News Round-Up: 06 May 2008

Markets
Major Asset Class 1,3,5,10 and 15 Year Returns – Safe Haven (05/06/2008)
Why We Must Fix It – John Mauldin, Safe Haven (05/06/2008)
Goldman’s Murti Says Oil `Likely’ to Reach $150-$200 – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Company Bond Risk Rises as Mortgage Defaults, Bankruptcies Soar – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
BlackRock to buy UBS debt – FT($) (05/06/2008)
Financial doom and other fairy tales – MSN Money (05/06/2008)
Rice prices hit records amid Burmese disaster – UK Times (05/06/2008)
Central banks braced for a storm as food prices soar – UK Times (05/06/2008)
Oil Rises Above $121 to Record on Nigeria Attack, Demand Growth – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Banks, Brokers Cut 65,000 Jobs as Subprime Losses Mount: Table – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)

US
Big Government Responsible for High Gas Prices – Ron Paul, Safe Haven (05/06/2008)
The high risks of low interest rates – MSN Money (05/06/2008)
Junk debt puts Countrywide rescue in jeopardy – Guardian (05/06/2008)
You’ve Been Warned: Bank of America Eyeing Countrywide – Minyanville (05/06/2008)
U.S. Home Slump Puts Owners `Underwater,’ Zillow Says – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Bernanke pushes government help to curb foreclosures – LA Times (05/06/2008)
How low will real estate go? – LA Times (05/06/2008)
Many wireless resellers going under – USA Today (05/06/2008)
D.R. Horton Reports Record Loss as Slump Worsens – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Home lender ResCap facing cash crunch – LA Times (05/06/2008)
Doubts Raised on Big Backers of Mortgages – NY Times (05/06/2008)
Fannie Mae loses $2.2-billion – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Fannie Mae to raise $6bn new capital – FT($) (05/06/2008)
GE to stop financing boat, motor home purchases – LA Times (05/06/2008)
Las Vegas used to be a recession-proof oasis. Not anymore – Newsweek (05/05/2008)
Why the U.S. employment picture is much grimmer than it looks – MoneyWeek (05/06/2008)
U.S. April Business Bankruptcy Filings Increase 49% – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Merrill Says Level 3 Assets Jump 70% in First Quarter – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)

Canada
It’s ABCP with an American accent – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Canada seen slipping in global supply chains – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Building permits fall unexpectedly – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Trade with the U.S. has stagnated: Conference Board – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Foreign investment in Canada highest in 8 years – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Pope and Talbot to shut its three remaining pulp mills – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)

UK
Britain’s service sector growing at slowest pace for 5 years – Guardian (05/06/2008)
Lloyds TSB bullish despite £387m writedown – Guardian (05/06/2008)
Lloyds TSB avoids heavy writedowns – FT($) (05/06/2008)
Bovis warns after sudden slowdown – FT($) (05/06/2008)
Bovis issues profits warning – Guardian (05/06/2008)
RBS to hit small firms with fees – Telegraph (05/06/2008)
A short guid
e to the RBS and HBoS rights issues – MoneyWeek (05/06/2008)
18,000 UK industry jobs ‘to go’ – Telegraph (05/06/2008)
City firms hold nerve in the face of credit crisis – UK Times (05/06/2008)
Estate agencies shut 150 branches a week – Telegraph (05/06/2008)

Europe
UBS to cut 5,500 jobs in subprime wake – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Swiss Re First-Quarter Profit Falls on Writedown – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)

Spain
La producción industrial se frena en seco – El Pais (05/06/2008)
El paro subió en 37.542 personas en abril, un 1,6% más – ABC (05/06/2008)
El gasto en prestaciones por desempleo subió un 21% y alcanzó 1.491 millones en marzo – ABC (05/06/2008)
El aceite de girasol, la harina de trigo y la leche subieron hasta un 40,65% en abril – ABC (05/06/2008)
Las ventas de coches caen el 11,5% hasta final de abril – El Pais (05/06/2008)
La fabricación de Citroën y las ventas de coches en Galicia caen en más de un 14% – El Pais (05/06/2008)

Emerging Markets
Erdöl: Indonesien denkt über Opec-Austritt nach – Der Spiegel (05/06/2008)
Indonesia May Leave OPEC in 2009 as Oil Output Drops – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Indonesia Raises Key Rate; Says May `Adjust’ Further – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Thailand drops plan for rice cartel – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)
Chile: Acuerdo pone fin a huelga en minas de cobre – Yahoo! Noticias (05/06/2008)
Argentine Farmers Prepare Grain Blockade in Protest Over Tax – Bloomberg (05/06/2008)
Brazil seeing sweet profit from sugar cane-based ethanol – Dallas Morning News (05/06/2008)
Zimbabue introduce un billete de 250 millones de dólares zimbabuenses – Yahoo! Noticias (05/06/2008)
Nuevas manifestaciones en Somalia contra el alza de precios – Yahoo! Noticias (05/06/2008)

Commodities
Barrick Gold profit hits $514-million – Globe & Mail (05/06/2008)