Putin Favors Ruble Speculators Over Oligarchs in Battle Against Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan
to keep inflation from accelerating depends on favoring foreign-
exchange traders over the country's oil and gas companies.

Putin will probably allow the central bank to double the
ruble's pace of appreciation this year because he has few options
outside the foreign exchange market to rein in consumer prices,
according to strategists at Bank of America Corp. and UBS AG.
Russia's 8.5 percent inflation rate is three times faster than
any other Group of Eight country.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European, Asian Stocks Rise on Speculation Credit Worries Were Overdone

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rebounded from a
five-day slide, while Asian shares climbed for a second day as
investors speculated declines have left global equities cheap
relative to prospects for earnings growth.

Aviva Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG led gains by
financial stocks in Europe. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the region's
second-largest drugmaker, jumped after a panel of medical
specialists said its Avandia drug should remain on the U.S.
market. Olympus Corp. and Hang Seng Bank Ltd. paced gains in Asia
after the companies reported higher earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Harris denies plans to push for UBS break-up

(Reuters) - The Sunday Times of London reported that Chicago-based
Harris had "secretly built a $1 billion stake" in UBS, which
has "faced calls from investors and analysts to split its
wealth management and investment banking divisions."




The paper did not directly say Harris was planning to
pressure UBS to split itself up. But it did say "the break-up
calls have gained support following the spectacular results of
TCI, the London hedge fund, in agitating for the break-up of
ABN Amro."


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Early CPDOs far riskier than ratings imply-UBS

(Reuters) - Last week Fitch Ratings and Dominion Bond Rating Service,
neither of which have rated CPDOs, said that the early deals
may be highly sensitive to small changes in the assumptions
underlying them. For details, see [ID:nL18292745]




"We think that early CPDOs, the ones that were introduced
last summer and fall, have a very fundamental problem with
them," said Anthony Morris, executive director in structured
products research at UBS on a conference call on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Paragon Shipping files for $201.3 mln IPO

(Reuters) - UBS Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Cantor
Fitzgerald & Co. were underwriting the IPO, the drybulk
shipping services provider told the U.S Securities and Exchange
Commission.




The company, which intends to apply for listing Class A
Common Shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol "PRGN," said it
plans to use part of its net proceeds to fund a portion of the
purchase price of three additional drybulk carriers and to
repay up to $108.3 million of debt under its existing credit
facility.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Lead Falls From Record in London as Gains Judged Overdone; Tin Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Lead fell in London after investors
judged that gains that took the metal to a record for a sixth
consecutive session were overdone. Nickel rose and tin climbed
the most in more than two months.

The gains in lead had been ``way too over-extended'' and
the metal was poised to fall, Robin Bhar, an analyst with UBS AG
in London, said today in a report. ``Despite these supply
concerns there is no actual shortage of metal in the physical
markets.''


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Pound Rally Fools Biggest Traders as Rising Bond Yields Lure Kokusai, Axa

(Bloomberg) -- Investors who listened to the world's
three biggest currency traders and bet against the pound this
year couldn't have been more wrong.

Instead of falling, the U.K. currency has risen 3.8 percent
to a 26-year high of $2.0367. Strategists at Frankfurt-based
Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG in Zurich and Citigroup Inc. of New York
predicted in December it would trade at $1.96 or lower this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CEVA plans $1.4 bln bonds for EGL purchase -lead

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns,
UBS, JP Morgan and ABN AMRO are managing the sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Stocks Rise on M&A, Earnings Optimism; Steelmaker Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose as takeovers and
speculation second-quarter earnings will exceed analysts'
estimates outweighed concern subprime mortgage losses will slow
the economy.

A gauge of steelmakers in Standard & Poor's indexes posted
its biggest gain in a month after Chaparral Steel Co. agreed to
be purchased for $4.22 billion. Yum! Brands Inc., the owner of
Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, advanced on a UBS AG upgrade
before its earnings report later today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Intel May Post Sales at High-End of Forecast, Analysts Say; Shares Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. shares climbed for a fifth
day after analysts at UBS AG and JPMorgan said the world's
biggest chipmaker may report second-quarter sales at the high-end
of the company's own forecast.

Intel may post revenue of $8.6 billion in the period ended
June, above the midpoint of the company's April forecast of $8.2
billion to $8.8 billion, according to UBS. Analysts led by Uche
Orji raised their 12-month share-price forecast by $3 to $30,
saying the stock will also get a boost as Intel expands its gross
margin, the percentage of sales left after production costs.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UBS Assents to Rohner, `Ordinary Guy' From Aarau Whose Guild Cleans Creek

(Bloomberg) -- Marcel Rohner, who replaced the
deposed Peter Wuffli as chief executive officer of UBS AG, can
thank his hometown for giving him at least one qualification for
dealing with the mess at Switzerland's largest bank.

The 42-year-old Rohner earlier this year was inducted into
the Heinerich-Wirri-Zunft zue Arau der Stadt, the all-male guild
whose biggest annual event is the cleansing of the creek, once
the city's economic engine, where a year's worth of garbage is
removed after the water is drained.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Western Mining Seeks an $815 Million Initial Public Offering in Shanghai

(Bloomberg) -- China's Western Mining Co., a
producer of zinc, nickel and copper, is seeking as much as 6.2
billion yuan ($815 million) in a Shanghai initial public
offering to expand production and buy stakes in other mines.

The company will sell as many as 460 million new shares at
12 yuan to 13.48 yuan each, Xining, Qinghai-based Western Mining
said today in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. UBS AG,
Europe's biggest bank by assets, is arranging the sale, its
first in China.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

UBS Raises West Texas, Brent Crude Oil Forecasts on Higher Refinery Demand

(Bloomberg) -- UBS AG raised its 2007 forecast for
crude oil traded in New York to $65 a barrel, from $61, as
stronger demand from refiners lowers inventories.

The bank boosted its forecast for Brent crude oil to $67 a
barrel for 2007, from $60, UBS said in a report today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Brazilian Real Weakens Versus Dollar on Futures, Options Rate Settlement

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's currency fell, reversing
earlier gains, as some investors sought to drive up the value of
the dollar ahead of today's settlement of futures and options
contracts.

The real fell 0.4 percent to 1.9290 per dollar at 2:42 p.m.
New York time after gaining as much as 0.2 percent to 1.9180 per
dollar earlier. The yield on Brazil's benchmark zero-coupon bonds
due in January 2008 fell 2 basis points, or 0.02 percentage
point, to 11.17 percent, according to Banco UBS Pactual SA.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Euro-Swedish Krona Technical Chart Shows Drop to 9.10 Is Likely, UBS Says

(Bloomberg) -- The euro may drop to a four-month low
of 9.10 Swedish krona in three weeks, according to price charts,
said Tow Keong Su, technical analyst at UBS AG in Singapore.

The currency pair is likely to fall further after breaking
below a trend line connecting the Nov. 17, 2005, high of 9.6565
and the April 3 high of 9.3827. Momentum indicators such as moving
average convergence/divergence, the relative strength index and
stochastics also suggest declines. The stokie, as Sweden's
currency is known, surged the most in five years yesterday after
the Riksbank said it will raise interest rates more than it
previously predicted this year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

JPMorgan adds HSBC banking head to sponsors group

(Reuters) - At HSBC Holdings Plc, Foussianes was head of its Americas
Global Banking group, overseeing investment banking, corporate
banking, leveraged finance and private equity. He was
previously a managing director in the M&A group at Goldman
Sachs, focusing on industrials and natural resources, according
to the memo. HSBC hired him in April 2005.




JPMorgan's sponsors group also hired James Gray from UBS,
where he was a managing director and founding member of the UBS
Financial Sponsor Group, according to the memo.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

REFILE-ING holding in ABN drops to 3.7 pct

(Reuters) - ING, along with UBS , are among the largest
shareholders in ABN, which is facing competing takeover
proposals from Barclays and a consortium led by Royal
Bank of Scotland .




Much of ING's holdings in ABN are shares that it holds on
behalf of clients, although ING legally owns the shares and can
vote with them.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold Futures Pare Gains in New York on Central Bank Sales; Silver Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Gold in New York pared earlier gains
on speculation that central banks will increase bullion sales.
Silver rose.

European central banks will probably sell all 500 metric
tons of gold allowed under an agreement that goes through Sept.
26, UBS AG said in a report today. UBS previously forecast sales
of 400 tons. Gold gained 1.5 percent on June 1, partly because
the European Central Bank, one of the signatories of the accord,
said it won't sell more gold until September.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UBS names Los Angeles investment bank office heads

(Reuters) - Stewart and Joliet succeed Jeff Raich, the bank's global
M&A co-head who announced his resignation on Friday after six
years. Raich is the latest top investment banker to leave the
Swiss bank's dealmaking ranks over the past 2-1/2 months.




UBS investment bank President Ken Moelis, also based in Los
Angeles, and former investment bank co-head Jeff McDermott
quit, both quit in March, fueling speculation that other
departures would follow amid concern the bank was reluctant to
finance some leveraged buyouts.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News