Japanese Stocks Advance, Paced by Trading Companies; Sony, Takeda Slide

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks gained, paced by
trading companies and oil explorers, after Nikko Citigroup Ltd.
raised its recommendation on Sumitomo Corp. and Marubeni Corp.
and the price of crude oil advanced.

Limiting gains, technology-related companies that rely on
U.S. sales such as Sony Corp. declined after a higher-than-
forecast rise in U.S. labor costs fueled concern accelerating
inflation will prompt the Federal Reserve to increase interest
rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

World Bank nominee Zoellick woos Africa on tour

(Reuters) - Robert Zoellick, U.S. President George W. Bush's nominee to run the World Bank, promised on Wednesday to partner the world's poorest continent as he began a two-week tour to rally support for his nomination.

Starting his tour in Ghana, Zoellick stressed his long association with Africa and his willingness to listen to and learn from a continent that has previously had to accept prescriptions for growth and development from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank.


Read more at Reuters Africa

South Korea's May Household Lending Growth Slows as Mortgage Loans Decline

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's household debt growth
slowed in May as mortgage lending declined by the most since
records began almost seven years ago.

Bank lending to households advanced 184 billion won ($198
million) from April, when it gained 1.4 trillion won, the Bank
of Korea said in Seoul today. Mortgage lending fell 1.2 trillion
won in May, the biggest monthly drop since the central bank
began compiling the figures in December 2000.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Cemex, Tejicondor, Tejidos and TV Azteca: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Chile, Colombia and Mexico
today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name, and
stock prices are from the last session. Brazilian markets are
closed today for a holiday.

Chile


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Kelda, easyJet, Halfords, Johnson Matthey, Vp: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from yesterday's market close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell 110.1, or 1.7 percent, to
close at 6522.7 in London as 2 stocks rose, 100 fell and none
were unchanged. The FTSE All-Share Index lost 60.39, or 1.8
percent, to 3382.03.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oil above $71, nears 9-mth high on Turkey Iraq raid

(Reuters) - London Brent crude was up 8 cents at $71.10 a barrel at 0213 GMT after rising 57 cents on Wednesday, a fifth day of gains. U.S. crude nudged up 6 cents to $66.02.




Turkey denied a report on Wednesday it had launched a major incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels, but a military source said troops had conducted a limited raid across the mountainous border, rattling markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

South Korea May Leave Key Rate Unchanged at 4.5 Percent as Inflation Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Korea policy makers will
probably leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged tomorrow
for a 10th month as inflation slows and the housing market cools.

Central bank Governor Lee Seong Tae and his six colleagues
will keep the overnight call rate target at 4.5 percent after
three increases in 2006, according to all 14 economists surveyed
by Bloomberg News. The board meets tomorrow at 9 a.m. in Seoul
and announces a decision before 11 a.m.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Diabetes group urges patient caution on Avandia

(Reuters) - "As a result of all of this information, the American Diabetes Association strongly encourages patients taking this medication to consult with their physician as to its benefits and risks," the non-profit group, which funds diabetes research and advocacy, said in a statement.




"The Association also reminds patients, however, that they should not stop taking any prescribed medications without first discussing the issue with their health care provider."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Japan's 10-Year Government Bonds Decline; Yields Trade at Seven-Month High

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's 10-year government bonds
declined, pushing yields to the highest in more than seven months.

The yield on the 1.8 percent bond due in June 2017 gained 1.5
basis points to 1.85 percent as of 10:04 a.m. in Tokyo at Japan
Bond Trading Co., the nation's largest interdealer debt broker.
The level is the highest for 10-year yields since Oct. 24. A basis
point is 0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan's Shares Slide, Led by Exporters, on Inflation Concern; Takeda Drops

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks dropped, led by
companies that rely on U.S. sales, after a higher-than-forecast
rise in U.S. labor costs fueled concern inflation will
accelerate, prompting an increase in interest rates.

Sony Corp., the world's largest video-game maker, declined
1.2 percent. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Japan's largest
drugmaker, slid 3.7 percent, the biggest drop in a year, after
U.S. regulators said its Actos diabetes medication needs the
strongest possible warning of the risk of heart failure.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japanese Yen, China Yuan, Indian Rupee, Thai Baht: Asian Currency Review

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. senators seek data from airlines on pensions

(Reuters) - Subtle changes to last year's pension law overhaul are
aimed at reducing cash contributions American, Continental and
a handful of smaller airlines would be required to make to
their employee pension funds over time. The break is estimated
at roughly $2 billion.




"These two airlines flew around the Finance Committee to
get this pension provision in the spending bill, but we will
review in the light of day exactly what deal they got," Baucus
and Grassley said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Wall St leans to unchanged Fed policy all year

(Reuters) - A poll of 18 primary dealers on Wednesday showed a median forecast for no change in Fed policy through 2007, starting with the next Federal Open Market Committee on June 28.




In a June 1 Reuters survey the median forecast was for a cut in the federal funds rate to 5 percent by year-end from the current 5.25 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Ford, Navistar dispute deepens with new lawsuit

(Reuters) - The Illinois-based truck and engine maker said the suit, filed in Cook County, Illinois, seeks "at least hundreds of millions of dollars" in damages.




Navistar, the exclusive supplier of diesel engines to Ford's Super Duty pickups since 1979, said Ford plans to develop a new diesel engine designed by International Truck and Engine Corp., Navistar's principal operating company.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Argentine stocks, bonds fall in overall slump

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average closed lower, as did
Brazilian and Mexican stocks.




"With a change in the outlook for U.S. rates, it makes
sense that markets begin to settle back down after many of them
hit records in recent days," said Leopoldo Olivari, a trader at
Bacque brokerage.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

PW Eagle says J-M antitrust waiting period ends

(Reuters) - J-M agreed to pay $33.50 per share for PW, valuing the
latter at about $418 million when the merger was announced on
Jan. 15.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-Major new Grupo Mexico mine to begin output in 2012

(Reuters) - MEXICO CITY, June 6 - Latin American miner Grupo
Mexico is set to build a major new copper mine at a remote site
in northern Mexico now that strong copper prices justify the
development costs of the company's biggest project in decades.




The EL Arco project, at the heart of the Baja California
peninsula, will produce 190,000 tonnes of copper from 2012, the
Mexico City-based miner said on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Brinker says May same-store sales fell 2.8 pct

(Reuters) - At Chili's, Brinker's flagship chain, same-store sales fell 3 percent in the four weeks ended May 30.



) Keywords: BRINKER SALES/


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

NovaStar shares soar on buyout speculation

(Reuters) - Dozens of providers of home loans to people with poor credit histories have found buyers, quit the industry or gone bankrupt in the last year as losses mounted and customer defaults soared. NovaStar lost $39.8 million in the first quarter, excluding a one-time gain.




In afternoon trading, NovaStar shares were up 74 cents, or 9 percent, at $8.94 on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier rising to $9.55.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

CBOT says ICE merger would put exchange at risk

(Reuters) - "We're not talking just about a dip in sales here, but the potential permanent loss of our liquidity pools," Chief Executive Bernard Dan and Chairman Charles Carey said in a letter being distributed on the CBOT's trading floors.




"Our entire franchise would be at risk," they added.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Net $2.16 bln U.S. securities reconstituted in May

(Reuters) - The Treasury said $3.414 trillion in securities were
eligible for stripping in May. Of the total, $197.90 billion
were held in stripped form on May 31, compared with $200.06
billion at the end of the prior month.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

REFILE-US STOCKS-Indexes drop on inflation, rate worries

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 6 - U.S. stocks fell sharply for
a second day on Wednesday after data showing
higher-than-expected labor costs stoked worries about
inflation and interest rates.




Energy stocks were among the heaviest drags on the S&P 500
after government data showed gasoline stockpiles rose more
than analysts had forecast.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Colombia's Uribe Says He Has No Plans to Extend Capital Inflow Controls

(Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said
the government has no plans to impose further restraints on
short-term capital inflows and won't impose any controls on
foreign direct investment as it seeks to stem the peso's rally.

``I am convinced, I have the certainty, that we cannot put
capital controls on foreign direct investment,'' Uribe, 54, said
in an interview last night in his office at the presidential
palace in Bogota. ``So far, we haven't thought of any new ideas,
and my concern now, my focus, is on how to protect jobs.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Penn Gaming pay proposals rejected, union says

(Reuters) - UNITE HERE, which represents many workers in the hotel and
casino industry, mounted a shareholder campaign against the
company's compensation plans, charging that they were excessive
and presented conflicts of interest.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

European Bonds Gain on Central Bank President's Interest Rate Remarks

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds rose after
central bank President Jean-Claude Trichet failed to suggest
interest rates would need to rise beyond this year to rein in
inflation.

Yields on benchmark 10-year bunds, more sensitive to the
inflation outlook, fell from a three-year high after he said the
European Central Bank kept its inflation forecast for 2008
unchanged. Trichet left the door open for more interest-rate
increases this year after the ECB lifted its refinancing rate a
quarter-point to 4 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-New York widens student loan probe to underwriting

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 6 - New York Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday he has widened his investigation
of the student loan industry to include underwriting standards,
and urged Congress to legislate a clean-up of the industry,
including the fast-growing private loan market.




"I urge Congress to enact stringent legislation to clean up
all of the student loan industry," Cuomo told a Senate Banking
Committee hearing looking at allegations of conflicts of
interest and kickbacks in the $85-billion industry.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcan says Alcoa's takeover bid inadequate

(Reuters) - "The board has already rejected the offer and continues to evaluate all options to maximize shareholder value," Michaud added.







Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US STOCKS-Indexes sink on signs of inflation

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 6 - U.S. stocks fell sharply on
Wednesday after data showing higher-than-expected labor costs
fueled concern that inflation and rising interest rates will
harm corporate earnings.




Energy stocks were the heaviest drag on the S&P 500 after
government data showed gasoline stockpiles rose by more than
analysts had forecast.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Citigroup to pay $15.2 mln in NASD settlement

(Reuters) - The penalty includes a $3 million fine and $12.2 million in restitution to more than 200 customers, the regulator said. Citigroup did not admit wrongdoing.



The NASD said it also suspended three brokers and two branch managers at a Citigroup branch office in Charlotte, North Carolina, and fined them a total of $295,000.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Colony wins Libya's Tamoil in $5.4 bln deal

(Reuters) - Los Angeles-based Colony said in a statement on Wednesday that the sale also included Tamoil holding company Oilinvest and that the Libyan government would retain a 35 percent stake in the ongoing group.




The statement did not say what price Colony paid for its stake and a spokesman declined to give further detail.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Mexico Asur airport traffic up 14.1 percent in May

(Reuters) - "There has been a significant recovery since then, but
passenger traffic at Cozumel continues to be affected," Asur
said in a statement.




Wilma ravaged beaches, damaged hotels and homes, and
flooded streets, closing the airports for several days and
pushing down passenger traffic for months afterward.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

US STOCKS-Inflation, rate worries drag indexes down

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 6 - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday
after Europe's central bank lifted interest rates and U.S. data
showed higher-than-expected labor costs, fueling concern that
inflation and rising rates will hurt corporate profits.




Utility shares were the biggest drag on the S&P 500 index
on expectations that rising bond yields will make the
dividend-paying sector comparatively less attractive to
investors.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Nymex Natural-Gas Price Increases on Storms, Supply Disruption Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Natural gas rose in New York as
speculators bought on the prospect of storms and hot weather
combining to crimp supplies later this year.

``When you have Tropical Storm Barry and then a tropical
cyclone near Qatar, where they don't have cyclones on a regular
basis, any selling has been put completely on hold because of
what people are seeing in their backyard,'' said Michael Rose,
trading director at Angus Jackson Inc. in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Crude Oil Rises Before U.S. Energy Department's Weekly Inventory Report

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York before the
release of an Energy Department report on U.S. petroleum
inventories.

Inventories of gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that
includes diesel and heating oil, rose last week, according to a
Bloomberg News survey. Analysts were split on whether crude-oil
stockpiles rose or fell. The department is scheduled to release
its weekly report on petroleum supplies at 10:30 a.m. in
Washington. Tropical Cyclone Gonu is heading for the Strait of
Hormuz, the world's busiest oil shipping chokepoint.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Integra LifeSciences prices $300 mln notes offering

(Reuters) - Integra said net proceeds from the offering would be used
in part to buy back shares and repay debt.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcoa files Alcan merger documents with regulators

(Reuters) - Last month, the board of Alcan rejected Alcoa's offer and
said the bid does not adequately reflect the value of Alcan's
assets.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Euro Weakens Against Dollar, Yen After Trichet's Comments on Rate Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- The euro weakened against the dollar
and yen as some traders pared bets on interest rate increases
this year by the European Central Bank after comments by
President Jean-Claude Trichet.

The ECB today raised its benchmark borrowing cost to a six-
year high of 4 percent, as predicted by all 52 economists
Bloomberg surveyed.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

WRAPUP 1- U.S. Q1 non-farm productivity rose 1.0 pct

(Reuters) - The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that non-farm
productivity, a measure of how much any given worker can
produce in an hour, advanced at a 1.0 percent annualized pace
during the first quarter of this year, driving up unit labor
costs by 1.8 percent.




Economists polled ahead of the Labor Department report had
revised down their forecasts for productivity, expecting
non-farm productivity to advance by 1.1 percent and unit labor
costs to rise by a bigger 1.2 percent after the government
reported scant gross domestic product growth of just 0.6
percent during the first quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Q1 non-farm productivity rose 1.0 pct

(Reuters) - The Labor Department's earlier estimate for first-quarter productivity showed productivity rising at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7 percent and unit labor costs increasing 0.6 percent.




In Wednesday's report, hourly compensation rose by 2.8 percent in the first quarter, up from the prior quarterly estimate of 2.3 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European Stocks Drop After ECB Raises Key Rate; E.ON and Iberdrola Fall

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks headed for the biggest
decline in more than two months after the European Central Bank
raised interest rates.

E.ON AG and Iberdrola SA led a decline by utilities, while
BNP Paribas SA and Spain's Banco Popular Espanol SA pushed
banking shares lower. Thales SA, Europe's largest defense-
electronics company, fell after Societe Generale SA downgraded
the stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Borders Shares Cut to `Sell' as Goldman Says Company Buyout Less Likely

(Bloomberg) -- Borders Group Inc. shares were
downgraded to ``sell'' at Goldman, Sachs & Co., which said the
odds the second-largest U.S. bookseller will be acquired have
diminished.

The Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. antitrust regulator,
plans to file suit to block the proposed merger between Whole
Foods Market Inc. and Wild Oats Markets Inc., the largest and
second-largest natural-foods grocers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Brazil's Central Bankers May Carry Out Biggest Interest-Rate Cut of 2007

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's central bank today may carry
out its biggest interest-rate cut of 2007 as a rally by the
country's currency holds inflation at an eight-year low.

The seven-member board may cut the overnight lending rate
by a half point to a record low 12 percent at its almost monthly
meeting in Brasilia, according to 18 of 25 economists surveyed
by Bloomberg. The other seven estimate the board will make its
fourth quarter-point reduction of 2007.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

S.Africa confidence eases after poor indicators

(Reuters) - South Africa's business confidence eased slightly in May after a set of disappointing economic data that should influence sentiment in coming months, the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) said on Wednesday.

SACOB's Business Confidence Index (BCI) pulled back 1.7 index points to 100.2 in May from April's 101.9, dragged lower by six of the seven real economic sub-indices that the chamber focuses on.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Turkey's Rating Hinges on Dispute Between Government, Army, Moody's Says

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's credit rating hinges on
resolving a dispute between the army and government that has
forced early elections and delayed the nomination of the
country's next president, Moody's Investors Service said.

Finding a president who's acceptable to the army as well as
politicians could help Turkey get a rating upgrade, Moody's
analyst Kristen Lindow said in an interview in Istanbul today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

S. Africa must raise wages to fight AIDS - activist

(Reuters) - South Africa will not be able to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS unless it increases wages for government health care workers and other public servants, the head of a leading HIV/AIDS advocacy group said on Wednesday.

In a presentation at the third South African AIDS conference, Siphokazi Mthathi, general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, warned that discontent in the public sector threatened to undermine the government's plan to expand the availability of life-saving AIDS drugs and other treatments to hundreds of thousands of HIV-positive people.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Copper and aluminium steady ahead of options

(Reuters) - London Metal Exchange (LME) copper and aluminium were steady on Wednesday ahead of the maturity of key options.

Three-months copper was at $7,535/7,550 a tonne by 0945 GMT, down $5 against its close on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Mexico's Calderon to consider court's media ruling

(Reuters) - The court also ruled that new concessions should not
necessarily go to the highest bidder.




Calderon, on a visit to Europe, said he was not yet familiar
with the court's decision or how much change it would require to
Mexico's broadcasting laws.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dip, bond yields rise on rate views

(Reuters) - LONDON, June 6 - The prospect of tighter global
monetary policy weighed on stocks on Tuesday, with the euro
holding firm ahead of a European Central Bank meeting expected
to raise interest rates and signal more hikes to come.




Euro zone government bond yields hovered near recent
multi-year highs ahead of the ECB announcement at 1145 GMT,
while oil extended gains towards $71 a barrel after a
cyclone disrupted oil and gas exports from Gulf state Oman.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

China's Stocks Rise in Volatile Trade; Shanghai Airport, Vanke Lead Gains

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks rose after deputy
central bank governor Wu Xiaoling said market gains are
``inevitable.'' Trade was volatile as speculation the government
would announce supportive measures today failed to be realized.

Shanghai International Airport Co. and China Vanke Co., the
nation's biggest listed property developer, paced the advance, as
some investors considered recent falls to be excessive.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Thai Government Bonds Gain After Debt Sale Canceled; Baht Little Changed

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's government bonds rose,
reversing earlier losses, after the government canceled a
scheduled debt auction today. The baht was little changed.

The government scrapped the sale of 5 billion baht ($145
million) of 2024 bonds, saying investors demanded too high a
yield. Benchmark 10-year yields rose to a two-month high
yesterday after a government report the previous day showed the
economy expanded a faster-than-expected 4.3 percent during the
first quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Greyhound bus trip provides snapshot of U.S. poor

(Reuters) - The 12-hour ride provides an insight into the lives of America's poor as the bus crosses the Deep South states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.




Given the choice, most Americans fly or drive across the country's vast distances. Bus travel is cheaper and people who lack the money to use other means of transport often go Greyhound.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa miners, municipal workers may join strike

(Reuters) - South African miners and municipal workers on Tuesday threatened to join an escalating strike by civil servants that has disrupted services at hospitals and schools, state media reported.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said it was consulting its 280,000 members on possible strike action, SABC radio said, a move that could hurt one of the biggest sectors of the economy.


Read more at Reuters Africa