Nexen files with U.S. SEC for $2.5 bln mixed shelf

(Reuters) - Under a shelf registration, a company may sell securities
in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and
terms to be determined at the time of sale.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Fitch cuts NovaStar's subprime servicer rating

(Reuters) - NovaStar, which put itself up for sale last month, this
month posted a big first-quarter operating loss amid tough
conditions for lenders that make home loans to people with poor
credit histories. For details, see [ID:nN10197583]




Fitch cut NovaStar's servicer rating to "RPS3-plus," from
"RPS2-minus." Servicers are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1
being the highest rating.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

IBasis says to file delinquent SEC reports in June

(Reuters) - The company expects to book additional, related charges of
$10 million to $20 million for stock-based compensation for the
period from fiscal 2000 through June 30, 2006. It will restate
its financial statements for that period in its annual report
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the
year ended Dec. 31, 2006.




Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

U.S. Stocks Rise, S&P 500, Dow Average Hit Records; Energy, Finacials Gain

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied for a third day,
breaking the 2000 record for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and
bringing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its 25th peak this
year.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil producer, rose
to an all-time high after crude prices gained. Goldman Sachs
Group Inc., the world's biggest securities firm, led financial
shares to the second-biggest contribution to the S&P 500's
advance after the Federal Reserve said economic growth will pick
up.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Cocoa Falls to Three-Week Low on Ivory Coast Rains, Start of Ghana Harvest

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa fell to a three-week low in New
York as rain improved the outlook for crops in Ivory Coast, the
world's biggest producer, and farmers in Ghana began selling
beans from a harvest that began this month.

Rain may fall over the next five days, after soaking Ivory
Coast during the weekend, said Meteorlogix LLC, based in Woburn,
Massachusetts. That may help the so-called main crop, the larger
of two annual harvests in West Africa, which starts in October.
The smaller mid-crop harvest already has begun.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

TREASURIES-Prices hold gains after release of Fed minutes

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 30 - U.S. government bond prices
remained higher on Wednesday, little affected by the Federal
Reserve's release of minutes from its May 9 policy meeting.




The view expressed at the Fed meeting was that the risk of
economic slowdown has diminished and inflation is still
"uncomfortably high," matching previous Fed pronouncements.
Because there were no surprises, the minutes had scant impact on
prices.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Wheat Surges 4.1 Percent After Rain Damages Crops in Areas of Great Plains

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat prices in Kansas City jumped
4.1 percent, the most in four months, after a government report
showed that rains in the southern Great Plains damaged crops and
slowed harvesting.

About 57 percent of the winter-wheat crop was rated good or
excellent as of May 27, compared with 59 percent a week earlier,
the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Fields from Texas
to Nebraska got as much as four times the normal amount of rain
in the past 30 days, causing plants to fall and making soil too
wet for heavy machinery.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Peruvian Stocks Slide Most in 17 Years on Copper: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- Peru's main stock index fell the most in
at least 17 years, led by miner Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde SA, on
concern that China's demand for commodities may slow.

The Lima General Index plunged 1939.44, or 9.7 percent, to
18,127.33 at 1:30 p.m. New York time. It was the sharpest fall
since Bloomberg began tracking the index in January 1990 and the
biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Blackrock Says U.S. Is Its `Favorite Market' for Inflation-Linked Debt

(Bloomberg) -- Blackrock Inc. fund manager Brian
Weinstein said the U.S. is the firm's ``favorite market'' for
inflation-linked bonds because of the likelihood rising costs
for food and fuel will push up consumer prices.

``We are nearly 100 percent in the U.S.,'' Weinstein said
in an interview at a conference on inflation-protected
securities in Frankfurt. It's ``our favorite market.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Colombia Peso Weakens on China Stock Market Concern, Government Dollar Buy

(Bloomberg) -- Colombia's peso declined, reflecting
waning investor appetite for riskier, emerging market assets
following a Chinese stock market sell-off and the Colombia
government's purchase of dollars to stem currency appreciation.

Chinese stocks fell 6.8 percent, the most in three months,
after the government tripled a tax on securities transactions to
cool a rally that more than doubled local stock prices this
year.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

U.S. Stocks Advance, Erasing Losses from China Sell-Off; Caterpillar Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced for a third day
after gains in real-estate and phone companies helped erase losses
sparked by the biggest plunge in Chinese shares since Feb. 27.

Simon Property Group, the largest U.S. real estate investment
trust, climbed after Deutsche Bank AG upgraded its shares and
seven other companies in the industry following the $13.5 billion
buyout of Archstone-Smith Trust. Caterpillar Inc., the world's
biggest maker of earthmoving machines, gained after mining
equipment maker Joy Global Inc. boosted its forecast.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Dollar Tree reports higher profit

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, had expected it to earn 37 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Sales rose 13.8 percent to $975 million. Sales at stores open at least a year -- a measure of retail strength called same-store sales -- rose 5.8 percent in the quarter.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Germany says Zoellick a good choice for World Bank

(Reuters) - Wieczorek-Zeul had strongly urged outgoing President Paul Wolfowitz to step down over the controversy surrounding a pay raise he authorized for his companion.




"It's important that the World Bank quickly gets a new president and wins back its ability to act," she added.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

S.Africa bonds, rand weaken on inflation jump

(Reuters) - South African government bonds weakened on Wednesday as worse than expected inflation data raised the chances of an interest rate hike next week, prompting heavy selling on local paper.

Yields on the most-traded issue due in 2010 increased by 12.5 basis points from Tuesday's closing levels to 8.305 percent, while those on the benchmark note due in 2015 went up by 11.5 basis points to 7.89 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Platinum Futures Are Little Changed in N.Y. Amid Dollar Gains Against Euro

(Bloomberg) -- Platinum was little changed in New
York amid expectations that recent dollar gains against the euro
will cut demand for precious metals as an alternative investment
to stocks and bonds. Palladium declined.

The dollar has gained 1.7 percent versus the euro since
touching a record low on April 27. The U.S. currency traded at
$1.3419 per euro at 8:59 a.m. in New York, from $1.3448
yesterday. Platinum, traded mostly in dollars, fell to the lowest
closing price in seven weeks yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Short Sales Break Record on NYSE, Making Market Bulls Even More Bullish

(Bloomberg) -- Short sellers are betting against
U.S. stocks like never before as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index
approaches an all-time high. That's making some of the biggest
bulls even more optimistic.

``What the short seller appears to be doing is doubling
down,'' said Kenneth Fisher, who oversees about $40 billion as
chairman of Fisher Investments in Woodside, California. ``You
love to see it, because if you believe there is a basic driver
to the bull market, they're going to get run over.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

US STOCKS-Futures point down on China stocks slide

(Reuters) - The slide in Chinese stocks followed an announcement from
China's Ministry of Finance during Monday's U.S. trading
session of an increase in a stock trading stamp duty.




A steep fall in Chinese equities in late February set off a
worldwide sell-off in stock markets. Since then, Wall Street
has surged on a wave of takeovers and share buybacks.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Hambrecht, Google exec to form rival to NFL: report

(Reuters) - Hambrecht, Google and Cuban were not immediately available to comment.




The plan is for eight teams to begin preseason games in August 2008, according to the paper. The UFL would be the latest in a series of leagues since the 1970s, including the World Football League and the United States Football League, that have failed to thrive against the NFL.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Asian Stocks Drop After China Raises Stamp Tax; Citic Securities Plunges

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for the first time
in three days after China tripled the tax on securities
transactions, causing the biggest slump in the region's best
performing equity market in three months.

Citic Securities Co. posted its biggest loss since January,
leading a plunge of 6.8 percent in the CSI 300 Index. The Chinese
benchmark has almost doubled this year, recovering from a Feb. 27
tumble that started a global rout and wiped about $3.3 trillion
off the value of equities worldwide.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stocks Sink on China Sell-Off; Honeywell, Intel Shares Lead Decline

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for the first time in
three days after China tripled the tax on equity trades, sending
shares in Asia and Europe lower and sparking concerns about
another global rout.

Honeywell International Inc., the world's largest maker of
airplane controls, led a decline among companies dependent on
China for sales. Intel Corp., the biggest maker of computer chips,
led semiconductor shares lower after an industry group cut its
forecast for global sales.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Growthpoint to buy Investec units for $196 mln

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest listed property company, Growthpoint Properties Ltd, will buy the fund management and property administration businesses of Investec Plc's property unit for 1.39 billion rand, the companies said on Wednesday.

Growthpoint will pay Investec for the purchase by issuing 87.1 million new Growthpoint linked units at 16 rand per unit.


Read more at Reuters Africa

FTSE down 1 pct on China sentiment; oils drag

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index of Britain's leading shares dipped 0.97 percent on Wednesday, taking its lead from a slump in Chinese shares overnight after China tripled a share-trading tax in a bid to reign in its red-hot market.

At 1058 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 64.3 points lower at 6,542.2, with many investors looking to the U.S. Automatic Data Processing's employment report for economic indicators at 1215 GMT for future market direction.


Read more at Reuters Africa

South Korea's Factory Production Rises the Most in Seven Months on Exports

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's industrial output rose
more than three times as much as expected in April, helped by
increased exports of chips and cars.

Manufacturing production jumped 3.1 percent from March, the
largest gain in seven months, the National Statistical Office
said today in Gwacheon, South Korea. That beat the median
estimate of 1 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of 11
economists. Output rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

OSI Restaurant same-store sales fall at 4 restaurant brands

(Reuters) - Same-store sales at its Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine
Bars rose 1.2 percent, it added.





Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Canada's Dollar Is Little Changed Near 30-Year High as Surplus Expands

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar was little
changed near a 30-year high after a government report showed the
nation's current account surplus expanded in the first quarter
to the biggest in a year.

The currency traded at 93.23 U.S. cents at 8:33 a.m. in
Toronto from 93.14 U.S. cents yesterday. It reached 93.56 U.S.
cents today, the highest since July 1977. One U.S. dollar buys
C$1.0724.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Cantor to combine eSpeed, BGC in $1.3 billion deal

(Reuters) - The deal is structured as a takeover of BGC by eSpeed, and the companies said on Wednesday that by acquiring BGC, eSpeed will be able to develop new products more effectively and benefit from a larger capital base.




"We believe that the combined company will generate greater revenue opportunities by applying technology to improve voice broker productivity, while accelerating the pipeline from voice to fully electronic trading," BGC Chief Executive Lee Amaitis said.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Gold May Fall in London on Speculation Dollar Will Gain; Silver Declines

(Bloomberg) -- Gold may fall in London on
speculation U.S. employment data will boost the dollar against
other currencies, eroding the metal's appeal as an alternative
investment. Silver declined.

The dollar may gain from speculation accelerating job
creation in the U.S. will bolster consumer spending, decreasing
the likelihood the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates.
Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions.
Bullion surged 23 percent last year while the U.S. currency lost
11.4 percent against the euro.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

South African Bonds Decline After Inflation Breaches Central Bank's Target

(Bloomberg) -- South African government bonds fell
after inflation accelerated to an annual 6.3 percent in April,
exceeding the central bank's target range for the first time in
more than three years.

The yield on the 13 percent bond due August 2010, also
known as the R153, rose to 8.2 percent, with the price at
113.19. Bond yields move inversely to prices. Against the
dollar, the rand fell 0.5 percent to 7.178 as of 11:41 a.m. in
Johannesburg.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-US mortgage applications fell last week-MBA

(Reuters) - The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally
adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ended May
25 dropped 7.3 percent to 636.4.




Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding
fees, averaged 6.32 percent, up 0.09 percentage point from the
previous week and its highest since the week ended Oct. 20,
when it stood at 6.36 percent.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Williams-Sonoma reports lower quarterly profit

(Reuters) - Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 13 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.




Sales in the quarter rose 2.7 percent to $816.1 million.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News