Copper Rises on Concern Miners May Strike in South America; Zinc Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices rose in Shanghai as
some workers in Chile, the world's largest source of the metal,
plan to strike for higher pay, possibly disrupting supply.

Miners increased salary demands after copper prices jumped
15 percent this year, boosting profit for companies including
Chile's Codelco, the world's largest producer. Contract workers
at Codelco plan to strike from June 20, a labor leader said
yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Pertamina Awards a $123 Million Contract to Build Two Crude Oil Tankers

(Bloomberg) -- PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil
company, awarded $123 million worth contracts to China's
Jiangsu Eastern Heavy Industry Co. to build two tankers to
transport crude.

The Chinese shipbuilder will build tankers with a capacity
of 85,000 deadweight tons each, Ari Soemarno, president
director of Pertamina, said in Jakarta today. The vessels will
be delivered in July 2010, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Dark Side of Alberta Oil Boom: Renters, Hockey-Hungry Kids Get Left Behind

(Bloomberg) -- Marilynn Sjulstad says she's
experiencing the pain of Alberta's oil-fueled economic boom, and
deriving little of the benefit.

The 57-year-old Edmonton resident, who has arthritis and
the chronic muscle condition fibromyalgia, says her rent will
soon jump 27 percent, or five times the increase in her monthly
disability check.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Legal Firms Going Public Get Closer to Reality With Slater & Gordon's IPO

(Bloomberg) -- When Slater & Gordon in Australia
became the first law firm in the world to go public last month,
it turned up the heat on lawyers around the world to do the same.

U.K. lawyers may be poised to follow Australia when a bill
that would allow British firms to list shares is voted on by
lawmakers later this year. American lawyers say they're watching
to see if the law gives their rivals an edge.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

China Turns to `Princeling,' Poet to Tackle Economy That Refuses to Cool

(Bloomberg) -- Signs that China's economy is at a
boiling point are hard to miss. Sparks rain down on Beijing from
night-and-day construction. Inflation is accelerating. Investors
clamor to buy stocks valued at 45 times earnings.

To cool expansion in the world's fastest-growing major
economy, Premier Wen Jiabao turns to a team of technocrats led
by central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, 59, the ``princeling''
son of a Communist Party leader, and Ma Kai, 60, a poet who
heads the nation's top economic-planning agency.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Lehman's `Gazillions' in Profit Show Firm Is No Longer Just a Bond Shop

(Bloomberg) -- Jim Claire was so concerned that
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was on the brink of failure in
1998 that he stopped trading with the firm.

``Everybody thought they couldn't finance themselves,''
said Claire, who at the time provided overnight loans to New
York-based Lehman as a trader with First Capital Group.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

European shares set to jump as global stocks bounce

(Reuters) - Soaring bond yields had raised concerns that higher borrowing costs would slow takeover activity and profit growth -- two engines of the market's spring rally.




Financial bookmakers expect UK's FTSE 100 index to gain 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX is seen up 0.8 percent and France's CAC is seen rising 0.7 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News