RPT-TREASURIES-Yield curve breaches 5 percent as bonds dive

(Reuters) - It was the first time the entire curve was at or above that
threshold since July of last year.




Bonds have been battered in recent weeks by the possibility
that stronger economic data would prompt the Federal Reserve to
leave interest rates on hold for the foreseeable future.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chico's May same-store sales down 2.9 pct

(Reuters) - Total sales for the four-week period ended March 3, rose 9 percent to $98.9 million, compared with $90.9 million for the comparable period a year ago.



Eight analysts, on average, had expected the company to post same-store sales increase of 2.3 percent, according to estimates gathered by Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

U.K. Pound Declines After Bank of England Keeps Benchmark Rate Unchanged

(Bloomberg) -- The pound dropped against the dollar
and the euro after the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest
rate unchanged at a six-year high.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor
Mervyn King, kept the Bank Rate at 5.5 percent today, as predicted
by 58 of 62 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The pound has
risen this year after two surprise increases in rates and a report
showing inflation at a decade high of 3.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Funds keen on stocks, favour cash over bonds-HSBC

(Reuters) - Asked what asset allocation strategy they would adopt
in the second quarter of 2007, all of the managers said they were
overweight equities, unchanged from three months earlier.




By comparison, 74 percent said they were underweight bonds,
up from 63 percent a quarter earlier. Only 13 percent were
overweight and another 13 percent were neutral.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-KKR seeks more Taiwan investments after Yageo deal

(Reuters) - TAIPEI, June 7 - KKR, one of the world's largest
private equity firms, said on Thursday it is aiming to make more
investments in Taiwan over the next six months, following its
first ever investment in the increasingly popular market.




Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. [KKR.UL] announced its first
deal in Taiwan late on Tuesday, saying it would buy US$230
million of Yageo Corp.'s convertible bonds, which could
give it a 16.1 percent stake in the electronics parts maker.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Nickel slips after LME changes rules, copper steady

(Reuters) - Nickel fell two percent on Thursday after the London Metal Exchange changed lending rules to free up more metal, and copper was steady, analysts said.

The nickel market, with prices hitting $51,800 a tonne in May and rising some 40 percent this year, has been characterised by extreme tightness with low stocks in LME warehouses and strong stainless steel production in China.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Judge acquits Swissair chiefs in airline collapse

(Reuters) - Fischer awarded around 3 million Swiss francs in compensation to be shared among the defendants.




Switzerland's flagship airline Swissair collapsed in 2001 with around 17 billion Swiss francs in debt, due in part to an aggressive international expansion and a brutal downturn in the travel industry.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News