UPDATE 1-U.S. immigration reform advocates vow comeback

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 8 - Backers of a broad U.S.
immigration overhaul on Friday began efforts to revive the
stalled bipartisan package in the U.S. Senate amid partisan
bickering over who is to blame for the bill's failure.




Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who helped
lead months of painstaking negotiations that produced the
fragile compromise, said: "We are not giving up. We are not
giving in."


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US farm law overhaul may cut crop payment acres

(Reuters) - Next week, an Agriculture subcommittee is scheduled to
draft language for public nutrition programs such as food
stamps and school lunch. Public nutrition is the largest part
of Agriculture Department spending, projected to get $186
billion for fiscal 2008-12, when USDA outlays would total $280
billion.




Highlights of the bill so far:


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Visual Sciences files for $100 million mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




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GeoEye, Limelight, Quiksilver, Sirva, U.S. Steel: U.S. Equity Movers Final

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares had unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today.
Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share
prices are as of 4 p.m. New York time.

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUXL US) rose $1.08, or 7.4
percent, to $15.59. The drugmaker said it would raise $49.9
million by selling about 3.7 million shares for $14.50 a share.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Restaurant stocks poised for lackluster summer

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones restaurants and bars index , though up 1.6 percent on Friday afternoon, has dropped about 3.3 percent since hitting a lifetime high on May 22 as restaurant companies including Chili's parent Brinker International Inc. , Panera Bread Co. , Outback Steakhouse parent OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. and Applebee's International Inc. reported disappointing May same-store sales.




"The summer doldrums appear to be setting in early this year," Morgan Keegan analyst Bob Derrington said in a note this week. "High gasoline prices remain a drain on consumer spending and restaurant usage."


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Bank of America appeals "shocking" ABN ruling

(Reuters) - In its appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court, the second-largest U.S. bank contended that the Enterprise Chamber, a Dutch commercial court, overstepped its authority in freezing the acquisition so that it could put to a shareholder vote.




"The decision by the Enterprise Chamber is legally incorrect, at least incomprehensible and not supported by the grounds required by law," Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said in its 24-page appeal.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Disney ramping up push into games market: CFO

(Reuters) - "We are ramping up our investment in video games ... It is a market where there is real opportunity," Disney's CFO Tom Staggs told journalists during a briefing in London.




Part of the entertainment company's strategy centers on making sure hit products sell strongly across the business, irrespective of whether they start as a film, product or game.


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GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar races to 2-month peak, stocks up

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 8 - The dollar rallied to a
two-month high on Friday as U.S. government bonds slid, but
signs of calm following the previous session's bond market rout
helped spark a modest rebound on Wall Street.




The dollar's gains and rising yields on U.S. Treasury bonds
pushed gold, oil and other commodities sharply lower.


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Spanish Stocks Gain, Led by NH Hoteles, Inditex; Portugal's PSI-20 Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Spanish stocks advanced, ending a
four-day decline. NH Hoteles SA, Spain's second-largest
hotelier, paced the gains.

Inditex SA increased after Deutsche Bank AG lifted its
price estimate on the shares of the owner of the Zara clothing
store chain.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Global government bond yield at 6-1/2 yr highs

(Reuters) - Global government bond yields set fresh 6-1/2 year highs earlier on Friday and were on track for their biggest two-week gain in a year, according to a key measure of world borrowing costs.

Lehman Brothers' Aggregate Global Treasury index showed the yield on a global basket of government bonds hit 3.9 percent as of the close on Thursday and around the world most yields continued to rise on Friday.


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S.African bourse falls over global inflation jitters

(Reuters) - South African stocks fell on Friday on concerns of rising global and domestic inflation that investors feared could drive interest rates higher and undermine corporate profitability.

The shares were spooked by U.S. Treasury yields rising to their biggest one-day surge in three years, unnerved by concerns that interest rates around the world are heading higher.


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UnitedHealth employees to get options tax relief

(Reuters) - Eligible employees are those who under a 1998 plan received
stock options that were later determined to have an exercise
price per share deemed below fair market value.




Roughly 900 employees are eligible, the company said,
adding that it took a $5 million charge in the first quarter to
account for the cost of the tender offer.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

G8 appeals for WTO trade deal, deal seen doable

(Reuters) - G8 leaders called for a prompt conclusion to long-delayed global free trade talks on Friday and the head of the European Commission and the WTO both expressed optimism that a deal could be done.

"We ... call on all WTO members to demonstrate constructive flexibility to bring these negotiations to a prompt successful conclusion," said a statement issued by Germany in its role as president of the G8 group of industrialised countries.


Read more at Reuters Africa

McDonald's, National Semi, Nike, Qualcomm, Sempra: 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.
Share prices are as of 10:10 a.m. New York times.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR US) rose 9 cents, or 2.6
percent, to $3.57. The drugmaker said a study of its experimental
diabetes drug Zenvia showed ``significantly superior reduction of
pain compared with a placebo.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Advances to Two-Month High Versus Euro as Government Debt Declines

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar surged to a more than two-
month high versus the euro and rose against the yen as Asian
stocks fell and global government bonds dropped.

The U.S. currency strengthened as benchmark Treasury yields
rose as high as 5.25 percent. The yen fell as rising global
interest rates made it more profitable to borrow and sell
Japan's currency to purchase higher-yielding assets.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Avanir, Herley, National Semiconductor, Qualcomm: 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.
Share prices are as of 9:30 a.m. New York times.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals (AVNR US) rose 14 cents, or 4
percent, to $3.62. The drugmaker said a study of its experimental
diabetes drug Zenvia showed ``significantly superior reduction of
pain compared with a placebo.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Iraq Scholars Targeted for Murder Find Refuge With Aid From Wall Street

(Bloomberg) -- Professor Abdul Sattar Jawad fled
Baghdad the day after he saw a carload of men with machine guns
pointed at his house. He didn't want to become one of the 250
Iraqi scholars killed since 2003.

``Academics are targeted because they don't share values
with the mob, with extremists,'' said Jawad, who's 63 and
currently teaches Arabic literature at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Orkla, Alcoa seal Sapa aluminium parts venture

(Reuters) - The companies, which signalled the deal in November, agreed
to combine their aluminium profiles operations in a new global
company which will adopt the name of Orkla's existing Swedish
unit in that business, Sapa AB, the Norwegian company said in a
statement.




Profiles are extruded aluminium alloy parts used, for
instance, in construction.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Fed's Moskow says inflation still biggest risk

(Reuters) - The overnight federal funds rate that the Federal Reserve has maintained at 5.25 percent for the past year is "appropriate" for now, Moskow told CNBC Television.




Moskow is a voting member of the monetary policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year but is scheduled to retire at the end of August.


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Children's Place, Disney unit agree to settle dispute

(Reuters) - The companies also agreed to reduce the restrictions on Disney to grant direct merchandising licenses to other specialty retail store chains.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Malaysia Palm Oil Drops Most in More Than Three Years on Demand Concerns

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia palm oil prices had their
biggest drop in more than three years as rising global interest
rates fueled concern that economic growth may slow and reduce
demand for vegetable oils and other commodities.

Equities markets around the world slumped and U.S. Treasury
yields soared to the highest in almost a year on expectations
central banks will raise rates. Palm oil has fallen 11 percent
since reaching a record 2,764 ringgit ($795) a ton on June 6 amid
expectations of rising demand for food and industrial purposes.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Acorda Therapeutics prices offering at $18.50/shr

(Reuters) - Acorda intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to complete the second late stage trial of its multiple sclerosis drug, Fampridine-SR, the drug maker said in a statement.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dollar Touches Two-Month High Against Euro as Global Stock, Bonds Slump

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose against the yen and
surged to the highest in more than two months against the euro as
equities and bonds dropped.

Global stocks have slumped and U.S. Treasury yields soared
to the highest in almost a year on expectations central banks
round the world will raise interest rates. The yen and the Swiss
franc also gained as investors liquidated riskier assets funded
by borrowing in Japan and Switzerland.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 1-IMF's Rato voices concern over big mergers

(Reuters) - "Some big mergers pose risks," Rato told reporters during a
summit of G8 leaders he attended.




"I do not say mergers are not good," he said. "But I think
regulators should be careful".


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Namibia delays U.S. millionaire extradition case

(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are seeking the return of Jacob "Kobi"
Alexander, the former chief executive and founder of New
York-based software maker Comverse Technology Inc. , on
criminal charges of manipulating stock options.




Alexander has been fighting extradition to the United States
since shortly after his arrest in Namibia in September.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Qualcomm, National Semiconductor Rise

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained as
investors said the economic and earnings outlook makes shares a
good buy following this week's equities sell-off.

Qualcomm Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of mobile-
phone chips, increased in Europe after a trade agency said its
chips can continue to be sold in phone models already on the
market. National Semiconductor Corp. surged after the company
reported profit that beat analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. Pound Declines Against Dollar on Interest Rates, Bond Sell-Off

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. pound dropped against the
dollar for a third day, heading for a weekly decline, after the
Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at its monthly
meeting yesterday.

The pound fell as a global sell-off in bonds helped the
dollar appreciate against 14 of the 16 most-traded currencies. It
slumped the most in three months versus its U.S. counterpart
yesterday after the 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.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Tyco International Board, SEC Approve Spinning Off Units to Shareholders

(Bloomberg) -- Tyco International Ltd. will spin off
its health-care and electronics units to shareholders at the end
of the month after winning approval from its board and the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stockholders as of June 18 will get one share of the
health-care company, named Covidien, and one share of the
electronics unit, called Tyco Electronics, on June 29 for every
four shares of the parent they own, Bermuda-based Tyco said in a
statement yesterday. The SEC approved the company's intent to
split into three, spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Norilsk says Full-Year Profit More Than Doubles on Record Nickel Prices

(Bloomberg) -- OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, the world's
biggest producer of nickel and palladium, said full-year profit
more than doubled on record metal prices and the spinoff of gold
assets.

Net income rose to $5.97 billion, or $31.7 a share, from
$2.35 billion, or $11.7 a share, a year earlier, the Moscow-
based miner said today in a statement on its Web site. Sales
climbed 61 percent to $11.6 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Stocks Drop on Bond Yields; Anglo American, Rio Tinto Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined for a fifth
day, the longest rout in three months, after rising bond yields
weighed on equities in the U.S. and Asia.

Anglo American Plc led mining shares lower after copper
slid. BNP Paribas SA paced advancing stocks after Les Echos
reported Societe Generale SA is studying a possible bid for its
larger banking rival.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Truworths buys back 14.5 mln shares for $51 mln

(Reuters) - South African fashion retailer Truworths International Ltd has bought back 14.5 million shares for 366.6 million rand, the firm said on Friday.

The purchases took place from October 7, 2005 to June 6, 2007 at prices in a range of 18.72 to 38.13 rand, a statement said.


Read more at Reuters Africa