New Zealand Dollar Falls a Second Day; Housing Woes Spur Carry Trade Exit

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar declined for a
second day as concerns U.S. subprime mortgage losses will slow
global growth deterred traders from buying riskier investments.

So called carry trades, where investors borrow cheaply in
yen to buy higher-yielding assets elsewhere, have seen New
Zealand's dollar gain 25 percent against Japan's currency in the
past year. U.S. stocks dropped Aug. 3 after Samuel Molinaro,
chief financial officer at Bear Stearns Cos. called the current
crisis in fixed-income the worst ever.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

South African Rand Climbs Against Dollar Over Week as Carry Trade Resumes

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand logged a weekly
gain against the dollar as global stocks rebounded, prompting
investors to resume buying emerging-market assets.

The rand also advanced as the cost of owning European
corporate bonds fell for the first week in seven. The South
African currency pared its weekly gain after Standard & Poor's
Corp. yesterday cut the credit outlook on Bear Stearns Cos.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

US STOCKS-Mortgage sector worry, data lead market lower

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U S. stocks declined on Friday
on weaker-than-expected economic data and evidence the
mortgage market's problems are taking a wider toll on financial
company shares, including Bear Stearns Cos. Inc.




Standard & Poor's said it changed its ratings outlook on
Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns to negative from
stable, indicating there is a better chance of a downgrade over
the next two years. Two Bear Stearns-managed hedge funds
collapsed last month on bad bets on subprime mortgage
investments.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. July auto sales seen down, housing woes key

(Reuters) - Dealer groups and analysts say early indications show July
sales failed to break free of a second-quarter slump,
ratcheting up the pressure for production cuts and stepped-up
incentive spending by the embattled U.S. auto industry.




"Housing worries and relatively high gas prices are
weighing on consumers," Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold said
in a note for clients.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bear, Lehman, Merrill, Goldman Traded as Junk, Credit-Default Swaps Show

(Bloomberg) -- On Wall Street, Bear Stearns Cos.,
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman
Sachs Group Inc., are as good as junk.

Bonds of U.S. investment banks lost about $1.5 billion of
their face value this month as the risk of owning the securities
increased the most since at least October 2004, according to
Merrill indexes. Prices of credit-default swaps based on the
debt imply that their credit ratings are below investment grade,
data compiled by Moody's Investors Service show.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-Fitch release on Doral Financial

(Reuters) - July 20 - Fitch Ratings has affirmed and removed all of
Doral Financial Corporation's ratings from Rating
Watch Negative and DRL's Rating Outlook is Positive. Fitch
currently rates DRL's long-term Issuer Default Rating
'CCC'. The Support Rating Floor for DRL and its principal
subsidiary remains unchanged at No Floor . Please see a
complete list of affected ratings at the end of this release.




DRL's Positive Rating Outlook is driven by the closing of
the equity sale and the payment of a significant impending debt
maturity. On July 19, DRL announced that it had received all
regulatory approvals and closed the equity sale of a 90% stake
to Bear Stearns Merchant Banking for $610 million. In addition,
DRL announced today that they have paid the impending $625
million debt maturity.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Comcast net up, but shares down on subscriber loss

(Reuters) - Although Comcast's profit and revenue growth was in line with expectations, the company lost 95,000 basic video subscribers in the second quarter -- a much bigger loss than the 20,000 forecast by Bear Stearns analyst Spencer Wang or the 12,000 estimated by Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett.




Comcast usually loses some customers in the second quarter as university students terminate their contracts at the end of the school year, but analysts had expected that to be offset this quarter by subscriber gains elsewhere. Comcast had lost 91,000 basic video subscribers in the year-ago period.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Japan's Bonds Post Weekly Gain as Concern Rises About U.S. Subprime Losses

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds posted the first
weekly gain this month amid speculation investors sought the
relative safety of government debt because of losses on
securities tied to U.S. mortgages.

The 10-year yield fell to the lowest since July 11 as U.S.
investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. told investors in its two
failed hedge funds that they will get little or no money back.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on July 19 that
losses associated with the home loans to people with poor credit
may be as much as $100 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

TREASURIES-Climb in Asia on Bear Stearns fund woes

(Reuters) - "Treasuries are rising on flight-to-quality buying," said
Yasutoshi Nagai, a senior economist at Daiwa Securities SMBC who
follows the U.S. economy.




Bear Stearns Cos. Inc said in a letter to investors
on Tuesday that it would provide up to $3.2 billion in financing
for its High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund. A copy of
the letter was obtained by Reuters.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US Rep. Frank says he expects hedge fund data bill

(Reuters) - He also said the committee would hold a hearing this autumn
to examine the role credit rating agencies may have played in
valuing subprime packages.




Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. recently said it would
provide about $1.6 billion to bail out one of its two
struggling hedge funds that had big losses by making bad bets
tied to subprime mortgage loans, which are held by consumers
with weak credit.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

GM, Hilton, Huntsman, JDA, Marriott, Starwood Hotels: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes on U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 9:35 a.m. in New York.

General Motors Corp. (GM US) fell $1.69, or 4.5 percent, to
$36.29. The largest U.S. automaker was cut to ``peer perform''
from ``outperform'' by Bear Stearns & Co. after GM said June U.S.
sales declined. Separately, Deutsche Bank AG cut its full-year
earnings estimate for GM to $2 a share, a 30 percent reduction,
after ``surprisingly weak'' U.S. sales in June.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 3

(Reuters) - * Investment firm Leonard Green & Partners LP aims to
maintain Container Store Inc.'s growth rate after agreeing to
buy a majority stake.




* Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. officials plan to
strengthen the risk controls in its money-management unit and
add new risk managers.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

IPO-VIEW-MF Global poised for $4 billion IPO

(Reuters) - The offering could raise about $3.8 billion, putting it in
a league with Blackstone Group's high-profile $4.13
billion IPO earlier this month. But investors are likely hoping
that MF Global's debut won't mirror the rocky entry of
Blackstone into the public markets.




The offerings come amid new headwinds affecting private
investment funds, including the possibility of higher taxes and
lower returns. There are also market worries about a fallout in
the securitized debt markets, reflected by the recent implosion
of two Bear Stearns hedge funds.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Shares of RIM jump 18 pct after strong earnings

(Reuters) - Analysts at UBS, Bear Stearns, Banc of America, Credit Suisse and Morgan Keegan all upgraded RIM shares.




Though some analysts have raised concerns that competition from Apple Inc.'s iPhone could hurt sales of RIM smartphones, RIM forecast higher-than-expected guidance for the current quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-NEWSMAKER-Trouble-shooter takes on crucial role at Bear

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 27 - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc.
has decided it will take more than one veteran to
untangle the big mess at two hedge funds that invested heavily
in subprime mortgages.




Looking for a trouble-shooter, the investment bank has
turned to Thomas Marano, head of the firm's mortgage department
and an expert in specialized mortgage securities, a source
familiar with the funds disclosed on Tuesday. Marano's mandate
is to help Ralph Cioffi, the current manager, put one of the
funds back on its feet.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bear Stearns' Everquest withdraws IPO-filing

(Reuters) - Everquest is a Cayman Islands-registered business jointly run by Bear Stearns Asset Management and Stone Tower Capital LLC, a hedge fund firm specializing in debt. Everquest manages a portfolio of collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, which are themselves packages of corporate loans, asset-backed securities and securities issued by other CDOs.




Everquest, which held $720 million of CDOs and other assets at the end of last year, filed plans on May 9 for an IPO. But the transaction immediately came under fire from critics who said the firm's close ties to Bear Stearns would lead to conflicts of interest.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Bear may have to bail out second fund: analyst

(Reuters) - But at current valuations, Bear Stearns offers an excellent
value, he added.




Bear Stearns' shares fell as much as 5.3 percent on Monday.
They have fallen about 9 percent since the end of the second
week of June, when talk of trouble at the fund began to arise.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Yen Rebounds From a Record Low Against the Euro as Investors Reduce Risks

(Bloomberg) -- The yen rebounded from a record low
against the euro and rose for the first time in four days versus
the dollar after the Bank of International Settlements warned
about the risks of betting against Japan's currency.

Investors also exited the so-called carry trades, in which
they buy higher-yielding assets funded by loans in the yen, after
Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said he didn't rule
out further interest-rate increases, pushing down stocks in Asia
and Europe. Concern over losses from Bear Stearns Cos. hedge
funds also led people to reduce risks, adding to yen buying.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan's Stocks Drop, Led by Sony, Exporters on U.S. Concerns, Takeda Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks declined, led by
companies relying on U.S. sales such as Sony Corp., on concern
losses from the faltering subprime market there will be worse
than expected.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped by the most since
early March last week after the near collapse of a Bear Stearns
Cos. hedge fund spurred speculation investors will have to write
down the value of securities containing subprime mortgages. The
U.S. has been the largest overseas market for Sony.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RPT-Wall St Wk Ahead: Fed meeting, subprime jitters on tap

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 24 - One of Wall Street's oldest
maxims will be put to the test this week: markets don't hit
bottom on a Friday.




Stocks closed out their worst week in more than three
months on fears that trouble at two Bear Stearns hedge funds
may signal bigger problems ahead for credit markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News