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