US STOCKS-Dow, S&P hit records on jobs and Wal-Mart

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 1 - U.S. stocks rose on Friday,
driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to record finishes, as strong
jobs and manufacturing data reassured investors about the
economy's health.




Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shares jumped 3.9 percent
after it announced plans for a $15 billion stock buyback and
trimmed its expansion plans. For details, see [ID:nN01324918]


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Storm kicks off Atlantic hurricane season

(Reuters) - Barry was bearing maximum sustained winds of about 45 miles per hour and heading north at about 12 mph .




No significant change in the storm's strength was expected before it reaches the coast, the hurricane center said.


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Washington Mutual says subprime loans fare better

(Reuters) - The biggest U.S. savings and loan is one of many mortgage providers to tighten their loan standards. Industrywide easing in 2005 and 2006 allowed many borrowers with weak credit to obtain home loans they couldn't afford.




A surge in the number of borrowers who missed their first or second payments made it tougher for many lenders to sell loans, and cut the value of loans they kept on their books.


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Key shareholder at Austria's RHI blocks dividend

(Reuters) - According to Chief Executive Andreas Meier, the cash to be
paid as a dividend was now earmarked for acquisitions.




"We believe that the window of opportunity is only open now
and that those firms would not be available in the future,"
Meier was quoted as saying by local news agency APA.


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U.S. auto sales rebound after weak spring

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. bucked the trend by posting a decline of 10 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, in May sales. Ford also surrendered the industry's No. 2 spot to Toyota for the month.




GM , which beat Wall Street expectations with a nearly 5 percent sales gain, cut its forecast for industrywide sales in 2007 but said retail sales likely had stabilized after a weak spring that had raised concerns about a deepening slump tied to a slower U.S. housing market.


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TREASURIES-Prices fall as job growth shrinks chance of rate cuts

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 1 - U.S. government debt prices
slid on Friday after strong labor and manufacturing reports
all but quashed the market's remaining hopes for a Federal
Reserve interest-rate cut this year.




The retreat sent benchmark yields, which move inversely to
prices, to their highest levels in more than nine months.


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First rated microfinance bond sells to strong demand

(Reuters) - Microfinance aims to provide financial services to
low-income borrowers who have been excluded from traditional
commercial banking. The service offers loans, usually less than
$200, to individuals to start or expand small businesses.




Standard & Poor's rated the deal and expects to rate up to
three transactions in coming months. Issuance may reach $500
million by the end of 2007 and grow to $1 billion to $3 billion
a year over the next decade, S&P said last month.


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