European Stocks May Decline, Led by BNP Paribas, Banks; Shell May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may drop for the first
time in three days, led by Deutsche Bank AG and BNP Paribas SA,
after JPMorgan, Chase & Co. cut its recommendation on the
investment banking industry.

Energy stocks may limit the decline after Citigroup Inc.
raised its forecast for Brent crude this year and upgraded shares
of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the region's biggest oil company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

JGB futures hit 9-month low, track Treasuries

(Reuters) - The 10-year yield hit a key psychological level of 1.8
percent, a seven-month high, while the five-year yield rose to a
nine-month high of 1.4 percent.




Dealers said yield-hungry investors were picking up long-term
bonds ahead of an auction of 10-year bonds on Tuesday, believing
a spike in yields over the past two weeks could soon peter out.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Bonds May Decline on Expectations ECB Will Raise Rates This Week

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds may decline
as the European Central Bank will probably increase interest rates
this week and signal that borrowing costs need to rise further to
hold down inflation.

Two-year yields are near the highest in six years as
investors place wagers interest rates may go higher than
previously expected as the economy expands. ECB policy makers,
meeting on June 6, are forecast to raise their main rate a quarter
point to 4 percent, a Bloomberg News survey showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Gazprom May Thwart Putin's Drive for Russian Dominance in Gas, Oil Output

(Bloomberg) -- Four corporate heavyweights are arrayed
before Russian President Vladimir Putin in his Kremlin office. Sitting
across a white oval table from Putin are Shoei Utsuda and Yorihiko
Kojima, chief executive officers of Japan's largest trading companies,
Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp.; Jeroen van der Veer, head of Royal
Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's biggest oil producer; and Putin's old
friend, OAO Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. The purpose of the Dec. 21,
2006, confab: to seal a deal made earlier that day in which
Gazprom, the giant state-run gas company, will take control of
Sakhalin-2, a $22 billion oil and gas project on Sakhalin Island in
the Russian Far East.

Van der Veer and the Japanese executives make a show of
endorsing Gazprom's participation in Sakhalin-2, until now the
biggest totally foreign-owned energy venture in Russia. ``Thank you
very much for your support on this historic day,'' van der Veer
says to Putin in remarks captured on camera and posted on the
Kremlin's Web site. ``Gazprom is very welcome as a partner in our
project.''


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Citadel's ResMae Purchase Signals Recovery of the Subprime Bond Market

(Bloomberg) -- Citadel Investment Group's purchase
of Resmae Mortgage Corp. is the latest evidence that investors'
appetite for bonds backed by subprime mortgages is returning
five months after the industry crashed.

The $180 million acquisition by Citadel, a $14 billion
hedge fund, shows that the market for loans to people with weak,
or subprime, credit isn't dead, said Sharon Greenberg, vice
president of asset-backed securities research for Credit Suisse
Group in New York.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Murdoch open to some concessions on Dow Jones -WSJ

(Reuters) - "I can't put down $5 billion of my shareholders' money and not be able to run the business," Murdoch said in the interview. He also told the Journal he has "no plans to change anything" at the editorial or news sides of the paper.




The comments come ahead of a meeting scheduled for Monday between News Corp. and several key members of the Bancroft family, which holds 64 percent of voting power in Dow Jones.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gasoline pipeline, Nigeria truce eyed

(Reuters) - U.S. Colonial Pipeline Co. said on Sunday that it had restarted a gasoline line from Atlanta to North Carolina that had shut last Tuesday due to a leak. Delays to resuming operations on the line had spurred buying on Friday.




Despite steadily rising U.S. gasoline stocks, traders are on alert for signs that refiners may struggle to meet peak summer driving demand in the world's largest oil consumer. Inventories are still more than 12 million barrels below their seasonal norm.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Australian Shares Climb to Record, Led by BHP, Rio on Higher Metals Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose, headed for a
record close. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led mining
shares higher after prices of metals including copper and nickel
gained.

Westfield Group led gains among companies with U.S. earnings
after reports showed employment and manufacturing growth in the
world's biggest economy expanded more than expected.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia Dollar Trades Near a 17-Year High as Prices of Gold, Copper Rise

(Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar traded near a
17-year high as prices for metals exported by the nation
including gold and copper climbed.

The currency advanced after a measure of six metals on the
London Metal Exchange gained 2.5 percent last week, the most in
a month. Mining and energy exports account for half of
Australia's shipments.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, Topix Index Rise; Mizuho, Sony Lead Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average
rose 101.29, or 0.6 percent, to 18,060.17 at 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo.
The broader Topix index added 14.03, or 0.8 percent, to
1781.91.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Sony Corp. led the advances.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Trades Near Four-Month High Against Yen Before U.S. Services Data

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar traded near the highest
against the yen in more than four months before a U.S. report
tomorrow that's expected to show service industries expanded.

The U.S. dollar may extend six weeks of gains as signs of
resilience in the economy damp speculation the Federal Reserve
will lower interest rates. A stronger services sector would add
to evidence the world's largest economy is recovering from the
slowest growth last quarter in more than four years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Crude Oil Falls for First Day in Four Amid Signs U.S. Stockpiles Are Ample

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for the first time in
four trading days in New York amid speculation that U.S.
stockpiles are sufficient to meet the needs of refineries making
gasoline for the peak-demand summer months.

U.S. crude oil supplies in the week ended May 25 were 7.2
percent higher than the five-year average for the period, the
Energy Department said May 31. Eighteen of 46 analysts surveyed
by Bloomberg News last week, or 39 percent, said oil prices would
decline this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Israeli Stocks Rally for Second Day, Led by Shares of Israel Corp., Teva

(Bloomberg) -- Israel's TA-25 Index climbed for a
second day, led by Israel Corp. Clal Finance Batucha Investment
Management Ltd. recommended buying shares of the holding company
with interests in chemicals and energy.

The TA-25 Index closed at a record, adding 6.20, or 0.6
percent, to 1132.57 in Tel Aviv, as 13 shares gained and 12
declined. Investors bought and sold about 1.53 billion shekels
($376 million) in shares and convertibles today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

ECB's Weber: Global liquidity unprecedentedly ample

(Reuters) - Global liquidity is unprecedentedly ample and the European Central Bank will do its utmost to ensure inflation expectations remain anchored at a low level, ECB Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Sunday.

The current low level of inflation does not allow the ECB to let down its guard, he told an economics conference hosted by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, according to a text released in advance.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Australian explorer to start mining Eritrea gold

(Reuters) - Australian explorer Sub-Sahara Resources will begin mining operations in Eritrea after test drilling revealed 760,000 ounces of high grade gold, the company said on Sunday.

"Now our intent is to make this into a mine," Chief Executive Officer Michael Griffiths told Reuters in an interview. "Zara has high grade gold," he said, referring to one of two projects the company is running in the Red Sea state.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Hitachi, Oracle to sell China anti-piracy tags: report

(Reuters) - Hitachi and Oracle expect increasing demand for so-called IC, or integrated circuit, tags for a wide range of products, including cash vouchers, luxury items and home appliances, the Nikkei said, without giving a source for the information.




No-one at Hitachi or the local unit of Oracle could be reached for comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News