China inflation hits 27-month high as food costs soar

(Reuters) - Inflation quickened to 3.4 percent last month from 3 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. Food prices, which make up a third of the consumer basket, rose 8.3 percent from a year earlier and a shortage of pork caused meat prices to jump 26.5 percent.




The overall inflation figure was in line with forecasts, but Shanghai's main stock market index fell more than 2 percent at one point on expectations of tighter monetary policy before regaining ground.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

M.Stanley, Macquarie in race for S.Korea building

(Reuters) - South Korea's top lender, Kookmin Bank , and local
real estate company Koramco have also handed in bids by Monday's
deadline for the building, near the main rail station in central
Seoul, the source told Reuters.




Daewoo plans to pick the preferred buyer by July and complete
the deal by late August.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bank of England's King Says May Need to Take `Further Action' on Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England Governor Mervyn King
signaled U.K. interest rates may have to rise further from a six-
year high if measures of inflation pressures stay close to their
current levels.

``The Monetary Policy Committee will be watching closely
indicators of capacity pressures, pricing intentions and inflation
expectations,'' King said in a speech to business executives in
Cardiff, Wales, yesterday. ``If these indicators remain elevated,
the MPC may need to take further action.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China's Steel-Product Exports Drop in May on Month After Tax Breaks Curbed

(Bloomberg) -- China, which supplies one-third of
the world's steel, exported 6.17 million metric tons of steel
products last month, the customs office said today, 14 percent
lower than April's record figure after tax breaks were cut.

Steel-product exports more than doubled to 27.4 million
tons in the first five months from a year earlier, the Beijing-
based office said today. The nation exported 7.16 million tons
in April, an all-time high, and 3.49 million tons in May of 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

JGB five-year yield hits all-time high at 1.530 pct

(Reuters) - The BOJ is increasingly expected to lift rates to a 12-year
high of 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent in the coming months.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan's Government Notes Fall on Speculation Traders to Hedge Before Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's notes dropped on speculation
traders will sell the securities to protect against potential
losses at an auction of five-year government debt today.

Brokers bidding at the auction may reduce holdings in case
prices drop before they can pass on the 2 trillion yen ($16
billion) in new debt to investors. Japan's government bonds also
fell as comments by officials in the U.S. and Japan spurred
concern that global inflation may rise.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Korea Western Power Buys 279,000 Kiloliters of Fuel Oil for July-December

(Bloomberg) -- Korea Western Power Co., one of the
six generating units of Korea Electric Power Corp., bought
279,000 kiloliters (262,000 metric tons) of fuel oil for
delivery between July and December from SK Corp., said a company
official, who asked not to be identified.

The table below gives details of the purchase by the
company. The price includes duty and shipping costs for the
cargoes.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Coal Shipments From Australia's Newcastle Port to Be Disrupted for Days

(Bloomberg) -- Coal shipments from Australia's
Newcastle port, the world's biggest coal-export harbor, will be
disrupted all week after storms closed the terminals and flooding
and landslips affected the railway to the port.

About two million metric tons of shipments may be lost as a
result of the disruptions which may last until June 15, the
Hunter Valley Coal Chain Logistics Team, the coordinator of coal
movements along the rail system and through the port, said in a
statement. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company,
declared force majeure on deliveries, while Rio Tinto Group
closed three mines in the Hunter Valley.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

South Korea's Kospi Index Gains, Led by Hyundai Heavy; Hynix Declines

(Bloomberg) -- South Korean stocks rose. Hyundai
Heavy Industries Co. gained after Good Morning Shinhan Securities
Co. said shipyards will benefit from increasing orders for bulk
carriers.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. dropped after the Nikkei English
News reported that Japan's Toshiba Corp. plans to boost
production of flash-memory chips by 70 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average Slips, Topix Is Little Changed; Mizuho Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
fell 16.40, or 0.1. percent, to 17,818.08 at 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index was little changed at 1761.75.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Millea Holdings Inc. led
the declines.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

NAND Makers, CJ Corp., Hana Financial Group: South Korea Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following shares may rise or fall
in South Korea. Prices refer to the previous close. This preview
includes news announced after markets shut yesterday. Stock
symbols are in brackets after the company names.

The Kospi index declined 0.6 percent to 1716.56. The Kosdaq
slid 0.3 percent to 758.69. Kospi 200 futures expiring in June
retreated 0.7 percent to 217.85, while the underlying index lost
0.6 percent to 218.39.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

MCG Capital sells Superior Publishing unit

(Reuters) - The transaction is expected to close in late June, the
company said in a statement. Superior publishes 19 local
newspapers serving regional communities mainly in northern
Minnesota and Wisconsin, it said.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wall Street Journal May advertising revenue falls

(Reuters) - Technology ad volume fell 30.5 percent, and general ad
volume dropped 5.8 percent because of decreases in the
automobile, media and consumer advertising segments. Excluding
autos, general ad volume would have risen 10 percent.




At Barron's, Dow Jones' weekly investor newspaper, ad
revenue rose 2 percent in May on a 3.6 percent rise in
advertising pages.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Cyberonics quarterly loss widens

(Reuters) - Analysts on average expected a loss of 33 cents per share,
according to Reuters Estimates.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US bank regulators urged to review unsigned checks

(Reuters) - The practice involves a call to someone who is told he or
she won a prize, but they must provide bank account information
in order to claim it. Instead of depositing a prize the
criminal drains the account using unsigned checks, also called
"demand drafts."




"While the criminal behavior detailed in this report is
shocking, it is not unfamiliar to federal regulators and law
enforcement authorities," the lawmakers said in a letter to
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US CREDIT-Charter debt holders may be too optimistic

(Reuters) - With a mountain of debt remaining on the cable operator's
balance sheet though, Charter will eventually have to grapple
with its debt which is unlikely to be repaid with earnings
growth alone.




The cost to insure Charter's debt with credit default swaps
has fallen to around 750 basis points, or $750,000 per year for
five years to insure $10 million in debt. The swaps had traded
at more than 1,400 basis points last November.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Survey says retail losses hit record $41.6 billion

(Reuters) - The National Retail Security Survey, conducted by the National Retail Federation and University of Florida, found that total retail losses increased to $41.6 billion in 2006 from $37.5 billion in 2005 as overall retail sales rose.




Retail shrinkage -- which measures inventory losses due to employee theft, shoplifting, organized retail crime, administrative error and vendor fraud -- averaged 1.61 percent of retail sales last year, which was nearly unchanged from 1.60 percent in 2005.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

BMB, Morozoff, Takeda, Toshiba, Usen, Zappallas: Japanese Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may move in
Japanese markets. Prices are as of the close of trading.
Statements were released after the close. Stock symbols are in
parentheses.

Abilit Corp. (6423 JO): The pachinko machine maker changed
its first-half forecast to a 991 million yen loss from net income
of 133 million yen, and slashed its sales forecast 19 percent to
10.7 billion yen ($88.2 million). The stock added 3 yen, or 0.5
percent, to 597.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Rise, Led by Energy Shares; Exxon Mobil, Merck Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Energy shares rallied on higher oil
prices, stoking the U.S. stock market after the biggest weekly
decline since February.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Merck & Co. and General Motors Corp.
carried the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial
Average to their second straight gains


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Bonds fall on inflation worries,ylds off highs

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 11 - U.S. government bond prices
fell on Monday in a continuation of last week's rout as hawkish
inflation comments by a Federal Reserve official added to the
conviction that interest rates would not be cut in 2007.




But benchmark 10-year yields held off Friday's peak around
5.25 percent. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Sandra
Pianalto said earlier in Dublin the fundamentals of the U.S.
economy were strong and the biggest risk was inflation.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Treasury warns against complacency on risk

(Reuters) - A text of his remarks was issued in Washington.




Ryan noted there has been an increasing correlation of
returns among hedge funds and added: "Returns moving in the
same direction when facing similar market conditions could
suggest an increasing correlation of risk."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

European Government Bonds Gain; Yields Near 4 1/2-Year High Lure Investors

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds advanced,
snapping the steepest two-day slide since March 2006, as yields
near the highest in 4 1/2 years attracted investors to fixed-
income debt.

Benchmark bunds slid by the most since April last week, with
10-year yields, which reflect investors' predictions for
inflation, touching the highest since October 2002. Bonds pared
some of their advance today after European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated that interest rates are still low
enough to support economic growth, suggesting he sees room for
further increases.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Rand steady, bonds slip on emerging market jitters

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand was steady on Monday but government bonds weakened amid lingering nervousness in emerging markets as investors looked ahead to key international data later in the week.

The rand changed hands at 7.222 to the dollar at 1530 GMT, 0.1 percent firmer than its previous New York close, after erasing earlier losses late in the day.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Harvest to buy Grand Petroleum for C$110 million

(Reuters) - The acquisition will bring Harvest 3,409 barrels of oil
equivalent a day from Grand's properties in Alberta and
Saskatchewan, and proved and probable reserves of 6 million
barrels of oil equivalent. Grand also has 46,000 acres of
exploration lands.




The price tag works out to C$42,000 per barrel of daily
production and C$24 per barrel of proved and probable
reserves.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Coffee Futures Rise on U.S. Forecast Global Output to Decline Next Year

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee rose in New York after a U.S.
forecast that global production will drop next year.

Worldwide output will fall 9 percent to 118.9 million bags
in the year ending June 2008 because of a smaller crop in
Brazil, the world's biggest grower, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said on June 8. Before today, the price of coffee
climbed 19 percent from a year ago.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Brookfield Asset offers to buy Multiplex for A$7.3 bln

(Reuters) - Stapled securities consist of shares of Multiplex Ltd. and
the units of Multiplex Property Trust





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Nucor sees earnings well below analysts' view

(Reuters) - The earnings warning sent Nucor shares down 6 percent and
drove the steel sector lower.




Margins for Nucor's sheet steel dropped during the second
quarter as the company was unable to push through price
increases due to weak demand and surging imports of galvanized
steel sheet from China.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Ethiopia secures $220 mln World Bank loan for roads

(Reuters) - The World Bank has given Ethiopia a $220 million loan to rehabilitate and upgrade 579 km (359.8 miles) of rural roads, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development said on Monday.

The fund will be used to upgrade and repair roads in the country's agricultural belt including its coffee growing areas.


Read more at Reuters Africa

ESPN buys world's biggest cricket Web site

(Reuters) - The purchase from UK-based Wisden Group, best known for its Cricketers' Almanac, a sporting statistics bible which has been published every year since 1864, marks an important strategic move internationally by ESPN.




"We don't think of ourselves as an American sports television company. We think of ourselves as a large sports and media entertainment company that operates around the world," Russell Wolff, ESPN International executive vice president and managing director told Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Canada Q1 industrial capacity use rises

(Reuters) - The manufacturing sector exploited only 81.1 percent of its
production potential, unchanged from the fourth quarter of
2006. The result followed three straight declines.




The data, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for signs
the economy may be overheating, underperformed compared with
analysts' average forecast of 83.5 percent capacity use, and
was down from 85.8 percent in the same quarter a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Ford, Netflix, Owens-Illinois, Penn National, Tyson: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed June
8. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 8:15 a.m. New York time.

Atmel Corp. (ATML US) fell 12 cents to $5.55 in trading
before the open of U.S. exchanges. The maker of chips for mobile
phones and DVD players said it received a subpoena from the U.S.
Justice Department about its past stock-option practices. The
subpoena was delivered in January, the company said in a filing
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atmel also released
financial statements that had been delayed by its own probe into
stock-option grants.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Alchemy not pursuing bid for Ford luxury brands

(Reuters) - An Alchemy spokeswoman said on behalf of Moulton, however,
that the firm had not held any talks and "is not working on it".




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BHP, Boeing, Ford, Netflix, Owens-Illinois, Wyndham: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed
June 8. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

Atmel Corp. (ATML US) fell 12 cents to $5.55. The maker of
chips for mobile phones and DVD players said it received a
subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department about its past stock-
option practices. The subpoena was delivered in January, the
company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Atmel also released financial statements that had
been delayed by its own probe into stock-option grants.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gazprom Says It Doesn't Plan Any Major U.K. Acquisition, Bid for Centrica

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, the world's largest
natural gas company, said it has no plans to make a bid for U.K.
utility Centrica Plc.

Gazprom will announce a purchase in Britain ``in the
nearest future,'' Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander
Medvedev said yesterday in St. Petersburg. The acquisition will
by completed in time for the Wimbledon tennis tournament, which
runs from June 25 to July 8, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

European Stocks Rise, Led by Axa, Financial Shares; BHP, ThyssenKrupp Gain

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for the first
time in six days as renewed takeover speculation lifted mining
and steel companies.

BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining companies higher after UBS AG
said mergers and acquisitions in the industry ``will continue to
accelerate.'' ThyssenKrupp AG fueled a rally by steelmakers after
Interfax reported the world's biggest stainless steelmaker is
interested in acquisitions to expand. Axa SA, Rodamco Europe NV
and Deutsche Bank AG led gains by financial-related companies,
among the hardest hit in last week's sell-off.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-ABN AMRO says Taiwan unit back in the black

(Reuters) - The Dutch lender, Taiwan's third-biggest foreign bank by
assets, had lost money in the first four months of the year, but
had moved into the profit column -- along with much of the rest
of the industry -- as Taiwan's consumer credit crunch eased.




"The worst is over for ABN AMRO in Taiwan this year," said
Terry King, a corporate executive vice president and head of ABN
AMRO's Taiwan operations, which are more than 30 years old.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Scientists warn new EU rules threaten MRI scans

(Reuters) - "The values described in the directive would be exceeded in
every use of MRI," Gabriel Krestin, professor and chairman of
the Department of Radiology at Erasmus University in the
Netherlands, said in a statement.




"We would have to use other forms of scanning, such as
X-rays, which are known to be harmful. Research would also be
severely curtailed, since it is often conducted with much
stronger magnetic fields than those used in clinical practice."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Nokia files patent suit against Qualcomm

(Reuters) - Nokia, which makes more than one in three of the cellphones sold globally, said on Monday it had filed a suit against Qualcomm accusing the U.S. firm of infringing six implementation patents in its MediaFLO mobile TV technology and its Brew mobile data technology.




A legal dispute between the two has continued since part of a cross-licensing deal over technology patents expired on April 9, and their increasingly bitter battle is worrying investors and the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

India's Essar Oil Plans to Operate Refinery at Full Capacity From October

(Bloomberg) -- Essar Oil Ltd., a unit of India's
Essar Group, plans to operate its refinery at full capacity in
October, boosting the nation's fuel exports to a record.

The company will process 10.5 million tons a year, or
210,000 barrels a day, of crude oil into fuels once all the
refinery's units are built, S. Thangapandian, Essar Oil's head of
marketing, said in an interview. Essar is completing the
construction of units that produce cleaner-burning fuels.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Colombia Peso Rally Will Turn Into Rout, Merrill, Citigroup, Goldman Say

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street's biggest banks are
certain the Colombian peso, the world's hottest currency, will
tumble for the rest of 2007 and may even erase this year's 16
percent gain.

Merrill Lynch & Co., based in New York, says the peso will
be the worst performer in the foreign-exchange markets, losing
all of its advance against the dollar. Frankfurt-based Deutsche
Bank AG sees a 10.5 percent decline by mid-November, while
Citigroup Inc. in New York expects a 8.9 percent drop by year-
end and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., 6.3 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Alsea, Gol, Petroleo Brasileiro and Walmex: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols
are in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are
from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

DLF's Initial Share Sale May Raise Maximum $2.4 Billion on Property Boom

(Bloomberg) -- DLF Ltd., the developer attempting
India's second-biggest share sale, may raise the maximum 96.3
billion rupees ($2.4 billion) it is seeking after a shortage of
homes and offices spurred gains for rival Unitech Ltd.'s stock.

DLF, based in New Delhi, starts selling 175 million new
shares today at 500 rupees to 550 rupees apiece.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japan's Government Bonds Are Little Changed Before Tomorrow's Debt Auction

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year bonds were little
changed, following seven days of losses, on speculation
investors will be reluctant to bid at a debt sale tomorrow on
concern yields will keep rising.

Ten-year bonds fell earlier today as a government report
showed the economy grew faster than earlier reported in the
first quarter. Benchmark 10-year yields have risen more than a
third of a percentage point since falling to their lowest in
over a year on March 22.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Fukui Pressured as Japan's Savers Join Hedge Funds in Sending Yen Abroad

(Bloomberg) -- In Japan, sending yen overseas for
higher returns is no longer just a game for banks and hedge
funds. Michiko Takeda is playing too.

Takeda, a 46-year-old homemaker from Sapporo City, is among
a growing number of individual investors joining fund managers
in shifting money out of Japan, where interest rates are the
lowest of any major economy. Last year she put 2 million yen
($16,500) in an Australian bank, and ``even with exchange-rate
risks, I'd like to invest more,'' she says.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

GE Real Estate seeks Finnish property buys: report

(Reuters) - "We are not interested in single properties, but we want to buy a large portfolio in Finland," CEO Michael Pralle told Finnish financial daily Kauppalehti.




"We lost Kapiteeli, but we will try again," he said, adding that it would be ideal to buy "local know-how".


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Gold above 3-month low, Tokyo hits 2-week low

(Reuters) - Cash gold rose on Monday as bargain hunters lifted the metal from its lowest level in nearly three months that was hit on Friday, while Tokyo gold futures slipped to a two-week low on a decline in New York COMEX gold.

Spot gold fetched $650.75/$651.45 an ounce at 0247 GMT, up from $648.20/$649.70 last quoted in New York on Friday and $645.05, the lowest price since March 15.


Read more at Reuters Africa