Cantor Morning News | Morning @ Cantor

· US Stock Futures, SPs up 4 off highs … Risk appetite that started on Wednesday during the NY morning carried its momentum into Asia and Europe; G20 Draft highlights the need for caution

· Rates move slightly higher today

· The ADP survey for May could well offer a more accurate picture of the employment situation

· S&P big technical level to watch today… 1105 futures 200 day MA – in focus

· Fed speak today:

o 7:30 (US) Fed's Lockhart on US outlook

o 12:15 (US) Fed's Rosengren speaks on financial crisis

o 1115 US Fed Chmn Bernanke speaks on 'Addressing the Financing Needs

o Dallas Fed Pres Fisher speaks

· Dollar, yen falling today ..oil up on weak dollar, copper and gold dn

· Spot gold was down $2 yesterday..this morning, spot gold is down $4 to $1219.50

· Europe up 2% is propelled higher by downtrodden financial and energy stocks… Today's PMI data from the eurozone is supportive

o The opening gains were led by resources related companies, automakers, and companies that reported figures, including Valeo, King Fisher and Air France

o EU: Energy stocks and oil majors are staging a comeback with BP +2%, Cairn Energy +2.5%, while Vedanta +3.7% and Xstrata +4.3%

o Spreads on European corporate credit default swap indexes moved sharply tighter in early trading Thursday

· EUR/USD moves neg at 7am – at 1.2246…overnight managed to regain a foothold above 1.23 for the early part of the session but some of the euphoria has waned ahead of the NY morning following poor Euro Zone Retail Sales data for April. USD/JPY tested its best level since May 18th as it move above 92.7

· G-20 Draft Warns Of Fragile Recovery, Urges Action On Deficits… The draft of the statement to be completed by G-20 finance ministers and central bankers when they meet Friday and Saturday in Busan, South Korea, DJ

· Asian Markets mixed: Nikkei +3.24%; Hang Seng +1.62%; Shanghai Composite (0.73%)

o Nikkei has strongest rally of 2010! Nikkei added 310.95 points, or 3.2%, to 9914.19 - closed at its highest level since May 20.

o The Shanghai Composite Index lost 18.77, or 0.7 percent, to close at 2,552.66, the lowest since April 2009 and erasing an earlier 1 percent gain.. on concern banks’ fundraising and government efforts to curb property speculation will hurt - BBG

· China's shares ended lower Thursday because of a newspaper report inflation picked up in May and comments by a government think tank researcher that economic growth will slow in coming quarters from the first three months of the year. DJ

· FX: The South Korean won registered the biggest gain against the U.S. dollar among 16 major currencies today, strengthening 2.42 percent

· Crude Rises On Bullish Economic Bias, Weak Dollar

o Crude-oil futures rose in Asian trading hours Thursday on the back of market expectations that weekly inventory data due later in the day will show a drawdown of U.S. stocks – DJ

· Jobs data in focus to end the week

o Monster Employment Index Rises, Year-Over-Year Growth Rate Now 14 %

o Year-over-year growth rate climbs for the fourth consecutive month, and is now 14 percent (16 points)

· US Debt Tops $13 Trillion For First Time (AFP)--U.S. debt has reached $13 trillion for the first time in history, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, stoking a political furor over government spending.

· EU Fear trade: Deposit Facility Parked At ECB Hits New High Wednesday

o Nervous European banks have parked just over EUR320 billion at the European Central Bank's overnight deposit facility, a new record that reflects heightened loan-loss and default fears spreading through the banking system

o ECB data Thursday gave more evidence of steady increases in the funds that banks would rather store at the ECB than loan to other banks at higher rates available in the interbank money market, in which banks loan short-term funds to each other to help fund regular operations. DJ

· Italy next sovereign disaster? WSJ

o The euro-zone bailout slowed the Greek meltdown. But it may simply have moved the pain elsewhere and unwittingly painted a bull's-eye on a much bigger target: Italy

o The yield spread between 10-year Italian and German government bonds widened to 1.58 percentage points on Wednesday, wider than before the 750 billion euro ($917.7 billion) euro-zone rescue plan was unveiled. Credit-default swaps on Italian government debt are now at a record

· ECB Bond-Buying Program Fails to Produce ‘Momentum,’ Nomura Says - BBG

o The European Central Bank’s purchases of the region’s government bonds is failing to entice other buyers into the market, Nomura International Plc said.

o “Prospects for country spreads now look to be almost entirely dependent on central-bank purchase operations and there appears to be little buying interest elsewhere

· The Greek government announced long-delayed plans Wednesday to privatize state-owned companies as part of its attempt to fix the country's public finances. WSJ

· exit strategies: Canada Fin Min Flaherty reiterated the view that the global economic recovery was fragile but added that the time was approaching for G20 nation members to implement exit strategies - TTN

· China caution: A senior government think tank researcher said the Chinese economy is facing downside risks due to uncertainties over the euro zone's debt crisis and Beijing's recent tightening measures, the state-run China Daily reported

· China inflation: state Information Center economist Zhu Baoliang as saying China's consumer price index likely rose around 3.0% from a year earlier in May because of a low comparison base. The CPI increased 2.8% in April. Shanghai Securities News

· Australia inflation: Fair Work Australia Hikes Minimum Wage, Angers Business

o Australia's new independent workplace relations tribunal Fair Work Australia said Thursday it will raise the country's minimum wage by A$26 to A$569.90 a week from July 1.

o It also alerts the Reserve Bank of Australia to potential wage pressures – DJ

· inflation: Honda's China Strike A Lesson For Japanese Exporters - AFP

o After an unprecedented strike logjammed Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC) China production line, Japanese firms in the country might need to redraw their plans in a growing market that has emboldened low-wage workers, analysts say.

· IMF Strauss-Kahn: Global Recovery Underway But Fragile –Yonhap

o before attending a Group of 20 meeting to be held in Busan, South Korea, on Friday and Saturday.

· Global rates: South Korean rates: IMF Strauss-Kahn also reportedly said it's time for South Korean authorities to begin raising interest rates, given the country's strong rebound from the economic downturn. DJ

· Global rates: Indonesia’s central bank, kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low for a 10th month, judging inflation isn’t yet a threat as Asia weighs the risk from Europe’s debt turmoil. Bank Indonesia left its policy rate unchanged at 6.5 percent, it said in a statement in Jakarta today. The decision was predicted by all 25 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

· China vs US heats up? Yuan back in focus

o US weighing China currency probe -Commerce's Locke Reuters

o Michigan senators urge Locke to launch currency probe

o Looming deadline requires Commerce decide soon.. A final decision on all countervailing duties in the coated paper case is due Sept. 20

o In two separate case before the Commerce Department, U.S. producers have argued that China's currency, known as the yuan or the renminbi, is significantly undervalued against the dollar, giving Chinese companies an unfair price advantage.

o China's currency practices are likely to be on agenda at this week's Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in South Korea.

· China vs US heats up? China Opposes US Ruling On Duties Against Chinese Steel Grating – DJ

o The U.S. decision to impose countervailing and antidumping duties on Chinese steel grating is "unacceptable" to the Chinese government and industry, China's Ministry of Commerce said, in comments against the ruling that lashed out at Washington for stepping up trade disputes.

· Visa vs China: WSJ(6/3) Visa To Ban Use Of China UnionPay

o Visa. said Thursday it is introducing a ban on banks using China UnionPay Co.'s network to process international transactions with credit cards bearing the Visa and UnionPay symbols

o The decision comes at a time when international credit-card companies are feeling increasingly frustrated with their limited access to the lucrative Chinese market, where UnionPay has a monopoly on processing card payments

o The Chinese firm also has global ambitions and in recent years has signed agreements with banks around the world to accept UnionPay cards.

· Data

o Indonesia Central Bank maintained the Reference Rate at 6.50%; as expected

o Australia posts first trade surplus in a year

o Euro Zone May Final PMI Services: 56.2 v 56.0e;

o UK May Nationwide House Prices +9.8% y/y vs consensus +9.6%.

o France Q1 ILO Unemployment Rate 9.9% vs consensus +10.1%.

o France May Final Services PMI 61.4 vs preliminary 61.9.

o Germany May Final Services PMI 54.8 vs preliminary 53.7.

o Eurozone May Final Services PMI 56.2 vs preliminray 56.0.

o UK May Services PMI 55.4 vs consensus 55.7

o UK Nationwide May House Prices +0.5%MM, +9.8%YY - data broadly matched expectations

o Japan Q1 capital spending (11.5%) y/y vs survey (9.6%).

· Pakistan Central Bank Chief Quits Halfway Through Term

· Money Raising:

o Media company Nielsen plans to file for an IPO, the latest in a flurry of private-equity-backed offerings. WSJ

o WSJ(6/3) China Bank IPO, Possibly Biggest Ever, Set For July

o AIG's Bankers Say Asia Unit Worth Up To $36 Bln – Bloomberg

o TOYS Toys R Us owner KKR has been pushing analysts to give positive assessments - NY Post

· M&A: Washington Post Co. (WPO) received at least two letters of interest for its Newsweek magazine before Wednesday evening's deadline for nonbinding bids _DJ

· Tech M&A:

o Network security systems provider SonicWALL, Inc. (SNWL) said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a deal worth around $717 million

o SonicWALL said its shareholders will receive $11.50 in cash for each share of common stock they hold, representing a 28% premium over SonicWALL's Wednesday closing price of $8.99.

· Tech M&A: Hewlett-Packard CEO Sees Further Consolidation In Technology Industry – FT

· Lawmakers move to toughen ‘Volcker rule’

o Congressional negotiators are moving to toughen financial reform legislation, raising the chances that banks will face a strict ban on proprietary trading and a new conflict of interest rule

o http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/XTV55V/NNT7T/KELF91/D4DOPH/QR/h

· HOMEBUILDERS

o HOV Hovnanian reports

§ HOV -3% (earnings) - Lower Than expected Impairments; higher GMs

§ Orders miss…Further Weakness In May

§ today 11:00 AM EDT conference call.

· BP

o Fitch Downgrades BP To AA from AA+; Placed on Watch Negative

o Two Democratic U.S. senators Wednesday called on BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) to withhold payments to shareholders until the full cost of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is determined.

o U.S. Orders BP to Pay for More Barrier Islands

o BP Agrees To Fund Construction Of 6 Sections Of Louisiana Barrier Islands

o BP: Barrier Islands Estimated To Cost $360M >

o BP CEO Hayward Apologizes For Saying 'I'd Like My Life Back'

o WSJ(6/3) Slick Nears Florida Panhandle Beaches

· Obama blasted deregulation as a factor in the oil spill.

o The president's statements reflect a hardening of partisan lines as the spill becomes a key political issue. DJ

· Area Of Gulf Closed To Fishing Expands To 37% Of US Waters – DJ

· Macro pos: JOYG Joy Global reports Q2 bookings $1.05B vs Street under $800M

· Macro pos: CBS CEO: A Lot Of Ad Deals Will Be Done This Week – DJ

o CBS Corp. (CBS) Chief Executive Les Moonves said Wednesday that advertising sales negotiations in advance of the fall programming season are well underway and the numbers are coming in where he wanted them

o "A lot of deals are going to be done this week," said Moonves at an investor conference in New York City. "It's a very strong marketplace."

· Lockheed Martin said that it plans to sell two units and reorganize two other subsidiaries as part of a strategic realignment. WSJ

· Tech: Wipro Chairman: Expect IT Industry To Grow About 15% This FY

· Autos: Valeo Opens +7.3 % After Raising 1H Guidance

· Autos: Fiat (F.MI) +3.3% at EUR8.98 as investors are encouraged by the 33% rise in its US subsidiary Chrysler's unit sales in May.

· LYV Department of Justice watching Live Nation Entertainment - NY Post

· AIR FRANCE-KLM (+6.2%) gains altitude having unveiled May passenger traffic +4.3% y/y.

· XSTRATA (+2.92%) has suspended two projects in Australia with immediate effect as a result of the Australian government's plans for a super tax on the mining sector

· Retail sector in focus today on SSS

o COST may comps up 9% vs est up 9.7%

o SSI- may comps down 2.9% vs est down .8%

o DEST- may comps down 3.9%

o PIR- may comps up 14.3%

o ZUMZ may comps up 7.1% vs est up 2.8%

o HOTT may comps down 9% vs est down 8.7%

o WTSLA may comps down 5.3% vs est down 4.1%

o BKE may comps down 5.4% vs down .1%

o LTD may comps up 5% vs est up 2.3%

· Consumer sector neg stories pile up - 2 neg reports today : MasterCard SpendingPulse and Discover Poll

o Recall today is Retail SSS day….so sentiment is likely tempered going into todays trading, street has seen some caution already

· Consumer neg: Consumers Felt A Chill In May - MasterCard SpendingPulse

o MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard Inc. that tracks spending by credit card, debit card, cash and check, said that specialty-apparel sales fell 3.7% in May from a year earlier, the second consecutive month of declines after increases in January, February and March. Among other categories: Sales of furniture fell 9.6% while the combined category of electronics and appliances slipped 0.7%. "Consumer spending across a number of industry sectors has slowed,"

· Consumer neg: Discover Poll: Consumer Confidence Slides In May

o Consumer confidence slid in May as a bigger portion of younger people turned sour on the economy, according to a report from Discover Financial Services

o (DFS)

o The company's U.S. Spending Monitor, which measures future spending intentions, fell 1.1 points to 90 in May.

o In the poll of 8,200 consumers, 52% of those age 18 to 39 rated the economy as poor, up 7 percentage points from a month earlier, while the portion of older respondents expressing similar sentiments rose 3 percentage points.

o The portion of young people who said economic conditions were worsening rose 4 points to 44%, and those who said their personal finances were worsening grew 5 points to 44% from a month earlier

o Of all those surveyed, 31% saw economic conditions improving, down from 34% in April

o For the first time since February, the portion of respondents planning to spend more on discretionary purchases next month fell, while 56% planned to keep their overall spending flat

o The percentage who expected to have money left over after paying monthly bills rose to 48%, the highest percentage since February.

· Consumer, supermarkets: Ahold mixed results , dn 2% (60% rev from US)

· Johnson Matthey Shares +2.1% FY At Higher End

· Director James Cameron said he plans to release his next film in three to four years and might embark on a sequel to "Avatar." DJ

o 'Titanic' To Be Rereleased In 3D In 2012

· Munis States will continue to face deep financial pressure for at least the next two years, according to a new report. WSJ

· Mideast..watch for next Gaza Flotilla – worries over Turkey military involvement in next encounter

· WSJ(6/3) Israel's Isolation Deepens

· Aid Flotilla Victims Shot Dead; Includes 8 Turks, US National- -AFP

· U.S. warned Israel before raid - WP

o The Obama administration said Wednesday that it had warned Israel's government repeatedly to use "caution and restraint" with half a dozen aid boats bound for the Gaza Strip before Israeli commandos raided the flotilla this week in an operation that killed nine people.

· US Senator Cancels Myanmar Trip Over Suspected Nuclear Program With North Korea

o AFP)--U.S. Senator Jim Webb said he had canceled a trip to Myanmar on Thursday after reports alleging the military government is working with North Korea to develop a nuclear program.

· Militants Plot Against Russia Olympics Plans - Security Chief – DJ

· Germany is set to outline billions of dollars in budget cuts in coming days to reduce its deficit –WSJ

· Huge global IPO coming: Agricultural Bank is set to hold the hearing for its Hong Kong listing next week, while institutional investors will be invited to make bids for the Shanghai listing the following week, setting the stage for a mid-July float in one of the biggest initial public offerings globally in years – DJ

· G-20 meets: The Greek debt crisis and the ensuing contagion will be front and center as finance ministers and central bankers of the group of industrial and developing powers gather Friday and Saturday in Busan, South Korea

· (AFP)--The ousted Illinois governor accused of trying to auction President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder heads to court Thursday for jury selection in his corruption trial.

· US weighing China currency probe -Commerce's Locke

o Looming deadline requires Commerce decide soon.. A final decision on all countervailing duties in the coated paper case is due Sept. 20 – DJ

· Rising Doubts Over Obama Asia Trip (AFP)--The White House said Wednesday that President Barack Obama's Indonesia and Australia trip this month was still on, despite speculation he might delay it again, this time over the BP PLC (BP) oil spill.

· The Treasury will also announce its auction sizes for next week, we expect $37Bln 3 year notes a reduction of $1Bln from last month, $20Bln 10 year notes, a reduction of $1Bln from April (last re-opening) and $13Bln 30 year bonds no change from April (last re-opening). - Cantor primary dealer

· Lawmakers return from recess next week to merge bills passed by the House of Representatives and Senate, and a proposal – opposed by banks – to toughen a ban on proprietary trading and stop them from betting against products they sell to customers has re-emerged during preparatory work. FT

· Economics:

o May ADP Employment Change at 08:15 ET

o Initial Jobless Claims at 08:30 ET

o Apr Factory Orders at 10:00 ET

o May ISM Non-manufacturing Composite at 10:00 ET

o weekly natural gas inventories at 10:30 ET

o DOE crude oil inventories at 11:00 ET

o Among Fed speakers scheduled to speak:

§ Atlanta Fed President Lockhart will speak on the US economic outlook at the Atlanta Technical College Business & Industry Breakfast at the Atlanta Technical College scheduled to begin at about 7:30 ET

§ Fed Chairman Bernanke gives brief remarks on "Addressing the Financing Needs of Michigan's Small Businesses" at the Chicago Fed's Detroit branch at 11.15 ET

§ Boston Fed President Rosengren gives the keynote address at a Fed conference for New England financial executives at 12:15 ET

§ Kansas City Fed President Hoenig speaks to the Bartlesville, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce's Federal Reserve Bank Forum scheduled to begin at about 13:15 ET

· Earnings:

o Reports before the bell include: JOYG

o Reporting after the close include: SAIC

TODAY’S BIG STORIES

· Equity Wrap:

o S&P futures began the morning in the plus column, trading up about 4 or 5 points as investor focus shifted to possible value in the Energy sector which had declined so sharply. There was talk that BP might be vulnerable to being taken over as well as a Barron’s story highlighting the value in Total. Housing data released at 10:00 surprised to the upside (up 24.6% y/o/y vs. an expected rise of 20.2%). As the rally picked up steam, it received a final push as both Joe Biden and President Obama promised good news on the employment front (due this Friday). After a brief hesitation at the 1087 level, the rally resumed for the balance of the session; futures closed at their highs, up 27 points. S&P cash was up 2.6% on the day.

o All 10 S&P Industry groups were up, led by Energy (+4.3%). Next best were Financials, Materials and Industrials. The lagging groups were all defensive: Utilities, Telecom and Consumer Staples. In specific stock action, Amgen rose 11% as its osteoporosis drug received FDA approval. HAL and SLB each moved up more than 8%. In financials, HIG rose 4.3% while AXP rallied 4.5%.

o We had a nice rebound after getting kicked around the past couple of days – had better home and auto sale numbers (the home numbers had the treasuries lower) along with some decent M&A action (DLR for a five-property datacenter portfolio for $755M, ADS for EFX’s Direct Marketing Services division for $117M, SNIC for DIVX $325M and VALE for an additional 24.5% stake in Belvedere coal project for $92M) that seemed to get everyone going. The energy, financial and tech spaces seemed to gain back most of their losses from the past couple days - staples and utilities were lagging. Auto sales were better GM reported May total vehicle sales 16.6%, DAI sales are reported to be +30%, F reported May US sales 21.9% - airlines did better with BAC reinstating coverage of the group with buy ratings on AAI, ALK, CAL, LCC, LUV, UAUA - HAL and SLB were up almost 9% or better after being named short-term buys by Morgan Stanley, AMGN was up more than 10% after the FDA announced the approval of a postmenopausal drug, WFC was up as well after saying it holds “very little” sovereign debt. Internally the volume was brutally light, got the feeling summer vacation started early, we did see buyers amid a sellers strike but most wanted to wait for the market to come to them rather than chasing with the possibility of getting run over tomorrow. Buy and sell names here were pretty even with the edge going to the buyers, the breadth of the market had 5 ½ advancing issues for every 1 declining. Technically the 1100 resistance held on the spz but we had a nice run up of more than 2.5%, if we get through 1100 we have resistance at 1105 - 200 DMA, also pretty big resistance again at 1120 which is 50% fib line between high / low of Oct 07 to Mar 09.

o (Billy Clark and team)

· Treasury’s Wrap:

o An extremely quiet trading session in the Treasury market. The Treasury market opened up slightly higher across the curve with a small curve flattening trend. Treasuries traded a tight range for much of the early morning staging a small sell off in the late morning and into the early afternoon as the Euro bounced off its lows, US equities were well bid and the better than expected pending home sales up 6.0% MoM, consensus for up 5.0%, last month revised higher by 1.8% to 7.1%. The market was once again range bound throughout the afternoon finishing near its intraday lows,the belly slightly underperformed the wings on the down trade.

o The market is looking towards this weeks main data on Friday with the May employment report and ofcouse the continuing situations in Europe, Middle East, Korea and the Gulf oil spill. The market will get its first look at private employment tomorrow with ADP, consensus is for an increase of 70K jobs.

o The Treasury will also announce its auction sizes for next week, we expect $37Bln 3 year notes a reduction of $1Bln from last month, $20Bln 10 year notes, a reduction of $1Bln from April (last re-opening) and $13Bln 30 year bonds no change from April (last re-opening).

o Primary Dealer

· Investment grade Wrap:

o Gulf Energy names the focus again today as BP and RIG were both in freefall this morning, out over 100bps early, only to come back and are going out “just” 50bps. Activity was mixed as early on we had a number of accounts that were in full “get me out” mode as the credit curves inverted and buyers (a couple owic’s on APC 7.625 14) could be selective. Things turned around in the early afternoon as did equities and spreads went out better pretty much across the board. Little weakness at all even in the morning away from the Gulf names (BPLN, RIG, APC, HAL, CAM,…) as the treasury backup and the VIX dropping from 34 to 30 were both positive.

o Two new deals in my space – DUK (A3/A-) with $450MM of a ten year first mortgage that came +100 and is going out +92-90 and a two part deal from ED (A3/A-) with $700MM in 10s and 30s, +115 and +150, going out 2bps better.

o Michael Salemo

· Credit Markets Covered Bond Sales Surge; Transocean Tumbles:

o Sales of covered bonds are accelerating as investors seek debt backed by collateral amid concern about the creditworthiness of governments and banks

o About $5.7 billion of the securities have been sold or are being marketed this week worldwide, almost double last week’s total, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest bank, sold $2 billion of the bonds due in 2015.

o “In this new world where volatility is high,” it’s “certainly an advantage to be holding bonds that have collateral backing,”

· commercial mortgages : Credit Suisse In Talks On Loan Book Sale - FT

o Credit Suisse Group (CS) has begun talking to investors about selling off the last parts of the commercial property loan book that had been lined up for securitization before the property crash

o The investment bank holds about 2.7 billion Swiss francs ($2.3 billion) of commercial mortgages, according to its first-quarter results, having significantly cut back exposure to property debt over the past three years

o Credit Suisse has been in early talks with a number of investors, including private equity groups such as Apollo, about the sale of debt, which could see the bank withdraw from its outstanding exposure to commercial mortgages

· Nasdaq To Expand Breakers – WSJ

o Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said it would expand circuit breakers to all its U.S.-listed stocks, building on the industrywide protection for some shares agreed to by exchanges and regulators last month after the "flash crash."

o The stock-market operator said it will go beyond the proposed pilot program that establishes trading halts if stocks within the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index move 10% or more, by adding tailored trigger levels for stocks outside the S&P 500, based on price.

· Dark Pool Access Rules Must Be Reviewed, NYSE’s Leibowitz Says

o Leibowitz said regulators should reconsider the threshold at an SEC forum in Washington yesterday, five days after Rosenblatt Securities Inc. said dark pools accounted for 11.5 percent of U.S. equities trading volume in April. Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and NYSE Euronext say uneven oversight gives dark pools an advantage at the expense of the public markets. Bloomberg

o NYSE Euronext Chief Operating Officer Larry Leibowitz

· Fink Joining Buffett Sees U.S. Stocks Ready to ‘Rock and Roll’ - BBG

o BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink, who leads the world’s biggest asset-management firm, said the U.S. stock market is poised to rally, joining Warren Buffett and Barton Biggs in calling equities a good buy

o “We’re ready to really rock and roll as a country,” Fink said yesterday in a meeting at the Oregon Investment Council, which manages retirement accounts for public employees and has money in BlackRock’s funds. “I think we’re just too pessimistic about our country,” Fink said at the meeting in Tigard, Oregon.

· Fink says Blackrock bearish on Europe

· Jobs: WSJ(6/3) B-Schools Scramble As Job Scene Picks Up

o Job prospects for M.B.A. graduates are better than they were just a year ago, but connecting students with positions has career centers at business schools operating in overdrive

o Jana Kierstead, managing director for M.B.A. career and professional development at Harvard Business School, says the career recruiting budget increased 50% in the past year.

· Jobs: WSJ(6/3) 'Executive MBA' Help Slips

o Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management is launching its first "Executive M.B.A." this fall, but it faces a tough market as companies cut back funding for employees to go through such programs.

· Accounting standard setters modify convergence strategy

o The heads of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board sent a letter to the Group of 20 saying they are changing their plan for converging accounting rules. The boards had set June 30, 2011, as the target date for aligning many of their rules, but they said some projects will take until the second half of next year. Reuters (02 Jun.)

· Criminal probes of companies in question: WSJ(6/3) Calculus Of Announcing The Probe

o Some Justice Department subordinates were initially reluctant to make the Gulf oil spill investigations public at a sensitive point in the effort to plug the leaking well

o Nonetheless, Attorney General Eric Holder went ahead and disclosed the department's civil and criminal probes of the disaster Tuesday

o The Obama administration has continued policies begun under the George W. Bush administration to aggressively pursue criminal penalties against major corporations, to exact monetary penalties, make restitution to victims and ensure compliance with laws

o But the government has largely stayed away from filing criminal charges against corporations, concerned it could prove a lethal blow to companies that employ thousands of people. A criminal case against the accounting giant Arthur Andersen led to its demise in 2002.

· China 'Not Very Optimistic' On Efforts To Cut Emissions (AFP)--China, the world's top source of the toxic gases blamed for global warming, said Thursday it was "not very optimistic" that its efforts to slash emissions were working

o Beijing issued a similar warning a month ago, prompting speculation that it could miss its emissions reduction targets.

· Obama cites spill to urge action on climate

o President Obama tried Wednesday to channel public outrage about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill into support for a climate-change bill, seeking to redefine an issue that threatens to tarnish his presidency.

· Canada is considering lowering its threshold for foreign investments entering the country, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday, citing Canada Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan.

· US, India Move To Reassure Each Other On Ties - AFP

o --India and the U.S. were seeking to reassure each other on Thursday about their warming relationship as they lay the groundwork for a visit by President Barack Obama later this year

o U.S. policy makers across the political spectrum support developing a broad alliance with India, which had uneasy relations with Washington throughout the Cold War.

o But many Indians remain anxious about Obama, who has put a high priority on relations with fellow rising Asian power China, and has boosted aid to Pakistan in a bid to fight Islamic extremism in India's historic rival

o Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna will hold a day of talks Thursday

COMPANY NEWS WITH MACRO IMPLICATIONS

· OTHER

· Stocks mentioned on CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer - TheStreet.com

o + EGP, CMI, PCAR, NAV, FRO, NAT, T, VOD, FDO and ARST

o - DRYS, RIG and NDN

· JOYG Joy Global reports Q2 bookings $1.05B vs Street under $800M

TRANSPORTS

· BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway's Burlington Northern reports weekly carloads

· ALK Alaska Air Group reports May traffic

· PAC Pacific Airport Group comments on stock halt

· Dynamex Inc. (DDMX US) fell 6 percent to $15.10. The provider of same-day delivery services in the U.S. and Canada lowered its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year to as low as $1.05 per share. The average analyst estimate is $1.21 according to Bloomberg data.

· AIR FRANCE-KLM (+6.2%) gains altitude having unveiled May passenger traffic +4.3% y/y.

Energy

· BP: BP investor conference call (442.65p +12.9p)

o Company will hold an investor briefing on the Gulf of Mexico incident hosted by CEO Tony Hayward and Head of Investor Relations Fergus MacLeod, on 04-Jun.

o The briefing will be followed by a question and answer session.

o Time: 1400 BST / 0900 EDT

o Finish: 1500 BST / 1000 EDT (approx)

· Oil services sector initiated at Madison Williams; BHI, BRS, CAM, CRR, GTLS, DRC, DRQ, FTI, GLBL, GIFI, GLF, HAL, HOS, MDR, NOV, OII, OIS, SPN, TTES, TTI, TDW, WG.

· ALJ Alon USA completes previously announced acquisition of Bakersfield refinery from Flying J for $40M

· API reports crude inventories (1.42M) vs. prior +616K

· ICO Construction resumes at International Coal's Tygart No. 1 complex

· LINE Linn Energy LLC announces results of first operated horizontal granite was well

· BP BP will hold a conference call with market analysts on Friday -- Reuters

· NBL Noble Energy announces highlights of 2010 analyst meeting to be held today

· BP BP shares rise after HSBC says dividend should be safe, talk of 'deep value fund' buying

· BP SeaDrill says its rig West Sirius will start operations for BP

· BP BP agrees to fund construction of 6 sections of Louisiana barrier islands proposal at an extimated cost of $360M

· BP WSJ notes the speculation surrounding BP's CEO Hayward

· BP FT says BP is unlikely to be taken over

· BPZ BPZ Resources releases reserves estimates for 2009

· BP BP agrees to fund $360M construction of Louisiana barrier islands

· HOS Hornbeck Offshore issues uipdate on status of Gulf of Mexico Upstream operations

· Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) announced today the highlights of its 2010 analyst meeting with senior management to be held June 3 in Houston, Texas. Key highlights from the meeting in Press release

· Qatar Idles LNG Ships as Year-End Gas 19% More

o Qatar, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, is idling at least eight tankers in the Gulf of Oman, as prices for year-end delivery exceed those for next month by 19 percent

o The Qatar Liquefied Gas Co. vessels have a combined capacity of 1.8 million cubic meters, enough to supply the U.K. for more than a month. The ships are off the United Arab Emirates, and their depth in the water signals they have full or partial cargoes, ship-tracking data from AIS Live Ltd. compiled by Bloomberg show.

· Doubt grows regarding BP's chance of survival as independent firm

o Analysts and traders began questioning BP's chance of continuing as an independent company after the financial, regulatory and public relations setbacks its has suffered from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As the company's share price plummets, BP increasingly becomes a promising takeover target, some said. There are reports that the last two CEOs of BP had looked into a merger with Royal Dutch Shell. The Guardian (London) (02 Jun.) , U.S. News & World Report/Fund Observer blog (02 Jun.) , The Guardian (London) (02 Jun.)

· BP ‘not prepared’ for deep-water spill

o The chief executive of BP has said the company and the oil industry need to rethink their approach in order to pursue deep sea drilling following the catastrophic leak of the group’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico

o http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/XTV55V/NNT7T/KELF91/8A5HJJ/QR/h

· BHP Assessing Impact Of Drill Ban, Analysts Tip Lower Production (Dow Jones)--BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) said Thursday it is still assessing the impact of the ban on exploration drilling in the Gulf of Mexico but analysts say it will crimp the company's oil production and see it miss its production guidance.

· Shell: Suspending Drilling At Vito, Tobago Due To Moratorium Dow Jones)--Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB) is suspending exploratory drilling operations at its Vito and Tobago prospects in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico due to a six-month drilling ban ordered by the federal government, the company said Wednesday.

· BP Frees Saw That Was Jammed In Pipe -Unified Command Center (Dow Jones)--BP PLc (BP, BP.LN) has freed a jammed saw blade from a pipe that was slowing down the process of capping a well that has been spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico for six weeks, a spokesman for the unified command center said Wednesday afternoon.

· Dow Jones)--Arrow Energy Ltd. (AOE.AU) said Thursday that an independent expert has found that Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) and PetroChina Corp.'s (PTR) A$3.44 billion takeover offer for the company is both fair and reasonable. Deloitte said the offer of A$4.70 cash per Arrow share for the bulk of Arrow's Australian assets is above its assessed fair market value of Arrow shares of between A$4.00 and A$4.40.

· XIDE Exide Technologies President and COO Edward O'Leary resigns effective 16-Jun

· XIDE Exide Technologies reports Q4 EPS

· UTILITIES

o NWN Northwest Natural Gas announces extension of buyback program up to $100M

o MSEX Middlesex Water files 1.7M share secondary offering through Janney Montgomery Scott

o DTE DTE Energy union authorizes strike - Detroit News

Tech/media/ telecom sectors

· LYV Department of Justice watching Live Nation Entertainment - NY Post

· Panasonic to raise LCD panel capacity by 140% by February - Nikkei

· SNWL: to be bought by group led by Thoma Bravo for $11.50/share in cash- Reuters

· T: AT&T's moves mean the days of cheap unlimited bandwidth are numbered- WSJ

· T, RIMM, AAPL: AT&T data changes seen as benefit for BlackBerry over iPhone- AppleInsider

· GOOG: First Chrome OS notebook to be available in fall of 2010, says Google VP- Digitimes

· Tablets: Whether tablet PCs can become market segment is still uncertain, says Microsoft VP- Digitimes

· NWSA News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch tells Fox Business Network how he will get readers to pay for online content - LA Times

· NWSA Speaking at All Things Digital conference, James Cameron says he will rerelease Titanic in 3D in 2012 - WSJ

· IBM, ARMH, FSL, TXN, ERIC Six companies form Linaro, a non-profit software engineering company to foster innovation in the Linux community- WSJ

· Hanwang aims to lead global e-book reader market in 2 years- Digitimes

· HPQ: CEO Sees Further Consolidation In Technology Industry – FT

· http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e7e5cee-6e8d-11df-ad16-00144feabdc0.html

· HPQ: CEO Mark Hurd said today his company didn't buy Palm to enter the smartphone business, but rather plans to use its technology to power "small form factor web-connected devices."- AppleInsider

· QCOM CEO Paul Jacobs Dives Deep on Chips- All Things digital Conf

· http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100602/d8-video-qualcomm-ceo-paul-jacobs-dives-deep-on-chips/

· QCOM: Mobile TV Service Not Finding Sizable Audience- WSJ

· Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Privacy- All Things digital Conf

· http://d8.allthingsd.com/20100602/d8-video-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-on-privacy/

· Facebook CEO says no date in mind for IPO- Reuters

· WPO Receives Letters Of Interest For Newsweek- WSJ

· MSFT: Most organizations should try eliminating Windows XP by end of 2012- Gartner

· Notebooks: Notebook shipments return normal in June- Digitimes

· Panels: demand and shipments hit bottom in June- Digitimes

· Optical Discs: CMC says prices to continue rising through year-end- Digitimes

· DRAM: Kingston sees smartphone and 3D TV as catalyst for future DRAM- Digitimes

· DRAM: Taiwan makers report mixed results for May 2010- Digitimes

· VZ: Sorry, "No Plans To Carry The iPhone In The Immediate Future"- Silicon Valley Insider

· http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/z6WSzuE1vAY/verizon-sorry-no-plans-to-carry-the-iphone-in-the-immediate-future-2010-6

· ALU: The broad depreciation of the euro has no significant impact on Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) at the earnings level- DJ

· BBI: Blockbuster’s progress toward recapitalization has come in "fits and starts," underlining the complexity of the transaction, a board member said Wednesday- DJ

· CBS: A Lot Of Ad Deals Will Be Done This Week- DJ

· DELL: The Streak Aims To Challenge Apple's IPad- DJ

· WIT: Wipro Chairman says Expect India IT Industry To Grow About 15% This Fiscal Year- DJ

· Free TV: 'Modern Family' Creator Questions Free Online TV- WSJ…. "I question the ultimate wisdom of this," he said, saying that the quality of content creation could suffer if content owners aren't being paid. "If there is anything that is siphoning off that success, [networks] are going to be making fewer bets."

· Semis: The global semiconductor market's revenue should grow about 20% this year, STMicroelectronics NV's (STM) chief operating officer said Thursday.- DJ

· Infosys: Current Europe Situation A Cause For Concern- DJ

Miners/ steel sectors etc

· China: Opposes US Ruling On Duties Against Chinese Steel Grating

· Toyota Close To Agreeing To 25% Steel Price Hike -Nikkei

· Australia's PM: Determined To Push Ahead With Mining Tax

· Newcrest Dow Jones)--The Australian government's handling of its proposed resource super profits tax leaves no room for compromise with industry, Newcrest Chief Executive Ian Smith said Thursday.

· Ferrous Resources Suspends Listing Due To Volatile Market (Dow Jones)--Brazil-focused iron ore company Ferrous Resources Ltd. said Wednesday it has decided to postpone listing its shares on the London's main stock exchange due to unfavorable market conditions.

· Xstrata Stops Spending On Wandoan Coal, Ernest Henry Projects (Dow Jones)-- Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) Thursday called an immediate halt to spending of A$586 million on two of its major projects in Australia's Queensland state, saying neither will be viable under the government's proposed resources tax.

· Xstrata Plc shelved spending on projects worth A$6.6 billion ($5.6 billion) in Australia, the first global mining company to suspend major work because of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s planned tax on mine profits. BBG

· Alumina Ltd Says Current Alumina Pricing Must Change (Dow Jones)--Alumina Ltd. (AWC.AU) Chief Executive John Bevan said Thursday the current system of pricing alumina does not represent market fundamentals and must change. The alumina price is currently linked to the price of aluminum but miners like BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) have been arguing for a shift to a system that reflects market clearing prices or shorter term contracts.

· Codelco could raise as much as $800 million by selling its stake in power company E-CL S.A. (ECL.SN) to help fund planned expansions, Bloomberg News reported on its website Wednesday, citing chief executive Diego Hernandez. The world's largest copper producer might sell its 40% shareholding in E-CL, which supplies power to northern Chile's mining region, within the next 18 months, Hernandez told Bloomberg.

· BHP, RTP Australian Financial Review reports BHP, Rio Tinto may secure a 20% price increase for iron ore in Q3 - Bloomberg

INDUSTRIALS

· GE Itochu, General Electric agree to comprehensive renewable energy tie-up - Nikkei

· ULBI Ultralife Corporation awarded DoD contracts

· HXL Hexcel updates guidance

· JEC Jacobs Engineering trading higher after EPS, post-market

· DDMX Dynamex reports Q3 EPS

· GEF Greif reports Q2 EPS

· LMT: WSJ(6/3) Lockheed To Shed Units In Revamp

· Automated-teller-machine maker Diebold Inc. (DBD) agreed to pay $25 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges alleging fraudulent accounting, and the company's former chief executive agreed to return some of his bonus awards.

· EADS CEO: Many Banks Will Not Return To Aircraft Financing (Dow Jones)--The head of Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR) said Wednesday that he didn't expect many banks that stopped funding aircraft purchases to return to the market, though China will take up some of the slack.

Autos sector:

· Shares in Valeo SA (FR.FR) soared over 8% Thursday after the French vehicle parts maker said first-half sales would grow by more than a third and that it was confident about its guidance for 2010.

· Regular cars to get subsidies in China, too - WSJ

· Toyota Motor's President Akio Toyoda is leading a cultural shift at the company -- NY Times

· Toyota Close To Agreeing To 25% Steel Price Hike –Nikkei

· Asia carmakers posted the following May US sales numbers: Hyundai Motor +33% v +28%e to 49K units, Nissan +24.1% v +11%e; to 83.7K units, Honda +19% v +22%e, to 117K units, and Toyota +6.7% v +8%e, to 163K units.

· Japan Autoparts Makers Eye Record Profits In Asia -Nikkei

o A number of Japanese autoparts manufacturers are likely to see their Asian operating profits soar to record levels for the year ending March 2011, the Nikkei reported in its Thursday morning edition.

· WSJ(6/3) Electric Cars Fall Short In Mini Test

o Limited numbers of battery-powered cars are expected to hit U.S. roads over the next 12 months, but a test of one electric vehicle is raising questions about how far drivers will be able to go before needing a recharge

o For the past year, BMW AG has leased about 300 electric Mini Cooper compacts to regular consumers in the New York metro area, New Jersey and Southern California. In a survey by BMW and in interviews, participants said they have been getting about 100 miles, or 161 kilometers, per charge -- about a third fewer than BMW had expected

· Fiat (F.MI) +3.3% at EUR8.98 as investors are encouraged by the 33% rise in its US subsidiary Chrysler's unit sales in May.

· WSJ(6/3) Ford Sets Plan To Phase Out Mercury

· TM Toyota Motor likely to agree to 25% increase in steel prices for April-September - Nikkei

· TM Toyota Motor's President Akio Toyoda is leading a cultural shift at the company -- NY Times

Financials:

· Lawmakers move to toughen ‘Volcker rule’

o Congressional negotiators are moving to toughen financial reform legislation, raising the chances that banks will face a strict ban on proprietary trading and a new conflict of interest rule

o http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/XTV55V/NNT7T/KELF91/D4DOPH/QR/h

· EU calls for single regulator for credit rating agencies

o The European Commission proposed that a regional body be created to investigate and penalize credit rating agencies. Meanwhile, politicians are calling for the creation of a European credit rating agency to bolster competition. "The changes to rules on credit rating agencies will mean better supervision and increased transparency in this crucial sector," said Michel Barnier, internal-market commissioner for the EU. "But they are only a first step. We are looking at this market in more detail." Bloomberg (02 Jun.) , The Times (London) (03 Jun.) , Reuters (02 Jun.)

· Hotshot Traders Leave Street – WSJ

o The competition is on to scoop up Wall Street traders and portfolio managers increasingly unnerved by the likelihood of sweeping new financial regulation

o Since political momentum began building earlier this year to limit trading for profit at Wall Street firms, traders have been exploring their options, and some have already left.

o Outside the banks, private investment funds looking for traders have been gearing up for a hot talent market.

o Greg Lippmann, who left Deutsche Bank AG on Friday, is among the highest-profile examples of traders lately exiting banks. Mr. Lippmann, who helped Deutsche earn billions betting against mortgages, is starting a hedge fund with other Deutsche colleagues that will be called Libre Max

· New FASB Proposal Could Swell Bank Equity - DJ

o Fans and foes of FASB's proposal to expand mark-to-market accounting from securities to bank loans are missing one point, says CLSA analyst Mike Mayo, who argues the adjustments required by such accounting "could cause bank equity to increase by up to $100-plus billion" for Bank of America Corp. (BAC), J. P. Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (C). He says estimated marks on core deposits would offset write-downs on problem assets. "So far, companies and some investors have spoken up more negatively than we would have expected" against the proposal, Mayo says. "We say don't blame the accountants."

· Visa vs China: WSJ(6/3) Visa To Ban Use Of China UnionPay

o Visa. said Thursday it is introducing a ban on banks using China UnionPay Co.'s network to process international transactions with credit cards bearing the Visa and UnionPay symbols

o The Chinese firm also has global ambitions and in recent years has signed agreements with banks around the world to accept UnionPay cards.

· credit-cards: Card Issuers' Novel Ways Outflank Law – WSJ

o U.S. banks are finding new ways to levy credit-card fees and raise interest rates in the wake of a one-year-old law that was designed to limit such charges

o The banks' new approaches are being scrutinized by federal banking

o regulators.

o First Premier Bank, known for pursuing customers with weak credit, is circumventing a provision limiting fees assessed on accounts in their first year by charging a $95 processing fee, before the card is ever used.

o Citigroup Inc., mindful of the limits to raising customers' rates for late payments, lifted some customers' interest rates in advance and then offered a partial refund on the finance charges if they paid on time.

· More Seek Exits From Citigroup - WSJ

o The revolving door at Citigroup in London continues to spin. The bank has experienced a surprising outflow of talent lately, losing, among others, Bill Kennish, who was head of European telecommunications, media and technology and is headed for Macquarie, and Herve Malaussena, another telecommunications banker, who is going to Moelis.

· UBS WSJ(6/3) UBS Taps 2 To Expand Operations In Asia

· UBS Swiss parliament panel recommended that Parliament back US-UBS agreement to submit client data suspected of tax evasion, though it also voted in favor of holding a nationwide referendum on whether to disclose information for the approximately 4,500 US accounts to the tax authorities – TTN

· Credit Suisse In Talks On Loan Book Sale - FT

o Credit Suisse Group (CS) has begun talking to investors about selling off the last parts of the commercial property loan book that had been lined up for securitization before the property crash

· AIG Prudential confirms termination of agreement to buy AIA

· MF MF Global Hldgs 22.5M-share secondary priced at $7.10/share through JPMorgan, Citi, and Deutsche

· UAE Central Bank holds nearly all of its FX reserves in US dollars - Reuters

· VCBI Virginia Commerce files $150M mixed shelf

· DHIL Diamond Hill Investment reports preliminary AUM of $6.74B as of 31-May

· AIG AIA listing application in Hong Kong from December has not been withdrawn - South China Morning Post

· Real Estate:

· REITS

o AEC Associated Estates reaffirms f10 adjusted FFO

o NLY WSJ calls Annaly Capital a carry trade on low interest rates for the little guy

o DLR Digital Realty Trust 6M-share secondary priced at $57/share through Credit Suisse, Citi and BofA Merrill Lynch

· HOMEBUILDERS

o HOV Hovnanian reports

§ HOV -3% (earnings) - Lower Than expected Impairments; higher GMs

§ Orders miss…Further Weakness In May

§ today 11:00 AM EDT conference call.

· Cramer recommends EastGroup (EGP), an industrial property REIT that currently yields 5.6%. He notes that the stock is a good play on the ongoing recovery in the manufacturing sector. Cramer goes on to point out that there is plenty of room for analyst upgrades.

· REITS like Annaly Capital Offers Carry Trade – WSJ

o Looking for a way to benefit from ultralow interest rates? Try the carry trade offered by shares in real-estate investment trusts focused on government-backed mortgage bonds

o With the Federal Reserve highly unlikely to raise short-term interest rates any time soon, their relative safety may hold up during any summer market squalls. That is especially so given chunky dividend yields. Although mortgage REITs have bounced from late May lows, Annaly, for example, still sports a yield above 15%. That compares with near-zero interest rates and an S&P 500 yield of about 2%

o So-called agency mortgage REITs such as Annaly borrow short-term money and invest it in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the likes of Fannie Mae. They profit from the difference between their borrowing and investment rates. As REITs, they have to pay out 90% of earnings in dividends. The returns are boosted by the use of leverage, which in Annaly's case was 5.6 times equity at the first quarter's end.

· commercial mortgages : Credit Suisse In Talks On Loan Book Sale - FT

o Credit Suisse Group (CS) has begun talking to investors about selling off the last parts of the commercial property loan book that had been lined up for securitization before the property crash

· Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Not Selling Asia Real-Estate Fund – DJ

o -Bank of America Merrill Lynch is holding on to its multi-billion dollar Asia real-estate fund, backing off from earlier talks to sell management of the fund

o Last year, several private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP (BX) and Apollo Investment Management LP, had shown interest in buying management of the fund, which the bank viewed as a non-core business. The talks didn't result in a deal and the firm decided to hold on to the asset for now.

o Raising more capital for a new Asia-focused property fund could be an option but is currently not in the works

· Commercial real estate loans: Looking For Lending – WSJ

o Real-estate prices are enticingly low in many areas of the country, prompting business owners to pursue sweet deals on storefronts, manufacturing facilities and other commercial properties. But because banks remain wary of commercial real-estate loans, landing financing to make such a purchase can be time consuming and tedious

o Compared to peak prices in October 2007, commercial property values are down 42%, according to Moody's Investors Service Inc. Price index reports compiled by Moody's and Real Capital Analytics Inc. show that as of March 2010, the cost of industrial and office space fell 32% in the last two years. Retail space also plummeted 28%.

· Lehman Brothers Sells Real Estate Funds Business to Ex-Managers - BBG

o Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the investment bank liquidating in bankruptcy, sold the management contract for its real estate funds to the former executives who ran the business, Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said

o The investors in the funds “chose overwhelmingly to support a bid led by former management,” Marsal said in an e- mail. “This is not surprising in that the fund managers have detailed knowledge of the portfolio and good historic performance.”

o The sale involves three private funds, Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners I, II and III, with combined capital commitments of about $5.6 billion. Brett Bossung and Mark Newman, who managed the funds before Lehman’s September 2008 bankruptcy, led the group of five former executives who bought the business.

· Moody's CEO calls performance of CDO, RMBS ratings "disappointing"

o Raymond McDaniel, CEO at Moody's, testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that the housing-market collapse and economic downturn were at a level that "many of us would have once thought unimaginable." McDaniel also said he is proud of the reputation and record of Moody's. "However, the performance of our credit ratings for U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities and related collateralized debt obligations over the past several years has been deeply disappointing," he said. "Moody's is certainly not satisfied with the performance of these ratings." Bloomberg (02 Jun.)

· UK Nationwide May House Prices +0.5%MM, +9.8%YY

o U.K. house prices rose on the month in May but at a slower pace than in April, while the annual pace of increase slowed for the first time since prices began rising in October 2009, the Nationwide Building Society said Thursday.

Consumer sector:

· Retail sector in focus today on SSS

o COST may comps up 9% vs est up 9.7%

o SSI- may comps down 2.9% vs est down .8%

o DEST- may comps down 3.9%

o PIR- may comps up 14.3%

o ZUMZ may comps up 7.1% vs est up 2.8%

o HOTT may comps down 9% vs est down 8.7%

o WTSLA may comps down 5.3% vs est down 4.1%

o BKE may comps down 5.4% vs down .1%

o LTD may comps up 5% vs est up 2.3%

· Consumer sector neg stories pile up - 2 neg reports today : MasterCard SpendingPulse and Discover Poll

o Recall today is Retail SSS day….so sentiment is likely tempered going into todays trading, street has seen some caution already

· Consumer neg: Consumers Felt A Chill In May - MasterCard SpendingPulse

· Consumer neg: Discover Poll: Consumer Confidence Slides In May

o Consumer confidence slid in May as a bigger portion of younger people turned sour on the economy, according to a report from Discover Financial Services

o (DFS)

o The company's U.S. Spending Monitor, which measures future spending intentions, fell 1.1 points to 90 in May.

o The portion of young people who said economic conditions were worsening rose 4 points to 44%, and those who said their personal finances were worsening grew 5 points to 44% from a month earlier

o Of all those surveyed, 31% saw economic conditions improving, down from 34% in April

o For the first time since February, the portion of respondents planning to spend more on discretionary purchases next month fell, while 56% planned to keep their overall spending flat

o The percentage who expected to have money left over after paying monthly bills rose to 48%, the highest percentage since February.

· Consumer, supermarkets: Ahold mixed results , dn 2% (60% rev from US)

· European home improvement retailer Kingfisher

· CWTR 4.4% (earnings)

· HNZ Barron's Weekday Trader is positive on Heinz

· CPRT Copart reports Q3 EPS

· ABM ABM Industries reports Q2 adjusted income per share

· FORD Forward Industries holder LaGrange discloses a 25.8% stake in an amended 13D filing; up from 20% disclosed on 25-May

· HWD Harry Winston Diamond reports Q1 EPS

· BG Bunge could be potentially interested in a takeover of Tate & Lyle -- FT

· RAI British American Tobacco, Reynolds American (RAI) subsidiaries entered into cigarette manufacturing agreement

· WAG Walgreens reversing 15-yr old policy and is once more selling alcohol -- WSJ

· MWW Monster Employment Index rises 1 point m/m in May to 134

· HSY Hershey to invest up to $200M to modernize, expand West Hershey facility - pennlive.com, citing sources

· Ahold Quarterly Profit Rises as Price Cuts Lure U.S. Shoppers

o “The market continues to be challenging with customers focused on value and high levels of promotional activity,” Chief Executive Officer John Rishton said in the statement. BBG

· Prada looking to IPO in Milan or HK – BBG

· Mattel Inc. (MAT) is embarking on an expensive strategy to create a new toy craze from scratch, with the movies and TV shows coming on its heels—an abrupt departure from usual procedure. In fact, the Monster High toys are the least of it. The company is aiming for an entertainment juggernaut, with books, movies, clothing, and anything else it can think of, in addition to the dolls. Mattel, the world's largest toy company, is feeling Disney envy, experts say. DJ

· Wal-Mart To Accelerate Overseas Expansion: CEO – Bloomberg

· WAG: WSJ(6/3) Walgreen Set To Serve Up Wine, Beer Once Again

· HEALTHCARE

o WSJ(6/3) EU Governments Seek Drug-Cost Reductions

o European governments grappling to reduce large budget deficits are focusing cost cutting on a large spending item -- pharmaceuticals. Several countries in recent weeks, including Spain, Germany and Italy, have proposed or enacted price reductions or taken other cost-control measures for various drugs. Analysts say they expect other countries to follow.

o WSJ(6/3) J&J Recall Probe Expands To Others: A Congressional probe of a Johnson & Johnson unit's manufacturing problems is spreading beyond the company's recent recall of its children's medicines to withdrawals of other over-the-counter products.

o ARYX ARYx Therapeutics says Peter Milner, M.D., has resigned as a director and as president of R&D

o MDT Medtronic announces results of controlled study of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

o CYBX Cyberonics reports Q4 non-GAAP EPS

o CERN Cerner initiated market perform at Avondale

o MRK Merck announces results from non-inferiority trial of antiemetic regimen containing fosaprepitant dimeglumine

o CEPH Cephalon provides clinical update on phase 2 study of Nuvigil misses endpoint

o VSCI Vision-Sciences reports FY10 EPS

o CBLI Cleveland Biolabs files $90M equity shelf

o LIFE Life Technologies announces collaboration with German Cancer Research Center

o NKBP China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical reports Q1 net income

o BLUD Immucor guides 2011 EPS; conference call on June 3, at 8:30 ET1-888-324-9321 (Passcode: BLUD)

o OSIP Astellas says its tender for OSI Pharmaceuticals was successful - wires

o JNJ Congressional probe of Johnson & Johnson expanding beyond children's medicine – WSJ

o ELN Elan Corp says agrees to change CEO's employment contract to a fixed term agreement

From our EU/London desk

· Energy

· Oil & oil services rebound between 2 and 5%

· BP + 4%, conference call with analysts Friday (RTRS)

· TNK-BP unit Russia Pete to file for bankruptcy following dispute with Gazprom (+2%)

· Acergy +7%, Numura upgrade to BUY

· Centrica (+ 2.25%) Dry well in Norway.

· Mining

· Xtrata + 4%, stops spending on two Australian ventures, “not viable under govt supertax scheme”

· Chemicals

· Johnson Matthey(+2%), good figures, 1H off to firm start.

· HC

· AH NA Q1 figs inline

· KGF LN Q1 good nos. positive comments

· ROG VX FDA trial updates

· NOVN VX Pancreatic Tumour drug results positive

TODAY’S EVENTS

DAILY VIEW

CONFERENCES

Thursday June 3:

o All Things digital Conference

o Adam Smith Conferences: Transport Infrastructure Conference - Jun 01, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o AMR Research Supply Chain Executive Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

o Bank of America Merrill Lynch Technology Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· 8AM: TXN

· 9AM: POWI

· 9:45AM: PCLN , TDC

· 10:40AM: ARW , FSYS , NVLS

· 11:25AM: BRCM , EXPE , MOT

· 1:45PM: APH , GSIC , ORA , SYMC

· 2:30PM: GLW , MRVL , RAX

· 3:25PM: CDNS , CTV , GRMN , TECD

o Berenberg Bank Diagnostics Day

· ROG.S

o CA Cheuvreux Mid Cap Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· ABG.MC , PECI.MI

o CA Cheuvreux Pan-Europe London Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· FI-N.S

o Computex Tapai Information Tech show

o Cowen and Company Technology Media & Telecom Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· 8AM: BBND , CHKP , OPWV , TMRK , VRGY

· 8:45AM: APKT , CELL , N , OPEN , QTM , TER

· 9:30AM: ATMI , CCOI , CRM , LGF , NVTL , RVBD

· 10:15AM: ABVT , ADS , AZPN , BCSI

· 12:50PM: ACN , KLAC , PAET , PGI , PLCM , WBSN

· 1:35PM: DLB , FNGN , GLBC , MSFT , SDBT , THQI

· 2:20PM: KOPN , MA , MERU , SPMYY.PK , VSAT

· CSR , FORM , JNPR

o Credit Suisse Future of Energy Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 8AM: SPWRA

· 8:35AM: CREE

· 12:30PM: FSLR

· 11:45PM: CDXS

o Credit Suisse Group Engineering & Construction Conference - Jun 03, 2010

· 7:40AM: KBR

· 8:20AM: MDR

· 9AM: FLR

· 9:50AM: URS

· 10:30AM: MTRX , SHAW

· 11:10AM: FWLT

· 1:15PM: JEC

· 1:55PM: CBI

· 2:45PM: PWR

· 3:25PM: ES

· HIL , QNTA

o CRU Events World Wire and Cable Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

o Danske Markets Bank Seminar

· NDA.ST

o Financial Times Sustainable Banking Conference & Awards - Jun 03, 2010

o Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 9:10AM: PKG , ROC

· 10AM: MWV

· 10:30AM: VAL

· 11:10AM: ALB , RKT

· APD

o Incisive Media Malaysian Structured Products Forum - Jun 03, 2010

o Incisive Media Professional Pensions Investment Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o Information Management Network (IMN) 5th Annual Illinois Public Employee Systems Summit - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o Information Management Network (IMN) 9th Annual Illinois Public Finance Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o ING Bank N.V. TMT Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.Diversified Financial Services Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· 8AM: AB

· 8:45AM: SLM

· 11AM: WDR

· 2:50PM: IVR

· EV

o Keybanc Capital Markets Industrial and Automotive Conference

· 9AM: TNC

· BEZ , DBD , FWRD , JBHT , JBT , NCR

o Lazard Capital Markets' Annual Radiation Oncology Day

· 3:15PM: TOMO

o Massachusetts Biotechnology Council The ERBI Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o Natural Gas Conversion Board's Novel Gas Conversion Symposium - May 30, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o New York Society of Security Analysts Metals & Mining Industry Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· 11:30PM: GBG

o Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. Pan-Asia Technology Forum - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

o Platts Geothermal Energy Conference - Jun 03, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 3:30PM: RZ

o RBC Capital Markets Consumer & Retail Conference - Jun 03, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 9AM: JACK

· 10:10AM: CPLA

· CRI , GAIA , LKQX , URBN

o Red Herring, Inc. North America Conference - Jun 01, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o Royal Bank of Scotland Benelux Equities Conference Amsterdam - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

· COR.AS

o Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P. Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference - Jun 03, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 7:30AM: AMTD

· 8AM: GHL

· 8:30AM: EVR

· 9AM: TRAD

· 10AM: MF

· 3:30PM: ITG

o Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 04, 2010

· 8AM: HES , KFT , LXK , MMM , MRX , PH

· 9AM: APA , EBAY , FE , PFG , UNH , VRTX

· 10AM: CAH , CI , COP , EMR , LMT , TXN

· 2PM: BA , CEPH , COF , EXC , GILD , HOT

· 3PM: CLX , DELL , IPG , LLY , SUN , TRV

· 4PM: AGN , APD , CELG , CTSH , ETN , LOW

o SEPAC Spring Investor Showcase - Jun 03, 2010

o Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. Technology Conference - Jun 03, 2010

· 10:45AM: MOSY

· SUPX , ZRAN

o Think Equity Semiconductor Conference - Jun 03, 2010

· 8:30AM: MLNX

· 9AM: AMCC

· 9:30AM: VIRL , VTSS.PK

· 10AM: SMSC

· 10:30AM: CY , NETL

· 11AM: CNXT

· 1PM: ISSI , PLXT

· 1:30PM: MIPS

· 2PM: CAVM , QLGC

· 3PM: MSCC , POWI

· CEVA , DIOD , ENTR , MSPD

o ThinkEquity Semiconductor Conference - Jun 03, 2010

· ELX

o UBS Global Specialty Pharmaceuticals Conference - Jun 02, 2010 - Jun 03, 2010

o United Nations Environment Programme World Environment Day: Water Matters Global Water Conference - Jun 03, 2010

· AWK

COMPANY MEETINGS/OTHER DAILY EVENTS

· Thursday June 3:

o Shareholder Meetings

§ ISPH, PRXL, AMPH, FBCM, GV, IDIX, PDII, RPBC, TITN, IR, OMEX, DG, DSW, ENMD, IT, NYB, PFIN, REV, SBGI, TEAM, TSON, TZOO, UHT, URRE, WEBM, AREX, IDCC, PEI, TRGL, FTWR, SBSA, CXM, ICGN, LF, PXG, SLTM, SNMX, BABY,ASGN, BIDZ, EXPO, QSFT, RDNT, WAVE, CPHC, STEM

o G-20 ministers gather in South Korea.

o JNJ offers a business review

o Markets are closed in Austria, Brazil and Poland for a religious holiday.

ECONOMICS

· Thursday June 3:

o 0815 ADP National Employment Report

o 0830 Productivity & Costs,

o 0830 Jobless Claims

o 1000 DJ-BTMU Economic Barometer

o 1000 ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite Index

o 1000 Factory Orders

o 1030 EIA Natural Gas Inventories

o 1100 US Energy Dept Oil Inventories

o 1630 Fed Discount Window Borrowings

o 1630 Foreign Central Bank Holdings

o 1630 Money Supply

o Chain Store Sales

EARNINGS

o Industrials/Homebuilders

· Thursday June 3: JOYG, UHAL, STP

o Consumer/Retail/Education

· Thursday June 3: CHRS, GIII, ZQK, KKD, ULTA, VLGEA, CVGW, MDNU, CHTT

o Financials

· Thursday June 3: NASB,

o Transports

· Thursday June 3: UTIW

o Tech/Telecom

· Thursday June 3: SNIC, SAI, AGYS, JRJC, CMTL,

o Autos

· Thursday June 3: MOD, XIDE, CRMT

o Media

· Thursday June 3: NAVR

INVESTMENT BANKING WRAP

M&A

· AIG's Bankers Say Asia Unit Worth Up To $36 Bln – Bloomberg

o Bankers for American International Group Inc. (AIG) estimated its Asian life insurance unit would be worth between $32 billion and $36 billion after an initial public offering

o Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) said the business would be worth $32 billion to $34 billion, and Morgan Stanley (MS) estimated the value at $34 billion to $36 billion

o http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTfNflf03xcw&pos=6

· Pru seeks investor support in fightback

o Tidjane Thiam and Harvey McGrath began to fight back against calls for their resignations as chief executive and chairman of Prudential over the failure to land a deal for AIA

o http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/XTV55V/NNT7T/KELF91/RN1D2P/QR/h

· Generali says too early to talk of AIG Asia assets- Reuters

o "It is totally premature," a company spokesman told Reuters on Thursday in response to a Corriere della Sera article citing "circles close" to the insurer who said it might be interested in some of the AIA unit's businesses

o Generali has said before that it wants to develop in eastern markets both in Europe and Asia, the spokesman said, but the failure of Prudential's deal showed prices are too high.

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64U11N20100603

· Benmosche looks safe despite AIA deal failure- Reuters

o Prudential CEO Tidjane Thiam, in the top job for less than a year, is facing investor speculation about how long he can remain. But AIG Chief Executive Robert Benmosche, also in charge less than a year, looks set to survive unscathed

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6516VT20100602

· Talk of takeover swirls around BP- FT

o BP’s market value, which surpassed Royal Dutch Shell at the start of the year, has fallen to $115bn, lower than ExxonMobil at $280bn, PetroChina at $278bn and Shell at $159bn.

o With the Obama administration’s current hostility towards the industry, the prospect of Big Oil getting even bigger is unlikely to be well-received.

o http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3286c4f8-6e8f-11df-ad16-00144feabdc0.html

· BP May Sell Prudhoe Bay Stake to Get Cash as Spill Costs Mount- BBG

o BP may have to sell some of its most-valued assets, including a stake in the biggest U.S. oil field, to pay cleanup costs, fines and legal damages from the largest offshore spill in U.S. history

o “BP is going to have to look to other assets to pay for this mess they’re creating,” said Ober, who oversees a combined $1.6 billion at the fund and Adams Express “They won’t be able to use any of that cash flow to expand production or add to reserves, and that’s really going to put them in a bind.”

o http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avhGVgMAhdXg&pos=7

· Feds eye LYV Live Nation- NYPOST

o The Department of Justice is keeping a close eye on the music business in light of the mega-merger between Live Nation and TKTM Ticketmaster

o Justice has been contacting several independent music companies to see if they are experiencing any negative effects following the merger -- which has been approved but still must pass muster with a Washington judge

o http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/feds_eye_live_nation_eW0AoqBbui1yB6I0tdxWCP#ixzz0pmat99SX

· HPQ Hewlett-Packard CEO Sees Further Consolidation In Technology Industry – FT

o The technology industry will see further consolidation among the hardware and software makers and services companies underpinning corporate IT systems

o The big technology suppliers will see a new era of "competition," becoming rivals in some markets but remaining allies in others

o http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e7e5cee-6e8d-11df-ad16-00144feabdc0.html.

· SNWL SonicWALL To Be Acquired By Investor Group Led By Thoma Bravo- Reuters

o Network security systems provider SonicWALL, said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a deal worth around $717 million

o "Our agreement with Thoma Bravo represents an attractive valuation for our shareholders, and we look forward to closing the transaction as quickly as possible,"

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0220001820100603

· WPO Washington Post Receives Letters Of Interest For Newsweek- WSJ

o Washington Post Co. (WPO) received at least two letters of interest for its Newsweek magazine before Wednesday evening's deadline for nonbinding bids

o Bidders included the investment firm OpenGate Capital and Newsmax Media Inc., publisher of the conservative monthly magazine Newsmax

o Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI, TRI.T) has not submitted a letter of interest, though it's still possible the news and information company will partner on a bid later

o http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703561604575283282810498888.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

· Private Equity Targets Asia, But Challenges Remain- DJ

o Exposure to high-growth markets such as India and China has become the holy grail for most international private equity firms--places that previously were just a peripheral options. But the region remains fraught with challenges, and local knowledge rather than brand name is key, experts say.

o Growing interest in the region has been accelerated by the financial crisis, which crushed the U.S. and European buyout markets, freezing credit markets and putting deal activity on hold.

o In response, many private equity firms chose to ramp up activities in Asia, where businesses are looking to cater to an increasingly wealthy consumer base and opening up to foreign investment to boost coffers

· Astellas gets 87 pct of OSIP shares in sweetened bid- Reuters

o Astellas Pharma, Japan's No. 2 drugmaker, said investors tendered about 87 percent of OSI Pharmaceuticals' shares in response to its $4 billion bid for the U.S. biotech firm

· Hearst to Buy iCrossing- WSJ

o Hearst Corp. finalized Wednesday the purchase of digital-marketing firm iCrossing Inc. for about $325 million, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest traditional media company to bulk up on its digital-marketing expertise

o The owner of magazines including Cosmopolitan and Esquire for months has been chasing iCrossing, one of largest remaining independent businesses that specialize in advising marketers on buying Web-search keywords, crafting their websites, and tracking what people are saying about their brands online.

o http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703561604575283013675347880.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

· Sun Pharma Industries Rejects Guggenheim Offer For TARO Taro Stake- - Business Dtandard

o Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has rejected an offer from Guggenheim Securities, adviser to Israeli company Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries), to acquire Sun's stake in Taro for about $215 million

o Separately, the Economic Times reported Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management, as saying "we would be happy to sell (our stake in Taro) to whoever is going to give us that fair price."

o http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sun-pharma-turns-down-taro/s-offer/396913/;

· NBL Noble Energy sells assets,sees 10 pct production growth- Reuters

o U.S. oil and natural gas company Noble Energy Inc (NBL.N) said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell certain non-core assets for about $550 million and projected annual production growth of 10 percent over the next five years

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0220566120100603

· RDS Shell reviewing two Montreal refinery proposals- Reuters

o "There were expressions of interest put forward by two parties," said Larry Lalonde, a spokesman for the company's Canadian unit. He gave no details of the suitors or terms.

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0218670820100602

· Gerdau buys out GNA Ameristeel stock in $1.7 bln deal- Reuters

o Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau offered to pay up to $1.7 billion to take full ownership of its North American unit, looking to reduce borrowing costs and increase efficiency

o Gerdau on Wednesday bid $11 per share in cash for the 33.7 percent of Gerdau Ameristeel (GNA.N) stock it does not already own. The offer represents a 53 percent premium to Ameristeel's closing share price on Tuesday

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0216394120100602

· Price gap seen in sale of S.Korea KEB- Seoul Economic Daily

o Contenders for a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank, put up for sale by U.S. fund Lone Star [LS.UL], offered less than the market price for the Korean bank

o Citing a private equity fund source, the daily said the bidders in the early phase of the deal, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) and Standard Chartered, proposed less than 4 trillion won ($3.3 billion) for 51 percent of KEB

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE65108N20100603

· ANZ, Standard Chartered Offer 3 Trillion Won for KEB- Seoul Economic Daily

o Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and Standard Chartered Plc each offered about 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) for a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank

· ANZ Bank Says Speculation of KEB Bid ‘Not Accurate’- BBG

o “While ANZ is always looking at opportunities that further our strategy in Asia, speculation that we have made a bid for a stake in KEB is not accurate,”

o http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-02/anz-bank-says-speculation-of-keb-bid-not-accurate-update1-.html

· BAC Merrill Lynch In Talks To Sell Asia Realty Fund To BLK BlackRock- DJ

o Bank of America Merrill Lynch is in talks with the New York-based BlackRock to sell its fund focused on Asian real estate, India's Financial Chronicle newspaper reported on its website

o The almost $3.5 billion fund has invested in real estate projects in Japan, China, South Korea, India and countries in South-East Asia, as well as Australia

o http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/merrill-plans-sell-realty-fund-blackrock-164.

· PT holds out for higher Telefonica Vivo bid- Reuters

o Portugal Telecom wants more for its stake in Brazilian mobile operator Vivo than Telefonica's new offer of 6.5 billion euros ($7.95b), a leading shareholder said

o The sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the strategy of Portugal Telecom and its key shareholders was to show Telefonica they were still not satisfied with the sweetened bid, and to persuade other shareholders to reject it.

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6510VW20100602

· Tate & Lyle gains on takeover speculation- FT

o Bunge, the world’s second-biggest sugar trader, was suggested among potential bidders

o Rivals, including Bunge, probably looked at buying Tate last year, when the stock hit a nine-year low, but a 75 per cent rebound since then makes any approach seem much less likely, they said

o http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55a3992e-6e13-11df-ab79-00144feabdc0.html

· MTN Offered $7.8 Billion for Orascom Algeria- Reuters

o Talks between MTN and Orascom are “not yet settled,” Sawiris said in an interview with Reuters Televion in Beirut

· Packaging Firm BWY Bway Settles Suit, Markets Bonds To Fund LBO- DJ

o Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners is arranging a leveraged buyout of the Atlanta-based containers and packaging company valued at about $1 billion.

o A group of shareholders filed a suit shortly after the deal was announced March 31 in an effort to block it, said Jeff O'Connell, Bway's treasurer and secretary.

o "It's almost inevitable when you announce a merger of this size, and in this case it did in fact happen," he said. "We settled it."

$ RAISING

IPOs

· Facebook CEO says no date in mind for IPO- Reuters

o Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said he has no date in mind to take the Internet social networking company public, and defended changes to the service that have provoked privacy concerns

o The 26-year-old Zuckerberg, who co-founded Facebook in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, was asked if he expected to remain CEO if the company went public. Zuckerberg said he did, adding that he doesn't "think about going public ... much."

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65205B20100603

· Nielsen plans IPO filing soon- Reuters

o Nielsen may try to raise $1.5 billion through the offering, which is expected to have JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) as the lead underwriters

o Nielsen was taken private in a $10 billion deal in 2006 by a group of six private equity firms -- Carlyle Group CYL.UL, Blackstone Group (BX.N), Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co KKR.UL, Thomas H. Lee Partners THL.UL, AlpInvest Partners and Hellman & Friedman.

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6520HR20100603

· Chr. Hansen prices IPO at 90 crowns; demand strong- Reuters

o Danish food ingredients group Chr. Hansen said it saw strong demand for its initial public offering of stock priced at the low end of the expected range, marking a thaw in the Danish IPO market after years of inactivity

o "Despite volatile markets, the offering has attracted strong demand from Danish and international institutional investors as well as from Danish retail investors,"

o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6520WJ20100603

· KKR pushes analysts on Toys' pre-IPO valuation- NYPOST

o The firm that owns Toys 'R' Us has behaved like a playground bully in the past few months -- pushing analysts to give upbeat valuations of the giant toy retailer it plans to bring public this summer, according to bankers involved in the deal

o While there is no proof that any analyst did, indeed, raise his valuation on Toys 'R' Us amid pressure from KKR, the meetings raise the worry that analysts are again pitching for investment banking business

o http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/name_your_price_uIlgd2uEj6IXNCSymBwYmL#ixzz0pmUR367I

· Bilfinger Berger says no decision yet on IPO of Australian unit- CNBC

· Ferrous Resources Suspends Listing Due To Volatile Market- DJ

o Brazil-focused iron ore company Ferrous Resources Ltd. said Wednesday it has decided to postpone listing its shares on the London's main stock exchange due to unfavorable market conditions

o The company had announced on May 17 plans to raise $350 million to $400 million through a London listing that would have led to a minimum 25% free float, including shares from existing shareholders that were planned to be sold alongside the IPO.

· Eyeblaster awaits IPO- DJ

o The company said Wednesday it plans to file to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market. It has not yet chosen a symbol.

o J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank Securities, Pacific Crest Securities and Broadpoint Gleacher are underwriting the offering

· OAS Oasis Petroleum files amended S-1; to offer 42M share IPO in range $13-15 through Morgan Stanley and UBS…Of the 42M figure, 30.37M shares are being sold by the company and 11.63M shares are being sold by holders. The IPO was originally filed 4-Mar and the proposed symbol is "OAS".

PRICINGS

Initial Offerings

o NRE Nobao Renewable Energy 18m share IPO expected to price 6/03/10 via UBS and Citi: Price Talk $8-10

o WLS Welsh Property Trust 17.5m share IPO expected to price 6/03/10 via UBS and JPM: Price Talk $19-21

Secondary Offerings

o FFBC First Financial Bancorp- $92 million in shares expected to price Wednesday via Deutsche Bank.

o ART Artio Global Investors)-- $74 million in shares expected to price Thursday via Goldman Sachs.

o TXCC TranSwitch- $12 million in shares expected to price this week.

o MF MF Global Hldgs 22.5M-share secondary priced at $7.10/share via JPM, Citi, and DB

o DLR Digital Realty Trust 6M-share secondary priced at $57/share via CS, Citi, and BoA

NEWS

· Suzuki to Raise 6.39 Billion Yen From Share Sale to Volkswagen- BBG

o Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to raise 6.39 billion yen ($69 million) from a sale of 3.66 million shares to Volkswagen AG, according to a filing with Japan’s finance ministry.

o The funds will be used for research and development, Suzuki said in the filing.

· Petrobras Names Banks in Bullish Sign on $25 Billion Share Sale- BBG

o Petroleo Brasileiro SA named six banks to manage its $25 billion share sale, signaling slumping stock markets and Europe’s debt crisis haven’t derailed the biggest offering in the Western Hemisphere in at least a decade

o Petrobras picked Banco Bradesco SA, Citigroup Inc., Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit, Morgan Stanley and Banco Santander SA as global coordinators of the share sale

o http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-03/petrobras-names-banks-in-bullish-sign-on-25-billion-share-sale.html

· Colonial starts capital increase on Saturday June 5- Expansion

o The expansion will be 1,950 million euros and is intended to reduce its financial debt and provide it with long-term resources in order to support the company's strategic plan

o The proceeds, up to 50m euros, is intended to serve the ordinary course of business of the company, and any amount exceeding 50m be used to reduce financial debt of the company

o http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.expansion.com%2F2010%2F06%2F02%2Fempresas%2Finmobiliario%2F1275477595.html&sl=auto&tl=en

· Financials: VCBI Virginia Commerce files $150M mixed shelf

· Healthcare: CBLI Cleveland Biolabs files $90M equity shelf

· Utilities: MSEX Middlesex Water files 1.7M share secondary offering via Janney Montgomery Scott

***All eco data from Bloomberg and DJ

Prepared by staff of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. ("Cantor") and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision, should not be considered a recommendation by Cantor or any other person and does not constitute an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any investment nor is it a confirmation of terms. Any calculations and valuations presented herein are intended as a basis for discussion. Sources of information are believed to be reliable but Cantor makes no representation and gives no warranty that the information contained herein is accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates given may change. Cantor undertakes no obligation to provide recipients with any additional information or any update to or correction of the information contained herein. This material is intended solely for institutional investors and investors who Cantor reasonably believes are institutional investors. Cantor, its officers, employees, affiliates and partners shall not be liable to any person in any way whatsoever for any losses, costs or claims howsoever arising from any inaccuracies or omissions in the information contained herein or any reliance on that information. Cantor may have positions in financial instruments mentioned, may have acquired such positions at prices no longer available, and may have interests different or adverse to your interests. No liability is accepted by Cantor for any loss that may arise from any use of the information contained herein or derived here from. This product may not be reproduced or redistributed outside the recipient's organization. Sources: Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, Dow Jones, Marketwatch, Trade-Alert, and the Wall Street Journal.