Build-A-Bear, Doral, Media General, RAIT, Adoble: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names.

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE US) fell 46 cents, or 1 percent,
to $43.50 in trading yesterday after the official close of U.S.
exchanges. The world's biggest maker of design software said it
expects profit, excluding some costs, of 39 cents to 41 cents a
share in the current quarter. That compares with analysts'
estimates of 39 cents, according to a Bloomberg survey.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business - June 15

(Reuters) - * More trouble in subprime mortgages. Delinquencies and
foreclosures among homeowners with weak credit moved higher in
the first quarter, according to an industry report.




* The Bancroft family that controls Wall Street Journal
publisher Dow Jones & Co. has rejected a proposed plan
prepared by its lawyers, asking them instead to seek stronger
guarantees of editorial independence as a condition of selling
the company to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Greenspan, Gross Add to Treasury Market's Volatility With Opposing Views

(Bloomberg) -- Bill Gross, manager of the world's
largest bond fund, says U.S. housing is in such perilous shape
that the Federal Reserve may need to cut interest rates in six
to nine months.

Not so, says Alan Greenspan, the Fed Chairman who presided
over 14 straight rate increases before retiring in January 2006.
The odds are 2-to-1 that the economy will avoid a downturn, he
said last month. He said in a speech in Mexico City two days ago
that long-term interest rates are still low and may not last.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

European Government Bonds Set to Drop for Sixth Week on Outlook for Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European bonds are headed for a sixth
weekly drop, the worst performance since January, on speculation
central banks around the world will be forced to raise interest
rates more than previously expected as global growth quickens.

Benchmark European debt slumped with U.S. bond markets,
sending 10-year bund yields to the highest since August 2002.
Equivalent maturity Treasury yields climbed to 5.32 percent this
week, surpassing the Federal Reserve's target rate for overnight
loans between banks for the first time since June 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

BOJ policy board keeps rates at 0.50 pct

(Reuters) - The central bank has maintained its current monetary policy
since raising the key rate from 0.25 percent in February, which
was the first rate hike since July last year.




The central bank will release its monthly report on the
economy at 3 p.m. and Governor Toshihiko Fukui will
hold a news conference from 3:30 p.m. .


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

JGBs rebound on short-covering, market eyes BOJ

(Reuters) - Bond investors shifted their focus to the outcome of the Bank
of Japan monetary policy meeting that ends later in the session,
and were looking to remarks by BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui for
clues to the central bank's next rate hike.




The BOJ is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold at
0.5 percent this time, but is seen lifting them to a 12-year high
of 0.75 percent as early as the July-September quarter, most
likely in August.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Steel Partners raises bid price for Bull-Dog

(Reuters) - TOKYO, June 15 - U.S. fund Steel Partners has
raised its offer price for Japan's Bull-Dog Sauce to 1,700 yen
per share from 1,584 yen, it said in an advertisement in the
Nikkei business daily on Friday.




It will also extend its tender offer until Aug 10. The offer
was previously set to expire on June 28.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Australian Stocks Advance, Led by BHP, Santos on Higher Commodity Prices

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose for a second
day. BHP Billiton Ltd., Rio Tinto Group and Santos Ltd. led
resources stocks higher after prices of commodities including
copper and crude oil increased.

``Globally, economic growth looks strong enough to sustain
high levels of demand for commodities so you can expect strength
to continue in related stocks for as long as that view holds,''
said Hans Kunnen, who helps manage $107 billion at Colonial First
State Global Asset Management in Sydney.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

South Korea's Kospi Index Falls, Led by Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Heavy

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, fell 0.07 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 731 companies traded on the Korea Exchange
fell 1.18 to 1,768.00. Among the stocks in the index, 338 rose,
202 fell and 191 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UN watchdog urges proper monitoring of Iraq oil

(Reuters) - A draft audit report prepared by Ernst & Young for the
International Advisory and Monitoring Board, or IAMB, covering
oil exports sales and revenues for 2006, said previously
expressed concerns over the lack of monitoring and financial
management of Iraqi oil had not been addressed.




"The audits also noted large unreconciled differences
regarding oil extraction, production and reported export sales
because there is no overall comprehensive system of controls
over oil revenues," the IAMB said in a release posted on its
Web site www.iamb.info.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Japan's Stocks May Climb After Commodities Gain; Exporters May Rise on Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks may climb for a second
day. Trading companies including Mitsubishi Corp. may lead gains
after the price of oil had its biggest gain in a month yesterday,
while nickel rose the most in 10 weeks.

Honda Motor Co. may lead exporters higher after the yen fell
to the lowest in more than four years against the dollar, boosting
the value of their U.S. sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cleveland-Cliffs to buy metallurgical coal producer

(Reuters) - The Cleveland-based company said the deal will have minimal earnings impact in 2007 and will add about $300 million to full-year revenue.




Cleveland-Cliffs said the deal is expected to increase 2008 revenue by about $400 million and add about $100 million in EBITDA.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-U.S. senators eye private equity taxes, Blackstone

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 14 - Two U.S. senators
introduced legislation on Thursday to change the tax code for
private equity firms and said the proposed initial public
offering of private equity firm Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL]
raises "serious tax questions."




Montana Democrat Max Baucus and Iowa Republican Charles
Grassley said they introduced a bill "that would tax as
corporations all publicly traded partnerships that directly or
indirectly derive income from investment adviser or asset
management services."


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Bank of New York, Mellon see July 1 merger closing

(Reuters) - The Fed said the merger, announced last December, would not
significantly weaken competition in major markets where the
companies compete. U.S. antitrust authorities and shareholders
of both companies previously approved the merger, which still
requires U.S. state and foreign government regulatory
approvals.




Pittsburgh-based Mellon was founded in 1869, and under
financier Andrew Mellon helped finance growth in the U.S. steel
industry. Bank of New York was founded in 1784 by Alexander
Hamilton, later the first U.S. Treasury Secretary.



Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

NEXT UP-Energy costs may yet impact US core inflation

(Reuters) - Crude oil and natural gas are key raw materials used by the
chemicals industry. Prices of both these commodities, despite
having retreated from historic highs last year, have more than
doubled over the last five years.




Energy costs, along with food, are excluded from underlying
or "core" U.S. inflation measures which are closely watched by
Federal Reserve, but high crude oil and natural gas prices
could yet indirectly impact core consumer price inflation,
economists said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Stocks Rise, Led by Energy Shares; Exxon Mobil, GM, Intel Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Energy shares rallied to a record on
a surge in oil prices, carrying the U.S. stock market to its
second consecutive gain.

Exxon Mobil Corp., General Motors Corp. and Intel Corp. led
the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its best two-day jump since
July after oil climbed to a nine-month high. AT&T Corp. sent
telephone company shares to the second-biggest increase in the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index on prospects it will boost the
number of wireless subscribers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Emerging debt-Prices rise, spreads tighten in volatile market

(Reuters) - Brazil's global bond due 2040 , the most
liquid emerging market paper, rose a quarter point to be bid
130.813, after pulling back from an earlier half-point gain.




Overall emerging markets returns climbed 0.35 percent on JP
Morgan's EMBI+ index , while yield spreads over U.S.
Treasuries, an important measure of risk aversion, tightened 7
basis points to 155 basis points.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Home foreclosures rate hits record in first quarter

(Reuters) - Nevada and Arizona round out the top four states driving the rate of foreclosures, according to data from the Mortgage Banker Association. These states were the hottest real estate markets and favorites among investors during the housing market's record five-year run that ended in 2005.




Speculative buyers are leaving those once-popular markets in droves now that home prices have started to fall in areas of those states. Many were subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages which are resetting at much higher interest rates.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Credit Suisse Names Delelis as Head of Trading, Sales for North America

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group, the second-
largest Swiss bank, named Alain Delelis as head of currency
trading and sales for North America.

Delelis, 41, resigned in March as head of foreign exchange
for the Americas at Bank of America Corp. He said in an interview
today that he began work in New York on June 6.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Transcontinental profit rises despite stronger C$

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 14 - Transcontinental Inc. reported a slightly higher second-quarter profit on Thursday even as a stronger Canadian dollar and a weaker advertising market challenged the commercial printer.



Transcontinental said it earned C$34 million , or 40 Canadian cents a share, in the three months ended April 30. That was up from a profit of C$33.7 million, or 39 Canadian cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Shell, Exxon Mobil to Sell Some Assets in North Sea Because of High Costs

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the U.K.
unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. said they will sell stakes in North
Sea assets because of high operational costs.

The assets up for sale include production licenses and
infrastructure, the companies said in a joint statement sent by
e-mail today. Shell's production will be reduced by about 25,000
to 30,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent after the sale, almost
10 percent of its total output from the U.K. North Sea region.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Rate of home foreclosures hits record in 1st quarter

(Reuters) - The Mortgage Bankers Association said the rate of loans entering the foreclosure process was 0.58 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, or more than one out of 200 loans and 4 basis points higher than the previous quarter. The rate rose 17 basis points from a year ago.




The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-unit residential properties stood at 4.84 percent of all loans outstanding in the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 11 basis points from the fourth quarter and up 43 basis points from a year ago, according to the MBA's National Delinquency Survey.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

TREASURIES-Bonds ease slightly in choppy trade

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - U.S. government debt prices
eased on Thursday as investors worked to extend a recent
sell-off that has pushed benchmark yields to five-year highs.




But trade was extremely choppy, with buyers occasionally
stepping in to take advantage of the cheaper bond prices.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Amylin, Jones Soda, Kodak, Luna, Oracle, Progressive: U.S. Equity Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares are having unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Share prices are as of 11:40 a.m. New York time.

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. American depositary receipts
(ACH US), each worth 25 H-shares of the China's largest maker of
the metal, rose $2.98, or 8.4 percent, to $38.58. Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. raised its rating on the stock to ``buy'' from
``neutral'' on soaring aluminum demand and prices.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Boston Fed picks internal successor for president

(Reuters) - Rosengren, who is executive vice president of the regional
Fed bank, has worked there since 1985. He has a doctorate from
the University of Wisconsin and has been published widely in
economics journals.




He has extensive experience in banking supervision, at home
and abroad after participating in the Basel Committee's risk
management group. He also advised on Japanese banking issues
for the Harvard Institute for International Development.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Cocoa Rises Most Since March as Dry Weather May Damage West African Crops

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa in New York rose the most since
March on speculation dry weather in West Africa may harm the
crop, leaving global supply short of demand this year.

The crop harvested from May to September in Ivory Coast, the
biggest producer, may have been hurt by drier-than-normal weather
earlier this year, Meteorlogix LLC in Woburn, Massachusetts, said
in a report today. Global demand will exceed output by 238,000
metric tons in 2007 as the dry conditions cut supply, Fortis Bank
SA/NV and VM Group said in a report last month.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Bear Stearns net drops on mortgage woes, charge

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - Investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. , one of the nation's largest mortgage bond underwriters, said on Thursday quarterly earnings fell by a third as trouble in the mortgage market hurt bond trading revenue and it wrote down assets.



The results were weaker than expected, and Bear Stearns shares fell 2.5 percent in premarket trading to $145.81.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Bear mortgage list mostly "liquid" ARMs-managers

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - A $4 billion sale of mortgage
bonds on Thursday by a Bear Stearns Cos. asset manager
is likely to draw enough demand since its mostly highly rated
deals backed by adjustable-rate mortgages, analysts said.




The sale, unusually large for a single seller, isn't
expected to disrupt the bond market because it was "well
telegraphed," Jason Brady, who manages about $4 billion in
bonds at Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, said in an e-mail.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Canadian Stocks Advance on Oil, Led by Suncor, Crystallex; Financials Slip

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose, led by energy
producers including Suncor Energy Inc., as crude oil prices
advanced.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 92.12, or 0.7
percent, to 13,951.64 as of 9:48 a.m. in Toronto. The Canadian
benchmark is 1.3 percent below its June 4 record, after falling
last week on rising bond yields and concern higher global interest
rates may reduce profits and stifle takeovers.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Rises to Highest Against Yen Since 2002 as Yield Advantage Widens

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose to the highest
against the yen in more than four years as the extra yield
investors earn on Treasuries over Japanese debt widened.

Traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve will hold
borrowing costs steady this year after a government report
showed producer prices rose last month more than economists
forecast. The U.S. currency rose above 123 yen for the first
time since December 2002.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

WTI's Discount to Brent Crude Oil May Remain Until 2009, Bernstein Says

(Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate may maintain
or widen its discount to Brent oil until 2009 because of
pipeline bottlenecks in Cushing, Oklahoma, where the crude is
delivered, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said.

WTI, the grade for futures trading in New York, has been at
a discount to Brent since February and the spread reached a
record $6.54 a barrel on May 24. WTI has lagged behind because
U.S. refinery outages cut demand and there aren't the pipeline
links to export the crude to other regions, Bernstein said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

National City margins fall, says dispute easing

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - National City Corp. , a large U.S. Midwest regional bank, on Thursday said margins from lending and selling mortgages are declining, but that it has begun resolving a dispute with an insurance carrier that had caused it to boost reserves.



The eighth-largest U.S. bank said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that net interest margin fell to 3.63 percent in April and May from the first quarter's 3.69 percent. National City said declines in nonconforming mortgage and home equity run-off portfolios offset growth in its core loan portfolio. Second-quarter net interest income should fall slightly from the first quarter's $1.11 billion, it said. Cleveland-based National City also said market conditions have pushed gain-on-sale margins at its National City Mortgage unit down to 0.43 percent in April and May from 0.75 percent in the first quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Stock Futures Pare Gains After Rise in Producer Prices Tops Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures pared early
gains after wholesale inflation rose more than expected in May.

CBOT Holdings Inc., operator of the Chicago Board of Trade,
gained in German trading after the Wall Street Journal reported
that Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. plans to boost
the value of its $10 billion offer. Exxon Mobil Corp., the
largest oil producer, advanced after oil prices rose.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Rises Versus Euro, Yen as U.S. Producer Prices in May Beat Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose against the euro and
yen after a government report showed producer prices rose last
month more than economists forecast.

Traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve will hold
borrowing costs steady this year. The U.S. currency rose to the
highest against the yen since 2002 as the yield advantage of
Treasuries over Japanese government debt increased to near the
widest in almost four years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Bonds steady to lower ahead of producer price data

(Reuters) - The relatively slim move in prices marked a pause from the volatile trade of the past two weeks, when expectations of pressure from higher interest rates globally had traders slashing U.S. bond prices and pushing yields to the highest since 2002.




Although the selling has been fairly relentless, buyers did step in on Wednesday to take advantage of cheap prices despite data showing much stronger-than-expected retail sales last month.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Freddie Mac posts $211 mln net loss in 1st quarter

(Reuters) - The loss contrasts with a net gain of $2 billion the
company reported for the same period in 2006.




The company reported a net share loss of 46 cents in the
first quarter. Excluding unusual items, Freddie Mac was
expected to show a profit of $1.09 per share in the first
quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Farmer groups warn of trade talk risks to the poor

(Reuters) - Farmers from rich and poor countries warned that attempts to open up agriculture to more competition in a global trade deal would help only a few countries at the expense of subsistence farmers worldwide.

Before a meeting next week that could make or break the World Trade Organisation free trade negotiations, farmer groups from Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia said in a joint statement on Thursday that farming was not just about business.


Read more at Reuters Africa

DEALTALK-Concerns grow over risky equity bridge loans

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 14 - The recent popularity of a
risky private equity financing agreement, known as an equity
bridge loan, is raising concerns among analysts, regulators and
even the bankers who arrange them.




Equity bridge loans allow private equity firms to get
investment banks to share in the cash payment on deals. Such
loans are great for buyout firms wanting to pursue takeovers
without joining forces with competitors, but carry huge risk
and skimpy pay-offs for the investment banks.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Prisa's Cebrian Considers Changes at Pay-Television Business Sogecable

(Bloomberg) -- Promotora de Informaciones SA,
Spain's largest publicly traded media group, is considering
changes at television unit Sogecable SA because the pay-TV
division would be an attractive investment for phone companies.

``We will do something,'' Chief Executive Officer Juan Luis
Cebrian said yesterday in an interview in his office in Madrid,
where the company known as Prisa is based. ``Time will tell when
and how.'' Prisa controls Sogecable, which owns free-to-air
channel Cuatro and Spain's largest pay-TV company.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Eureko and Agis to merge Dutch health businesses

(Reuters) - Dutch unlisted Rabobank [RABN.UL], which received 37.8
percent of Eureko when it merged Rabobank's insurance unit
Interpolis with Achmea in 2005, would also buy new Eureko shares
to prevent dilution of its stake, the Eureko spokesman said.




The deal is subject to regulatory approval by the Dutch
central bank, competition authority and health care authority,
the insurers said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Merrill invests $11 mln in Indian analytics firm

(Reuters) - Investments banks have been steadily moving more number
crunching and model building jobs to cheaper markets like India,
where the country's huge population of educated young
professionals can save millions of dollars in salary costs.




The global shift is particularly pronounced in equity
research departments, although Copal is more focused on the less
competitive investment banking analytics space.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

FTSE edges higher on US sentiment; PPI data eyed

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index of Britain's leading shares edged up on Thursday on the back of the overnight rise in Asian and U.S. markets following U.S. economic data.

The Dow posted its best day since July after the data signalled strength in U.S. consumer spending and a Federal Reserve report showed no increase in wage pressures while the economy grew last month.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Orascom ends talks over Brasil Telecom stake

(Reuters) - It said, however, that it would continue to pursue
acquisitions in emerging markets.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Stocks in France Climb, Led by BNP, Vinci, Alstom; Sanofi-Aventis Slumps

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks advanced, paced by BNP
Paribas, Vinci SA and Alstom. Shares of Sanofi-Aventis SA
dropped.

The CAC 40 Index added 46.99, or 0.8 percent, to 5981.26 at
8:07 a.m. in London. The SBF 120 Index rose 0.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

European Stocks Rise on Fed Comments; Daimler, Axa, Rio Tinto Pace Gains

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced for a second
day, led by exporters and mining companies, after the Federal
Reserve said the world's largest economy is growing without
spurring inflation and copper prices increased in Asia.

DaimlerChysler AG and Axa SA led an advance by companies that
rely on the U.S. for revenue. Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-
biggest mining company, climbed. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world's
second-largest drugmaker, rose after a report about increasing
shareholder pressure to sell its consumer health-care division.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Steel Partners may buy all Aderans shares -paper

(Reuters) - An Aderans investor relations official confirmed that Steel
Partners Chairman Warren Lichtenstein and Aderans Chairman
Takayoshi Okamoto met on Wednesday.




But the official, who declined to be named, said
Lichtenstein did not tell Okamoto that he may try to acquire all
its shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News