Alstom, Sanofi, Scor, Societe Generale and Veolia: French Equity Preview

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

The CAC 40 Index added 56.80, or 1 percent, to 5940.09. The
SBF 120 Index also climbed 1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 2-China inflation hits 27-month high as food costs soar

(Reuters) - BEIJING, June 12 - Surging food prices boosted
China's annual consumer price inflation in May to a 27-month
high, extending a rising trend and reinforcing expectations
that interest rates will rise further.




Inflation quickened to 3.4 percent from 3.0 percent in
April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, as
food prices, which make up a third of the consumer basket, rose
8.3 percent from a year earlier and a shortage of pork caused
meat prices to jump 26.5 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Philippine Coconut-Oil Exports Slump in May After Typhoons, Growers Say

(Bloomberg) -- Exports of coconut oil from the
Philippines, the world's biggest producer, almost halved in May
as domestic demand rose and damage from typhoons last year
curbed output, an industry executive said.

Overseas sales fell 45 percent to 69,279 tons from a year
earlier, United Coconut Associations of the Philippines Inc.
Executive Director Yvonne Agustin said, citing a preliminary
report from industry members. Exports in the first five months
halved to 260,129 tons from a year earlier, she said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Employers still cautious on hiring: Manpower

(Reuters) - The index dipped into negative territory during the 1991 and 2002 recessions and has risen into the mid-20s during periods of prosperity.




While most industries reported steady demand for workers, some employers are losing confidence about hiring. Three such sectors were construction; wholesale and retail trade; and finance, insurance and real estate.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

European Government Bonds May Fall on Outlook for Expansion, ECB's Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds may fall on
speculation strength in the 13-nation economy will prompt the
European Central Bank to raise interest rates further.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bund is near its highest
since October 2002 as traders add to bets policy makers will lift
rates twice more this year. ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet
reiterated yesterday that borrowing costs are still supporting
economic growth, suggesting he sees room for further increases.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Platinum Futures Gain in Asia as African Mine Wage Talks May Push Up Costs

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures gained in Tokyo for
a third day in four amid speculation wage negotiations at mines
in South Africa, the world's biggest producer, will lead to
higher costs to make the metal.

Pay talks are in their fourth week since Johannesburg-based
Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's largest producer, offered a 5
percent raise. Workers have demanded a 15 percent increase.
Three miners drowned last week in a mudslide at Anglo's
Rustenburg platinum mine, and Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman for
the National Union of Mineworkers, on June 8 said safety issues
would be ``prominent'' in talks with mining companies.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Chalco Halts Hong Kong, Shanghai Shares Pending `Important' Announcement

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Aluminum Corp. of China
Ltd., the nation's biggest producer of the metal, and Baotou
Aluminum Co. were suspended today amid speculation Chalco, as
Aluminum Corp. is known, will buy Baotou assets from its parent.

The two producers didn't give a reason for the suspension
in statements to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The move comes a
day after Chalco's parent, Chinalco, acquired Peru Copper Inc.
for C$840 million ($792 million). Chalco's investor relations
manager Zhang Qing said the suspension relates to Baotou,
without elaborating.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Chinese Yuan Has Biggest Gain in a Month Before Treasury's Currency Report

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan had the biggest gain in a
month before the U.S. Treasury Department is scheduled to name
currency manipulators in a semiannual foreign-exchange report.

The Treasury Department, which has called on China to
increase yuan flexibility, in December declined to say the Asian
nation manipulated its exchange rate.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-Japan May wholesale prices up, rises spreading

(Reuters) - TOKYO, June 12 - Japanese wholesale prices rose
slightly more than expected in May from a year earlier, with
gains spreading to more products, reaffirming expectations of an
interest rate hike in the third quarter, most likely in August.




Data from the Bank of Japan showed on Tuesday that the
corporate goods price index, which tracks trends in wholesale
prices, rose 2.2 percent in May from a year earlier, just above
economists' median forecast of a 2.1 percent rise.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

CBOT's Sale to Chicago Mercantile Is Cleared by U.S. Antitrust Officials

(Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Board of Trade and
Chicago Mercantile Exchange received approval from federal
antitrust regulators for their proposed $10.3 billion merger,
which would create the world's largest futures exchange.

The decision gives a leg up to Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Holdings Inc. as it tries to fend off an $11.2 billion
unsolicited offer from Intercontinental Exchange Inc. The board
of CBOT Holdings Inc. chose the merger with its Chicago rival
over the higher bid from Atlanta-based Intercontinental after
Chicago Mercantile sweetened its offer on May 11. CBOT
shareholders are scheduled to vote on the sale on July 9.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Dollar May Rise Against Euro as Odds Fall of Interest Rate Cut This Year

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar may gain for a fifth day
against the euro as reports this week will probably show U.S.
economic growth is recovering, making an interest-rate cut this
year less likely.

The dollar has climbed 1.3 percent versus the euro in the
past week, the biggest five-day advance since early January, as
traders reduced the odds the Federal Reserve will lower borrowing
costs. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News are expecting U.S.
reports this week to show retail sales strengthened and the pace
of consumer price rises accelerated in May.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China, India, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: consumer prices gained 3.3 percent in May from a
year earlier, according to the median estimate of 19 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg News before a government report today.
April's inflation rate was 3 percent, matching the central
bank's 2007 target. China Development Bank sold 20 billion yuan
($2.6 billion) of five-year bonds at a higher-than-expected
yield of 4 percent yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

McDonald's could leverage itself more-Pershing Sq

(Reuters) - William Ackman says McDonald's, the world's largest fast
food group, is given a lower rating by credit agencies than it
deserves because of the way the rating agencies evaluate its
property leases.




Ackman's Pershing Square holds a stake of about 1.6 percent
in McDonald's. The three-year-old $3.2 billion hedge fund has
seen average annual returns of 34 percent since 2004.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gulfport Energy files for $100 mln mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Plains Exploration sets $600-mln notes offering

(Reuters) - J.P. Morgan Securities Inc and Lehman Brothers Inc are
joint book-running managers for the offering.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Energy, Financial Shares Gain; S&P 500 Index Rises for a Second Day

(Bloomberg) -- Energy and financial shares rallied
on prospects for higher earnings, carrying the U.S. stock market
to a second consecutive gain.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest crude producer, helped lift
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average
after oil prices rebounded. Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. climbed on
expectations new securities regulations will help bolster the
banks' earnings in the second half of 2007.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Apple, Dyax, Netflix, Qwest, Taser, Valeant: U.S. Equity Movers Final

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares had unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges. Stock
symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are
as of 4 p.m. New York time.

Apple Inc. (AAPL US) fell $4.30, or 3.5 percent, to $120.19.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced that he would not to
give developers a kit that would allow them to write specialized
programs for the iPhone. Instead he said they will be able to
write Web-based programs that iPhone users can access through
Apple's Safari browser. ``Some developers will be disappointed
that they won't be able to create specialized applications that
run on the iPhone,'' said Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray & Co.
analyst.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US top court rules against Philip Morris

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 11 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a class-action lawsuit against Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc., should not be decided in federal court, handing a defeat to the tobacco company.



The justices unanimously reversed a ruling that allowed Philip Morris to transfer the lawsuit to federal court from the Arkansas state court where it initially was filed.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Atticus meeting with third parties about Freeport

(Reuters) - Atticus also said it may consult with outside advisers and
engage in talks with members of management and board at the
world's largest copper miner.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Blackstone co-founders to get $2.3 bln post IPO

(Reuters) - CEO and Co-founder Stephen Schwarzman received nearly $400 million in pay last year and stands to make at least $449.2 million after the investment firm goes public. The-post IPO payout could grow to $677.2 million, the filing says.




Schwarzman will own 23 percent of Blackstone after the IPO, expected in the next few weeks. Should the IPO price in the expected range of $30 per share, Schwarzman's stake would be worth $7.73 billion.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury warns against complacency on risk

(Reuters) - "Interest rates around the world are low and the
competition to deploy this capital has evidenced itself in
numerous ways including declining lending standards,"
Treasury's assistant secretary for financial markets Anthony
Ryan said in prepared remarks for delivery to a Managed Funds
Association conference in Chicago.




A text of his remarks was issued in Washington.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Brazilian Real Strengthens on Inflation Forecasts, a Wider Trade Surplus

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's real rose as economists
lifted their inflation forecasts and as the nation's trade
surplus widened, bolstering speculation foreign currency will
flow into the economy.

Faster inflation may lead the central bank to slow the pace
of interest-rate cuts this year, maintaining the appeal of the
nation's interest rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Back Yard Burgers, Emcor, Lipid Sciences. Netflix: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Back Yard Burgers Inc. (BYBI US) rose $1.16, or 23 percent,
to $6.21. The chain of fast-food restaurants concentrated in the
southeast U.S. agreed to be acquired for about $6.50 a share, or
$33.3 million, by a group of investors including Cherokee
Advisors LLC.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. to sell $8 bln four-week bills on Tuesday

(Reuters) - The bills mature on July 12. Treasury said the net long
position reporting threshold is $2.80 billion.




Noncompetitive bids must be received before 11:00 a.m. EDT
and competitive bids by 11:30 a.m. EST .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Harbinger sues Ryerson over annual meeting

(Reuters) - Harbinger wants to elect seven new independent directors to
the company's board. In March, Ryerson canceled a shareholder
meeting set for May 11 and said it was mulling a sale and other
options. Since then, it has not rescheduled the meeting or
commented on the possible sale.




Harbinger filed a lawsuit requesting that the Delaware
Chancery Court compel Ryerson to hold an annual meeting no
later than 45 days from the entry of the order.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Mexico's Currency Extends Slide on Concern of Risng U.S. Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico's peso and local-currency
bonds fell as traders scrapped bets the U.S. Federal Reserve
will cut rates this year, dimming the allure of riskier assets.

The peso today extended last week's 1.8 percent slide,
after Bank of Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said
inflation in the world's largest economy is quickening at a
faster-than-desirable pace.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

FDA staff sees suicidal behavior with Sanofi drug

(Reuters) - Food and Drug Administration staff also said the 20-milligram dose of the drug, Zimulti, produced clinically significant weight loss. An advisory panel will consider on Wednesday if the drug should be approved for sale in the United States.



)


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Gold Rallies From 12-Week Low as Equities, Oil Costs Gain; Silver Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose from a 12-week low in New
York on speculation that last week's slump was overdone because
rising equity markets and higher energy costs will boost the
metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation. Silver gained.

Gold's 3.9 percent decline last week was the biggest in
three months, as the threat of higher interest rates led some
investors to sell the metal to cover losses in the equity
markets. U.S. stocks rebounded on June 8 after floor trading in
gold ended and European stocks rose today.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Siemens U.S. finance arm eyes 20 percent growth

(Reuters) - Siemens Financial Services Inc., which last year originated 1.2 billion euros in new loans, is targeting 1.7 billion euros by 2008, President and Chief Executive Roland Chalons-Browne said in an interview.




"What I really wanted to change was the business development dynamic, if you will, from really a product sale to more of forming a problem-solving partnership with our customers," Chalons-Browne said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

S.Africa to be selective about mining investment

(Reuters) - South Africa wants to boost foreign mining investment, but not if it fails to help develop a country still suffering from huge inequality of wealth, the deputy president said on Monday.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka told a seminar on mining investment she was aware of a debate about the merits of sealing major deals with resource-hungry countries like China.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Internet Capital Group says to get $37 mln from Marketron sale

(Reuters) - The company said it would record an after-tax gain of about
$8 million on the deal during the three months ended June 30.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CDW average daily sales rise 25.8 pct in May

(Reuters) - Excluding the impact of Berbee sales, CDW's average daily
sales for May were $29 million, up 15.7 percent, while total
sales rose 15.7 percent to $637.8 million.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Bonds down, but yields off recent peaks

(Reuters) - However, few are ready to predict recovery in bonds yet. The rise in yields has led to a wave of portfolio readjustments by investors such as mortgage market players, which dealers said was continuing to exacerbate recent selling.




"Until the data soothes and/or former buyers return in a more public way, upside will be limited and a new range is the story," David Ader, Treasury market strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital, said in a morning note to clients.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Diamonds by Linares, Gemesis May Cut De Beers, Rio Tinto Earnings, Revenue

(Bloomberg) -- It may be time to lighten up on Rio
Tinto Plc and Anglo American Plc, not to mention Petra Diamonds
Ltd. and Firestone Diamonds Plc, if Bryant Linares has anything
to say about it.

The 45-year-old Boston native can replicate in two weeks the
100 million years that nature needs to make diamonds from coal,
and his success may soon cost the world's mining companies $2.5
billion annually.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

European Government Bonds Gain; Yields at 4 1/2-Year High Lure Investors

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds advanced,
snapping the steepest two-day slide since March 2006, as yields
near the highest in 4 1/2 years attracted investors to fixed
income debt.

Benchmark bunds slid by the most since April last week, with
10-year yields, which reflect investors' perceptions of future
inflation, touching the highest since October 2002. European
Central Bank official Nout Wellink said the ECB hasn't finished
raising interest rates, Market News International reported citing
an interview.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.S. stocks seen down at start of data-heavy week

(Reuters) - A spike in U.S. treasury yields triggered by better-than-expected U.S. economic data, suggesting stronger growth and possibly higher inflation ahead, saw the S&P 500 index lose over 3 percent between Tuesday and Thursday last week.




However, the S&P 500, the blue-chip Dow Jones and the technology-laced Nasdaq recovered strongly on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Platinum Rises on South African Strike Speculation; Palladium Also Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum gained in London on
speculation extended wage talks will lead to a strike in South
Africa, supplier of almost 80 percent of the metal used in
jewelry and systems that control car pollution. Palladium rose.

Talks are in their fourth week since Anglo Platinum Ltd.,
the world's largest producer, offered a 5 percent pay raise.
Workers want a 15 percent increase. Global supply beat demand
last year, the first surplus since 1998, London-based metals
trader and manufacturer Johnson Matthey Plc said last month.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Rexam to buy OI Plastics for $1.8 bln, place shares

(Reuters) - Rexam, the world's biggest can maker, said on Monday it would place 58.35 million new shares, or 9.99 percent of its existing share capital, to help pay for the deal. That would raise around 300 million pounds at Friday's closing price of 511-1/2 pence.




It is also raising 500 million euros equivalent through a bond issue, one of the banks managing the sale said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FDA delays decision on Sanofi's Pentacel to Nov. 2

(Reuters) - The FDA earlier this year asked Sanofi to give it more
information about how it is conducting analysis in its U.S.
laboratory on the part of the drug that targets whooping cough
after the vaccine maker moved the analysis from its lab in
Toronto, Canada.




"It's a technical matter. The vaccine itself is not being
questioned," a Sanofi-Pasteur spokesman said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Spanish Banks Demand Developer Inmobiliaria Colonial Pays More for Loan

(Bloomberg) -- Banks demanded that Inmobiliaria
Colonial SA pay more interest to borrow 7.2 billion euros ($9.7
billion) because of the risk Spain's second-largest developer
will be hurt by a slump in property prices.

Colonial will have to pay more than a 1.25 percentage-point
premium over interbank rates because underwriters led by Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc can't find
enough loan investors, two people involved in the negotiations
said. Chairman Luis Portillo may have to repay part of the five-
year loan after three years, said one of the people.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

U.K. Pound May Decline Before Reports on Manufacturing, Consumer Prices

(Bloomberg) -- The pound may drop before reports that
will probably show manufacturing and consumer prices slowed last
month, quelling the need for further interest-rate increases.

The pound slumped versus the dollar last week as the Bank of
England kept borrowing costs unchanged at a six-year high of 5.5
percent, and amid a global sell-off in bonds that led the dollar
to rise versus the most traded currencies. Price reports today and
tomorrow are expected to supply evidence that four interest-rate
increases in the U.K. are starting to take effect.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

French Stocks Gain, Led by BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Vallourec, Suez

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks advanced, paced by BNP
Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA.

Vallourec SA gained on takeover speculation while Suez SA
increased after Credit Suisse Group raised its share-price
estimate.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Resume slide in Asia as investors trim losses

(Reuters) - Investors in Asia such as Japanese banks took the gains as a
good opportunity to sell to get out of positions and limit
losses as the sell-offs over the past week had been very sharp,
traders said.




"Prices are falling in Asia and I assume it's due to selling
by Japanese investors who had not been able to liquidate their
positions as the sell-off had been very steep and speedy," said
a dealer at a big Japanese bank.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BW Group Hires Morgan Stanley and HSBC for Its First Dollar Bond Offering

(Bloomberg) -- BW Group Ltd., a global maritime
company, hired Morgan Stanley and HSBC Holdings Plc to sell
dollar-denominated bonds for the first time, according to an e-
mail sent to investors.

The company, whose clients include Exxon Mobil Corp., is
selling debt maturing in 10 years, the e-mail, which was sent by
one of the banks, shows. BW Group officials plan to meet
investors in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Los Angeles, New York
and Boston to market the securities, the e-mail said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Treasury Bulls Routed as Primary Dealers See Rising Yields, No Rate Cut

(Bloomberg) -- The biggest rout in the Treasury
bond market in three years is making Wall Street's bond bulls
more bearish.

Investors are ``throwing in the towel,'' said Robert
Auwaerter, who oversees about $350 billion as head of fixed-
income investments at Vanguard Group in Malvern, Pennsylvania.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Bank of America creates credit card for wealthy

(Reuters) - Holders may redeem points for such things as luxury vacations, cooking lessons with top chefs, and access to airport lounges, and may use "concierges" to track down hard-to-get concert tickets or dinner reservations. Customers may also redeem 250,000 points each year for a $2,500 charitable donation that the bank would match.




"We're striving to reward clients who make use of the full range of capabilities we offer," said John Bahnken, president of Bank of America's global wealth and investment management products group, in an interview. "This card is a relationship product, to strengthen and deepen relationships."


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Copper Price Declines in China as Local Stockpiles Fall Less Than Expected

(Bloomberg) -- Copper prices in Shanghai extended a
three-day slump on concern that demand in China, the world's
biggest consumer of the metal, may be slowing as domestic
inventories dropped less than expected.

Shanghai copper stockpiles fell 1,461 tons, or 1.5 percent,
to 93,793 metric tons last week, the third straight weekly
decline from a three-year high, the exchange said in a report on
June 8. A 3,000 ton decline was expected, Yuan Fang, a metals
futures trader at Shanghai East Asia Futures Co., said June 5.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News