US STOCKS-Futures rise, nervous market looks to Fed

(Reuters) - Trading could be volatile after news of the demise of
lender American Home Mortgage Investment Corp still
fresh in investors' minds.




On Sunday the co-president of Bear Stearns Cos.
resigned two days after a rating company warned mortgage credit
problems could hurt the investment bank's profits.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Oil Rises to Record Close of $78.21 on Speculation Demand to Exceed Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record close of
$78.21 a barrel in New York on speculation demand will outpace
supply as refiners increase fuel production.

Bets on rising prices by hedge funds and other speculators
rose to a record earlier this month, according to U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission data. Global demand will climb 1.7
percent in 2008, showing no sign of slowing because of high
prices, a Deutsche Bank AG report showed. A government report
tomorrow may show U.S. oil supplies fell for a fourth week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Former Amaranth head energy trader sues FERC

(Reuters) - FERC informed Hunter on July 20 that it intended to bring
an enforcement action against him for "alleged manipulation of
settlement prices of natural gas futures," according the suit.




But Hunter said in the suit that FERC has jurisdiction only
in regulating the physical wholesale energy markets, not the
futures markets, which is the jurisdiction of the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Put-Option Trading on U.S. Bank Shares Surges on Subprime Lending Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Trading in options to sell an
exchange-traded fund tracking U.S. financial shares yesterday
surged to the highest in a year on speculation the subprime
mortgage crisis will further erode bank and broker earnings.

The number of put-option contracts traded on the Financial
Select Sector SPDR Fund rose to 372,247, the most since July 2006
and almost quadruple the average during the prior 20 days,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ETF tracks the
Financial Select Sector Index, whose 92 members include Citigroup
Inc., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bear
Stearns Cos.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Oil Is Steady After Nearing a Record in London on Reduced North Sea Output

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed after
approaching a record in London, as a damaged pipeline in the
North Sea curtailed production.

Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips cut North Sea output last
week because BP Plc shut an undersea pipeline. Hedge-fund
managers and other speculators increased their net-long position
in New York oil futures, bets on rising prices, to the highest
in at least 13 years, according to U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission data.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Daewoo Securities Buys 19.9 Percent Stake in Indonesian Brokerage eTrading

(Bloomberg) -- Daewoo Securities Co., South Korea's
largest securities firm by market value, said it bought a 19.9
percent stake in Indonesia's PT eTrading Securities, becoming
the second-biggest owner of Indonesia's largest online brokerage.

Daewoo paid 14.9 billion rupiah ($1.6 million) for the
stake, the first investment in an Indonesian securities firm by
a Korean brokerage, Seoul-based Daewoo said in a statement today.
Aiti Investment and other affiliates own a combined 69 percent
of eTrading.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

NYSE Euronext June volume rises

(Reuters) - NYSE Group exchanges, which include the New York Stock
Exchange and electronic trading platform NYSE Arca, reported
2.9 billion shares handled per day, up 9 percent year to date.




Trading volume reached an all-time high on June 22, the day
of the Blackstone Group IPO, with nearly 5.2 billion
shares traded, NYSE Euronext said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S&P may cut $12 bln worth of subprime-related debt

(Reuters) - "This could be important," said Lou Brien, a strategist with DRW Trading Group in Chicago. "Keep an eye out for the other rating agencies to follow suit."




The benchmark ABX 07-1 BBB-minus index dropped more than 5 points to 49 points, a record low, after S&P's rating action.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

CFTC Seeks Contempt Order Against Lake Shore Asset Management Over Records

(Bloomberg) -- The Commodity Futures Trading
Commission is asking a U.S. court to hold the Chicago-based hedge
fund, Lake Shore Asset Management Ltd., in contempt of court for
not providing documents.

The commission filed a complaint last month against Lake
Shore, run by a former chairman of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange, alleging that management overstated its assets, gave
inconsistent statements to regulators, and refused to make
documents available. A federal court froze $228 million of
investor money at the fund based on the complaint.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Carlyle Capital confirms trimmed IPO

(Reuters) - Trading in the 15.8 million new shares plus a reoffering of 173,200 shares is expected to start on July 4, the affiliate of private equity firm Carlyle Group said in a statement. The company initially planned to issue 18.9 million new shares.




Last week, CCC's chief executive John Stomber told Reuters the company had cut the price and the volume of the offering due to "headwinds" in the market. It also postponed the issue.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Citigroup buys Automated Trading Desk

(Reuters) - The largest U.S. bank will pay $102.6 million in cash and issue about 11.17 million shares.




Founded in 1988, Automated Trading Desk has about 120 broker-dealer customers and trades, on average, more than 200 million shares daily, or 6 percent of the volume on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

SK Corp. Shares Rise in Seoul Before Stock Is Halted for Re-organization

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of SK Corp., South Korea's
largest oil refiner, rose as much as 7.8 percent as investors
purchase the stock before a scheduled halt in trading this week
for a company re-organization.

SK Corp. shares climbed as much as 9,000 won to 124,000 won
and traded at 122,000 won at 9:46 a.m. in Seoul. Trading will be
halted on June 28 for a month, when the Seoul-based company will
split into a holding company structure.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.S. Loan Credit-Default Swaps May Overtake Loan Trades, Citigroup Says

(Bloomberg) -- Credit-default swaps linked to loans
will be more actively traded in the U.S. than the loans
themselves within a year, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc.,
the largest U.S. bank.

Trading of loan credit-default swaps now accounts for 50
percent of the volume of loan trades handled by Citigroup, New
York-based Jonathan Calder, head of the U.S. bank's loan sales
and trading, told a conference yesterday in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japanese Insurance Stocks Slide, Led by Millea; Trading Companies Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Japanese insurance
companies dropped on speculation recent stock price gains have
been excessive given their profit outlook.

Millea Holdings Inc. fell 1.8 percent after soaring 20
percent in the past month. Trading companies climbed after
prices for commodities including copper, gold and oil rebounded.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds Drop, 10-Year Yields Reach Highest Since October

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's government bonds fell for a
second day.

The yield on the 1.7 percent security due March 2017 rose 2
basis points to 1.77 percent as of 9:20 a.m. in Tokyo, according
to Japan Bond Trading Co. That was the highest since October.
The yield on the benchmark five-year bond rose 3 basis points to
1.375 percent, the highest since August 2006. A basis point is
0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds 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