Friday, May 11, 2007

TREASURIES-Bonds fall as stocks jump extinguishes rally

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 11 - U.S. government bond prices slid on Friday, reversing early gains as stocks climbed on easing inflation concerns, which sparked investor hopes of earlier rate cuts by the Federal Reserve than had been expected.

Investors' demand for stocks and other riskier assets undermined appetite for safe-haven Treasuries, analysts said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Retail sales drop, inflation muted

(Reuters) - A Commerce Department report on Friday showed sales by U.S. retailers fell 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted $372.03 billion last month, hurt by a one-two punch of soaring gasoline prices and a slumping housing market.

But separately, the Labor Department said that while costlier energy pushed producer prices up 0.7 percent in April, the so-called core rate that strips out food and energy costs was unchanged from March.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Crude Oil Rises on Concern Gasoline Supplies May Be Insufficient in U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose on concern that motor- fuel supplies may be disrupted this summer because of repairs at U.S. refineries and reduced oil output in Africa.

Repairs were announced yesterday at refineries in Texas and Delaware, curbing gasoline production. U.S. gasoline demand peaks during the summer driving season, which starts with the Memorial Day holiday at the end of this month. Total SA shut an oil field in the Republic of Congo after a fire yesterday. Nigerian output has been slashed over the past year because of attacks.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

DBS Group Sells $2 Billion of Bonds, Marking Asia's Largest Bank-Debt Sale

(Bloomberg) -- DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest bank, raised $2 billion in its biggest sale of bonds as loans to customers increase.

Singapore-based DBS issued $1.5 billion of floating-rate notes and $500 million variable-rate securities maturing in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The size of the offering was increased from a planned $1.75 billion, based on an e-mail sent to investors today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Movie Gallery posts loss, sending shares lower

(Reuters) - Excluding a 58 cent per share charge to write off unamortized deferred financing fees related to Movie Gallery's senior credit facility, the company earned 11 cents per share.

Analysts on average had been expecting a profit of 53 cents a share, excluding items, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Global junk bond default rate rises in April - S&P

(Reuters) - S&P has frequently warned, however, that defaults may rise more sharply in future years because of a raft of issuance of very low rated bonds. In April, 48.7 percent of new junk bonds were rated in the highly speculative ranges of "B-minus" or lower, up from 44.4 percent in March, S&P said.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Pound Logs Biggest Weekly Drop in 2-Months as Rate Path Matches Forecasts

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound logged its biggest weekly drop against the dollar for two months after the Bank of England matched economists forecasts yesterday by raising interest rates a quarter-point.

The pound also fell for a third week on speculation its recent gain to around the $2 mark already reflects expectations for further rate increases. All 61 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast policy makers would lift the Bank Rate to 5.5 percent yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Rand firms on US data

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand gained about one percent versus the dollar on Friday, as the greenback softened after U.S. data pointing to a slowing economy reinforced the view that interest rates may be cut.

U.S. data showed that retail sales fell 0.2 percent in April while producer prices grew at a softer-than-expected 0.7 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Fiat May Soon Get Higher Credit Ratings on New Car Sales Boost, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Fiat SpA, Italy's biggest manufacturer, may have its credit ratings lifted in the ``nearer-term'' as new car models help boost sales, Standard & Poor's said.

The ratings firm ranks Turin-based Fiat's debt BB, two levels below investment grade, and raised its outlook on the company's credit rating to ``positive'' in January.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Nasdaq Stock Quotes Were Disrupted for 23 Minutes by Network Malfunction

(Bloomberg) -- The Nasdaq Stock Market said the system that shuttles quotes between the exchange and brokerages experienced a 23-minute malfunction that prevented some stock prices from updating.

The malfunction in the so-called Unlisted Trading Privilege/Securities Information Processor began at 9:17 a.m. in New York, said Nasdaq spokeswoman Bethany Sherman. It was fixed by 9:40 a.m.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Crude Oil Is Little Changed Amid Concern Gasoline Supply Is Insufficient

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed amid concern that motor-fuel supplies may be disrupted this summer because of repairs at U.S. refineries and reduced oil output in Africa.

Repairs were announced yesterday at refineries in Texas and Delaware, curbing gasoline production. U.S. gasoline demand peaks during the summer driving season, which starts with the Memorial Day holiday at the end of this month. Total SA shut an oil field in the Republic of Congo after a fire yesterday. Nigerian output has been slashed over the past year because of militant attacks.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Drax halts buying of S.African/Russian coal from '08

(Reuters) - The UK's Drax Power, operator of Britain's largest coal-fired power plant, has halted buying of South African and Russian coal from January 2008 in order to stay within the emission limits imposed from that date.

Under the EU Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD), all European power generators or large industrial entities must stay within individually-set limits for emissions of CO2, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.


Read more at Reuters Africa

CME sweetens bid for CBOT

(Reuters) - CME and CBOT are the No. 1 and No. 2 U.S. futures exchanges, respectively.

Friday's new terms, carved out in a marathon session over the past few days, was made to beat back a challenge for CBOT from the upstart energy mart known as ICE.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CBOT jumps on sweetened CME offer

(Reuters) - Shares of the CME rose more than 6 percent to $530 before the bell. IntercontinentalExchange's shares climbed more than 2 percent to $138.48.




Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

TREASURIES-Bonds rise on weak retail sales, core PPI

(Reuters) - However, the gains were tempered by a recovery in stock futures. The signs of moderating inflation boosted sentiment on Wall Street, which saw its sharpest one-session fall in two months on Thursday.

Also damping bond market gains, investors were reluctant to bet on near-term interest rate cuts and instead were positioning for slightly greater chances of easing later in the year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Chicago Merc raises CBOT takeover bid

(Reuters) - Under the new terms, CME would pay 0.35 Class A share for each CBOT share, an increase of 16 percent from the original merger agreement. CBOT shareholders would own 34.6 percent of the combined company, up from 31.2 percent, and have greater board representation.

The companies said the merged company would acquire up to $3.5 billion of its stock, or 12 percent of the outstanding shares, at $560 a share after the merger in a cash tender offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

US STOCKS-Futures point higher as PPI, retail data eyed

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 11 - U.S. stock index futures suggested Wall Street could rebound on Friday from its sharpest one-session drop in two months, but inflation data will likely set the tone of trading.

Stocks took a tumble Thursday after disappointing monthly sales figures from chain retailers and a wider-than-expected U.S. trade deficit fanned fears about the economy's strength.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News