U.K. House Prices Rise at Slowest Pace Since December 2006, Rightmove Says

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. house prices rose this month at
the slowest pace since December as Britons rushed to list their
homes for sale to avoid the cost of new property-advertising
rules, Rightmove Plc said.

Asking prices rose 0.4 percent to an average 237,361 pounds
($468,000), compared with a gain of 3.6 percent in April,
Rightmove, the U.K.'s biggest real-estate Web site, said in a
statement today. On the year, the rate of price increases slowed
to 13 percent from 15 percent the previous month.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Alcatel, EADS, Sanofi, SEB, Publicis and Unibail: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may
rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange. Symbols are in
parentheses after company names and prices are from the last
close.

June futures on the CAC 40 Index added 4 to 6045 at 8:12
a.m. in Paris.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Rubber Futures Extend Rally in Tokyo as Demand Boosted by Stronger Dollar

(Bloomberg) -- Rubber futures in Tokyo, the global
benchmark, gained for a fourth day after the dollar strengthened,
boosting demand for yen-denominated contracts for commodities
such as rubber that trade globally in the U.S. currency.

The dollar has strengthened 1.2 percent against the yen so
far this month, and traded at 121.25 as of 2:48 p.m. in Tokyo,
after climbing intraday to a three-month high of 121.39 on May 18.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Nikko to name three Citigroup execs to board-report

(Reuters) - The Nikkei said in its evening edition that Nikko had decided
to make the appointments, which include Citibank Japan Chief
Executive Douglas Peterson, in a bid to regain market trust after
an accounting scandal.




Citigroup launched its buyout bid after the accounting
scandal which hurt business at core retail unit Nikko Cordial
Securities and Nikko Citigroup Ltd., the companies'
eight-year-old investment banking joint venture.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

BSkyB, EMI, Britvic, Cadbury Schweppes, Mitie: U.K., Irish Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in U.K. and Irish markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses
and prices are from the May 18 market close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 61.60, or 0.9 percent, to
close at 6640.90 in London as 77 stocks rose, 20 fell and 5 were
unchanged. The FTSE All-Share Index gained 29.09, or 0.9 percent,
to 3449.69.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Thailand's Bonds Fall Before Bill Auction, Rate Meeting; Baht Holds Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand's 10-year bonds fell,
snapping a three-day gain, as yields at the lowest in more than
3 1/2 years may prompt investors to buy shorter-term securities
at a government auction. The baht was little changed.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note has dropped more
than 1.25 percentage points this year and is now below the
central bank's key interest rate. Investors may also buy at the
combined sale today of 9 billion baht ($290 million) of 28-day,
91-day and 182-day bills before a Bank of Thailand meeting this
week where it's expected to lower its one-day rate.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Canadian Dollar May Rise to 1.04 on Elliott Wave, Goldman's Edgeley Says

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar may strengthen to
1.04 against the U.S. currency after reaching a 30-year high on
May 18, said Kevin Edgeley, a technical analyst at Goldman Sachs
Group Inc., citing charts that predict price movements.

The 1.04 level is the Canadian dollar's resistance on an
Elliott Wave that began in 1975, Edgeley wrote. Elliott Wave
Theory, created by Ralph Elliott in 1938, tries to predict future
price movements in a security by dividing past movements into
waves and calculating changes in value.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

REFILE-UPDATE 4-China to take $3 bln stake in Blackstone

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 20 - China's new state investment
agency is taking a $3 billion stake in U.S. private equity firm
The Blackstone Group, in a sign China plans to use its
financial reserves to become a global investor.




The agreement gives China's government a stake in the
private equity boom sweeping the globe and hands a key alliance
to Blackstone at a time foreign investors struggle to gain
support from the Chinese government for takeovers of domestic
assets.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Palladium Buying by Ford, Fortunoff, Hedge Funds May Spark Metal's Revival

(Bloomberg) -- From Ford Motor Co. to Fortunoff to
Schroders Plc, the demand for palladium is increasing fast
enough to outstrip the supply and make it this year's best
investment among precious metals.

Sales will rise 6.5 percent in 2007, according to precious
metals consultant CPM Group, after Ford, General Motors Corp.
and other automakers used 32 percent more palladium in car-
exhaust systems the past five years. Fortunoff started selling
palladium wedding bands in November and says the metal already
represents 10 percent of the market.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Crude Oil Trades Little Changed on Signs U.S. Gasoline Supplies Are Risin

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed in New
York after stalling near a three-week high last week on signs
rising U.S. gasoline stockpiles may damp motor-fuel prices.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles increased for a second week,
leaving them 7.5 percent below the five-year average on May 11,
the Energy Department said last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Australian Stocks Rise, Led by BHP Billiton, Rio on Metals; CSL Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose, led by BHP
Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group, as prices of copper and
nickel climbed.

CSL Ltd. and Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. led gains among
companies with U.S. earnings after consumer confidence in the
world's biggest economy unexpectedly gained this month.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JGBs slip on Nikkei rise, falls in Treasuries

(Reuters) - Instead, investors were likely to take their cues from
auctions of 15-year floating rate bonds and 20-year bonds later
this week, as well as Japanese economic data for April due
towards the end of the month.




"U.S. Treasury yields rose to 4.8 percent and that seems to
be prompting some selling of JGBs," said Naomi Hasegawa, senior
fixed income strategist for Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Advances, Led by BHP Billiton, Commonwealth Bank

(Bloomberg) -- Australia's benchmark stock index, the
S&P/ASX 200 Index, rose 0.32 percent at 10:05 a.m.

The index of 201 companies traded on the Australian Stock
Exchange rose 19.90 to 6,332.40. Among the stocks in the index,
116 rose, 67 fell and 18 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Property Shares From Japan, Germany, China Lure Global Value Investors

(Bloomberg) -- Investors seeking the cheapest
property stocks are buying in Japan, Germany and China after a
two-year tumble in shares of U.S. homebuilders.

Japanese land prices are rising for the first time in 16
years, yet shares of developers trade at less than a third the
global average, according to UBS AG. The start of real-estate
investment trusts in Germany is spurring demand for housing
stocks valued at about half the worldwide mean. China's new laws
protecting homeowners and Brazil's record-low mortgage rates are
attracting money managers looking for the fastest growth.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hologic seeks to buy Cytyc for $6.2 billion

(Reuters) - The deal must be approved by shareholders of both companies
and federal anti-trust officials.




The acquisition, which would expand Hologic's product and
geographic reach while providing cost-cutting opportunities, is
expected to close in the third calendar quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

New Zealand Dollar May Decline as Investors Attracted to Emerging Markets

(Bloomberg) -- The New Zealand dollar may fall a third
day as a boost in risk appetite prompts investors to buy emerging
market currencies that are benefiting from higher interest rates.

New Zealand's dollar, known as the kiwi, has gained 9.1 percent
against the dollar in the past six months, less than the 11 percent
gain by the Brazilian Real, which is buoyed by a benchmark rate 7.25
percentage points higher than the U.S. and 4.25 points more than New
Zealand. Investors were spurred to riskier investments as U.S.
stocks extended their longest stretch of weekly gains since 2004
last week, adding to confidence in the market's stability.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China says to take $3 billion stake in Blackstone

(Reuters) - China said it will have less than a 10 percent equity stake in Blackstone immediately after Blackstone completes its planned initial public offering, and aims to hold its investment for at least four years.




"We are very pleased to be able to make the State Investment Company's very first investment in such a well-respected firm as Blackstone," Lou Jiwei, head of the working group of the State Investment Company, said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold May Rise, Ending 2-Week Slide, on Demand for Alternative to Dollar

(Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise, ending a two-week
decline, on speculation that a reduction in the value of the
dollar will boost the appeal of the precious metal as an
alternative investment.

Seventeen of the 32 traders, investors and analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg from Sydney to Chicago on May 17 and May
18 advised buying gold, which fell 1.5 percent to $662 an ounce
last week on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange. Ten said to sell and five were neutral.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Stocks may fly on M&A; oil clouds view

(Reuters) - But rocketing crude oil prices along with disappointing outlooks from major retailers, could spoil the party.




U.S. gasoline prices may climb to $4 a gallon by Memorial Day, analysts have said. And if that happens, it could force consumers to curtail discretionary spending as they pay more to fill up their gas tanks.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Siemens board appoints Peter Loescher as new CEO

(Reuters) - Klaus Kleinfeld will step down as Siemens President and CEO on June 30, 2007, it added.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Growth to moderate in transition economies: EBRD

(Reuters) - Economic growth in 2007 is projected at 6.5 percent in the 29 transition countries it tracks, up from a November estimate of 6.0 percent growth.




Spurred on by industrial revival, foreign direct investment and rapid credit growth on both the consumer and corporate level, growth reached a record 6.9 percent in 2006 versus 5.8 percent in 2005.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News