Asian Stocks Advance, Led by Mizuho Financial; Samsung, Exporters Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced this week after
Japanese lenders Mizuho Financial Group Inc. forecast record
earnings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said profit
will increase this business year.

``The banks are really standing out as their earnings have
fostered some confidence,'' said Hideyuki Ookoshi, who oversees
$365 million at Chiba-Gin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US Senate panel sets June 5 stock options hearing

(Reuters) - Witnesses are expected to include officials from the IRS
and the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss "the
policy reasons for continuing or ending the stock option book-
tax difference," the committee said in a statement.




The hearing comes at a time of continued controversy around
executive stock options. Scores of companies are under
investigation for allegedly manipulating option grant dates,
while corporations recently were forced to begin expensing
stock options on their income statements.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Bikoff Parlays Celebrity, Packaging, Setbacks Into a Jackpot for Glaceau

(Bloomberg) -- J. Darius Bikoff was forced to buy
bottled water for the first time in 1993, when water in his
Upper East Side New York apartment was turned off. Today, he
sold a company formed from that experience for $4.1 billion.

Bikoff couldn't see any difference between the brands, so
he created his own. Three years later, he founded Energy Brands
Inc., which agreed today to be bought by Coca-Cola Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

CKE Restaurants sues Jack in the Box over beef ads

(Reuters) - No one from Jack in the Box was immediately available to comment.




The suit was filed in federal court in Santa Ana, California.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Eurotunnel Averts Bankruptcy as Shareholders Approve Debt Reduction Plan

(Bloomberg) -- Eurotunnel averted bankruptcy as
shareholders of the operator of the rail link between France and
Britain overwhelmingly backed a debt reduction plan.

Investors agreed to exchange about 87 percent of the shares
of Eurotunnel SA and Eurotunnel Plc, the company's French and
British arms, for the stock of the reorganized company, France's
Financial Markets Authority said today on its Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

CommVault files to offer 7.5 mln common shares

(Reuters) - CommVault said the selling stockholders will grant the
underwriters an over-allotment option of up to 1.1 million
shares and the company will not get any proceeds from the sale
of shares by the selling stockholders.





Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Maryland okays BGE transition to market power rates

(Reuters) - They can do nothing and start paying market rates on June 1
or sign up to transition to market rates in three steps.




Customers choosing the three steps will pay about 18
percent below market from June-September, about 8 percent below
market from October-December and market rates beginning Jan. 1,
2008. In addition, from April 1, 2008-Dec. 31, 2009, these
customers will repay the deferred amounts.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Vimpelcom Q1 profits soar, beat forecasts

(Reuters) - MOSCOW, May 25 - Russia's No.2 mobile phone firm,
Vimpelcom rose 40 percent from the
previous quarter and 84.6 percent from the first quarter of
2006.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Rand firmer, next week's data crucial

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed slightly as the dollar slipped on softer home sales data on Friday, but next week's outlook hinged on a slew of local economic data due out from Tuesday.

At 1540 GMT the rand was trading at 7.1066 versus the dollar, about 0.54 percent firmer than its New York close of 7.1450 on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Google defends data policy after EU warning

(Reuters) - The world's top Internet search engine on Friday said it would respond by June 19 to a letter from a European Union data protection advisory group expressing concern it was keeping information on users' searches for too long.




"The concern of EU law is that a company that collects data on its customers should keep it as long as it is necessary, but not longer," Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel, told Reuters in a telephone interview.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

US RATE FUTURES-Little traction from home sales

(Reuters) - April existing home sales were an annualized 5.99 million
units, down 2.6 percent on the month and lower than expected.
Sales were the lowest since June 2003.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-American Physicians Service Group to offer 2.3 mln shrs

(Reuters) - The company will offer 2 million shares, while its Chief
Executive Kenneth Shifrin will sell 300,000 shares, about half
the number of shares he currently owns, it said in a statement.




The insurer intends to contribute about $10 million of the
net proceeds to American Physicians Insurance Co., its recently
acquired medical professional liability insurance company, to
strengthen its capacity to underwrite insurance risks.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Dasa, Petrobras, Sadia, Telemar and Vale do Rio Doce: Brazil Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index gained for the
first time in four days, led by mining company Cia. Vale do Rio
Doce.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange rose 446.64, or 0.9 percent, to 50,977.29 as of 9:40 a.m.
New York time.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

ITV surges on talk of BSkyB selling stake: traders

(Reuters) - BSkyB was up 0.6 percent.




Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

European Construction Stocks Drop, Led by Bouygues and CRH; OMX Advances

(Bloomberg) -- European construction stocks slid, led
by Bouygues SA and CRH Plc on concern that accelerating growth in
Europe will keep interest rates rising.

OMX AB had its biggest rally in 4 1/2 years after Nasdaq
Stock Market Inc. agreed to buy Europe's fifth-largest equity
market. Carrefour SA jumped on speculation that Colony Capital
and French billionaire Bernard Arnault may increase their stake.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Nasdaq CEO sees further role in consolidation

(Reuters) - "We certainly expect to participate in the global consolidation in the years to come," Greifeld said during a conference call after announcing the deal.



He said the move would put the company at the center of global integration talks.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Tribune holders tender more shares than expected

(Reuters) - Tribune had earlier said it would repurchase 126 million shares, representing more than half its outstanding shares, at $34 a share, or about $4.3 billion.




As more than 126 million shares have been tendered, Tribune said it will purchase shares on a pro rata basis.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-GeoVera sees IPO pricing at $16-$18 a share

(Reuters) - GeoVera plans to sell 2.1 million shares, while a
shareholder will offer the remaining 3.8 million shares, the
Bermuda-based company said in an amended filing with the U.S
Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.




The underwriters are granted an option to purchase another
885,000 shares to cover over-allotments, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Gold Rises as Weaker Dollar, Higher Oil May Spur Demand; Silver Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold rose in London as higher energy
costs and a drop in the value of the dollar may revive investor
demand for the precious metal. Silver gained.

Gold has climbed 2.9 percent this year as the dollar dropped
against the euro and crude oil prices gained. Gold erased most of
today's earlier gain that was triggered by reports that North
Korea fired several missiles toward the Sea of Japan.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Vimpelcom Q1 net profit $277.3 mln, beats expectations

(Reuters) - Revenues amounted to $1.488 billion, compared with $1.45
billion in the fourth quarter of last year and above an average
analysts' forecast of $1.46 billion.




Operating income before depreciation and amortisation
rose to $766.4 million from $689.8 million, while
analysts had expected it to be $719.3 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Japan govt panel members call for cost cuts

(Reuters) - The proposal would lay the groundwork for discussions on the
government's economic policy outline for this year, which kicked
off on Friday.




The economic policy outline for 2007, which would be the
first policy guideline for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, would then
act as a basis of debate on the fiscal 2008/09 budget that
begins this summer.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Drop, Led by Bouygues, Gas Natural; OMX Shares Surge

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks dropped for a second
day after higher than forecast economic growth in the U.K. and an
increase in German consumer confidence fueled concern central
banks will lift interest rates.

Bouygues SA, the world's second-biggest construction
company, and Gas Natural SDG SA, Spain's largest natural-gas
supplier, paced declines by those most sensitive to higher
borrowing costs. OMX AB had the biggest rally in more than four
years after Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. agreed to buy Europe's
fifth-largest equity market.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Emission Permits Rise to Highest Since May 26, Lifted byAnalyst Forecasts

(Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon-dioxide permits
for 2008 rose to their highest in almost a year after analysts
forecast further gains.

Emissions permits for delivery in December 2008 gained 45
cents, or 1.9 percent, to trade at 23.70 euros ($31.84) a metric
ton at 10:07 a.m. in Amsterdam, according to prices from the
European Climate Exchange. That's the highest since May 26 last
year.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Dollar Set for Weekly Gain as Fed Interest-Rate Cut Expectations Diminish

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar headed for a fourth weekly
gain against the euro as signs of a recovery in the U.S. housing
market prompted traders to scale back expectations the Federal
Reserve will reduce interest rates.

The U.S. currency is poised for the longest stretch of weekly
gains in 15 months after a report showed new-home sales increased
the most in 14 years. Industry figures today will probably show
sales of previously owned homes held steady last month, after
slumping by the most in 18 years in April, according to a
Bloomberg survey of economists.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.K. FTSE 100 Falls, Paced by Mitchells & Butlers, BHP and Rio Tinto

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell led by Mitchells &
Butlers Plc fell after Deutsche Bank AG lowered its
recommendation for the pub owner. Experian Group Plc and Royal &
Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc paced advancing shares.

BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group slipped as copper
prices retreated in Asia. EMI Group Plc rose on the broader FTSE
All-Share Index.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Munich Re, Fairfax, Abbey National Plan to Sell Debt: European Bond Alert

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of bond sales
denominated in euros or pounds and expected in the coming days
and weeks.

Investment-Grade Sales


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

German Consumer Confidence Rises More Than Estimated to a Five-Month High

(Bloomberg) -- German consumer confidence rose to a
five-month high as the economic outlook brightened and households
raised their income expectations.

GfK AG's confidence index for June, based on a survey of
about 2,000 people, rose to 7.3 from a revised 5.7 in May, the
Nuremberg-based market-research company said today. Economists
expected a reading of 6, according to the median of 23 forecasts
in a Bloomberg News survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Rand softer, volatile session expected

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand softened slightly against the dollar on Friday and traders said the currency was in for a volatile session as investors square their positions before long weekends in Britain and U.S.

The rand was trading at 7.1390 against the dollar at 0630 GMT, softer than its New York close of 7.1450 on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters Africa