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