Bayer, Cash.life, Daimler, Infineon, Merck KGaA: German Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in German markets.

DAX futures expiring in June dropped 31, or 0.4 percent, to
7585 as of 8:19 a.m. in Frankfurt. The DAX sank 111.44, or 1.4
percent, to 7618.61 on the Xetra electronic-trading system
yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

North Sea Dated Brent Crude Oil to Add ConocoPhillips Ekofisk From Today

(Bloomberg) -- North Sea Dated Brent crude, used as
a price benchmark for 60 percent of the world's oil, will
include a fourth grade from today to compensate for shrinking
production from the region.

Ekofisk, produced by ConocoPhillips, will be added to the
blend amid falling output from fields such as Royal Dutch Shell
Plc's Brent, Platts, which assesses oil prices, said April 19.
Dated Brent is also known as Brent-Forties-Oseberg, or BFO,
because it combines the three crude varieties.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.K. Pound Heads for Weekly Drop as BOE Keeps Main Interest Rates on Hold

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound headed for a weekly
drop against the dollar after the Bank of England kept its
interest rates unchanged at its monthly meeting yesterday.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor
Mervyn King, kept the Bank Rate at 5.5 percent, as predicted by
58 of 62 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The pound has
benefited from four interest-rate increases in the past year and
inflation that touched a decade-high of 3.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Crude Oil Falls From 9-Month High After Cyclone Weakens, Misses Platforms

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from a nine-month high
in New York after Cyclone Gonu weakened and missed oil and gas
platforms near Oman's coast.

The storm is dissipating after sweeping across coastal Oman
and Iran. A least 28 people died in the two countries, the
Associated Press reported.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Bank of East Asia Hires JPMorgan to Sell 10-Year Denominated Dollar Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of East Asia Ltd., Hong Kong's
third-biggest publicly traded bank, hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to
sell 10-year dollar-denominated bonds to boost its capital,
according to an e-mail sent to investors.

The Hong Kong-listed bank will meet investors in Singapore
and Hong Kong next week to market the securities, whose coupon
will increase from the end of the fifth year, the e-mail said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Rising rate fears hammer stocks and bonds

(Reuters) - Most major stock indexes fell more than 1 percent, although China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, adding 0.2 percent after a blizzard of positive commentary about stocks in state-owned media was seen as more evidence that authorities did not want a further sharp drop of the market.




Japanese government bonds buckled under the strain after U.S. Treasury yields of all maturities rose above 5 percent for the first time since last July. Investors are betting the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates higher for longer to keep inflation at bay.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Capital Strategic Sells $50 Million of Bonds to Hedge Fund Stark, 6 Others

(Bloomberg) -- Capital Strategic Investment Ltd., a
Hong Kong-based investor in real estate, will raise HK$390
million ($50 million) after agreeing to sell convertible bonds to
seven investors including hedge fund Stark Investments.

The investors -- Stark, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.,
Citadel Equity Fund Ltd., Perry Principals LLC, Credit Suisse
Group, Harmony Investment Fund Ltd., and SBI E2-Capital
Securities Ltd. -- can convert the five-year 2 percent bonds into
Capital Strategic's shares at 51 Hong Kong cents apiece, 29
percent above the closing price yesterday, the company said in a
statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News