China Mining Resources May Raise at Least $251 Million Selling New Shares

(Bloomberg) -- China Mining Resources Group Ltd.,
which invests in natural resources, said it may raise at least
HK$1.96 billion ($251 million) selling new shares to fund the
purchase of a metal processor.

The company will sell 1.136 billion new shares at a minimum
price of HK$1.73 each to professional and institutional
investors, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange. That would be a 20 percent discount to yesterday's
closing price of HK$2.17. Morgan Stanley was appointed as the
financial adviser for the share sale, which will be conducted
via private placement, China Mining said.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Japanese Shares Rise After Mizuho Forecasts Record Profit; Nintendo Climbs

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for a third day,
with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average reaching the highest since
February. Banks led indexes higher after Mizuho Financial Group
Inc. forecast a record profit for this financial year.

Mizuho jumped by the most in more than a year. Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which forecast on May 21 profits
will climb this year, surged 4.5 percent, adding to a 5.7
percent gain yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Taiwan Dollar Near 17-Month Low on Speculation Carry Trades Will Continue

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's dollar traded near a 17-month
low on speculation investors will borrow the currency to buy
higher-yielding assets overseas.

The island's benchmark interest rate of 2.875 percent is
among the lowest in Asia, making so-called carry trades attractive.
Both the Taiwan dollar and Japanese yen dropped 2.5 percent and
2.1 percent this year, respectively, as domestic investors bought
assets overseas to get higher returns.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Babcock Infrastructure to Appeal Blocking of $2.2 Billion Northwestern Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group,
an Australian owner of ports, power cables and gas networks, said
it may challenge the rejection by a U.S. regulator of its $2.2
billion bid to acquire NorthWestern Corp.

The company is taking legal advice and is considering all
options in relation to the rejection of proposed acquisition of
the South Dakota-based utility by the Montana Public Service
Commission, Chief Executive Officer Steven Boulton said today.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Babcock Infrastructure's Northwestern Buy Rejected by Montana Regulators

(Bloomberg) -- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure
Group's $2.2 billion bid to acquire NorthWestern Corp., a South
Dakota-based utility, was rejected today by the Montana Public
Service Commission.

The Australian company, based in Sydney and known as BBI,
first announced plans to acquire NorthWestern in April 2006,
saying the utility's steady earnings would complement its
investments in ports and power cables.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

South Korean Stocks Rise, Led by Samsung Electronics and Industrial Bank

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark stock index,
the Kospi Index, rose 0.27 percent at 9:05 a.m.

The index of 732 companies traded on the Korea Exchange rose
4.39 to 1,647.27. Among the stocks in the index, 369 rose, 130
fell and 230 were unchanged.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yen May Weaken in June as Workers Invest Bonuses Overseas, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- The yen may fall as Japanese employees
invest their June bonuses overseas, said Tohru Sasaki, chief
currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo.

Japanese companies including Toyota Motor Corp., the world's
largest automaker, will probably pay about 13 trillion yen
($106.9 billion) of bonuses to their workers next month, Sasaki
estimated. The yen is the worst performer this quarter among 71
of the world's currencies, dropping 3.1 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

UPDATE 2-Medtronic profit up 10 pct as ICD sales improve

(Reuters) - CHICAGO, May 22 - Medtronic Inc. , which can save lives by shocking racing
hearts back to normal rhythm, grew 5 percent from the quarter
before, although industry sales remain softer than a year ago.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Alcan rejects takeover by Alcoa

(Reuters) - Alcan said shareholders should not tender shares to the Alcoa offer, which it said does not adequately reflect the value of Alcan's assets, strategic capabilities and growth prospects.




"Furthermore, it is clear to us that Alcan and Alcoa have fundamentally different approaches and track records in creating shareholder value. We are convinced that the proposed Alcoa-led acquisition of Alcan is not the right choice for our shareholders," Alcan's chairman, Yves Fortier, said in a release.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 2-Argentina joblessness stays below double-digits

(Reuters) - President Nestor Kirchner had announced first-quarter
unemployment of 9.7 percent in public comments nearly a month
ago.




The Economy Ministry said the measure of Argentines out of
work rises to 11.1 percent in the first quarter if those who
receive government welfare are counted as unemployed.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Pep Boys-Manny posts Q1 profit

(Reuters) - The company reported first-quarter net income of $3.2 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $867,000, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell to $546 million from $556.6 million a year ago.



For the latest quarter, analysts on average expect the company to earn 5 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $567.1 million, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Ex-subprime loan officers eye booming senior market

(Reuters) - By Walden Siew



NEW YORK, May 22 - Jobless subprime mortgage specialists are looking for employment in the booming market for loans to senior citizens, mortgage market executives said on Tuesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Alcoa CFO calls bid for Alcan fair

(Reuters) - While he was addressing the summit, Alcan announced its board had recommended shareholders reject the unsolicited $27.6 billion takeover offer. McLane declined to comment on specifics of the rejection until he could review it with fellow Alcoa executives.




For summit blog: http://summitnotebook.reuters.com/)


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Payless ShoeSource to buy Stride Rite for $800 mln

(Reuters) - The $20.50 a share offer represents a 33 percent premium
over Stride Rite's closing of $15.45 on Tuesday.




The deal is expected to add to earnings per share in fiscal
2008, the companies said in a joint statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Paulson wants faster rise in yuan

(Reuters) - "People are looking closely at the currency because ...it is a symbol for continued reform in China," Paulson said on CNBC television.




"We have been arguing that it is important that the Chinese accelerate the flexibility, the pace of appreciation of the renminbi," he added.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Shanda says quarterly net profit soars

(Reuters) - The result beat an average forecast for a profit of $36.4
million, according to the average forecast of four analysts on
Reuters Estimates.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

UPDATE 1-Medtronic profit up 10 pct as ICD sales improve

(Reuters) - Fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose to $812 million, or
70 cents a share, from $740 million, or 61 cents a share, a
year ago.




Wall Street analysts, on average, forecast 62 cents a
share, according to those polled by Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Canadian Stocks Retreat as Railroad Shares Decline; Encana Falls on Gas

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian railroad stocks fell after U.S.
Sen. Hillary Clinton said stricter rail safety regulations may be
necessary. EnCana Corp. declined on a drop in the price of oil.

Canadian National Railway Co. led a decline in industrial
stocks, falling 53 cents, or 0.9 percent, to C$59.86. TransAlta
Power LP shares gained after the company said it would consider
selling itself, lifting utility stocks and helping the Standard &
Poor's/TSX Composite Index to remain little changed at a record.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

CVS Sells $5.5 Billion of Bonds in Second-Biggest Sale of Debt This Year

(Bloomberg) -- CVS Caremark Corp. sold $5.5 billion
of debt in the second-biggest corporate bond sale of the year,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yields were at or
below what the company's bankers first proposed.

The second-largest U.S. drugstore chain split the offering
between $1.75 billion of notes due in 2010 that float at 30 basis
points more than the three-month London interbank offered rate;
$1.75 billion of 5.75 percent securities due in 2017; $1 billion
of 6.25 percent bonds due in 2027; and $1 billion of so-called
hybrid bonds due in 2062.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Oil Plunges More Than $1 on Signs U.S. Production of Gasoline Is Climbing

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil plunged more than $1 and
gasoline fell in New York on speculation that U.S. refineries
will increase production of the motor fuel to meet peak demand
during the summer driving season.

U.S. gasoline supplies rose 1.2 million barrels last week,
according to the median of responses by 17 analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg News before an Energy Department report tomorrow.
Refineries probably operated at 90 percent of capacity, up 0.5
percentage point from the week before. BP Plc shut about one
quarter of its Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, a spokesman said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Report challenges San Diego transmission project

(Reuters) - San Diego Gas & Electric Co., a subsidiary of Sempra Energy
line called the
Sunrise Powerlink from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.




The proposed line has sparked strong opposition from
environmental groups and the director of California's state
parks because it would cross the desert wilderness Anza-Borrego
Desert State Park.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

U.S. Democrats to fund Iraq war with no pullout date

(Reuters) - Senior congressional aides said a $100 billion war funding
bill the U.S. Congress is trying to finish this week will not
contain timetables for withdrawing most of the 147,000 U.S.
troops from Iraq, as anti-war Democrats had hoped.




On May 1, Bush vetoed Congress' first version of this
year's emergency war funds bill because it set an Oct. 1
deadline for starting to pull out soldiers.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Treasuries Drop, Pushing Yields to Three-Month Highs, on Economic Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell, pushing the
benchmark 10-year note's yield to a three-month high, as traders
speculated the U.S. economy is gathering momentum.

Yields strengthened as traders reduced bets on a cut in
borrowing costs by the Federal Reserve later this year. Richmond
Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said today he is still worried
about inflation.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Emerging debt trade up 4 pct 1Q to record $1.7 trillion

(Reuters) - "The rise of first quarter 2007 volume shows the ongoing
appetite for Emerging Markets debt," said David Spegel, Global
Head of Emerging Markets Strategy at ING Financial Markets LLC,
quoted in the report.




Local instrument trading accounted for $1.025 trillion, or
60 percent of the reported turnover, a 30 percent rise from
same quarter last year.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Former Monster CEO Stock Sale Suggests Takeover Unlikely, Says Goldman

(Bloomberg) -- The sale of about 1 million shares of
Monster Worldwide Inc. by the company's founder and former chief
executive officer, Andrew McKelvey, suggests a sale of the
company is unlikely, analysts at Goldman, Sachs & Co. said. The
shares fell the most in six weeks.

``While McKelvey is no longer an employee or director at
Monster and is not likely to be privy to internal company
discussions, McKelvey's decision to reduce his ownership stake
suggests that a sale of the company at a premium valuation is not
imminent,'' analyst Peter Appert wrote in a note to investors.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. FTSE 100 Index Declines, Led by Marks & Spencer, GlaxoSmithKline

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell. Marks & Spencer
Group Plc, Britain's biggest clothing retailer, led declines
after reporting earnings that missed analysts' estimates.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc dragged European drug stocks lower after
brokerages downgraded the company's shares.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

TREASURIES-Bonds hover at weaker levels, seek direction

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 22 - U.S. government bond prices
hovered at lower levels on Tuesday as investors awaited fresh
economic data to get a clearer picture of the economy and clues
on the direction of interest rates.




Treasuries, whose yields are near three-month highs, were
little moved by comments from Richmonod Federal Reserve
President Jeffrey Lacker that core inflation was still too
high. Lacker, who is not a voting member on the central bank's
policy-setting committee this year, was speaking on CNBC.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hog Futures Fall for Third Straight Day on Supplies; Cattle Futures Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Hog futures in Chicago fell for the
third-straight day as supplies of the animals exceeded demand
from meatpackers. Cattle futures also declined.

Pork processors such as Smithfield Foods Inc. killed about
1.95 million hogs last week, unchanged from a year earlier, even
though pork prices are 13 percent higher. That indicates hog
supplies are plentiful, said Rich Nelson, an analyst with
Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Illinois.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Harmony sees uranium unit IPO in 18-30 months

(Reuters) - South African gold miner Harmony Gold wants to list its uranium business, which it values at 5 to 15 billion rand, as a separate company in the next 18-30 months, its chief executive told Reuters on Tuesday.

Bernard Swanepoel said a spin-off to existing shareholders was also a possibility but he would prefer an IPO in Johannesburg with a secondary listing in Toronto.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Brent falls below $70, investors see more US gasoline

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell below $70 a barrel on Tuesday on expectations of a rise in U.S. gasoline supplies, but losses were limited by unrest in Nigeria that threatens to deepen supply outages.

London Brent, now more representative of the global market than U.S. oil, was off 74 cents at $69.75 a barrel by 1500 GMT after surging $1.07 on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UPDATE 1-China's Wu urges trade cooperation,not confrontation

(Reuters) - "Problems and contradictions emerging in the development
of China-U.S. trade and economic relations should be taken
calmly and handled properly," Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said.
"Politicizing trade and economic issues is absolutely
unacceptable since it is of no help at all but will make the
situation more complicated."




Wu spoke at the start of the U.S.-China strategic economic
dialogue, a high-level government-to-government forum aimed at
finding long-term solutions to trade and economic irritants
between the two countries.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

European Stocks Pare Earlier Advance; GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks pared gains as
GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Novartis AG declined.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was little changed at 393.42,
after rising as high as 394.62, as of 3:25 p.m. in London. The
Stoxx 50 was also little changed, and the Euro Stoxx 50, a
measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, rose 0.2 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cocoa Futures Rise in New York Amid Reports of Falling Ivory Coast Exports

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa futures in New York rose to the
highest price in a month on reports that bean exports from Ivory
Coast, the world's biggest producer, fell 17 percent last month.

Cocoa bean exports declined in April to 43,696 metric tons
from 52,521 tons in March as the main harvesting season came to
an end, according to statistics provided by the country's ports
of Abidjan and San Pedro.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Columbia University fires financial aid director

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 22 - Columbia University said on
Tuesday it has dismissed its director of financial aid after
released documents showed he promoted a student loan company in
which he had a financial stake.




The aid official, David Charlow, was fired amid an
investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is
probing abuses in the $85 billion U.S. student loan industry.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

BJ's Wholesale sticks by full-year profit forecast

(Reuters) - For its fiscal year ending Feb. 2, 2008, Forward said BJ's
still expects earnings per share of $1.60 to $1.70, while
analysts are expecting $1.65 per share.




Forward made the comments on a conference call with
analysts. Earlier in the day, BJ's said its quarterly profit
fell more than 11 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Crude Oil Falls Below $66 on Signs of Increased U.S. Gasoline Production

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil and gasoline fell on
speculation that U.S. refineries will increase production of the
motor fuel to meet peak demand during the summer driving season.

U.S. gasoline supplies rose 1.35 million barrels last week,
according to the median of responses by 14 analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg News before an Energy Department report tomorrow.
Refineries probably operated at 90 percent of capacity, up 0.5
percentage point from the week before. BP Plc shut about one
quarter of its Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, a spokesman said.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Columbia University fires financial aid director-report

(Reuters) - Columbia University officials could not immediately be
reached for comment. There was no answer Tuesday morning at a
home telephone number listed for Charlow.




Officials working with New York Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo, who is investigating the $85 billion student loan
industry, said e-mail messages and other documents provided by
Columbia were evidence that the university had failed to
supervise its financial aid program, according to the newspaper
report.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

European Stocks Advance, Paced by Deutsche Telekom and STMicroelectronics

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained as rising
metal prices lifted mining companies and investors speculated
Deutsche Telekom AG may spin off its U.S. business, stoking
expectations mergers will increase in the telephone industry.

Deutsche Telekom, the region's largest phone company, climbed
the most in three months. Tele2 AB rallied to a four-week high as
Morgan Stanley said the Swedish telecommunications provider was
the ``best restructuring story.'' STMicroelectronics NV climbed
the most in 10 months on plans to form a company with Intel Corp.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Whole Foods extends Wild Oats tender offer again

(Reuters) - In February, Whole Foods said it planned to buy smaller rival Wild Oats for $18.50 a share, or about $565 million, to compete better with other grocers selling organic and natural fare.




The deal was expected to close in April.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Computer Sciences sees Q4 earnings of $1.51-$1.61/shr

(Reuters) - The IT services company said it would delay fourth-quarter
and fiscal 2007 results due to certain accounting issues.




Analysts on average expect the company to earn $1.54 a
share, before items, on revenue of $4.1 billion, according to
Reuters Estimates.



Read more at Reuters.com Market News

American Eagle posts higher quarterly profit

(Reuters) - The company also authorized the repurchase of 23 million shares.




Read more at Reuters.com Business News

TREASURIES-Bonds trend weaker as U.S. stocks seen higher

(Reuters) - "Right now the focus is on the equity market. For a bond
guy like me what's the value of a 30 year at 4.80 percent when
I can get 4.25 percent on a blue chip company in the
stock market," said Albert Safdie global fixed income trader at
Hapoalim Securities in New York.




Growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep the
federal funds rate at 5.25 percent for some time have triggered
heavy selling in bonds, boosting Treasury yields to three-month
highs.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

CORRECTED: OSI says suitors raise offer to $3.18 billion

(Reuters) - OSI, which said in November it planned to go private in a $3.04 billion buyout, last week delayed for the second time a shareholder vote on the deal, saying it needed more time to solicit votes.




The investor group raised their offer to $41.15 per share from $40 per share.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Omniture files to sell up to 6.8 million shares

(Reuters) - Omniture estimates it will receive $121.8 million in net
proceeds from the offering, which it will use for acquisitions
and general corporate purposes.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Fremont sells property loan business for $1.9 billion

(Reuters) - Fremont shares jumped 19.5 percent to $8.50 in premarket trading.




Ford will become the bank's chairman and two other former Golden State executives, Carl Webb and Randy Staff, will be named chief executive and chief financial officer of the bank, respectively.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-AutoZone 3rd-quarter earnings rise 5 percent

(Reuters) - Net income increased to $151.6 million, or $2.17 per share,
in its fiscal third quarter ended May 5, from $144.4 million,
or $1.89 per share, a year earlier. Sales rose 4 percent to
$1.47 billion.




Analysts, on average, expected Memphis, Tennessee-based
AutoZone to report earnings of $2.15 per share on revenue of
$1.48 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

European Telephone Stocks, Deutsche Telekom Rise; Glaxo, Novartis Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European telecommunications stocks
rose, led by Deutsche Telekom AG on speculation the region's
largest phone company may spin off its U.S. business.

Deutsche Telekom gained the most in three months. Tele2 AB
rallied to a four-week high as Morgan Stanley said the Swedish
telecommunications provider was the ``best restructuring story.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Platinum Drops on Speculation Investor Demand Will Slow; Palladium Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum fell for a second day on
speculation that investor demand will slow as historical charts
signal a one-week drop will accelerate.

Platinum dropped 0.8 percent last week, the first decline
in three weeks after auto catalyst manufacturer Johnson Matthey
Plc said a surplus in the metal may grow in 2007. A close below
$1,300 an ounce will mean that platinum has ``broken short-term
support,'' said Beat Grunder, a Credit Suisse analyst.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Yuan at post-reval high ahead of US-China talks

(Reuters) - The yuan hit its fourth consecutive post-revaluation high against the dollar on Tuesday as Chinese vice premier Wu Yi prepared for key trade talks in Washington, but dealers held to expectations the currency will appreciate only gradually over the long term.

The central bank set the yuan's mid-point at a much higher 7.6551 before the opening on Tuesday, up from 7.6652 on Monday, when the bank widened the yuan's daily trading band to 0.5 percent on either side of the mid-point, up from 0.3 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Philippine Peso Rises Most in Four Years on Arroyo's Comment; Rupiah Gains

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippine peso appreciated the
most since March 2003 after President Gloria Arroyo said the
currency's strength is helping keep inflation low.

The peso gained beyond 46 to the dollar for the first time
since September 2000 as the benchmark stock index climbed to a
record. Central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said yesterday that
a strong peso helps achieve price stability.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News