Home Depot looks to mend investor fences

(Reuters) - While that satisfied some critics, governance experts are watching the home improvement chain leader closely as it looks to fill a number of soon-to-be-vacant board seats.




In particular, they say, Home Depot has a chance to become a strong model for corporate governance in the next year, when four of its 11 board members are due to step aside because of age limits.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Tyco Withdraws Rights of Bondholders to Approve Breakup; Tender Expires

(Bloomberg) -- Tyco International Ltd., the maker of
ADT security systems, said it took away the right of bondholders
to approve its breakup plan after investors tendered only about
a third of their debt securities.

Some $1.46 billion of the $4.60 billion of bonds governed
by a June 9, 1998, indenture were tendered, and $331.8 million
of $1 billion of notes governed by a separate indenture were
tendered, Bermuda-based Tyco said in a press release today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Cocoa Has First Weekly Loss This Month in New York on Rain in Ivory Coast

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa in New York fell, posting the
first weekly loss this month, on speculation rain in Ivory Coast
will improve prospects for the crop that will be harvested
around October.

The rain will help ``recharge soil moisture'' after dry
weather hit the world's largest cocoa producer earlier this
year, according to Meteorlogix LLC in Woburn, Massachusetts. The
so-called main crop, the larger of two annual harvests, will
flower normally after rains in April and May, the private
forecaster said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Cotton Rises to 4-Week High as Demand May Improve for Cheap U.S. Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Cotton rose to a four-week high in
New York on speculation that the high cost of the fiber in
India, the world's third-largest producer and exporter, will
increase demand for cheaper U.S. supplies.

The cost of cotton in India was about 17 percent higher
than supplies on the New York Board of Trade. U.S. cotton
futures reached a 23-month low on May 14, helping to spur a 22
percent jump in exports of the fiber during the past week.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

FDA review also shows Glaxo diabetes drug risk

(Reuters) - FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza stressed that other data conflicted with that finding, and officials still were weighing whether to take any action.




A Cleveland Clinic analysis released Monday said the drug increased the chances of having a heart attack by 43 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

UPDATE 1-Watchdog puts back Scor offer period for Converium

(Reuters) - Earlier in May, French rival Scor ended a protracted
takeover struggle for Converium after it raised its bid to 3.4
billion Swiss francs .




Converium advised its owners to accept Scor's increased
cash-and-share offer. Scor already held a 32.9 percent in the
group.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Applebee's chief to push marketing, menu changes

(Reuters) - "It's been a challenging year," Applebee's CEO David Goebel
said at the company's annual meeting here before laying out a
series of new directives. Overland Park, Kansas-based
Applebee's has been hurt by a pullback in consumer spending and
increased competition with other bar-and-grill chains.




In what will be the company's most visible move, Applebee's
will roll out a new advertising campaign next week called
"Grilling Fresh" in conjunction with celebrity chef Tyler
Florence.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stocks Gain on M&A as Coca-Cola, Archstone-Smith Shares Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks posted their biggest gain
this week after Coca-Cola Co. made its largest acquisition and on
speculation that real-estate companies will be the next takeover
targets.

Shares of Coca-Cola climbed the most in the Dow Jones
Industrial Average after the world's biggest soft-drink maker
agreed to buy the maker of Glaceau Vitaminwater for $4.1 billion.
Real-estate shares advanced for the first time in three days
after UBS AG said Archstone-Smith Trust, the No. 2 U.S. apartment
owner, is a potential takeover target.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Phone Stocks Rally This Week on Bid Speculation; Glaxo Plunges

(Bloomberg) -- European telecommunications stocks
had their biggest weekly gain since January, lifted by takeover
speculation and better-than-expected earnings. France Telecom SA,
Deutsche Telekom AG and Cable & Wireless Plc climbed.

Shares of health-care companies dragged benchmark indexes
lower, led by GlaxoSmithKline Plc after the drugmaker's top-
selling diabetes treatment was found to raise a patient's
chances of a heart attack.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Tyco mulling asset sales after breakup

(Reuters) - "We regularly review and will consider the divestiture of underperforming or non-strategic businesses to improve our operating results and better utilize our capital," Tyco Electronics said in its S-1 registration statement.




Each of the three companies has made a separate S-1 filing with the SEC.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

US ITC sees Qualcomm-Broadcom ruling late on Friday

(Reuters) - The ITC has set Friday as a deadline for the decision.
Agency spokeswoman Peg O'Laughlin said in a recorded message
that it probably won't be posted on the agency's Web site until
"late in the day."




Broadcom asked the ITC to impose a ban on U.S. sales of
certain Qualcomm chips and high-speed wireless cell phones that
include those chips.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Quebec opposition could force new election

(Reuters) - The parties are mainly opposed to a C$950 million cut in personal taxes promised for Jan. 1, 2008.




Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jerome-Forget said it was
too early to say if she would consider amending the budget to
obtain opposition support.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

BioSante agrees to 2.8 mln share private placement

(Reuters) - BioSante said the net proceeds will be used to continue and
expand its previously announced Phase III clinical program of
LibiGel for treatment of female sexual dysfunction.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canadian Stocks Climb, Led by Imperial Oil; Royal Bank Falls on Earnings

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's main stock index rose, led by
energy stocks, as oil prices rose. Royal Bank of Canada shares fell
after the company's earnings missed analysts' estimates.

Imperial Oil Ltd., Canada's largest oil company, rose 75 cents
to C$50.55. Petro-Canada, the country's third-largest oil company,
rose 40 cents to C$54.81.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar set for fourth straight weekly gain vs euro

(Reuters) - The dollar rose to a six-week high against the euro on Friday, on track for a fourth straight week of gains driven by reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will trim interest rates this year.

A crop of solid U.S. economic data this month has led investors to price in less than a 50 percent chance the Fed will cut benchmark rates by the end of 2007, in contrast to early this year when more than one cut was fully priced in.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Vodafone, Statoil Earnings, U.S. Manufacturing, GDP: Europe Week Ahead

(Bloomberg) -- Earnings from Vodafone Group Plc,
Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA are among reports that may move
stocks next week. Data on first-quarter economic growth and
manufacturing in the U.S. may also affect markets.

Exchanges in the U.K., Austria, Switzerland, Hungary,
Germany and the U.S. will be closed Monday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Agilysys to buy Innovativ Systems

(Reuters) - The earn-out will be limited to a maximum payout of $90 million, the company said in a statement.




Over the 12 months ended March 31, 2007, Innovativ generated EBITDA of more than $20 million from revenue of about $256 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Aruba Network, Coca-Cola, Gap, Komag, VimpelCom: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 8:10 a.m. New York time.

Aruba Networks Inc. (ARUN US): The maker of wireless
networking equipment said third-quarter sales were $34.7 million,
up 65 percent from a year earlier. That exceeded the $30.5
million estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The
shares rose 2 cents to $15.16 in regular trading yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Business Objects, Nasdaq, NYSE Euronext, VaxGen: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

Aruba Networks Inc. (ARUN US): The maker of wireless
networking equipment said third-quarter sales were $34.7
million, up 65 percent from a year earlier. That exceeded the
$30.5 million estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Shares rose 2 cents to $15.16 in regular trading yesterday


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

China's CSI 300 Index Gains as Shenzhen Bank Jumps: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- China's CSI 300 Index rose to a high,
completing a record 10th straight weekly gain.

Shenzhen Development Bank Co. jumped by the daily limit as
trading resumed after the bank increased an offer to investors
to make all its stock tradable. Citic Securities Co. advanced
after Guotai Junan Securities Co. said the brokerage's shares
are ``undervalued.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Equatorial Guinea delays awarding oil blocks

(Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil producer, has delayed awarding 10 new offshore exploration blocks for two months, a source in the country's ministry of mines and hydrocarbons said on Friday.

The West African nation had planned to award the acreage in mid-May, and said it had received interest from a significant number of prospectors in Nigeria, Britain and India.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Severstal, Arcelor Mittal part ways in auto sector

(Reuters) - Severstal said in a statement the two companies would pursue
their own separate developments in the automotive sector after
it had completed the purchase of the stake in Severgal, a steel
galvanising line at its main plant in northwest Russia.




Severstal, majority owned by billionaire Alexei Mordashov,
did not say how much it would pay for the stake.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Russian Crude Oil Shipments Will Probably Decline 6 Percent Next Month

(Bloomberg) -- Russia, the world's second-biggest
oil exporter, will probably ship about 6 percent less crude from
its main terminals in June.

Exporters plan to load an average of at least 2.91 million
barrels a day of Russian Urals crude oil next month at the ports
of Primorsk, Novorossiisk, Gdansk, Odessa, Yuzhny and Tuapse,
according to preliminary schedules received by Bloomberg from
brokers. May shipments from the facilities were planned at 3.08
million barrels a day.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Dollar propped up by strong US data, yen supported

(Reuters) - The dollar ticked up to a six-week high versus the euro on Friday, cheered by strong U.S. housing data the previous session, while falling equity markets boosted the yen.

With the United States and much of Europe shut on Monday for public holidays, trading was likely to be dominated by position squaring as much as by news or data.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Telkom gains from local loop unbundling delay

(Reuters) - Shares in fixed line telecommunications firm Telkom rose over 1 percent on Friday, after South Africa's communications minister said unbundling of the so-called "local loop" -- which links the firm to homes and businesses -- would have to be done in four years.

Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri told parliament on Thursday that the local loop unbundling process -- which analysts say is key to competition -- should be completed by November 1, 2011.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Australia's Westpac Banking Raises A$7 Billion in Its Biggest Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Westpac Banking Corp., Australia's
fourth-largest bank, sold A$7 billion ($5.7 billion) of bonds
backed by home loans in its biggest debt sale.

Westpac increased the sale of residential mortgage-backed
securities by 37 percent from A$5.1 billion to meet larger-than-
expected investor demand, said David Lording, the bank's Sydney-
based spokesman. It's the nation's second-biggest sale of such
securities, after Commonwealth Bank of Australia raised A$7.07
in February.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Two-year JGB yield at decade-high on rate concern

(Reuters) - The Bank of Japan has said it expected prices to show a clear
uptrend in coming months and that the central bank would boost
interest rates in line with growth and price developments.




Since the BOJ ended its super-loose monetary policy in March
2006, it has raised interest rates twice to a decade-high 0.5
percent, and many market players expect a third rate hike to 0.75
percent as early as the July-September quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Switzerland's Index Declines; Syngenta AG and Holcim Ltd. Lead Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks dropped, led by Syngenta
AG, a supplier of pesticides and gene-modified seeds, and Holcim
Ltd., the world's second-biggest cement maker.

The Swiss Market Index of the 24 largest and most actively
traded companies fell 16.79, or 0.2 percent, to 9340.23 at 9:09
a.m. in Zurich. The broader Swiss Performance Index retreated
11.62, or 0.2 percent, to 7602.79.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Indonesia's Government Is `Happy' With Rupiah at About 9,000, Kalla Says

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's government is ``happy''
with the rupiah trading at about 9,000 to the dollar, said Jusuf
Kalla, vice president of the largest economy in Southeast Asia.

``We are happy with the rupiah at around 9,000,'' Kalla told
Bloomberg News, after speaking at a conference in Tokyo sponsored
by the Nikkei newspaper. ``We are persisting with our policy of
market stability and market policy with our exchange rate.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News