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US CORP BONDS-Market stronger, new debt sales continue
Reuters: [2008-05-15 22:57:00]
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. corporate credit
markets rallied on Thursday, while companies including HBOS Plc
<HBOS.L> and NiSource Finance Corp tapped the new issue
market.
The benchmark investment grade credit derivative index
tightened around 5.5 basis points to 90 basis points, its
tightest level in more than a week.
The rally was in line with a higher stock market, which was
buoyed by a pullback in crude oil. Healthy demand for new bond
issues also supported the market.
"There are a lot of new deals out there," said Mirko
Mikelic, senior portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset
Management in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
New debt sales have been pricing more favorably than in
previous months, indicating better demand for new debt, he
said. "A lot of people are putting cash to work, the cash
market has moderately improved,"
HBOS, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, on Thursday sold
$2.0 billion in debt in the 144a private placement market, said
market sources.
NiSource Finance, a unit of electric utility NiSource Inc
<NI.N>, also sold $700 million in debt.
In the high yield market, Oklahoma City-based oil and
natural gas company SandRidge Energy Inc <SD.N> sold $750
million of 10-year senior notes in the 144a private placement
market. The size of the deal was increased from the originally
planned $500 million.
Financials dominated secondary trading with JPMorgan Chase
& Co's <JPM.N> 7.9 percent bond due 2018 the most actively
traded, according to MarketAxess.
Residential Capital's 8.375 percent bond due 2010 slipped
in jumpy trade. ResCap is offering to exchange the debt for new
bonds with a later maturity. The deadline for the offer will
expire on Friday.
The bond fell to 49 cents on the dollar, from 49.5 cents at
Wednesday's close, according to MarketAxess.
(Reporting by Karen Brettell and Anastasija Johnson; Editing
by Leslie Adler)
((karen.brettell@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6274; Reuters
Messaging: karen.brettell.reuters.com@reuters.net ))
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EUROPEAN CORPORATE BOND MARKET REPORT..[EUB/]
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Keywords: MARKETS USCORPBONDS
U.S. WCoast - L.A. coker problems lift gasoline
Reuters: [2008-05-15 22:47:00]
HOUSTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Coker problems at two Los
Angeles refineries lifted West Coast gasoline premiums 2.75
cents on Thursday, traders said.
In the Los Angeles market, May ethanol-blend, unleaded
CARBOB gasoline sold at 3 cents, 3.5 cents, 3.75 cents, 4 cents
and 4.25 cents over NYMEX June RBOB gasoline, which fell 1.46
cents to $3.1658 per gallon.
San Francisco Bay CARBOB for May was pegged between 2 cents
and 1 cent under L.A.
Chevron Corp <CVX.N> and Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> both
reported coking unit upsets at their Los Angeles-area
refineries on Wednesday night.
Chevron said a controller problem forced a cut in
throughput on a coker at its 260,000 barrel per day refinery in
El Segundo, The coker returned to full production Wednesday
night.
Exxon said on Thursday morning a coker at its 150,000 bpd
refinery in Torrance malfunctioned, but was back at planned
production rates.
May CARB diesel in L.A. was unchanged in deals at 19 cents
and 19.5 cents over NYMEX June heating oil, which gained 0.46
cent to $3.6224 a gallon.
San Francisco Bay CARB diesel was notionally pegged even
with L.A.
May L.A. ultra-low sulfur diesel was priced at 0.5 cent
under CARB diesel.
L.A. jet fuel gained 1.25 cent, after trades at 26 cents
and 25.75 cents over June NYMEX heating oil.
In the Portland, Oregon, market gasoline was offered at a
1-cent premium to NYMEX RBOB and diesel was in a bid/offer
spread of 20 cents/21 cents over NYMEX heating oil.
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(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Walter Bagley)
((erwin.seba@reuters.com; +1 713 210 8508; Reuters Messaging:
erwin.seba.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS PRODUCTS WESTCOAST
US STOCKS-Market gains on oil's drop as tech, retail rise
Reuters: [2008-05-15 18:55:00]
(Updates with market turning higher)
NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a drop of more than $2 in crude oil prices eased worries about the impact of higher energy costs on consumer spending.
Advancers included shares of technology companies such as Apple Inc <AAPL.O> following a spurt of deal news in the tech sector and shares of retailers following stronger-than-expected results from J.C. Penney Co <JCP.N>.
U.S. crude for June delivery declined $2.12, or nearly 2 percent, to $122.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> climbed 47.87 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,946.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> jumped 8.32 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,416.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> leapt 24.89 points, or 1.00 percent, to 2,521.59. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan Paschal) ((Ellis.Mnyandu@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6085; Reuters Messaging:ellis.mnyandu.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com)) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS
Bush, Cheney assets stable as U.S. economy slowed
Reuters: [2008-05-15 18:30:00]
WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - As the U.S. economy slowed in 2007, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney saw their assets stay stable, according to financial disclosure reports released by the White House on Thursday.
The reports showed little change for Bush and Cheney even as a collapse in the housing market caused a credit crunch and led the Federal Reserve to rapidly cut interest rates.
Bush and his wife Laura reported assets worth between $7.2 million and $20.2 million last year, nearly matching the $7.5 million to $20 million they reported in 2006.
Cheney, who spent years in the corporate board room, reported significantly higher assets for himself and his wife Lynne, ranging from almost $21 million to $99.3 million, according to his financial disclosure.
The Cheneys' assets mirror a range of $21 million to around $100 million reported in 2006. Much of his wealth came from his past role as the head of the oil services firm Halliburton Co.
The disclosures only give the asset values in ranges.
Bush reported gifts worth $15,370. An avid biker after he had to give up running because of knee problems, the president received a $6,160 bike from Trek Bikes and two bike power meters worth almost $3,000.
He also received night vision goggles from Cheney worth $579, a $1,155 self-propelled trimmer/mower and accessories and a $400 custom Hawaiian shirt which were both given to him by the White House staff, according to his disclosure report.
Bush held a wide range of assets, including $2.95 million to $5.75 million in U.S. treasuries, his Texas ranch worth between $1 million to $5 million, a $844,000 stake in a tree farm and $123,715 in the GWB Rangers Corp -- the assets from when he was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team.
The gifts the vice president reported were more modest than Bush, totaling $5,364. They included two days of accommodations and hunting from the Greenbriar Lodge of Carlisle, Arkansas, valued at $1,600 and a $490 leather duffel bag from the White House senior staff.
Cheney received from Bush a framed 1758 map of the Chesapeake Bay valued at $723, according to his financial disclosure. (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Deborah Charles and David Wiessler) ((jeremy.pelofsky@reuters.com; +1 202 898 8392; jeremy.pelofsky.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: BUSH WEALTH/
ANALYSIS-Polar bear listing could slow arctic oil drilling
Reuters: [2008-05-15 18:03:00]
By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 15 (Reuters) - Oil drilling in the Arctic may need to slow down, now that polar bears, iconic symbols of global warming, are headed for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, experts said.
U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne this week added polar bears to the list of threatened animals under the act because their sea ice habitat is rapidly melting -- a move that comes just as the oil industry is pushing into offshore Arctic Alaska frontiers.
Experts said the additional protections for the bears will reduce the chances oil companies will be allowed to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, dimming hopes that the oil-rich wilderness would help the United States curb its dependence on energy imports.
It could also mean new buffer zones in the Arctic to protect nursing mother bears and cubs from deafening seismic testing, revamped oil spill contingency plans and the delay of future lease sales for energy exploration, the experts said.
"There will be additional permitting hoops that industry will have to go through," said Marilyn Crockett, executive director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. "These have the potential to slow projects down. But I think the big hurdle out there is the lawsuits that are likely to be filed."
DENS IN ANWR
Crockett said the listing was unfair because it places the burden for corrective actions on the oil and gas industry as well as Native subsistence hunters, even though neither of those groups apparently has caused the polar bears' problems.
Environmentalists say the controls are needed anyway because of the increasing risk of spills as energy companies move into the Arctic offshore.
"While that was true of terrestrial oil and gas activities of the past, offshore oil and gas is very different," Geoffrey York, director of the World Wildlife Fund's polar bear conservation program, said.
He said government studies estimate a 30 percent chance of a large oil spill, if development procedes in the Chukchi Sea, off northwest Alaska.
Deborah Williams, a former Clinton administration official who now heads Alaska Conservation Solutions, an environmental group, said a controversial proposal to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil companies could be swept off the table.
"This listing supports the continued protection of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," she said. "(The area) continues to have the highest concentration of polar bear denning sites.
"No one can say right now with any certainty what the impacts of the listing decision will be. Much of this will ultimately be decided by the courts."
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, however, said she hoped oil and gas activities will be able to continue without interference.
"Alaska will have to continue its record of balancing responsible development of our nonrenewable resource while we're protecting that magnificent species of wildlife," she said
While Palin said her administration would "work with the decision," she also held out the possibility of a state lawsuit disputing the listing.
"Our attorney general will be reviewing the decision and determine whether the decision was reached properly, or whether it deserves a closer look," she said.
One company active in Arctic Alaska said it was confident it can develop energy sources without disturbing polar bears.
Shell Oil <RDSa.L>, which in February dropped $2.1 billion in a lease sale for exploration rights in the Chukchi Sea, and in 2005 spent $44 million for leases in the Beaufort Sea, said it already takes special care to keep polar bears safe.
"Shell's polar bear policy currently meets or exceeds all existing regulatory requirements, including reporting, training and avoidance measures. In the future, as new regulations take shape, Shell with work with regulatory agencies and stakeholders to determine if additional mitigation measures are needed," the company said in a statement. (Editing by Walter Bagley) ((richard.valdmanis@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6056; Reuters Messaging: richard.valdmanis.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: OIL ALASKA/POLARBEAR
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