E.ON Shares Jump After German Utility Announces EU7 Billion Share Buyback

(Bloomberg) -- E.ON AG, Germany's biggest utility,
plans to build 18 new power plants in Europe as part of a 60
billion-euro ($81 billion) investment plan to satisfy growing
demand for electricity.

The new generators will increase capacity in five years by
13,500 megawatts, enough to supply about 27 million average
European homes, as the region's markets open to competition,
E.ON Chief Executive Officer Wulf Bernotat said today at a press
conference in Dusseldorf, where the company is based.


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EDF, EnBW Reach Deal to Store Natural Gas in Etzel Salt Caverns in Germany

(Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, Europe's
largest power supplier, and Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG have
reached an agreement with a German property company for long-term
storage of natural gas in underground salt caverns at Etzel, near
the North Sea.

EDF and EnBW, Germany's third-largest utility, each signed an
agreement with IVG Immobilien AG for access to the salt caverns,
which have a storage capacity of 400 million cubic meters, for 35
years, EDF said in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.S. attracts bulk of Gulf oil windfall surplus-IIF

(Reuters) - The Institute of International Finance estimated total
export earnings of the six states of the Gulf Cooperation
Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates -- were more than $1.5 trillion in 2002
to 2006.




"About $1 trillion went towards imports. The remainder of
the earnings -- some $542 billion -- represented surplus funds
that entered global capital markets and contributed to an
increase in GCC foreign asset holdings," it said.


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S&P to roll out recovery ratings, upgrades likely

(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's plans to roll out the first stage of a new rating system with more information on recovery prospects next week, a move that may result in hundreds of junk bond and loan rating upgrades, the rating agency said on Wednesday.

Recoveries are the amounts debt investors receive if an issuer defaults. S&P's recovery rating changes were first announced last October.


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Europe shares hit 6-1/2 yr high as E.ON, ASML star

(Reuters) - European shares tracked Asian and U.S. stocks higher early on Thursday to hit fresh six-and-a-half year highs, with German utility E.ON and Dutch chip equipment maker ASML buoyed by plans to return money to shareholders.

At 0756 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,609.41 points, with shares on Germany's DAX outperforming peers in Britain and France with a 1-percent increase.


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Fed May Keep Rate Unchanged as Housing, Prices Pull in Opposite Directions

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.
Bernanke is pulled in opposite directions by worries over
inflation and housing, leaving him little choice other than to
keep interest rates unchanged.

Fed officials said they still expect a pickup in the
economy this year and view inflation as their main concern,
minutes of their May 9 meeting showed yesterday. They listed
several caveats, including the risk that the housing recession
may ``weigh heavily'' on growth.


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Coca-Cola stops funding animal testing: PETA

(Reuters) - Coke does not conduct animal tests and does not directly fund animal tests on its beverages, and is asking its partners and research organizations to use alternatives to animal testing, the company said in a letter provided by PETA.




"Pepsi's announcement helped to spur Coke along," said Bruce Friedrich, a vice president of PETA. Coca-Cola could not immediately be reached for comment.


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