UPDATE 1-Wall St Week Ahead: May jobs data to test stocks' rally

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 25 - Wall Street's merger-fueled
rally may continue next week, so long as Friday's payrolls
report and other economic news don't spoil the party.




For a holiday-shortened four-day work week, the calendar
is crowded with reports on consumer confidence and the overall
pace of economic growth, among others.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

UPDATE 1-US ITC again delays Qualcomm-Broadcom decision

(Reuters) - The ITC said in a notice that the deadline for the decision
had been extended until June 7. It gave no explanation for the
extension.




Broadcom had asked the commission to impose the ban in
response to Qualcomm's infringement of a Broadcom patent
involving battery-saving technology.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Some Frito-Lay products to bear new heart claim -US

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in a statement, said
the company notified the agency in January about its intent to
add the claim to some of its products. It added any food that
meets the agency's requirements could also carry the claim.




"Frito-Lay intends to apply the claim to vegetable oils,
spreads, and shortenings that have a total unsaturated fat
content of 80 or more of total fat," the FDA said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Nickel Rises as Voisey's Bay Mill Shuts Briefly; Lead Advances to Record

(Bloomberg) -- Nickel gained the most in four weeks
in London after production from the Voisey's Bay mill in eastern
Canada was shut briefly because of a labor dispute over safety.
Lead pared gains after rising to a record.

Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's second-largest refiner of
nickel, said output at its mill in Labrador was halted yesterday
and resumed last night. Voisey's Bay has been operating with
replacement workers for five weeks while employees represented by
the United Steelworkers union try to resolve a labor dispute.
Nickel stockpiles stand at about three days of global demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

BMC Software, Cleveland-Cliffs, Peru Copper, Nordson: 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 2:40 p.m. New York time.

Adams Respiratory Therapeutics Inc. (ARXT US) rose $3.49, or
8.7 percent, to $43.54 and traded as high as $44.39. U.S.
regulators moved to force illegal competitors to the company's
Mucinex off the market. Hundreds of time-release drugs containing
the chemical guaifenesin are sold to ease cold and cough
symptoms, although Adams alone has approval to sell such
products, the Food and Drug Administration said on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cleveland-Cliffs takeover talk ups options, shares

(Reuters) - Cleveland-Cliffs shares, which were up $5.04, or 7.2 percent, at $75.86 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange, have gained 56 percent so far this year.




The Cleveland-based company was not immediately available to comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Archstone-Smith Surges After UBS Reports It May Be a Takeover Candidate

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Archstone-Smith Trust, the
second-largest U.S. apartment real estate investment trust,
surged as much as 11 percent after investment bank UBS AG said
the company may be a takeover candidate.

The stock posted its biggest gain in six years, rising $4.21
to $55.34 at 11:48 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite
trading. The company's market capitalization is $12.37 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Canadian dollar rallies to new 29-1/2 year high

(Reuters) - The rise marked the highest level for the Canadian dollar
since it traded at C$1.0746 to the U.S. dollar, or 93.06 U.S.
cents, in October 1977.




After bouncing back and forth for most of the early part of
the session, the currency eventually gathered enough momentum
and forced traders who were banking it to fall below the
C$1.0880 level to unwind bets on the U.S. dollar.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Tyco mulling asset sales after breakup-filings

(Reuters) - "We regularly review and will consider the divestiture of
underperforming or non-strategic businesses to improve our
operating results and better utilize our capital," Tyco
Electronics said in its S-1 registration statement.




Each of the three companies has made a separate S-1 filing
with the SEC.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Mexico holds key interest rate, warns on inflation

(Reuters) - The bank said it expects 12-month inflation to return
toward its target of 3 percent when recent price shocks
diminish but said inflation risks still persisted.




Last month the bank surprised markets with a 25 basis point
increase in interest rates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nasdaq's rating outlook negative, was stable-Moody's

(Reuters) - Debt taken on for the acquisition will reduce Nasdaq's
financial flexibility and increase leverage to a level that is
high for its "Ba3" rating, Moody's said in a statement. A "Ba3"
rating is three steps below investment grade.




"Nonetheless, Moody's believes that the Nasdaq OMX Group
should have a strong capacity to generate cash and reduce
leverage, if management chooses to do so," the rating agency
said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil rises to $71 on supply worries

(Reuters) - Oil rose to $71 a barrel on Friday, near a nine-month high, as a strike in Nigeria threatened more of the country's output and Iran remained defiant over its nuclear programme.

Rising tension surrounding two of the world's leading oil producers have coincided with lower OPEC supply and relatively low gasoline stocks in top consumer the United States before the onset of peak summer demand.


Read more at Reuters Africa

U.S. Stocks Rise on Takeovers; NYSE Euronext Shares Gain on Goldman Note

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rebounded after Nasdaq
Stock Market Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. announced acquisitions, adding
to this year's unprecedented pace of takeovers.

NYSE Euronext, owner of the world's largest stock market,
advanced after Goldman, Sachs & Co. upgraded the shares on
speculation of more consolidation among exchanges. MGM Mirage
shares rose after the second-biggest casino company hired UBS AG
to advise on a possible breakup being considered by Kirk
Kerkorian.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Consumers resilient despite lofty gas prices-survey

(Reuters) - When asked to describe their future financial prospects,
consumers gave responses that were more favorable by six
percentage points in 2007 than in 2006, according to
Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.




Consumers, when asked how their current financial situation
had changed, were also less likely in 2007 to refer to rising
gasoline prices than in 2006, despite gasoline prices at record
highs, Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers
said.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

RF Micro Devices, Nasdaq, Peru Copper, SourceForge: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 8:50 a.m. New York time.

Aruba Networks Inc. (ARUN US): The maker of wireless
networking equipment posted third-quarter sales of $34.7 million,
up 65 percent from a year earlier. That exceeded the $30.5
million estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The
shares rose 2 cents to $15.16 in regular trading yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-SEC opens probe after Dow Chemical firings-source

(Reuters) - The Midland, Michigan-based company accused Romeo
Kreinberg, head of its specialty businesses and Pedro Reinhard,
a senior adviser and board member, of engaging in a "business
activity that was highly inappropriate."




The company had earlier this year been the subject of
numerous leveraged buyout rumors.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

S.Africa maize follows US higher, weak rand helps

(Reuters) - South African maize prices skipped higher on Friday, guided by the U.S. market and a softer rand and largely shrugging off bearish crop data, traders said.

July white maize futures ended 0.71 percent firmer at 1,713 rand a tonne.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Washington D.C. Borrows for Schools, Postpones Refinancing as Rates Rise

(Bloomberg) -- Washington D.C. borrowed $576 million
at a weighted-average interest rate of 4.69 percent to finance
schools, recreation centers and government offices in the week's
largest U.S. tax-exempt bond sale.

The U.S. capital postponed another debt offering that was
to have saved the District of Columbia as much as $6 million on
previous higher-cost borrowings after bonds fell this week,
lifting borrowing rates for state and local governments.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Sanofi's Plavix wins EU backing for stent patients

(Reuters) - Recommendations for marketing approval by the agency's
expert panel are normally endorsed by the European Commission
within a couple of months.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Lukoil Agrees to Help Gazprom Develop Oil Production Business in Russia

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Lukoil agreed to help Russia's
state-run OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas company,
develop its oil business by forming a joint venture to tap
fields from the Arctic to the Caspian Sea.

Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil's billionaire chief executive
officer, and OAO Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov signed an
accord in Moscow today that calls for the venture to be up and
running within 90 days. Gazprom will own 51 percent of the
venture, though operational control will be split evenly.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Gold gains above nine-week lows

(Reuters) - But larger-than-usual gold sales by European central banks in the past weeks might weigh on prices, they said.




"At some stage, we would expect the downside to fade a little bit, giving some room for an upside swing. You start to feel now that there is some hesitation in the selling," said Frederic Panizzutti, precious metals analyst at MKS Finance.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Chicago Soybean Futures Rise on Demand Speculation; Corn, Wheat Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Chicago soybeans rose for a third day
to a 35-month high on speculation that demand for the oilseed may
benefit from a European campaign against palm oil, which competes
with soybean oil. Corn and wheat were little changed.

Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil
producers, agreed to counter a European campaign against the oil.
The two countries are facing claims from environmental groups and
investors that rainforests are being cut down to make room for
oil palm, destroying habitat for animals such as the orangutan.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Central European Shares Decline, Paced by KGHM, Mol; Unipetrol Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Central European shares fell for a
second day, led by KGHM Polska Miedz SA, Poland's largest copper
mining company, after prices of the metal dropped. Mol Nyrt.,
Hungary's largest oil company, also declined.

The NTX Index of 30 companies in the region slipped 0.2
percent to 1938.55 at 10:40 a.m. in Vienna as 20 stocks fell and
10 rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nickel Advances in London as Voisey's Bay Production Halts; Copper Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Nickel rose from close to a two-month
low in London after production from the Voisey's Bay mill in
Canada was shut because of a dispute over safety. Copper and zinc
also advanced.

Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's second-largest refiner of
the metal, said yesterday that employees were refusing to return
to work at the mine in Labrador. The unit produces about 1,300
metric tons of concentrate, an intermediate product, daily.
Nickel stockpiles stand at about three days of global demand.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Achievo says plans Nasdaq listing within months

(Reuters) - "We have aspirations to list on NASDAQ," Robert Lee, chairman
and chief executive, told Reuters in an interview in Beijing.




"It will be a matter of months rather than years."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S.Africa's blue chip Top-40 falls 1.3 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's blue-chip Top-40 index fell over 1.3 percent on Friday, amid investor concern over higher interest rates, commodity prices and following fresh weakness on Asian stockmarkets.

The 40-member Top-40 fell 1.33 percent to 25,451 points after setting a fresh all-time high on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European stocks track global markets lower

(Reuters) - European stocks eased early on Friday, led by lacklustre miners, as investors took their lead from losses on global markets as fears about U.S. growth and Chinese equities weighed.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.3 percent to 1,592.7 points, its lowest level in a week, following a 1.2 percent slide for Tokyo's Nikkei index.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Two-year JGB yield at decade high on BOJ worries

(Reuters) - Since the BOJ ended its super-loose monetary policy in March
2006, it has raised interest rates twice to a decade-high 0.5
percent, and many market players expect a third rate hike to 0.75
percent as early as the July-September quarter.




Despite such views, the market has been supported by buying
from public funds, pension funds and other institutional
investors which regularly allocate a certain amount of funds to
JGBs, helping to cap a rise on yields.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News