Forex Investment

LONDON (AFX) - Here are the top stories on AFX News

UCB FY net down 50 pct, beating expectations; sees major earnings growth this yr

BRUSSELS (AFX) - Belgian pharmaceuticals group UCB SA posted a 50 pct drop in full year net profit, due to divestments and increased costs.

It said it expects profit to grow significantly in 2007 when Schwarz Pharma becomes fully integrated into the company.

Barratt H1 pretax profit up 10 pct to 180.2 mln stg from 163.9 mln stg

LONDON (AFX) - Housebuilder Barratt Developments PLC has seen pretax profits grow 10 pct to 180.2 mln stg in the half year to Dec 31.

The company, which has recently bought Wilson Bowden PLC, grew turnover marginally by 2 pct to 1.19 bln stg, and will give an interim dividend of 11.4 pence, up 10 pct from last year.

Munich Re posts record FY profit on favourable climatic environment

MUNICH (AFX) - Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG said full year net profit rose to a record 3.536 bln eur from 2.751 bln a year earlier, exceeding the 3.400 bln forecast by analysts, as the insurance industry was largely spared major losses from natural catastrophes.

The company said it will propose a dividend of 4.50 eur per share for 2006, up from 3.10 in 2005.

Australia’s Centro acquires US property trust New Plan for 3.4 bln usd

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Centro Properties Group and Centro Retail Trust have agreed to buy US-listed real estate investment trust New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc for about 3.4 bln usd, Centro said in a statement.

Centro said it will pay cash of 33.15 usd a share cash for New Plan, which specializes in convenience retail property. Its portfolio comprises 467 properties, including 453 shopping centers in 38 US states and 14 other real estate assets.

HBOS FY pretax profits up 19 pct, ahead of forecasts

LONDON (AFX) - UK bank HBOS PLC unveiled a better-than-expected 19 pct increase in full-year profit, helped by strong sales of savings and investment products, and a robust performance from its international division.

HBOS, the UK’s fourth-biggest bank, said pretax profit for the year to Dec 31 2006 came in at 5.706 bln stg, up from 4.8 bln stg last year. Analysts had expected profit fo 5.430 bln stg, according to a consensus forecast supplied by the company.

Holcim FY net, opg beat forecasts as construction sector remains dynamic

JONA, Switzerland (AFX) - Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd announced a better-than-forecast full year net profit of 2.104 bln sfr, up from 1.511 bln a year earlier, citing strong demand for products and services due to a dynamic construction sector and exceptionally favourable weather conditions.

Analysts had forecast net profit to reach 1.804-1.973 bln sfr, or 1.905 bln on average.

EFG posts sharply higher FY net amid strong client asset growth; raises targets

ZURICH (AFX) - EFG International, the global private banking group, reported a near-doubling of full-year net profit to 230.0 mln sfr, from 120.9 mln last year, citing substantial growth in total client assets to 73.6 bln sfr, from 47.3 bln.

Operating income during the period increased to 634.4 mln sfr, from 338.4 mln, while the cost income ratio improved further to 55.6 pct, from 57.0 pct.

UK Feb house prices up 0.7 pct from Jan, up 10.2 pct yr-on-yr - Nationwide

LONDON (AFX) - UK house prices continued to rise in February but the Bank of England’s three quarter point rate hikes since August last year are starting to dent underlying sentiment, according to the UK’s biggest building society, Nationwide.

It said its house price index rose by 0.7 pct in February from the previous month for a 10.2 pct annual rise, taking the average UK house price up to 174,706 stg.

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MONACO: Massimo Vilardi, an executive with Eurocopter, came to this years Monaco yacht show to sell helicopters.

Helicopters? At a boat show?

Yacht sales have increased 10 percent to 15 percent a year in the last few years, and this year was no exception. Since everyone who is anyone has to have a yacht, and increasingly does, what buyers want most now, naturally, are accessories: minisubmarines and helicopters.

Olivier Milliex, head of yacht finance at the Dutch bank ING, summed it up best. “Today, a mega-yacht is indispensable,” he said. “Its not like 15 years ago, when a yacht was a luxury item.”

Stock markets may be in rough seas and oil prices exploding, but none of that put much of a blemish on the mood at the trade fair last month in Monaco. Europeans often watch boat fairs like the canary in the coal mine to judge the overall health of their economies. But Monaco may not be the best bellwether: if other boating fairs are pr?t-a-porter, Monaco is, by design, haute couture.

The annual boating trade fair, hardly the largest in a series of fairs that go from Cannes to Genoa to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the end of October, ran here from Sept. 19 to Sept. 22. Monaco limits the number of exhibitors to about 500; moreover, many yacht builders do not even show yachts. Their customers do not want off-the-rack yachts, they want boats custom-built to designs that will not be replicated.

One bauble that increasing numbers of big yacht buyers are asking for is a helicopter. Of course, that means adding a pilot and a mechanic to the yachts crew, but for the people who buy these yachts, that is hardly a concern. So Vilardi, head of marketing in the business and private market segment of Eurocopter, a unit of the EADS aerospace group, has linked up with the British yacht broker Edmiston to meet their wishes. At Monaco this year, Edmiston showed a 60-meter, or 200-foot yacht with Eurocopters smallest helicopter, which sells for about $2 million, perched atop.

“Our motto is, To create what money cant buy, ” Vilardi said. “Youre looking at a global offer: a car, a yacht, a helicopter, maybe a plane.” And, maybe, a submarine?

Across the fair from Edmiston, the Dutch company U-Boat Worx was showing its colorful two-seater submarine, whose bulbous shape makes it look like Mickey and Minnie Mouse would drive it, with a list price of $246,000. The minisub, said Erik Hasselman, U-Boat Worxs head of sales and marketing, is ideal for stowing on a yacht, but for safety reasons can only dive to about 50 meters, where there is still surface light. “Its only for recreation,” he said.

The banks at the trade fair, said Milliex of ING, were doing cross-selling: offering tax and finance advice to the same people who they serve as private banking clients.

Some wealthy customers, for example, prefer a mortgage for their yacht, taking advantage of low interest rates, rather than tying up cash in a yacht purchase. Others need advice on creating a company to buy their yacht, rather than purchase it directly, to save on taxes, or on registering their boat in a foreign country to enable them to pay lower social security contributions for crew members. Many of the yachts parked in Monaco were registered in George Town, in the Cayman Islands.

“Anyone who is in the oil business, naturally, is going to be motivated to build a yacht,” said Hans-Erik Henze, senior vice president for yachts of Germanys Blohm Voss, a division of the ThyssenKrupp steel group. “And thats where we do a lot of our business.”

Blohm Voss had the largest yacht at the show, the 105-meter Lady Moura, but it was moored offshore, not for visiting, being too large to fit Monacos narrow harbor. Henze said the companys three yards had 15 yachts under construction. “Once, 100 meters was thought big,” he said. Now we have several projects above that.”

Despite the ostentation of Monacos yacht shoppers, some bargain hunters come here, and they, in turn, are attracting shipbuilders from low cost countries. One of those was Timmerman Yachts, a Russian-Polish enterprise with yards in Moscow that is named for the Dutchman who introduced Czar Peter the Great to the art of shipbuilding. The yards build yachts in five sizes, from 25 to 47 meters, and there are 12

Asked why someone in Monaco would buy a Russian yacht, Irina Bogatyreva, a company official, replied unabashedly: “The price is cheaper, and the quality is the same as in other countries.”

FALLOUT from the US housing market downturn has hit Australia’s two largest building material companies, after James Hardie and Boral warned that their US earnings will be crimped this year.

James Hardie has forecast a fall of up to 16 per cent in full-year operating profit to $US187 million ($A223 million) because of weakness in the US.

The forecast does not include the possibility of a “significant” deterioration in a market where it derives about 80 per cent of its sales.

Boral, which is less exposed to the US, expects brick and roof tile sales to fall there because fewer houses are being built. But Boral will not give an earnings forecast until at least October because of volatile conditions in its key markets.

The subprime mortgage crisis has exacerbated concerns about the US housing market, where construction of new houses is predicted to fall as much as 10 per cent to 1.4 million in 2007-08.

But James Hardie shares defied the dismal outlook in the US and a market slump in Australia yesterday, closing up 17 at $7.67, still almost 25 per cent off a high in February.

Investors pushed the shares up after James Hardie posted a stronger than expected 10 per cent rise in net operating profit to $US39 million for the first quarter despite “very challenging market conditions”.

The announcement of a long- awaited buyback of up to 10 per cent almost 47 million of its issued shares to correct its “lazy balance sheet” also propped up the shares.

James Hardie chief executive Louis Gries said the first-quarter performance could not be maintained for the rest of the year because the company had benefited from US builders buying products in anticipation of an improvement in the housing market, which did not eventuate.

“It’s more of a timing issue we had a perfect storm,” he said of the quarterly result yesterday.

Mr Gries declined to predict the impact of the meltdown in the subprime mortgage market on James Hardie. But he said indicators of building permits and builder confidence levels suggested further weakness in the short to medium term.

“It’s just too hard to predict what is going to happen but we are not in panic mode,” Mr Gries said, adding that a 10 per cent fall in housing starts in the US would crimp demand for James Hardie’s products by 7 per cent.

Boral reported a drop of almost 18 per cent to $298 million in net profit for the full year because of a “significant decline” in US earnings. In Australia, the company suffered from reduced earnings from building products due to ongoing weakness in housing activity.

“It’s too late to sell Australian building materials companies on concern for the US housing market,” said Southern Cross Equities head of research David Whittaker.

Boral, which does not expect a recovery in the US market for another year to 18 months, declared a final dividend of 17 a share payable on September 18, taking the total payout for the year to 34.

Boral shares fell 12 to $7.15.

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - US SUMMARY: Dow breaches 13,000 on earnings data, oil up as inventories fall

Index Change Pct change

*DJIA 13089.89 +135.95 +1.05

*Nasdaq 2547.89 +23.35 +0.92

*S&P 500 1495.42 +15.01 +1.01

Dow Future 13120.00 +113.00 +0.87 (2014 GMT)

Nasdaq Future 1902.00 +8.00 +0.42 (0325 GMT)

S&P Future 1502.10 +1.30 +0.09 (0329 GMT)

eur-usd 1.3640 +0.0014

Brent crude

Nymex 65.64 usd +1.26 usd

10 yr US

treasury 4.6 pct 8/32

* yesterday’s close

STOCKS: Wall Street rose Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing above the 13,000 mark. The Dow surged from 12,000 to 13,000 in just six months. But

appearances can be deceiving, and there may be more reason to worry than rejoice about Wall Street’s latest accomplishment.

Stronger-than-expected profits from several large companies helped push the stock market to historical heights. But many big corporations, including the Dow components,

made a chunk of that money overseas, where economies are growing faster than in the US. And many of the same worries that weighed on investors earlier in the year remain:

rising energy costs, a slumping housing market and a possible credit crunch.

It took the Dow just 129 trading days, since Oct 18, to make the trek from 12,000 to 13,000, far less than the 7 1/2 years the blue chips took to go from 11,000 to 12,000. The

swiftness of this latest trip does recall the days of the dot-com boom when the major indexes were soaring and it took the Dow a mere 24 days to barrel from 10,000 to 11,000.

The Dow climbed to a record this time as many of the country’s biggest companies surpassed analysts’ first-quarter earnings projections. Among those beating forecasts and

advancing Wednesday were soft-drink maker PepsiCo Inc, materials manufacturer Corning Inc and Dow component Boeing Co. About two-thirds of US companies so far

have reported earnings that were in line with or higher than analyst expectations, said Jim Herrick, director of equity trading at Baird & Co.

A large reason why corporate growth has held up is strength in international sales; PepsiCo Inc, for one, said Wednesday its overall profit rose 16 pct, despite a drop in

operating profit at its North America unit. Also giving exporters an advantage, the dollar is trading near historical lows versus the euro.

Wall Street got an additional lift from the Commerce Department’s report of an increase in durable goods orders, which reassured investors that demand for US products

remains strong — orders to US factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose by 3.4 pct last month, the fastest pace in three months. The department also reported that sales

of new homes rebounded slightly in March. Wednesday’s advance gained even more momentum from the Fed’s assessment that economic growth seemed moderate in much

of the country. Inflation appeared tame, according to the Fed’s Beige Book, which describes economic conditions in regions around the country and arrives two weeks before

the central bank’s next meeting.

The biggest gainer among the 30 Dow industrials was Alcoa Inc. The aluminium producer said Wednesday it is considering selling its packaging and consumer businesses,

which account for about 10 pct of annual revenue. Alcoa rose 1.81 usd, or 5.3 pct, to 35.76 usd. 3M Corp, the sole decliner in the Dow, slipped 3 cents to 76.97 usd ahead of

its earnings report Thursday. The technology-dominated Nasdaq was lifted by Amazon.com, which reported late Tuesday that its first-quarter profit more than doubled,

besting analyst estimates. The Web retailer also boosted its revenue forecast for the year, reassuring investors that technology companies have the potential to keep posting

profits. Amazon rose 12.06 usd, or 27 pct, to 56.81 usd.

FOREX: The dollar traded within a whisker Wednesday of an all-time low against the euro, which passed 1.3660 usd on rising business confidence in Germany and

disappointing sales of new homes in the US.

The euro, which peaked at 1.3667 usd in December 2004, climbed to 1.3664 usd in late afternoon European trading after the release of Germany’s closely watched Ifo business

confidence index. The euro bought 1.3626 usd late Tuesday in New York. The euro fell back to 1.3640 usd after the US Commerce Department reported that sales of new

homes rebounded slightly in March, but not enough to offset declines in January and February.

The German index posted an unexpected increase in April — underscoring growing optimism about the 13-nation euro zone’s largest economy. Meanwhile in the US, new home sales

rose 2.6 pct last month compared with February, when they plunged to the lowest level in nearly seven years. New homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

858,000 units in March.

Meanwhile, the pound rose as high as 2.0062 usd, climbing from 2.0000 usd late Tuesday, after data showed the British economy defied expectations of a slowdown in the

first quarter and expanded 2.8 pct from a year earlier. The British currency rose in late New York trading to 2.0020 usd. It broke through 2 usd last week for the first time in

nearly 15 years.

Stronger European growth raises the likelihood of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England continuing to increase interest rates. Higher interest rates, used to

combat inflation, can bolster a currency by raising returns on investments denominated in it. Worries about the strength of the US economy have raised the possibility of the

US Federal Reserve cutting its rates, or at least continuing to leave them on hold.

In other trading, the dollar barely budged against Japan’s currency, edging up to 118.69 yen from 118.68 yen. It bought 1.2047 sfr, up from 1.2028 Tuesday, and 1.1150 cad,

down from 1.1228.

BONDS: Treasury bond prices suffered moderate losses Wednesday despite mixed economic data, with traders blaming a raft of factors, including stock market increases

and profit-taking after recent gains.

At 1700 EDT (2100 GMT), the 10-year Treasury note was down 2.50 usd per 1,000 usd in face value, or 8/32 point, from same time Tuesday. Its yield, which moves in the

opposite direction, rose to 4.65 pct from 4.62 pct.

Ray Remy, head of fixed income at Daiwa Securities in New York, also said that with the morning’s data releases out of the way, the market started to “focus on supply.” The

Treasury Department’s sale of 18 bln usd in two-year notes Wednesday was one of three auctions this week while next week sees the quarterly refunding announcement.

OIL: Oil prices rose Wednesday after the Energy Department reported a decline in US gasoline inventories.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled up 1.26 usd to 65.64 usd per barrel and gasoline futures rose to 8 1/2 month highs on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The US Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) weekly report on energy stocks showed gasoline reserves fell by 2.8 mln barrels in the week ended last Friday, dropping for the 11th

straight week, against market forecasts of a fall of just 500,000 barrels.

Inflation could re-emerge as an obstacle to the stock market’s uptrend if energy costs keep surging.

METALS: Gold prices were little changed in New York, but a further decline in the dollar may boost prices, as a weak dollar increases the appeal of the precious metal as an

alternative investment.

Gold futures for June delivery were little changed at 687.40 usd on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EVENTS:

Ford Motor Co Q1 results. Loss per share forecast 60 cents vs EPS 24 (before market opens)

NYSE Euronext Q1 results. EPS forecast 47 cents vs 34 (before market opens)

Coca Cola Enterprises Inc Q1 results. EPS forecast 5 cents vs 9 (before market opens)

Thomson Corp Q1 results. EPS forecast 21 cents vs 13 (1600 GMT)

Exxon Mobil Q1 results. EPS forecast 1.49 usd vs 1.37 (1600 GMT)

3M Q1 results. EPS forecast 1.12 usd vs 1.17 (1600 GMT)

Bristol Myers Squibb Co Q1 results. EPS forecast 23 cents vs 32 (1600 GMT)

US Airways Group Inc Q1 results. EPS forecast 36 cents vs 5 (1600 GMT)

Microsoft Corp Q3 results. EPS forecast 46 cents vs 32 (after market closes)

Weekly jobless claims (1230 GMT) - Weekly jobless claims are seen falling to 330,000 from 339,000 in the prior week.

March help wanted index (1400 GMT)

US Energy Dept weekly natural gas inventory data (1430 GMT)

April Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey (1500 GMT)

March Chicago Fed Midwest manufacturing index (1600 GMT)

ASIA SUMMARY: Stocks up on Wall Street leap; oil rises on fall in US gasoline stockpiles

Index Change Pct change

Nikkei 225 17462.83 +226.67 +1.32 (0338 GMT)

S&P/ASX 200 6214.20 +26.00 +0.42 (0338 GMT)

Straits Times 3414.36 +51.68 +1.54 (0339 GMT)

Hang Seng 20761.22 +224.44 +1.09 (0340 GMT)

BSE Sensex 14374.02 +156.25 +1.10 (0430 GMT)

usd-yen 118.61 -0.07 -0.06 (Intra-day trade)

usd-sgd 1.5122 +0.0007 +0.05 (Intra-day trade)

usd-inr 40.74 -0.15 -0.37 (Intra-day trade)

10-year JGBs 1.645 pct — – (Intra-day trade)

Brent North Sea 68.60 usd +0.03 +0.04 (Intra-day trade)

crude for June

STOCKS: Asian markets were higher as sentiment was boosted by the overnight Wall Street leap. Tokyo shares ended the morning session higher as investors hunted for bargains among counters that had seen recent falls, with sentiment cheered by the Dow’s fresh record close above 13,000 points overnight. But underlying caution before the announcement of more corporate earnings and ahead of the Golden Week holiday, which starts this weekend, capped further gains. The Wall Street action also pulled Hong Kong and Indonesian stocks up. Indonesian shares also gained on strong local macroeconomic and corporate indicators. Singapore stocks also edged higher. Malaysian markets were closed for a public holiday. Indian shares rallied as sentiment was positive after the regional markets rose, cheered by the overnight rise on the Wall Street.

BONDS: Japanese government bond prices ended the morning session flat to slightly lower on gains in stock prices and overnight losses in US Treasury bonds. Expectations of firm demand for a new two-year issue with a higher-than-expected coupon rate, however, kept JGB prices from falling sharply. The Ministry of Finance has auctioned a two-year note which carries a 0.9 pct coupon — more than the 0.8 pct expected by bond market players — to raise about 1.7 trln yen.

FOREX: The US dollar was relatively unchanged against the yen and euro in Sydney trade, following further economic indicators released overnight showing the US economy is continuing to trend to a soft landing, while growth elsewhere

is gaining strength. Friday’s US gross domestic product report for the March quarter, where growth is forecast to have slowed from the December quarter, will be key to whether the US dollar continues to trend lower in the short-term.

OIL: Prices edged higher in Asian trading hours after another heavy fall in US gasoline stockpiles. At 0255 GMT, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, was up 0.06 usd at

65.90 usd a barrel from 65.84 usd in late trading in the US overnight. Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz here, said: “Primarily, the market is driven by concerns over the fall in US gasoline inventories. Right now, it is really a gasoline-driven market and… the ongoing refinery problems have resulted in continuing gasoline stock draws.”

METALS: Gold steadied at lower levels yesterday, after having failed numerous times to break key resistance levels ahead of the 700 usd mark this week. “Either it’s gone very technical and is unable to puncture key levels or you can argue it’s an options play that’s keeping it in the range, but it’s certainly interesting that gold’s not responding to a weaker dollar,” said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.

Meanwhile, copper drifted lower yesterday, pressured by signs of a weaker US economy, but losses were limited amid low stocks and continued strong demand from China. China is the world’s biggest copper consumer, and news of high imports recently sent prices of the red metal up to around 8,000 usd. Nickel was down yesterday, as the LME reported a modest rise in stocks. Further, signs that demand in some areas is starting to soften weighed on prices, noted Adam Rowley an analyst at Macquarie Bank. Reports said POSCO, the world’s third-largest steel maker, has developed a new no-nickel stainless steel product, which is 50 pct cheaper than regular steel with nickel.

EVENTS:

Australia Westpac April leading index

Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp H1 results

Australia’s Zinifex Q3 production report

Japan 2-year govt bond auction

Japan weekly capital flows

Nippon Oil FY results

Nintendo FY results

Fuji Electric FY results

Mitsubishi Motors FY results

Nissan Motor FY results

Toshiba FY results

Nomura FY results

Yamaha Motor Q1 results

Fujitsu FY results

Victor Co of Japan FY results

Japan’s Shiseido FY results

Japan’s JFE Holdings FY results

Japan’s Kobe Steel FY results

Japan’s Seiko Epson FY results

Japan’s Kyocera FY results

SKorea March current account

SKorea’s Hynix Q1 results

SKorea’s SK Corp Q1 results

SKorea’s SK Telecom Q1 results

Hong Kong March trade

Hong Kong-listed CNOOC Q1 opg results

Hong Kong-listed China Unicom Q1 results

China Molybdenum starts trading in Hong Kong

Taiwan’s TSMC Q1 results

Taiwan’s Chi Mei Optoelectronics Q1 results

Taiwan’s Quanta Computer Q1 results

Singapore March manufacturing output

Singapore’s STATS ChipPAC Q1 results

Singapore’s Keppel Corp Q1 results

Singapore’s Mapletree Logistics Q1 results

Singapore’s Ascott Group Q1 results

Singapore’s Suntec REIT H1 results

Indonesia’s Excelcomindo AGM

India’s Reliance Industries Ltd FY results

India’s Cipla Ltd Q4 results

Nicholas Piramal India Ltd FY results

SKF India Q1 results

India’s Wockhardt Ltd Q1 results

India’s Cadila Healthcare Ltd FY results

India’s Escorts Ltd Q2 results

India’s ABB Ltd Q1 results

India’s Hindustan Zinc Ltd FY results

India’s Motor Industries Co Ltd Q1 results

India’s Marico Ltd Q4 results

EUROPE SUMMARY: London shares close higher as record Wall Street underpins Sainsbury gains

Index Change Pct change

*FTSE 6461.90 +32.40 +0.50

*DAX 7343.08 +72.76 +1.00

*CAC 5947.33 +61.30 +1.04

UK10-year

Bond 92.21 -0.01

UK 30-year

Bond 95.57 -0.09

stg-usd 2.0043 +0.0021

eur-usd 1.3651 +0.0035

sfr-usd 1.2017 -0.0015

Brent crude

ICE 68.04 usd +90 cents

* yesterday’s close

STOCKS: Leading shares ended higher Wednesday as a record session on Wall Street underpinned merger and acquisition fuelled gains in Sainsbury and better-than-expected results from drugs group Shire. UK microchip designer ARM Holdings PLC is expected to confirm today that it is on track for 15 pct revenue growth in 2007. Reckitt Benckiser PLC is expected to report strong growth in first-quarter sales and net income driven by a range of new product launches backed by increasing advertising and promotional spend. Legal & General Group PLC’s first quarter sales are expected to rise 17 pct when the insurer reports today, driven by a strong gains in its core UK market. Real estate company Cofinimmo SA is expected to post a decline in both top line and bottom line figures, following the disposal of four assets in the fourth quarter of 2006 and with rising interest rates weighing on results. Banco Espirito Santo’s first quarter to March results this morning are expected to show a sharp rise in net profit from a year earlier thanks to a cut in loan-loss provisions on top of strong loan growth. Finnish refiner Neste Oil is expected to report a slight drop in first quarter earnings year-on-year, as the delay in launching the new diesel production line is seen resulting in extra costs and lower production volumes. Stora Enso is seen reporting a drop in first-quarter earnings amid higher wood prices and a weak US dollar. Swedish white goods manufacturer Electrolux AB is expected to report a sharp improvement in its first-quarter pretax profit boosted by higher earnings in Europe, and easy comparisons from a year earlier. Banco de Sabadell SA’s first quarter to March results due today are expected to show continued robust growth at its Spanish lending business.

BONDS: European government bonds recovered some of their early losses yesterday after weak US home sales data in the afternoon. Earlier, bonds fell after a stronger-than-expected rise in the German Ifo business sentiment indicator, which cemented views of another euro area rate hike, likely in June, with another looking likely later this year. In the UK, gilts also recovered their early losses, tracking the wider market after being pressed down a bit by the GDP figures in the morning. First quarter GDP rose 0.7 pct on quarter and 2.8 pct on year, with analysts expecting 0.6 pct and 2.8 pct rates.

FOREX: The euro continued to hit fresh two-year highs against the dollar yesterday, moving closer to its all-time record on the back of a stronger-than-expected German IFO business survey. The euro went as high as 1.3659 usd, back within striking distance of its all-time high of 1.3666, before falling back a touch. Meanwhile the pound was slightly higher, boosted by solid UK first quarter GDP numbers, which showed the economy grew by more than expected, helped by another strong performance from the services sector. The gains were limited however, as the market has already priced in an interest hike in May as almost certain.

METALS: Copper drifted lower yesterday, pressured by signs of a weaker US economy, but losses were limited amid low stocks and continued strong demand from China. At 12.01 pm, LME copper for three-month delivery was down at 7,820 usd a tonne against 7,825 usd at Tuesday’s close. Nickel was down at 47,350 usd from 47,770 on Tuesday as the LME reported a modest rise in stocks. In other metals, aluminium was down at 2,837 usd a tonne against 2,840 usd, tin was up at 13,700 usd a tonne against 13,650 usd and lead was largely down at 1,985 usd against 1,990 usd. Zinc was down at 3,712 us from 3,735 usd on Tuesday.

Gold steadied at lower levels after having failed numerous times to break key resistance levels ahead of the 700 usd mark this week.

At 4.44 pm, London Brent crude for June delivery was up 90 cents at 68.04 usd.

EVENTS

UNITED KINGDOM

INTERIMS

Arm Holdings (Q1) - The average analysts’ forecast supplied by ARM and based on 17 analysts, is for first-quarter pretax profit of 21.6 mln stg, from 24.7 mln a year earlier, on revenue of 67.4 mln stg, from 64.6 mln.

Reckitt Benckiser (Q1) - Evolution Securities expects the world’s largest maker of household cleaning products to report net income of 159 mln stg, up 13 pct on the previous year.

Smiths News

Amvescap (Q1)

Aquarius Platinum (Q3)

Oil & Gas Development Co (Q3)

FINALS

ClinPhone

Corsie Group

John David Group

Evraz Group

London & St Lawrence Investment Company

Public Service Properties

Skyepharma

Stylo

World Television

AGMs

121Media

Altin

Ark Therapeutics

AstraZeneca

Aviva

Barclays

BBA Aviation

British American Tobacco

Croda International

Domino’s Pizza UK & IRL

Drax Group

Islamic Bank of Britain

Management Consulting Group

Meggitt

Reuters

Scottish & Newcastle

SR Pharma

George Wimpey

EGMs

Dmatek

NEW BUSINESS FIGURES

Legal & General (Q1) - Sales for the three months to end-March are expected to come in at 456 mln stg on annual premium equivalent basis, up from 390 mln stg in the same period in 2005, according a consensus analyst forecast supplied by the company.

ECONOMICS

Nationwide April House prices (0700 BST)

Bank of England financial stability report (0001 BST)

AUSTRIA

Oesterreichische Post AGM

S&T Q1 reuslts

CA Immo FY results

BENELUX

Cofinimmo Q1 results - Net profit is expected to come in at 18.67-22.1 mln eur for the first quarter, against 26.1 mln last year.

Belgian CPI (1130 GMT)

Barco annual shareholders meeting

KBC annual shareholders meeting

UCB annual shareholders meeting

Cumerio AGM

Option Q1 results

ABN Amro Q1 results, AGM

EASTERN EUROPE

Brau Union AGM

Danubius Hotels AGM

Fotex AGM

IBUSZ AGM

Magyar Telekom AGM

MOL Magyar AGM

Raba AGM

FRANCE

April Insee business survey, 0645 GMT. Forecast 109 vs 109

Capgemini Q1 sales (0530 GMT). Conference call (0600 GMT). AGM

France Telecom Q1 sales (may include operating earnings)

STMicroelectronics AGM

Danone AGM (1300 GMT)

Saint-Gobain Q1 sales (after market closes)

Peugeot SA Q1 sales (after market closes)

PPR Q1 sales

Thomson Q1 sales

April Group AGM

Schneider Electric AGM

Bouygues AGM

Scor EGM

Geodis AGM

PagesJaunes AGM

GERMANY

Lufthansa Q1 results - The company is expected to report a swing to a first-quarter net profit today of 394 mln eur from a loss of 98 mln eur a year earlier.

BASF Q1 results, AGM - EBIT before exceptional items forecast 1.970 bln eur vs 1.865 bln; sales 14.439 bln eur vs 12.515

Siemens Q2 results - EBIT forecast 1.789 bln eur vs 1.325 bln

Munich Re AGM

EnBW AGM

Hugo Boss Q1

Infineon’s Qimonda Q2 journalists conference call (1100 GMT)

Beiersdorf AGM

Euromoney conference on German financial market, speakers include finance minister Steinbrueck, Berlin (day 1 of 2)

Fraport conference on development of airport cities (day 2 of 2)

IG Metall trade union Baden-Wuterrtemberg, employer representatives hold fourth round of wage talks

March import prices (0600 GMT)

March wholesale sales (0600 GMT)

GfK Consumer climate - Forecast 4.5 vs 4.4

ITALY

STMicroelectronics (0830 GMT)

CR Firenze AGM (0900 GMT)

Snam Rete Gas AGM (1st call) (1300 GMT)

Parmalat AGM (1400 GMT)

Campari AGM (2nd call)

Hera AGM (2nd call)

D’Amico IPO ends

Borsa Italiana AGM, regulatory changes expected

PORTUGAL

BES Q1 results - BES will post first quarter net profit of 113-126 mln eur, up from 106 mln from a year earlier, according to analysts’ forecasts.

BPI conference call after Q1 results (1000 GMT)

Novabase national roadshow

SCANDINAVIA

Eltek Q1 results - Operating profit forecast 23 mln nkr vs 74 mln; sales 1.07 bln vs 599 mln

Ementor Q1 results - Operating profit forecast 64 mln nkr vs 63 mln; sales 3.11 bln nkr vs 3.10 bln

Neste Oil Q1 results - A consensus estimate from Kauppalehti — based on 12 analyst forecasts — put pretax profit at 140 mln eur, compared with 153 mln eur a year ago.

Ericsson Q1 results - Pretax profit forecast 238-441 mln eur vs 151 mln

Electrolux Q1 results - Electrolux’s pretax is seen rising to 714-735 mln skr from 387 mln skr a year earlier, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial News.

Sandvik Q1 results - Pretax profit forecast 3.089 bln skr vs 2.684 bln

Atlas Copco Q1 results - The company is expected today to report a first quarter pretax profit of 2.524 bln skr, compared with 2.032 bln skr a year earlier, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial News.

Autoliv Q1 results - Pretax profit 119.6-128.0 mln usd vs 133 mln

Stora Enso Q1 results - Analysts are projecting Stora Enso’s quarterly pretax profit to fall 27 pct year-on-year to 234 mln eur, a figure which includes one-off items amounting to a positive 32 mln eur, a Kauppalehti/SME poll shows.

Stolt Nielsen Q1 results - Operating profit forecast 53 mln usd vs 44 mln; sales 406 mln vs 361 mln

Sweden April consumer confidence indicator (0815 GMT)

Sweden March PPI (0830 GMT)

Uponor Q1 results (0900 GMT)

Norway April jobless data (0900 GMT)

YIT Q1 results (0500 GMT)

Elcoteq Q1 results (0600 GMT)

Stockmann Q1 results (1100 GMT)

Kinnevik Q1 results

Perlos Q1 results

Rapala Q1 results

M-real Q1 results

Outokumpu Technology Q1 results

SPAIN

Ferrovial Q1 results, conference call (1700 GMT) - Analysts polled by Thomson Financial said they expect first quarter net profit to rise to 328.0-385.5 mln eur from 112.0 mln a year earlier.

Iberdrola news conference in Valencia for Q1 results (1130 GMT) - Net profit forecast 441-445 mln eur vs 403 mln

Antena 3 TV results, conference call (1530 GMT) - Net profit forecast 38.8-44.5 mln eur vs 54.3 mln

Banco Sabadell Q1 results - Forecasts for first-quarter net profit range from 142 mln eur at Lehman Brothers to 145 mln eur at UBS, compared with 138 mln a year earlier.

Jazztel AGM

La Caixa Q1 results

Corp Mapfre Q1 results

Spain Gas Assn conference (3rd day)

SWITZERLAND

ABB Q1 results - Net profit forecast 405-435 mln usd vs 210 mln; EBIT 679-697 mln vs 689 mln

SEZ Q1 results

Nobel Biocare Q1 results - Analysts polled by Thomson Financial News forecast net profit of 42.0-47.5 mln eur, or 44.3 mln on average, up from 37.2 mln eur in the first quarter of 2006.

EUROPEAN UNION/EURO AREA

ECB longer-term refi result (0915 GMT)

ECB governing council meeting; no decision on interest rates

EU rules on joint venture between Owens Corning and Saint Gobain

EU rules on proposed merger between Tussauds Group and Merlin Entertainments Group

EU rules on inquiry into marine engine manufacturing joint venture by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Wartsila Oyj

EU rules on acquisition by Petroplus Holdings AG of BP PLC’s Coryton Refinery in Essex, UK

EU court judgement on carbonless paper cartel

EUs Piebalgs meets Russian industry and energy minister Viktor Kristenko

TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com

ami/npr/jro

COPYRIGHT

Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.

MIKE Huckabee, the Republican presidential contender, said he considered his rival Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith a religion, not a cult, but questioned whether Mormons believed “Jesus and the devil are brothers.”

Mr Huckabee raised the question in an interview to appear in the New York Times magazine on Sunday, and ignited a new flap in the up-for-grabs race to be the Republican Party’s nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

Mr Huckabee was asked if he considered Mormonism a cult or a religion. “I think it’s a religion,” he said. “I really don’t know much about it.”

Then he asked: “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”

Mr Romney, who has tried to dispel conservative Christians’ worries about the Mormon faith, responded on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday.

“That’s been something that’s been levelled at our church over many, many years and of course that’s been set straight now,” the former Massachusetts governor said.

“I think attacking someone’s religion is really going too far. It’s just not the American way. and I think people will reject that,” he added.

Mr Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, has surged in public opinion polls and is now ahead of Mr Romney in polls in Iowa, which holds its caucus, the first test of the US state-by-state nominating season, on 3 January.

He made the comment before Mr Romney gave a major speech last week trying to dispel fears about his church, known formally as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, particularly among conservative Christians, an important voting bloc.

Mr Romney responded with an attack on Mr Huckabee’s positions on issues such as immigration, and tax and spending. “I think Mike was desperately hoping we would get through this without people taking a close look at his positions and his record,” he said.