Cemex, Elektra, Homex, Perdigao, Sadia: Latin American Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may make
significant gains or losses in Brazil and Mexico today. Symbols
are in parentheses after the company name, and stock prices are
from the last session.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded
class of stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Banks lead Asian shares higher

(Reuters) - The dollar held around a six-week peak against the euro, lifted by dwindling expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year after surprisingly strong recent data on housing and manufacturing.




Brent crude hovered below $70 after estimates that inventories of the motor fuel have risen last week soothed concerns about U.S. gasoline shortages ahead of the summer driving season.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Parkson Retail May Pay 7.25 Percent Yield on Its Five-Year Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Parkson Retail Group Ltd., China's
second-largest department-store operator by market value, may pay
yield of as much as 7.25 percent for its second dollar-
denominated bond sale in less than seven months, according to an
e-mail sent to investors.

The company, owned by Malaysia's Lion Group, plans to price
the five-year $125 million of securities to yield from 7.125
percent to 7.25 percent, the e-mail shows. That's at least 62.5
basis points, or 0.625 percentage point, lower than its $200
million debut bond sale in November.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Shanda's Shares Climb as Profit Surges 38-Fold, Beating Analyst Estimates

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Shanda Interactive
Entertainment Ltd., China's second-biggest operator of online
games, rose after the company reported first-quarter profit
increased more than some analysts estimated.

The company's American depositary receipts rose 3.4 percent
in U.S. after-hours trading to $29.60 after Shanda said its
first-quarter profit increased 38-fold to 448.8 million yuan ($59
million). Shanghai-based Shanda was expected to post profit of
330 million yuan, according to the average of six analyst
estimates compiled by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Australia's Stock Index Rises to Record, Led by Rio Tinto; Banks Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose to
a record. Rio Tinto Group led gains after BHP Billiton Ltd.'s
chief executive officer said he's always for acquisitions,
reviving speculation BHP may bid for its smaller mining rival.

``Speculation that BHP may bid for Rio has been affecting
the shares for about a month now,'' said Michael Birch, who helps
manage $133 million at Wallace Funds Management in Sydney.
``Takeovers remain a big theme driving stocks, even if a Rio
takeover is unlikely to actually eventuate in the short term.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Babcock Infrastructure May Appeal Rejection of $2 Billion Northwestern Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group,
an Australian owner of ports, power cables and gas networks, said
it may appeal the rejection by a U.S. regulator of its $2.2
billion bid to acquire NorthWestern Corp.

The Sydney-based company is taking legal advice and is
considering all options in relation to the rejection of proposed
acquisition of the South Dakota-based utility by the Montana
Public Service Commission, Chief Executive Officer Steven Boulton
said today. Babcock Infrastructure shares had their biggest fall
for more than two months.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Malaysian Ringgit Is Little Changed; Government Says It Accepts Strength

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's ringgit was little changed,
holding at the strongest since February 1998, after the government
said its strength remains in line with economic fundamentals.

The local currency added to a nine-week rally as buying by
global investors helped lift the nation's benchmark stock index to
a record close yesterday. An 8 billion ringgit ($2.36 billion) pay
package for civil servants will help spur economic growth this
year, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop said yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Chunghwa Telecom, High Tech Computer, Macronix: Taiwan's Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in Taiwan trading. Stock symbols are in brackets after company
names. The preview includes news that broke after markets shut.
Prices are from yesterday's close unless otherwise stated.

The Taiex index climbed 47.04, or 0.6 percent, to 8188.63 in
Taipei, the highest since August 2000. Futures due in June added
0.7 percent to 8176.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japanese Stocks Rise After Mizuho Forecasts Record Profit; Exporters Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for a third day.
Lenders led indexes higher after Mizuho Financial Group Inc.
forecast a record profit for this financial year.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which forecast on May
21 profits will climb this year, surged 4.5 percent, adding to a
5.7 percent gain yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Fed's Lacker: Lower inflation expectations needed

(Reuters) - "Without a prompt fall in inflation expectations, a
reduction in inflation below 2 percent is likely to be
temporary and hard to sustain," he said in remarks prepared for
delivery to the Money Marketeers of New York University. A copy
of his speech was made available in advance.




Using interest rates alone would be difficult and
time-consuming, he said, adding: "One natural approach to
bringing down more expeditiously, should that be the desire,
would be a strategy of clear communications about
policy-makers' intentions," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Yen Trades Little Changed Before Report That May Show Prices Fell in Japan

(Bloomberg) -- The yen traded little changed, near a
record low against the euro, before a Japanese government report
this week that is forecast to show core consumer prices declined
in April from a year earlier.

The Japanese currency's risk-reversal rate to the euro rose,
approaching levels before the Feb. 27 global stock market rout, on
speculation investors are less willing to weaken the yen. Japan's
0.5 percent interest rate, the lowest among major economies, has
encouraged investors to borrow yen to purchase higher-yielding
assets overseas in so-called carry trades.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Western Financial to expand Bank West with purchase

(Reuters) - It expects that to occur in early fall. First, the proposed
deal needs approval from the Office of the Superintendent of
Financial Institutions, and from the Canadian minister of
finance.




Ubiquity Bank specializes in personal and commercial term
mortgages and loans, while Western Financial, based in High
River, Alberta, offers insurance, investment and banking
products in towns and small cities across Western
Canada.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Emerging-Market Bonds Rally as Demand for High-Risk Debt Assets Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds rose as demand
for riskier, higher-yielding assets rises while dollar debt
sales from countries such as Brazil and Mexico declines.

The average spread, or extra yield, for developing
countries' bonds over U.S. Treasuries fell 1 basis point, or
0.01 percentage point, to 1.50 percentage points, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index. The yield spread touched
1.49 percentage points today, the lowest since JPMorgan
introduced the index in 1997.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Analog Devices, Cypress, Medtronic, MEMC Electronic: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
tomorrow. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Advanced Analogic Technologies Inc. (AATI US) rose $1.88,
or 23 percent, to $9.89 in trading after the official close of
U.S. exchanges. The maker of power-management chips for mobile
phones and computers said Judge Sidney Harris of the U.S.
International Trade Commission ruled the company didn't infringe
Linear Technology Corp.'s (LLTC US) patents.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

WRAPUP 1-LatAm stock markets take profits, currencies mixed

(Reuters) - Prices of bonds issued by Latin American countries also
declined slightly, but risk spreads tightened as the asset
class outperformed the U.S. Treasury market.




However, the two main exceptions in the region were Mexican
stocks, which closed at a record level for the fifth
consecutive session, and the Colombian peso, which ended at its
strongest level since March of 2000.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Payless ShoeSource to buy Stride Rite for $800 mln

(Reuters) - The transaction is expected to add to earnings per share in fiscal 2008, the company said.




Stride Rite owns or licenses brands like Keds and Tommy Hilfiger Footwear.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Morgan Stanley funds to buy Crescent Real Estate

(Reuters) - Crescent said that including the assumption and refinancing
of $3.1 billion of debt and the redemption of preferred shares,
the transaction has a total consideration of $6.5 billion.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

China says don't push it on trade

(Reuters) - "There is growing skepticism in each country about the other's intentions," Paulson said at the start of two days of talks with a top-level Chinese delegation and amid growing anger in the U.S. Congress over China's huge trade surplus.




"Unfortunately, in America this is manifesting itself as anti-China sentiment as China becomes a symbol of the real and imagined downside of global competition," Paulson said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Cocoa Futures Fall in New York on Speculation Three-Week Rally Overdone

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa futures in New York fell on
speculation that a three-week rally had lifted prices too high.

Before today, cocoa had increased 8.4 percent this month as
dry weather in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world's biggest
producers, threatened supplies. All 19 futures contracts in the
Reuters/Jefferies CRB Commodity Price Index fell today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Wall Street pay seen headed even higher

(Reuters) - Investment bankers may see bonuses and other incentive pay rise 10 percent to 15 percent from elevated 2006 levels, while gains may be 15 percent for traders and 20 percent or more for workers in private equity, according to a study by Johnson Associates Inc., a prominent compensation consultant.




Financial services are benefiting from growth in international operations, proprietary trading and derivatives, and as low borrowing costs fuel record buyout activity.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

TREASURIES-Bunds, hedging push yields to 3-1/2-month highs

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 22 - U.S. Treasury debt prices fell
on Tuesday, with benchmark yields posting 3-1/2 month highs, on
a combination of factors including weaker euro zone debt and
supply-related hedging.




The Treasury market resumed its recent decline as Bund
yields rose to multi-year highs after Germany's ZEW investor
sentiment data reinforced the outlook for strength in the euro
zone economy, which could lead to more interest rate hikes by
the European Central Bank, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Corn Falls After Report Says U.S. Planting Accelerated; Soybeans Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Corn in Chicago fell the most in a
week after a government report showed that planting of the U.S.
crop had accelerated after a slow start and that plants were in
better shape than last year. Soybeans also declined.

About 78 percent of the U.S. corn was in good or excellent
condition as of May 20, compared with 66 percent a year ago at
this time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday in
its first rating of this year's crop. Some 92 percent of the corn
was planted, and about 67 percent of the plants had emerged from
the soil, both better than five-year averages.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Wheat Falls to Five-Week Low as U.S. Crop Conditions Improve After Freeze

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat in Chicago fell to the lowest
in five weeks after a government report said the condition of
the U.S. winter crop improved for the fourth straight week as
wet weather helped plants recover from a freeze in early April.

About 59 percent of the winter-wheat crop was rated good or
excellent as of May 20, compared with 58 percent the previous
week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Fields
in western Kansas may yield as much as 60 bushels an acre, said
Jamey Kohake, a broker at Paragon Investments in Silver Lake,
Kansas.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

New York's yellow cabs to go green by 2012

(Reuters) - He said 1,000 hybrid taxis would be introduced by October
2008, and that hybrids would gradually replace the rest of the
city's 13,000 taxi cabs by 2012.




Hybrid vehicles are powered by gasoline and electricity,
and they emit less exhaust and have better gas mileage than
other vehicles.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

OptionsXpress Share Price, Options Trading Rise on Takeover Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- OptionsXpress Holdings Inc. shares
surged and options to buy the stock jumped to a record amid
speculation the online brokerage will be acquired.

Shares of the Chicago-based company rose 6.7 percent
yesterday, the most since June. The number of call-option
contracts traded increased more than 30-fold to an all-time high.
OptionsXpress shares rose again today, while options volume
remained higher than normal.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Gain, Led by Hoteliers; Paulson Lifts Shares of Homebuilders

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose for a third day on
speculation casino operators will be acquired after billionaire
Kirk Kerkorian said he wants to buy the Bellagio Hotel & Casino
from MGM Mirage.

Shares of MGM Mirage surged the most since 1989 after
Kerkorian, the majority owner of the company, also said he'll
consider ``alternatives'' for his investment. Homebuilders in
Standard & Poor's indexes rallied as Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson said the slump in demand was ``largely'' over.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Tech Data quarterly net income falls

(Reuters) - Tech Data's share fell 6 percent after it posted first-
quarter net income rose to $9.9 million, or 18 cents a share,
from $12.9 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.




Excluding restructuring costs and other special items, the
company reported earnings from continuing operations of 33
cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Traders Pay Premium to Export Electrcitity to France From U.K. This Summer

(Bloomberg) -- Traders taking part in auctions of
capacity on a power cable linking the U.K. and French grids paid a
premium to be able to export power to France in the three months
starting in July, after prices in continental Europe rose.

RTE France, the electricity transmission-network unit of
Electricite de France SA, and its British equivalent National Grid
Plc, today sold 150 megawatts of capacity for exports to France
from the U.K. at 4.57 euros ($6.15) a megawatt hour. The 150
megawatts of import capacity to the U.K. sold at 1.51 euros a
megawatt hour, National Grid said in an e-mailed statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Sasol, BHP, Anglo weigh on S.African blue chips

(Reuters) - South African stocks fell on Tuesday weighed down by South African petrochemical group Sasol, which slid more than 5 percent after saying a key joint venture plant in Qatar had suffered production problems.

Global diversified miners BHP Billiton and Anglo American also fell as investors took money off the table following strong gains in recent sessions on the back of price target upgrades and continued sector consolidation talk.


Read more at Reuters Africa

US stocks little changed; oil off recent high

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Tuesday as weak quarterly results of retailers offset gains in casino shares on deal speculation, and Treasury debt prices slipped as expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut waned.

The dollar hovered near a three-month peak against the yen and close to a six-week high against the euro on the view that stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data in recent weeks may convince the Fed to leave interest rates at 5.25 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Credit-Default Swap Index Based on U.S. High-Yield Loans Rises on Debut

(Bloomberg) -- A credit-default swap index based on
the U.S. high-yield, high-risk loan market rose in its first day
of trading as hedge funds and other investors used the contracts
to bet on the ability of companies to repay their bank loans.

The LCDX index rose about 0.6 to 100.6 as of 10:59 a.m. in
New York, according to prices from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
An increase in the index suggests improvement in the perception
of credit quality; a decrease signals the opposite.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BJ's Wholesale posts lower profit, keeps forecast

(Reuters) - The company, whose shares rose more than 2 percent, said profit for the first quarter that ended on May 5 declined to $13.65 million, or 21 cents per share, from $15.42 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.




Excluding a gain from the sale of pharmacy-related assets, earnings were 20 cents a share, meeting the analysts' average forecast compiled by Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Five Major Hurricanes May Form in Atlantic This Season, Forecasters Say

(Bloomberg) -- As many as five major hurricanes may
form in the Atlantic Ocean in 2007, U.S. government forecasters
said.

The season, which formally begins next week and ends in
November, may yield 13 to 17 named storms and as many as 10 of
which may reach hurricane strength, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center said in
its forecast today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Fed's Lacker says core inflation still too high

(Reuters) - "The fact that inflation expectations seem to have risen, as inflation has risen, and seem to be lodged around 2 percent, gives me a lot of concern," said Lacker, who not a voting member of the U.S. central bank's interest rate-setting committee this year.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Advancis, Citrix, Kongzhong, MGM, Monster, Staples: 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 10:10 a.m. New York time.

Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (LEND US) rose 90
cents, or 7.1 percent, to $13.65 and traded as high as $14.
Silver Point Capital LP said in a regulatory filing that it
boosted its stake in the subprime mortgage company to 5.2
percent from 3.8 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Outback parent says suitors raise offer

(Reuters) - Shares in OSI gained about 1 percent to $40.90 in premarket trading compared with a close of $40.41 on the New York Stock Exchange.




The investor group raised its offer to $41.15 per share from $40 per share. The previous offer would have been worth about $3.09 billion based on the company's latest share count.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Oil Falls on Signs U.S. Refiners Are Increasing Gasoline Output for Summer

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil and gasoline fell on
speculation that U.S. refineries will increase production of the
motor fuel to meet peak demand during the summer driving season.

U.S. gasoline supplies rose 1.35 million barrels last week,
according to the median of responses by 14 analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg News before an Energy Department report tomorrow.
Refineries probably operated at 90 percent of capacity, up 0.5
percentage point from the week before. BP Plc shut about one
quarter of its Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, a spokesman said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Monro Muffler Q4 earnings up on strong same store sales

(Reuters) - The company said the same store sales increase for the
quarter was due to higher store traffic and a sales rise in the
alignment, tire, and maintenance services categories.




The company, which posted a 22 percent rise in
fourth-quarter revenue, reported earnings of 28 cents a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Canadian Stocks Rise, Led by Eastern Platinuml; Crystallex Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks advanced, led by Eastern
Platinum Ltd. after the nation's largest platinum producer said it
may buy other companies in the next two years.

Crystallex International Corp. jumped after a newspaper
reported Venezuela decided to allow the company to mine for gold in
the Sierra del Imataca region. Energy stocks rose even as crude oil
declined in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Canada's Dollar Trades Near 30-Year High Amid Interest-Rate Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar traded near a 30-year
high as the currency benefits from speculation the nation's
central bank will raise borrowing costs this year.

The Canadian dollar traded at 92.12 U.S. cents at 9:13 a.m.
in Toronto, from 92.19 U.S. cents yesterday when it reached 92.35
U.S. cents, the highest since October 1977. One U.S. dollar buys
C$1.0855.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Fremont sells loan unit for $1.9 billion

(Reuters) - The deal could eventually lead to the investor group owning 20 percent of the outstanding stock of the company, one of several lenders to less credit-worthy home buyers who have scrambled to overcome rising defaults and late payments amid a U.S. housing slowdown.




Santa Monica, California-based Fremont also said the buyer in its previously disclosed agreement to sell its subprime residential real estate business was hedge fund Ellington Capital Management.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Palladium Gains for Fourth Session on Investor Demand; Platinum Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Palladium futures in New York gained
for the fourth session in a row on investor demand for the metal
used in jewelry and auto-exhaust systems. Platinum dropped.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased
net-long positions, or bets prices will rise, to a record 11,873
contracts as of May 8, according to Commodity Futures Trading
Commission data. The total slipped to 10,665 as of May 15, the
data showed. Investor demand helped spur an 11 percent rally in
palladium this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

European Stocks Rise, Led by Deutsche Telekom, Tele2; Glaxo, Novartis Fall

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained as rising
metal prices lifted mining companies and investors speculated
Deutsche Telekom AG may spin off its U.S. business, stoking
expectations mergers will increase in the telephone industry.

Deutsche Telekom, the region's largest phone company, climbed
the most in three months. Tele2 AB rallied to a four-week high as
Morgan Stanley said the Swedish telecommunications provider was
the ``best restructuring story.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gold Rises for Third Session Amid Jewelry Purchases; Silver Little Changed

(Bloomberg) -- Gold climbed for a third session on
speculation rising jewelry demand will revive consumption from
investors. Silver was little changed.

Purchases from Vietnam, China and India helped gold jewelry
demand gain 17 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier,
the producer-funded World Gold Council said last week. Gold has
climbed 4.3 percent this year as declines in the dollar against
the euro may spur demand for an alternative investment.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South Korea Builders, After Years in Desert, Win Record Middle East Orders

(Bloomberg) -- Years of working in the desert are
paying off for South Korean building contractors as they reap
record orders from the Middle East.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's
largest general contractor, and its domestic rivals have won
more than $6.6 billion in new business from the Mideast so far
this year. That's more than double the total at the same point
last year and halfway to matching a record set in 1981,
according to the International Contractors Association of Korea.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

IRPC Raises $250 Million in First Bond Sale By a Thai Company This Year

(Bloomberg) -- IRPC Pcl, Thailand's biggest
petrochemicals company by sales, raised $250 million from its
bond sale, the first overseas debt offering by a Thai company
this year.

IRPC priced its first overseas debt sale to yield 1.13
percentage points more than the mid-swap rate, according to a
statement today from Barclays Plc. IRPC received demand of more
than $1 billion from investors, allowing it to cut the yield
from an originally planned 1.2 percentage points over the mid-
swap rate, the statement said. Barclays and Citigroup Inc.
arranged the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Slovak Central Banker Odor Says Growth May Exceed 8 Percent This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Slovak economic growth may exceed 8
percent this year as earlier foreign investment into export-
oriented companies helps fuel expansion, a policy maker said.

Slovak central bank board member Ludovit Odor said in an
interview at a banking conference in Prague today that it is
``realistic'' growth will be close to the bank's forecast of 8.9
percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

France Telecom Fiber-Optic Plan May Cause Profit Drop Similar to Verizon's

(Bloomberg) -- France Telecom SA investors who
question whether the cost of a fiber-optic network will drag down
earnings may find an unhappy answer across the Atlantic Ocean.

The former telephone monopoly, based in Paris, may invest as
much as 4.5 billion euros ($6 billion) by 2012 to install fiber-
optic lines that deliver phone, television and Internet service
to French homes, Chief Financial Officer Gervais Pellissier said.
In 2005, the year New York-based Verizon Communications Inc.
started a similar project, the shares fell 26 percent and didn't
recover from their lowest point for almost 18 months.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Staples 1st-quarter profit jumps 12.4 pct

(Reuters) - First-quarter net income increased to $209 million, or 29
cents a share, from $186 million, or 25 cents a share, a year
earlier.




The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said quarterly
sales rose 8 percent to $4.59 billion from $4.24 billion a year
ago, but slightly missing Wall Street expectations.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European shares rise by midday; D.Telekom helps

(Reuters) - European shares rose by midday on Tuesday, as upbeat German investors' sentiment and talk of a potential sale by Deutsche Telekom of its U.S. unit helped offset by a drop in GlaxoSmithKline.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.1 percent at 1,599.62 points, around seven points below a 6-1/2-year peak reached on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa