Brazilian Union, Eyeing Sale of ABN Amro Unit, Presses Santander Over Jobs

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main banking union called for immediate talks with Santander Central Hispano SA to discuss job guarantees amid concern Spain's biggest bank would shed staff if it buys ABN Amro Holding NV's Sao Paulo-based lender.

``We cannot accept that fathers and mothers lose their jobs in the name of capitalism,'' said Rita Berlofa, an executive director of the Sao Paulo region banking union, which has more than 100,000 members. ``We want guarantees that won't happen.''


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Ingersoll-Rand 1st-qtr profit falls 14 pct

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, expected profit of 69 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 6 percent, to $2.67 billion, compared with Wall Street forecasts for sales of $2.77 billion.


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U.S. Treasuries Advance; Fed's Yellen Says Inflation Likely to Come Down

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries rose as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said inflation is likely to slow, stoking expectations of lower interest rates.

Ten-year notes ended two days of losses after Janet Yellen said in a speech in New York yesterday that the U.S. economy has slowed to a ``crawl'' and that it's important not to raise interest rates ``too much.'' Gross domestic product grew at the slowest pace in more than a year in the first quarter, a government report is forecast to show today.


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Triple-S Management files for $250 mln IPO

(Reuters) - The filing did not say how many shares the company plans to sell or their expected price.




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U.S. stock futures dip, Microsoft helps stem slide

(Reuters) - Shares in Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, jumped 3 percent after the closing bell on Thursday, after the company posted a 65-percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by the success of its new Windows Vista operating system.

This should help support the technology sector as well as the broader market as trade gets underway, although investors will likely remain cautious ahead of data on first-quarter U.S. economic growth.


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Spanish Shares Lead Declines in Western Europe; Sacyr, Inmocaral Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Spanish stocks declined, led by Sacyr Vallehermoso SA and Inmocaral SA. Portugal's benchmark index was little changed.

Spain's IBEX 35 Index dropped 142.4, or 1 percent, to 14,468.6 at 11:13 a.m. in Madrid as all but two stocks fell. Portugal's PSI-20 Index gained 25.67, or 0.2 percent, to 12,272.53.


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Polish Zloty Heads for Sixth Week of Gains as Bank Raises Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- Poland's zloty is set to gain versus the euro for a sixth week, its best performance since June 2001, on speculation the central bank will add to its first interest- rate increase in three years.

The zloty has risen almost 1 percent this week after the National Bank of Poland raised borrowing costs to curb inflation stoked by quickening economic expansion. Central banker Dariusz Filar yesterday said the economy probably grew 7 percent in the first quarter, the fastest pace for more than a decade, prompting traders to increase bets rates will rise further.


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