Thursday, June 28, 2007

Japanese Stocks Climb, Led by Toyota; Topix Gains the Most in Eight Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed, sending the
Topix index to its best performance in almost eight weeks.
Exporters led the advance after the Federal Reserve said the
housing slowdown won't keep the U.S. economy from expanding and
the yen weakened.

Toyota Motor Corp. advanced to a three-month high, while
Sony Corp. gained for the first time in five days.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UAW members back Delphi deal in early returns

(Reuters) - The UAW leadership is expected to release results on Friday of the vote at numerous local units on a deal that includes pay and benefit cuts and eventual plant closings Delphi has said it must have to exit bankruptcy.




The deal would remove a major barrier to Delphi's reorganization and the threat of a strike that could cripple the company and former parent General Motors Corp. , Delphi's biggest customer.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Alcatel-Lucent, Avanquest, Groupe Steria, Satimo: 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 rose 64.64, or 1.1 percent, to 6006.316 in
Paris. The broader SBF 120 Index also gained 1.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Croatia's Economic Growth Probably Accelerated on Higher Consumer Spending

(Bloomberg) -- The economy of Croatia, the next
country in line to join the European Union, probably grew at the
fastest pace in a year in the first quarter as consumer spending
and industrial output increased, a survey of economists shows.

Gross domestic product rose an annual 5.5 percent in the
quarter, according to the median estimate of six economists in a
Bloomberg survey, the most since the 6 percent pace achieved in
the same period of 2006. The state statistics office will release
the growth figure today in Zagreb.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

PTT's Pichai Says 2007 Sales, Profit May Fall Because of Stronger Currency

(Bloomberg) -- PTT Pcl, Thailand's biggest energy
company, said profit this year may fall from a record as gains in
the baht erode the value of its dollar-denominated sales of fuels
and petrochemicals.

The baht's 11 percent rise against the dollar in the past 12
months will pare profit because PTT calculates its revenue in U.S.
dollars and reports earnings in baht, Chief Financial Officer
Pichai Chunhavajira said. The Bangkok-based company will probably
post ``slightly better'' earnings in U.S. dollar terms, beating
last year's record sales and net income, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Japanese Stocks Climb; Ibiden, Toshiba, Seven & I Gain on Growth Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed, led by
exporters after the Federal Reserve said the housing slowdown
won't keep the U.S. economy from expanding and the yen weakened.

Share also gained after reports showed Japan's household
spending rose for a fifth month in May, the jobless rate held at
a nine-year low and consumer prices slipped as predicted by
economists. Seven & I Holdings Co. advanced after the Nikkei
newspaper said the company will probably show a 6 percent
increase in operating profit in the latest quarter.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Australia's RAMS Mortgage Sells A$500 Million of Debt Backed by Home Loans

(Bloomberg) -- RAMS Mortgage Corp., an Australian
non-bank lender that's planning an initial public offering, sold
A$500 million of ($423 million) debt backed by home loans.

The sale included A$433.5 million of Class A notes priced
to yield 19 basis points more than the one-month bank bill swap
rate with the highest triple-A credit rating from Standard &
Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, said arranger of the sale
National Australia Bank Ltd., in a statement e-mailed to
Bloomberg News. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News