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

European Stocks Rise, Paced by Aviva, UBS, GlaxoSmithKline, BHP Billiton

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced for the
first time in six days on speculation shares have become cheap
relative to prospects for earnings growth.

Aviva Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG led financial stocks
higher. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the region's second-largest
drugmaker, rose after a panel of medical specialists said its
Avandia drug should remain on the U.S. market. BHP Billiton Ltd.
and Rio Tinto Group gained on higher copper prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks 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

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

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

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