Treasury Bear Market, Worst Since 1999, Muffled by Reserves, Derivatives

(Bloomberg) -- The steepest decline in Treasuries
since 2004 is convincing even the most bullish investors that U.S.
government bonds are now in a bear market.

Bill Gross, the manager of the world's biggest bond fund at
Pacific Investment Management Co., and Dan Fuss, whose Loomis
Sayles Bond Fund has been the best performer among its peers the
last decade, are preparing for higher market rates after yields
on 10-year Treasuries, the benchmark for home mortgages and
corporate borrowing, rose to a five-year high last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Airbus seen announcing Qatar, Emirates deals

(Reuters) - Airbus kicks off what is expected to be a busy week of commercial announcements with a news conference set for 10 a.m. with Qatar Airways, Dubai-based Emirates and others mooted as possible customers to announce major plane deals.




Emirates is set to place a provisional order worth more than $3 billion for 10 Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft, industry sources said. The order will give a boost from the aircraft's biggest customer to the A380 program after a two-year delay.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Nokia unveils 3 new handsets, sees bigger market share

(Reuters) - While Nokia dominates the market for cheaper phones and has a wide line-up of pricier multimedia models, its weak spot in recent years has been the mid-range or 150-250 euro price level.




Urpo Karjalainen, Nokia's senior vice president for Asia- Pacific, said the models would take the total number of new handsets launched by the Finnish firm this year to 26.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil rises on thin US gasoline stocks, supply risks

(Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Monday to extend last week's rally as dealers worried about supplies from Nigeria and the Middle East at a time of peak summer gasoline demand in the United States.

London Brent crude for August delivery, currently seen as more representative of the global market, rose 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel by 0153 GMT, after gaining 11 cents on Friday when it hit a 10-month high.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Swiss Lawmakers to Today Vote to Tighten `Toothless' Insider-Trading Laws

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss upper-house lawmakers will vote
today in favor of closing a legal loophole that allows insider
trading on advance knowledge of company earnings.

Switzerland's penal code requires jail terms or fines for
executives, directors or auditors who capitalize on knowing what
the rest of the market doesn't know. However, it limits such cases
to a planned sale of new shares, a merger or ``circumstances of
comparable significance.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Cost of Living in Major U.S. Cities Falls as Dollar Weakens, Mercer Says

(Bloomberg) -- The sliding dollar has made it
cheaper for expatriates to work in U.S. cities such as New York
and Los Angeles, according to a cost of living index. Moscow
topped the list as the most expensive city for a second year.

New York dropped five places to 15th, and Los Angeles
slipped to 42nd from 29th in the rankings of the costliest
cities. Four other U.S. cities fell from the top 50, the index
produced by Mercer Human Resource Consulting showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Australian Coal Price Rises to Highest in Almost Three Years After Storm

(Bloomberg) -- The price for power-station coal at
Newcastle, Australia, the world's largest coal export port, rose
to the highest in almost three years after producers including
Rio Tinto Group cut shipments after a four-day storm.

The price of thermal coal for immediate delivery from the
port in New South Wales state increased $4.38 a metric ton to
$63.11 in the week ended June 15 from a week earlier, according
to the globalCOAL NEWC Index. The port resumed limited
operations last week and may run at near full capacity on June
20 after loadings were halted June 8.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 18

(Reuters) - * Airbus is finalizing an order with US Airways Group Inc.
for up to 30 jets valued at $7 billion, in a boost for
its A350 jetliner program.




* Moody's move to slash ratings on 131 bonds backed by
pools of speculative subprime loans could weigh on the already
fragile subprime bond market.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

China Mobile eyes biggest ever Shanghai listing

(Reuters) - It will likely be the biggest initial public offer of equity ever in China's domestic markets, exceeding Industrial & Commercial Bank of China's 46.6 billion yuan Shanghai IPO last year, the banking sources said.




China Mobile hired KPMG to audit its proposed Shanghai listing late last year. An auditing report has been completed and submitted in a package of listing documents to regulators in Beijing for consideration, said the sources.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

BHP Billiton revives Alcoa bid plans - paper

(Reuters) - Alcoa has itself made a $28.4 billion cash-and-stock hostile
takeover offer for Alcan Inc. .




BHP was not immediately available for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Q2 earnings forecasts rise - survey

(Reuters) - Technology and health care sectors are expected to post double-digit profit growth this quarter, while earnings are seen weakest in the cyclical consumer goods and energy sectors, according to Reuters calculations.




Among all publicly-traded U.S. companies more companies have issued negative earnings pre-announcements so far in June than positive ones, putting a ratio of such announcements at its lowest level since March.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Hong Kong Stocks Rise Most in a Month to Record; Construction Bank Surges

(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's stocks jumped the most
in a month, driving the Hang Seng Index to a record. China
Construction Bank Corp. led shares of mainland companies higher
after Citigroup Inc. said Chinese lenders' interim results will
be ``surprising on the upside.''

``People are buying into expectations of strong second-
quarter performance,'' said Nancy Lee, who helps manage more
than $100 million at Taifook Asset Management in Hong Kong.
``We've selectively increased our holdings in financials because
they've underperformed for too long.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

BC Partners in lead to buy Intelsat: report

(Reuters) - None of the companies mentioned in the report was immediately available to comment.




Intelsat assets are in demand amid a renaissance in the commercial satellite market that is spurred by demand for high-definition television and faster Internet services.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Microsoft renames its IPTV platform "Mediaroom"

(Reuters) - The television push by the world's largest software maker aims to deliver TV over high-speed Internet networks and hopes the software will eventually open up the TV to a world of services already on the Web.




Microsoft said Mediaroom will also enable some applications that access the Internet without a Web browser, so users can view streaming online video or look at photos uploaded onto the Internet.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Alcatel, Alstom, BNP Paribas, EADS, Sanofi, Thales: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may
rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange today. Stock symbols are
in parentheses and prices are from the close June 15.

The CAC 40 Index added 58.05, or 1 percent, to 6105.28 in
Paris. The broader SBF 120 Index also rose 1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Austrian Airlines, Cadbury, Enel, Eni, Pearson: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets today. Prices are from the June 15 close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 advanced 1.3 percent to 399.27. The
Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index climbed 1.3 percent to 3991.83. The Euro
Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro,
added 1.5 percent to 4551.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Platinum Gains in Tokyo as Dollar Trades Near Four-Year High Against Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo rose as the
dollar held near a more than four-year high against the yen,
boosting the value of yen-denominated contracts for platinum,
which is traded globally in the U.S. currency.

The dollar traded at 123.50 yen as of 12:13 p.m. in Tokyo,
compared with the 123.67 yen touched on June 15, the highest
since Dec. 12, 2002. Gains in gold futures traded in Tokyo also
drew investors to precious metals, including platinum, Kazuhiko
Saito, a strategist at Interes Capital Management, said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Asian Stocks Gain on Yen, U.S. Economy; Toyota Rises, China Reaches Record

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day,
led by exporters, after the yen weakened and a report showed
inflation slowed in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. led
technology companies and automakers higher. BHP Billiton Ltd.
climbed to a third straight record after metals prices advanced.
Five of the region's benchmarks jumped to records, with China's
CSI 300 Index adding 3.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

State Bank of India Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan for $225 Million Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- State Bank of India, the country's
biggest bank, hired Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. for
a $225 million debt sale, according to an e-mail sent to
investors.

Funds raised will be part of the bank's tier-1 capital, the
e-mail said. Tier-1 capital measures banks' financial strength
and consists of capital that is the most reliable and liquid,
such as common stock and preferred stock.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Cerberus had talks over Jaguar, Land Rover: report

(Reuters) - Ford and Cerberus were not immediately available for
comment.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Microsoft Will Acquire Stake in China Television Maker Sichuan Changhong

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy 0.8
percent of Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., China's second-biggest
television maker, in a project that can connect computers and
televisions to the Internet, the Chinese company said.

Microsoft will pay 94 million yuan ($12 million) for 15
million new Changhong shares at 6.27 yuan each, according to a
statement today by the Chinese company, based in southwestern
China's Mianyang city. Changhong shares soared to 9.93 yuan on
June 14 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Yuan Rises to Highest Since End of Dollar Link; China May Allow More Gains

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan strengthened to its highest
since the end of a dollar link in July 2005 on speculation China
will allow appreciation to complement other monetary policies to
cool exports and investment.

Economic figures last week showed sales overseas,
investment, factory production and inflation accelerated in May,
raising the need for a stronger yuan to help ease expansion in
the world's fastest-growing major economy. The yuan had its
biggest weekly gain since the end of the link.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China Pharmaceutical suspended on possible buyout

(Reuters) - The company said earlier this month that Legend Holdings Ltd., controlling shareholder of Lenovo Group Ltd. , had been chosen as a qualified bidder for talks with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Committee to buy a 50.93 percent stake in the firm.




Shares of China Pharmaceutical ended at HK$2.66 on Friday, valuing the company at HK$4.09 billion .


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil rises on thin U.S. gasoline stocks, supply risks

(Reuters) - London Brent crude for August delivery, currently seen as more representative of the global market, rose 23 cents to $71.70 a barrel by 0153 GMT, after gaining 11 cents on Friday when it hit a 10-month high.




U.S. crude for July steadied at $68.00 after climbing 5 percent last week, while U.S. gasoline futures continued to rise to lead oil market gains after data last week showed stockpiles of the motor fuel in the United States unexpectedly failed to build.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

U.S. Treasury Notes May Decline; Deutsche, Lehman Drop Calls for Rate Cut

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. 10-year notes may fall after
signs of growth in the economy made Deutsche Bank AG and Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc. drop forecasts for the Federal Reserve to
cut interest rates this year.

The firms announced their changes at the end of last week,
following an increase in 10-year yields to their highest in five
years. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as prices,
climbed as former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan predicted they may
rise further.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Pollution Permits Burn European Consumers as E.ON, Fortum, Goldman Profit

(Bloomberg) -- Pollution permits, the biggest
money-loser for commodity investors this year, are poised for a
rebound that may spark a 10 percent jump in electricity costs
for the 260 million consumers from London to Bucharest.

Prices for allowances that give utilities and factories the
right to pump a ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will
climb 20 percent in the next 12 months, according to Lueder
Schumacher, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort in London. The
reason: Governments are handing out fewer certificates in the
three-year program.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Global Sources will not up HC International stake

(Reuters) - Global Sources also said Trade Media will not be exercising
its other option to purchase Huicong Construction Co's 18
percent stake in Beijing Huicong International Information Co.
at an aggregate exercise price of $31.9 million. Beijing
Huicong is an indirect subsidiary of HC International.




Global Sources and Trade Media Holdings still collectively
own about 12.8 percent of HC International.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

JGB futures jump after Fukui, gains in Treasuries

(Reuters) - Fukui said the central bank wanted to be more convinced of
the sustainability of capital spending and consumption before
changing monetary policy, relieving some who had been worried
about an interest rate hike in July.




The BOJ kept interest rates at 0.5 percent on Friday, as
widely expected.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japanese Government Bonds Advance; Yields Near One-Year High Lure Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese bonds gained after 10-year
yields near the highest in almost a year attracted some investors.

Bonds in Japan rose for a third day after a rally in
Treasuries on June 15 lowered U.S. 10-year yields from near their
highest in five years. U.S. bonds had gained after a report showed
inflation slowed. Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said last
week that he wants to be more convinced that Japan's economic
growth is sustainable before proposing an interest-rate increase.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japanese Shares Climb to Highest Since Feb., on Easing U.S. Inflation, Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks advanced, driving
key indexes to the highest since February, after a report showed
U.S. core consumer prices slowed, increasing speculation Japan's
biggest overseas market will expand without adding to inflation.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest automaker by market
value, and Honda Motor Co., which made more than half of its
sales in North America last year, led gains.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Beggar-thy-Neighbor Protectionism May Loom After Doha Talks, Accord or Not

(Bloomberg) -- Deal or no deal, the latest round of
global trade talks may be the last of its kind.

Officials from the U.S., the European Union, India and
Brazil meet this week to try to advance the faltering Doha round
of negotiations. The talks are part of a six-decade push to
liberalize trade that is yielding diminishing returns as
technology and an increasingly integrated global economy render
it less relevant.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Nikkei may climb on U.S. stock gains, softer yen

(Reuters) - Japan's fourth-largest bank is in talks to issue about 100 billion yen worth of preferred shares to Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. to help it repay public funds, financial sources said.




"The Nikkei is likely to have a strong start after U.S. stocks continued to rise and following the softer yen," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, a general manager in the equity marketing department at Daiwa Securities SMBC.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Japan's Government Bonds May Rise; Yields Near 1-Year High to Lure Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese government bonds may advance
on speculation 10-year yields near the highest in almost a year
will entice some investors.

Japan's bonds may rise for a third day after a rally in
Treasuries on June 15 lowered U.S. 10-year yields from near their
highest in five years. U.S. bonds had gained after a report showed
core inflation slowed. Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said
last week that he wants to be more convinced that Japan's economic
growth is sustainable before proposing an interest-rate increase.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Australian Dollar Gains Versus Yen on `Strong Demand' for Carry Trades

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar climbed to a 15
1/2-year high against the yen on speculation investors are buying
the nation's higher-yielding assets with money borrowed in Japan.

The so-called carry trade, where investors take advantage of
Australia's 6.25 percent overnight cash rate target compared with
Japan's 0.5 percent key borrowing cost, also pushed the currency
toward an 18-year high against the U.S. dollar reached earlier
this month. Australia's dollar is the third-best performer of the
16 most-traded currencies in the past month.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

New Zealand Dollar Drops on Speculation Central Bank Is Selling Currency

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar, the best-
performing major currency in the past 12 months, dropped on
speculation the nation's central bank intervened to drive it
lower for the second time this month.

Traders and strategists at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. and ANZ
National Bank Ltd. said the central bank probably sold New
Zealand dollars today. The central bank has ``no comment to
make,'' spokeswoman Anthea Black said by telephone from
Wellington.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

BHP, Macquarie Airports, Futuris, Rio, Woodside: Australian Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may rise or fall in Australia. This preview includes
news announced after markets closed on Friday. Prices are from
Friday's close unless otherwise stated. Stock symbols are in
brackets after the company names.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in June rose 0.6
percent to 6328 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney. The Bank of New York
Australia ADR Index added 0.7 percent in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-GE reaches tentative labor agreements with unions

(Reuters) - GE said the agreements are subject to review by union
negotiating committees and ratification by union members by
June 28.




The tentative agreements were reached Sunday after four
weeks of bargaining between GE and the IUE-CWA and the United
Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Dow Jones rival bid plan may include family: papers

(Reuters) - Selling Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, to GE and Pearson, would be a better journalistic fit than News Corp., but there is "no rush" to examine the plan, an unidentified Bancroft family member told the Financial Times.




GE owns the CNBC business television channel, and will face competition from News Corp., which is launching a business news channel of its own.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Microsoft to buy stake in China's Sichuan Changhong

(Reuters) - Under a memorandum of understanding, the Chinese company
would place 15 million new shares with Microsoft at a price of
6.27 yuan each, a 37 percent discount to its last traded market
price of 9.93 yuan.




The deal would give Microsoft a stake of nearly 1 percent
in Sichuan Changhong, according to Reuters calculations. The
U.S. software giant would be a long-term, strategic investor,
Sichuan Changhong said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Contagion Led by Asset Bubbles May Be Only a Bad Currency Trade Away

(Bloomberg) -- The next Asian contagion may be only
a bad currency trade away.

Ten years after the collapse of Asian governments'
overvalued currencies in 1997, the remedies they embraced to
prevent a recurrence may have only traded one set of risks for
another. Their ``never again'' determination has led them to new
extremes: artificially low currencies, a record $3.4 trillion in
reserves and export-dependent economies.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Healthy earnings outlook may lift stocks

(Reuters) - If corporations signal that business conditions are looking better for the rest of the year, analysts probably will ratchet up earnings forecasts for the second half.




"Those earnings are going to come in better than we thought, we just don't know by how much," said Carol R. Miller, senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Mauritius May Sell Stakes in Telephone, Insurance Companies to Retire Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Mauritius may sell stakes in several
state-owned companies, including Mauritius Telecom and the State
Insurance Company Ltd., and use the proceeds to retire debt or
build new infrastructure, Finance Minister Rama Sithanen said.

``As part of its policy to develop the equity market and to
widen and democratize share ownership, government will encourage
Mauritius Telecom and Sicom Ltd. to be listed on the Stock
Exchange of Mauritius,'' Sithanen said in his June 15 budget
speech, which was published on his ministry's Internet site. ``In
the same vein, government will sell some of its shares in other
state-owned companies.''


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Shares in Dubai Decline, Led by Emaar; Saudi's Tadawul Rises: Gulf Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates, dropped for a second consecutive day, led by Emaar
Properties PJSC, the Middle East's largest publicly traded
property developer.

Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index advanced for the
first time in six trading sessions, paced by Samba Financial
Group, the second-largest listed bank in the kingdom.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Theories abound at Conrad Black fraud trial

(Reuters) - Those two approaches are available because Judge Amy St.
Eve of U.S. District Court in Chicago sided with prosecutors in
agreeing to give jurors what is referred to in legal circles as
the "ostrich instruction." That means a defendant can be found
guilty if he deliberately avoided learning about wrongdoing,
even if the jury thinks he did not hatch the scheme.




That "deliberate avoidance" jury instruction is common in
white-collar criminal cases, legal experts say.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Niger plans audit of foreign, local mining firms

(Reuters) - Niger's government is planning its first ever audit of mining and energy firms as foreign explorers flock to its expanses of mineral-rich desert, the West African country's government said.

The world's third largest uranium producer last year changed its mining law to allow the government to audit foreign firms, in line with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) championed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.


Read more at Reuters Africa