Disney announces details of ABC Radio spin-off

(Reuters) - ABC Radio Holdings then will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of Citadel. Citadel will exchange one share of its stock for each share of ABC Radio Holdings, Disney said.




The transaction does not include Disney's ESPN Radio or its Radio Disney operations.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Disney announces details of ABC Radio spin-off

(Reuters) - Disney plans to transfer the radio business, including 22
large-market radio stations and the ABC Radio Network, to a
wholly owned subsidiary called ABC Radio Holdings Inc. and to
distribute stock in the new company to its shareholders.




ABC Radio Holdings then will merge with a wholly owned
subsidiary of Citadel. Citadel will exchange one share of its
stock for each share of ABC Radio Holdings, Disney said.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Aeroflex agrees to Veritas $1.1 bln deal

(Reuters) - That breaks up a deal Aeroflex agreed in March to be bought
by private equity firms General Atlantic and Francisco Partners
for $13.50 per share, or about $1 billion overall.




In April, the company got a rival bid from Veritas,
offering shareholders a cash dividend of $14 a share and the
opportunity to take a total stake of up to 21.2 percent of the
restructured company. Veritas in May increased that offer to
$14.50 cash.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Watchdog puts back Scor offer period for Converium

(Reuters) - ZURICH, May 25 - The Swiss Takeover Board said on Friday that the start of Scor's .


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Moody's may cut Coca-Cola on Glaceau acquisition

(Reuters) - "Moody's review will focus on the financial impact of the
debt-funded acquisition on the financial metrics of The
Coca-Cola system, the sustainability of the rapid growth of the
target business, and the opportunities for revenue and costs
synergies that might enhance growth rates and profitability for
the system over all," Moody's said in a statement.




"Leverage on an aggregated system basis is expected to rise
in 2007 as a result of this large acquisition as well as
several smaller bottler acquisitions that have occurred
recently, and the intent of the company to restore financial
metrics quickly will be a key consideration in the review," the
ratings agency added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

RBS consortium set for ABN bid on Tuesday: sources

(Reuters) - Analysts had said earlier they expect the trio to either launch a formal offer or ask for an extension of their period of consideration until a legal wrangle is clarified.




Several analysts said they expected the consortium to make a formal offer on Tuesday. Although the consortium may prefer to get more details on legal issues, stock market authorities are likely to apply pressure for more clarity, one said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Verigy shares jump on strong 3rd-qarter outlook

(Reuters) - "While memory orders could weaken in the second half of calendar 2007, Verigy's results and guidance remain outstanding, with its earnings potential over the full cycle significantly exceeding our original expectations," Goldman Sachs analyst James Covello wrote in a note to clients.




Covello almost doubled his calendar 2007 earnings outlook on Verigy citing higher sales and margins.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Bovespa Rises, Led by Vale, After Brazil Selloff Leaves Prices Attractive

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's main stock index rose for the
first time in four days after shares price declines alleviated
concern that stocks had become too expensive.

The Bovespa Index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo
exchange climbed 808.74, or 1.6 percent, to 51,339.39, led by
mining company Cia. Vale do Rio Doce. The index fell 3.6 percent in
the previous three sessions and is heading for its first weekly
decline in a month.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Canada 2006-07 budget surplus grows from year ago

(Reuters) - The budget surplus totaled C$13.68 billion
from April 2006 through March 2007, up from C$11.98 billion the
year before.




But the Finance Department said the figures do not reflect
C$4 billion in spending announced in the latest budget in
March, which reduce the surplus to C$9.7 billion. That is still
slightly higher than the C$9.2 billion projected.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Archstone-Smith Trust, Agilysys, Nordson, Iomai, Komag: 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 10:10 a.m. New York time.

Agilysys Inc. (AGYS US) rose $1.88, or 8.8 percent, to
$23.19 and traded as high as $23.85. The vendor of computer
software and hardware to Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Venetian
Casino Resort LLC will buy closely held Innovativ Systems Design
Inc. for $100 million to gain more server and storage products.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Fed to study mortgage lending rules

(Reuters) - "With respect to the recent problems in the subprime
mortgage market, the Board plans to consider how it might
further use its rulemaking authority ... to address particular
lending practices," Bernanke said in a May 18 letter to Senate
Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut
Democrat.




Dodd's office released the letter.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Existing home sales fell 2.6 pct in April

(Reuters) - The inventory of homes for sale grew 10.4 percent to 4.2 million units, which represents an 8.4 months' supply at the current sales pace.




Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to rise to a 6.14 million-unit pace from the 6.12 million-unit rate initially reported for March. The March sales pace was revised to 6.15 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Railroads Feel Profit Pinch as U.S. Automakers Trim Output, Shift Plants

(Bloomberg) -- Norfolk Southern Corp. trains rumble
to and from Ford Motor Co.'s factory in Norfolk, Virginia,
delivering fenders, frames, axles and engines and then hauling
off finished F-150 pickups. That's about to change.

When Ford shuts the plant in June and moves production to
Dearborn, Michigan, trucks will fetch parts from suppliers
nearby. Only completed pickups will travel on Norfolk Southern
trains.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Nymex Gasoline Price Increases on Speculation Summer Inventory to Be Low

(Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures gained for a third
day in New York as refinery disruptions raised speculation that
supplies will stay low during the peak-demand summer season.

Valero Energy Corp. said yesterday it shut a fluid
catalytic cracking unit for maintenance at its McKee refinery
near Sunray, Texas. ConocoPhillips said its Belle Chasse,
Louisiana, refinery was shut after a power failure. A government
report this week showed that U.S. gasoline supplies were 7
percent below the five-year average.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Yuan's Level Isn't the Cause of the U.S. Trade Deficit With China, Wu SayB

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan isn't the cause of the U.S.
trade deficit and a ``large'' appreciation would hurt China's
economy, Vice Premier Wu Yi said, signaling the nation won't
cave in to demands for faster gains.

``China will continue to reform its exchange rate on its
own initiative, gradually,'' Wu said at a dinner in Washington
after two days of talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson that yielded no agreements on the currency and failed to
quell calls in Congress for sanctions against China.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Canada's Dollar Near 30-Year High as Prices of Commodity Exports Advance

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar was little changed
near a 30-year high as the prices of nation's commodity exports
advanced.

The Canadian dollar traded at 92.29 U.S. cents at 8:05 a.m.
Toronto time, from 92.27 U.S. cents yesterday, when the currency
reached the highest since Oct. 3, 1977. One U.S. dollar buys
C$1.0837.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Aecon, LionOre Mining, Nortel Networks, Royal Bank: Canada Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets.
This preview includes news that broke after markets closed. Symbols
are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last
close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index fell 196.24, or 1.4
percent, to 13,946.27.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

FACTBOX-Nasdaq takeover target OMX

(Reuters) -




OVERVIEW:


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Ex-EMI boss says interested in a bid

(Reuters) - "Jim Fifield therefore wishes to confirm that he remains interested in potentially making an offer for EMI," the statement said. "There is no certainty that an offer will be made or as to the terms on which any offer might be made."




The New York Post reported on its Web site earlier this week that Fifield and Corvus wanted to make an offer for the group at 278 pence a share.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Platinum Gains in London Before South African Wage Talks; Palladium Rises

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum climbed from a four-week low
in London as next month's wage talks heightened speculation that
strikes will disrupt supplies from South Africa, the world's
biggest producer. Palladium gained.

Anglo Platinum Ltd., the world's largest platinum producer,
along with smaller rivals Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and
Lonmin Plc may be asked to pay workers as much as 18 percent more
during wage talks in June. Prices have climbed 13 percent this
year after strikes in South Africa and export delays in Russia.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Copper bounces, but prospects seen weak

(Reuters) - Copper prices bounced on Friday helped by a fall in inventories, but analysts think the overall trend of rising stocks is intact and that lower demand over coming months could pressure prices down further.

Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange was by 0939 GMT at $7,065/7,085 from $7,000 at the close on Thursday, when it fell to an eight-week low of $6,952.


Read more at Reuters Africa

UBS to Sell Julius Baer Stake Worth $3.3 Billion to Fund Share Buyback

(Bloomberg) -- UBS AG, the world's biggest money
manager, plans to sell its 4.1 billion-Swiss franc ($3.3 billion)
stake in Julius Baer Holding AG and use the proceeds to buy back
shares.

UBS obtained the 20.7 percent holding when it sold three
private banks and an asset management unit to Julius Baer in
December 2005. An agreement preventing it from disposing of the
stake expires at the end of the day, Zurich-based UBS said in a
statement today.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

India's ICICI Bank Hires 3 Banks for $500 Million Bond Sale, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- ICICI Bank Ltd., India's biggest
lender to consumers, hired three banks to arrange a $500 million
bond sale to boost its capital, according to three people
familiar with the transaction.

The Mumbai-based lender hired Citigroup Inc., Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. for the sale of
the three-year bonds, according to the people. The funds will be
used to expand its U.K. unit, which lends to overseas Indians,
the people said. Charudatta Deshpande, spokesman for ICICI Bank,
declined to comment.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Asian Currencies: Taiwan Dollar Rises as Central Bank May Buy: Peso Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's dollar had the strongest
close in almost three weeks on speculation the central bank will
buy the currency to stem losses after it reached a 17-month low
this week.

The currency posted its biggest weekly gain since the five
days ended Dec. 1 after the Economic Daily News, citing
unidentified traders, today said the central bank is stepping up
oversight of overseas mutual funds to slow the Taiwan dollar's
decline. A weaker currency adds to inflation by making imported
goods more expensive.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Former EMI boss Fifield says interested in a bid

(Reuters) - "There is no certainty that an offer will be made or as to
the terms on which any offer might be made," he said.




Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Swiss SMI Benchmark Index Declines, Led by Syngenta, Givaudan Shares

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks dropped, led by Syngenta
AG, a supplier of pesticides and genetically modified seeds, and
Givaudan SA, the world's biggest maker of fragrances and flavors.

The Swiss Market Index of the 24 largest and most actively
traded companies fell 27.66, or 0.3 percent, to 9329.36 at 9:39
a.m. in Zurich. The broader Swiss Performance Index retreated
22.47, or 0.3 percent, to 7591.94.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.K. FTSE 100 Falls, Paced by Anglo American, Vedanta Resources

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks dropped, paced by Anglo
American Plc and Vedanta Resources Plc. Shares of Mitchells &
Butlers Plc fell.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 27.2 or 0.4 percent, to
6538.2 in London at 8:04 a.m. The FTSE All-Share Index retreated
25.71, or 0.8 percent, to 3414.67. Ireland's ISEQ Index slid 8.48
to 9911.55.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Japan's 5-Year Government Notes Set for Biggest Weekly Loss Since December

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's five-year notes headed for
the biggest weekly drop since December on speculation signs of
faster growth in the U.S. will help the Bank of Japan build the
case for raising interest rates.

Debt declined after U.S. reports showing unexpected gains
in new homes sales and consumer confidence tempered concern
exports from Japan will slow. Yields on two-year notes rose to
the highest since June 1997 after Jiji Press reported this week
that Bank of Japan policy board member Atsushi Mizuno said
policy makers may be in a better position to judge the state of
the economy in July.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News