trading in Europe.




Chinese stocks ended down 8.3 percent, extending last week's 4.3 percent fall, as investors continued to fret about a hike in stock-trading tax -- the latest move by authorities to cool a market that had nearly tripled in value in the past year.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Anthracite to publicly offer 5 mln shares

(Reuters) - The company intends to use the net proceeds to finance its
commercial real estate strategies, including investments in
commercial real estate securities and loans among other things,
it said in a statement.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Russian Stocks Decline, Led by Oil Producers After Citigroup Downgrade

(Bloomberg) -- Russian oil stocks retreated, paced
by OAO Lukoil after Citigroup Inc. cut its recommendation and
price estimate on the shares. The brokerage also lowered its
share-price projections for five other Russian oil producers.

The ruble-denominated Micex Index lost 1.1 percent to
1602.9 at 1:12 p.m. in Moscow, as 25 stocks dropped and four
advanced. The dollar-denominated RTS Index slipped 0.3 percent
to 1824.10.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Russian Oil Stock Price Estimates Cut at Citigroup on Higher Tax and Costs

(Bloomberg) -- Russian oil stocks including OAO
Lukoil are worth less than previously estimated because of high
taxes, rising costs and the possibility the companies will
struggle to pump oil from newer fields, Citigroup Inc. said.

The world's biggest financial-services company cut its price
estimates for six Russian oil companies, including Lukoil, the
country's second-largest oil producer, even as it raised its
projection for crude oil prices, according to a report by
analysts James Neale and Alexander Korneev.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia's Colonial First State Plans A$885 Million Commercial Debt Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Colonial First State Global Asset
Management, a unit of Australia's second-largest bank, plans to
raise A$885 million ($737 million) in its first public sale of
bonds backed by commercial mortgages.

The asset-management division of Commonwealth Bank of
Australia will sell A$430 million of three-year bonds, which will
likely receive the highest investment-grade rating from Standard
& Poor's, said Angus Carver, executive manager at the Sydney-
based firm. It will sell an additional A$455 million of lower-
rated debt, he said in an interview today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Securitas Shares Jump on Newspaper Report That Gardell Is Building Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Securitas AB, the world's
largest security provider, rose as much as 5.3 percent after a
newspaper reported that Swedish activist investors Christer
Gardell may be building a stake in the company.

Shares of Stockholm-based Securitas rose as much as 5.5
kronor to 108.8 kronor and traded at 108.5 kronor at 10:14 a.m.
in Stockholm. The stock is up 2 percent this year, while the OMX
30 index has gained 13 percent in the period.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

India Infrastructure to Borrow $500 Million in Its First Overseas Loan

(Bloomberg) -- India Infrastructure Finance Co., the
state-owned lender that set up a fund with Blackstone Group LP and
Citigroup Inc., plans to borrow $500 million from a group of banks
in its first overseas loan.

The New Delhi-based company has hired BNP Paribas SA, Calyon
and Standard Chartered Plc to raise the 10-year, government-
guaranteed loan, said S.S. Kohli, chairman and managing director
at India Infrastructure. It will use the funds to finance roads,
airports, power plants and other infrastructure projects in the
South Asian nation.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Indonesia's Aneka Tambang Studies Plan to Treble Nickel Production by 2012

(Bloomberg) -- PT Aneka Tambang, Indonesia's second-
largest nickel mining company, is studying a plan to more than
treble production by 2012 of the metal used to help make steel
rust resistant.

Antam, as the company is known, will complete the study
next year on building a plant with capacity to make 30,000 to
50,000 metric tons of ferronickel, Darma Ambiar, development
director of the Jakarta-based company said today in an interview
in Manila. He didn't say how much the plant may cost.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Best Buy, Carphone Plan to Take on Verizon Wireless May Boost Earnings

(Bloomberg) -- Best Buy Co. plans to win mobile-
phone sales from the U.S. phone carriers that dominate the
market by giving customers more choice and better service.

It teamed with Carphone Warehouse Plc, Europe's largest
wireless retailer, after discovering U.S. shoppers were
disgruntled. More than 80 percent of customers have trouble
shopping for mobile phones, according to Consumer Reports
magazine.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Indonesia's Inflation Slows to Six-Month Low; May Prompt Interest-Rate Cut

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's inflation eased to a six-
month low in May, and will probably encourage the central bank
to cut interest rates further to spur economic growth.

Consumer prices rose 6 percent from a year earlier after
increasing 6.3 percent in April, the Central Statistics Bureau
said in Jakarta today. That's less than the median 6.2 percent
increase estimated by 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News