Gold stays near 3-week high, TOCOM retreats

(Reuters) - Spot gold on Wednesday remained near a three-week high marked the previous day, while Tokyo gold futures fell on profit taking after a three-percent gain in the past five days.

As of 0300 GMT, cash gold rose to $671.50/672.10 an ounce, from $669.20/670.70 in New York. On Tuesday, gold climbed as high as $673.95, the highest since May 14, helped by a fall in the dollar.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Warburg Pincus eyes stake in China retailer-source

(Reuters) - Privately-owned Red Star, headquartered in Shanghai, operates
33 outlets, mostly in the coastal area of eastern China.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bouygues, Dexia, UBS, Voestalpine, Acciona, Aem: European Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
in European markets. Prices are from the last close.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 0.6 percent to 396.61. The Dow
Jones Stoxx 50 Index dropped 0.5 percent to 3940.60. The Euro
Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 13 nations using the euro,
declined 0.5 percent to 4513.18.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Malaysia Palm Oil Rises For Third Day to Record on Chinese, Indian Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures in Malaysia advanced
for a third day, surpassing yesterday's record, on signs demand
from China and India, the biggest consumers of the vegetable oil,
remain strong.

Palm oil for August delivery, the most actively traded
contract on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, rose as much as
2.3 percent to 2,764 ringgit ($809) a metric ton, an intra-day
record, and traded at 2,743 ringgit at 11:58 a.m. local time.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

KKR to pay US$230 mln for 16 pct stake in Taiwan Yageo

(Reuters) - KKR would become the single largest shareholder in the
components maker when the 7-year zero-coupon bonds were fully
converted.




Yageo's shares had dropped 3.8 percent to T$15.20 by midday
on Wednesday, lagging a 0.6 percent gain in the benchmark index
.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan's Topix Index Gains, Led by Marubeni, Banks; Exporters Drop on Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's Topix index advanced for a
fifth day, the longest winning streak since February.

Trading companies led gains after Daiwa Institute of
Research Ltd. reiterated its ``overweight'' stance on the
industry and raised price estimates for five of the companies
that it covers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korean Refiners May Export 40 Percent More Fuel Oil in June to Asia

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea, the largest fuel oil
supplier to China, may increase exports by 40 percent in June
from a month earlier as refiners boost output after scheduled
plant maintenance.

SK Corp., S-Oil Corp., and Hyundai Oilbank Co. plan to
export as much as 350,000 metric tons of fuel oil to Asia in
June from about 250,000 tons in May, said two refinery officials
and three traders surveyed by Bloomberg.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 4-Google sets Salesforce alliance, shares hit record

(Reuters) - In its latest move, Google joined with marketing software maker Salesforce.com Inc. on Tuesday to say they have developed a new product that lets Google advertising be resold using Salesforce software, as part of a wide-ranging alliance.




Shares of Google, which have topped $500 only three times this year, closed $11.77, or 2.3 percent, higher on Nasdaq.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Tokyo stocks seen opening lower, China watched

(Reuters) - Norihiro Fujito, general manager of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities' investment research and information division, said the market will also likely be watching the opening of trade in Shanghai later in the morning.




"Investors are likely to take profits at the opening following a decline in overseas stocks, and then the market may move little," he said.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Malaysian April Industrial Production Probably Rebounded to Grow 2 Percent

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's production probably rose
in April, after suffering the biggest decline in more than five
years in March, as companies manufactured more to replenish
their stock. Weak overseas demand likely limited output growth.

Production at factories, utilities and mines expanded 2
percent from a year ago after contracting 2.7 percent in the
previous month, according to the median forecast of 16
economists in a Bloomberg survey. The Putrajaya-based Statistics
Department will release the figures at 12:01 p.m. tomorrow.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

FEATURE-Greyhound bus trip provides snapshot of U.S. poor

(Reuters) - The 12-hour ride provides an insight into the lives of
America's poor as the bus crosses the Deep South states of
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.




Given the choice, most Americans fly or drive across the
country's vast distances. Bus travel is cheaper and people who
lack the money to use other means of transport often go
Greyhound.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wellpoint Inc sells $1.5 bln in two part deal - joint lead

(Reuters) - The second was $800 million of 6.375 percent 30-year bonds,
priced at 99.561 to yield 1.31 percentage point more than
Treasuries.




The other lead manager of the deal was Banc of America
Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

ABC-Wash Post Consumer Comfort Index at 2007 low

(Reuters) - Two of the three components of the index were down from the
previous week, with positive views of the buying climate
lowest, at 33 percent, unchanged from the previous week.




Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Morgan Stanley buys stake in stadium finance firm

(Reuters) - Stadium Capital Financing Group, the name of the newly
formed venture, will also seek to provide financial advisory
services, upfront purchaser financing packages, sports
marketing, tax analysis and a proprietary, secondary market
ticket exchange program for underlying tickets.




Proceeds can be used to pay down debt, build or expand
stadiums, boost university endowments or deliver cash for team
owners.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cooper Companies posts quarterly loss

(Reuters) - Quarterly sales rose to $225.5 million, from $211.4 million
a year earlier.




The company reaffirmed its 2007 forecast of $2.90 to $3.05
per share, an estimate which excludes certain special items.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Altera backs its sales forecast for Q2

(Reuters) - "The company's new product category is showing strong
growth in comparison to the similar period in the prior
quarter, with all products growing sequentially," San Jose,
California-based Altera said in a statement.




Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Soros says Brazil real overvalued, raps Argentina

(Reuters) - "I am very critical of price controls in Argentina -- I
don't see that as the right way," Soros said at a news
conference in Sao Paulo.




Soros said the economies of Brazil and Argentina are much
better off now than during the Asian financial crisis in 1997,
though interest rates in Brazil are still high.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

TREASURIES-Prices sag, yields hit 5 percent on strong ISM data

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 5 - U.S. Treasury debt prices sank
on Tuesday, as data showing unexpected strength in the service
sector supported the view of a rebound in second-quarter growth
and sent short-term yields to 5 percent.




A strengthening economy probably would deter the Federal
Reserve from cutting interest rates this year, a growing view
that led to heavy selling of Treasury debt in recent weeks.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Goldman now sees no Fed rate cuts in 2007 and 2008

(Reuters) - "However, although real growth has slowed as anticipated, the absence of any tangible evidence of rising unemployment makes it unlikely that Fed officials will cut the funds rate target."




The Fed's benchmark overnight target lending rate, the federal funds rate, stands at 5.25 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Calpers to invest in health-care cost-cutting

(Reuters) - The $240 billion fund, known as CalPERS, is investing
through David Brailer's private equity fund Health Evolution
Partners, which in turn will put money into companies that
offer services and technology that will cut costs.




Brailer, an economist and physician, was a senior official
in the Bush administration charged with overseeing information
technology within the U.S. health care system.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, bonds, and dollar retreat

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 5 - U.S. stocks retreated from
record levels on Tuesday as signs of strength in the U.S. economy
bumped 10-year U.S. Treasury yields up toward five percent and
made prospects for a Federal Reserve rate cut more remote.




Stocks and bonds fell because strength in the services
sector and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
nearly eliminated hope for such a cut this year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Investor Burkle joins Dow Jones union in bid try

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 5 - Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle has joined Dow Jones & Co. Inc. , which represents 2,000 Dow Jones workers.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Canadian Stocks Fall on Interest Rate Concern; Financials Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell for the first
time in three days on concern about rising interest rates.
Financial shares such as Bank of Nova Scotia paced the decline.

Gains for raw-materials companies including First Quantum
Minerals Ltd helped limit the market's losses.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-US' Paulson: Small steps to aid China forex reform

(Reuters) - Defending the limited progress made in last month's
"strategic economic dialogue" talks with top Chinese officials,
Paulson said some agreements in the financial services sector
such as easing restrictions on new foreign securities firms
would help expand opportunities for American companies.




"The dialogue is an on-going process. To get results, we
must build relationships and take smaller, deliberate steps
forward together to create momentum for greater change," he
said in prepared remarks to a conference sponsored by the
Heritage Foundation in Washington.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canadian Stocks Rise as Copper Miners Advance on Takeover Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose for a third day,
erasing an early decline as metals producers including First
Quantum Minerals Ltd. climbed after Xstrata Plc said it's ready
to spend ``several billion'' dollars on acquisitions.

``The largest contributor in the market has been M&A,'' said
Michael Sprung, who overseas about $50 million as president of
Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel in Toronto. ``That continues to
create a lot of excitement in the mining industry.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US' Paulson: Small steps to aid China forex reform

(Reuters) - "The dialogue is an on-going process. To get results, we
must build relationships and take smaller, deliberate steps
forward together to create momentum for greater change," he
told a conference sponsored by the Heritage Foundation in
Washington.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Amazon.com, Avaya, DuPont, Feldman Mall, Telik, Trump: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Shares prices are as of 10:30 a.m. New York time.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN US) rose $2.39, or 3.4 percent, to
$72.81 and traded as high as $73.93. The world's biggest online
retailer had its share-price forecast increased 27 percent to $79
at Banc of America Securities, which cited ``strong revenue
growth'' and said the company may increase profitability from
digital media downloads.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Treasuries Fall, Pushing 10-Year Yield to Highest Level Since August

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell, pushing the benchmark
10-year note's yield to the highest level since August, after a
private-sector survey showed U.S. service industry expansion last
month reached the highest in more than a year.

The yield on the 10-year note rose more than 4 basis points,
or 0.04 percentage point, to 4.97 percent at 10:29 a.m. in New
York, according to bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. It was the
highest since reaching 5 percent on Aug. 15. The price of the 4
1/2 percent security due in May 2017 declined 11/32, or $3.44 per
$1,000 face amount, to 96 10/32.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UBS -Berlin state bank could be worth 8 bln euros

(Reuters) - The auction -- the first ever sale of a German savings bank in which private-sector commercial banks can bid -- is likely to put a value of up to 6 billion euros on the entire bank, sources close to the sale have said. Last week, three bidders put binding offers on the table.



On Tuesday, however, UBS analysts said the Berlin bank could be worth more if it were floated on the stock market. Factoring in the possibility of takeover interest, stock market investors might pay up to 8.1 billion euros, they said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa says will not meet union pay demand

(Reuters) - South African negotiators said on Tuesday they would not agree to a 12 percent wage increase demanded by civil servants staging an indefinite strike that has disrupted services at hospitals and schools nationwide.

Public Services and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said government had tabled a revised offer on Monday to resolve the strike which has entered its fifth day.


Read more at Reuters Africa

GM CFO says actively addressing accounting issues

(Reuters) - GM pledged to tighten its financial controls after twice
restating results and delaying its fourth-quarter report.




"We are actively addressing the issues we identified in the
annual report," GM CFO Fritz Henderson told investors at the
automaker's annual shareholder meeting in Wilmington,
Delaware.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Pare Declines After Fed Chairman Bernanke Comments on Housing

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasuries pared earlier declines
after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said a housing
slump may hurt the broader economy ``for somewhat longer than
previously expected.''

The comments brought some relief to the market after the
benchmark 10-year note's yield, moving inversely to its price,
touched a nine-month high. Stronger-than-forecast reports on
employment and business activity in the past week have prompted
some traders to bet on an interest-rate increase by the central
bank as soon as December.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Valero Energy to sell $2 bln debt in two parts

(Reuters) - The sale is expected to include a 10-year note issue and a
30-year bond issue.




The joint lead managers on the sale are Citigroup Global
Markets and JP Morgan.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Procter & Gamble stands by quarterly forecast

(Reuters) - The company, which makes products that include Gillette
razors, Pampers diapers and Tide laundry detergent, said it
should earn 64 cents to 66 cents per share this quarter.
Analysts on average expect profit of 66 cents per share,
according to Reuters Estimates.




Cincinnati-based P&G also said that it expected sales to
rise 6 percent to 7 percent in the quarter. It still expects
organic sales, which exclude mergers and the impact of foreign
exchange, to rise 5 percent to 6 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

OPEC wary on raising output

(Reuters) - OPEC would need evidence of a sustained drop in oil inventories before members decide to pump more, the group's secretary-general said on Tuesday, rebuffing calls from consumers for higher supply.

The comments from Abdullah al-Badri are the latest sign that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will not rush to open the taps. The exporter group next meets to chart policy in September.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-Baugur has 600 mln stg for investments, eyes UK

(Reuters) - By Jo Winterbottom



VENICE, Italy, June 5 - Icelandic group Baugur has about 600 million pounds -- more with partners


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.K. Natural-Gas Prices Rise on Forecast of Cooler Weather, Higher Demand

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. natural-gas prices rose after
forecasters predicted cooler weather for next week, increasing
demand for heating in homes and offices.

Gas for delivery next week at the National Balancing Point,
the U.K. trading hub, rose 3 percent to 22.4 pence a therm at
11:27 a.m. in London, according to broker ICAP Plc. That equals
$4.46 per million British thermal units. A therm is 100,000
Btus.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

White Sugar Drops in London to One-Month Low on Supply-Glut Speculation

(Bloomberg) -- White sugar dropped to the lowest in
a month in London on concern sales by producer countries are
exacerbating a surplus of the commodity.

Producer selling is fueling expectations of a global sugar
glut, Sucden (U.K.) Ltd. said in a report today. Brazil, the
world's biggest sugar producer, will have a 20.4 million-metric-
ton domestic surplus this year, according to London-based ED&F
Man Holdings Ltd. India's will be 5.5 million tons and Thailand
4.2 million tons.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Validus now sees IPO of up to $350 mln

(Reuters) - The filing did not reveal how many shares the company
planned to sell.





Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

North Sea Dated Brent Crude Advances Amid Demand for Forties Oil Grade

(Bloomberg) -- North Sea dated Brent rose on demand
for the Forties grade produced by BP Plc.

Forties is one of the three North Sea varieties that
compose dated Brent. BP's decision to mix the oil in January
with another, higher-sulfur type called Buzzard has made the
grade cheaper and more attractive to refiners.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

South African Rand May Gain on Speculation Central Bank Will Raise Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The South African rand may gain before
a central bank meeting later this week where policy makers are
expected to raise interest rates to curb inflation.

Bond investors betting the central bank will lift borrowing
costs on June 7 have pushed the spread, or yield gap, between
South Africa's 10-year securities and equivalent-maturity U.S.
Treasuries to near the widest in two months. This may strengthen
the currency by boosting the allure of rand-denominated assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Zimbabwe denies mining nationalisation plans

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe denied on Tuesday it wants to nationalise its mining sector, but said it wants mining companies operating in the mineral-rich country to have a majority local ownership.

Mines Minister Amos Midzi told a metals conference in Namibia that the country had received bad publicity regarding reports that it wanted to nationalise the key sector.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Oil Falls as Concern Eases That Oman Cyclone Will Cut Middle East Supplies

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell as concern eased that
Tropical Cyclone Gonu will reduce oil supply from Oman when it
hits the Middle East nation tomorrow.

Omani Oil production and exports are continuing
uninterrupted today as the country braces for the storm,
expected to hit the country's east coast early tomorrow, said
Abdul-Wahab bin Mohammed al-Harmi, a spokesman for state-
controlled Petroleum Development Oman.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

UPDATE 1-Japan's LDP pledges to achieve 2.5 pct econ growth

(Reuters) - The growth target, included in the LDP's campaign pledge for
this summer's upper house elections, was higher than the
government forecast of 2.0 percent real economic growth for the
current fiscal year ending in March 2008.




The ambitious target underlines the pro-growth policy of
prime minister and party head Abe, who has prioritised corporate
tax breaks and other measures aimed at boosting growth since
taking office in September last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

China shares slide more than 5 percent

(Reuters) - China's main stock index plunged more than 5 percent on Tuesday as panicking investors continued to dump stocks after last week's hike in the share trading tax.

The Shanghai Composite Index was 5.27 percent lower at 3,477.999 points in the late morning. Turnover was much lower than last week's levels, suggesting many stocks were finding few buyers even as they were marked down.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Rand weakens vs dollar eyes trends abroad

(Reuters) - The rand eased versus the dollar on Tuesday, and should keep a close eye on overseas trends after a fall in Chinese stocks weakened emerging markets the previous day, market watchers said.

The rand was at 7.1380 versus the greenback at 0700 GMT after closing in New York on Monday at 7.1340.


Read more at Reuters Africa