Spread on Japan Bonds May Indicate Stocks Will Drop Further, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- A widening spread between the interest
Japanese corporate and government bonds pay may indicate that the
stock market may have more room to fall, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.

Corporate borrowing costs are measured against the so-called
risk-free yields of government debt. The larger the difference is
between yields, or spread, the higher the perceived risk is of
the borrower defaulting.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Corporate Bond Risk Soars in Europe on Concern Over Hedge Fund Selloff

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds
rose to the highest in more than two years in Europe on concern
hedge funds may have to sell assets to cover losses, according
to traders of credit-default swaps.

Contracts on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies increased 21,000 euros to 365,000 euros at 1:25 p.m.
in London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The index, which
increases as perceptions of credit quality deteriorate, has more
than doubled since the start of June.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Japan Bonds Gain on Speculation Investors Sought Safety of Government Deb

(Bloomberg) -- Japan's bonds headed for the longest
winning streak since November on speculation a decline in
emerging-market debt and equities will prompt investors to seek
the relative safety of government securities.

The Japanese 10-year yield fell to the lowest in almost
three weeks as a drop in U.S. stocks extended to Asia. The yield
premium required to compensate buyers for the extra risk of
holding emerging-market debt compared with similar-maturity U.S.
Treasuries climbed to the highest since March, according to
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

JPMorgan's Dimon Sees `A Little Freeze' in Lending for Leveraged Buyouts

(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive
Officer Jamie Dimon said demand for leveraged buyout debt is
drying up and banks may be left holding more loans that they
can't sell.

There is ``kind of a little freeze in the marketplace,''
Dimon said on a conference call with investors to discuss the New
York-based bank's second-quarter earnings. ``If you see this
continue you will see the Street taking on a lot of bridge loans
and more aggressive repricing of those things.''


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

JPMorgan profit hurt by home equity loans

(Reuters) - The negative trend provides a new worry for investors. Until now, most of the angst has been focused on subprime lending, or loans to people with weak credit.




JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh said losses on home equity loans to prime borrowers, or those with good credit, will steepen, partly because U.S. housing prices have flattened or fallen in some areas.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Australian Wheat Production May Miss Forecast by 11 Percent, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- Wheat production in Australia, the
world's third-largest exporter of the grain, may be 11 percent
less than a government forecast because of dry weather in the
country's west, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.

The nation may produce 20 million metric tons of wheat this
harvest, the brokerage said in a note dated July 16. That
compares with its previous forecast of 22.8 million tons and a
government estimate of 22.5 million tons.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

Corporate Bond Risk Declines in Europe, Credit-Default Swaps Prices Show

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European
corporate bonds fell, according to traders of credit-default
swaps.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies dropped 6,000 euros to 268,000 euros at 8:17 a.m. in
London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The index rose as high
as 310,000 euros last week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 1-Approach Resources files with SEC to go public

(Reuters) - JPMorgan and A.G. Edwards are underwriting the IPO, the
company said in a preliminary filing with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission.




Approach Resources intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq
under the symbol "AREX" .


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

Corporate Bond Risk in U.S., Europe Soars on S&P Subprime Mortgage Warning

(Bloomberg) -- Corporate bond risk soared today to
the highest in 13 months after Standard & Poor's raised the
possibility of downgrading $12 billion of subprime mortgage
securities, stoking concerns that the flow of money in other
markets may be curbed, according to credit-default swap traders.

The CDX North America Investment-Grade Index of credit-
default swaps on 125 companies increased $3,500 to $46,500 at
2:35 p.m. in New York, according to broker Phoenix Partners
Group, the highest since January 2006. In Europe, the iTraxx
Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 companies jumped as much as
24,500 euros to 271,000 euros, the biggest daily move in more
than two years, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers Lead Fixed-Income Market, Greenwich Study Says

(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc. tied for first place among fixed-income
dealers in 2007 based on market share and service quality,
according to a Greenwich Associates study.

This year marks the first time Greenwich published the
results of its fixed-income survey. Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC rounded out
the top five firms, the report said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

EMI, Virgin Media, Italease: European Credit-Default Swap Market Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European corporate
bonds fell, according to traders of credit-default swaps.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index fell 2,000 euros
to 242,500 euros at 9:30 a.m. in London, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Corporate Bond Risk Declines in Europe, Credit-Default Swaps Market Shows

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European corporate
bonds fell, according to traders of credit-default swaps.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European
companies decreased 3,500 euros to 241,000 euros at 7:42 a.m. in
London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Manor Care Options Trading Jumped Before Carlyle $6.3 Billion Buyout Offer

(Bloomberg) -- Trading in options to buy shares of
Manor Care Inc. surged to a record June 29, the last trading day
before the operator of nursing homes and assisted-living centers
said it agreed to be acquired by Carlyle Group for $6.3 billion.

Manor Care option trading soared April 11 when the Toledo,
Ohio-based company said it hired investment bank JPMorgan Chase &
Co. to take advantage of its ``very strong financial position''
and ``enhance shareholder value.'' Since then, an average of
1,257 call-option contracts have traded each day, more than 3 1/2
times the prior year-to-date figure.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Costco, Discover Financial, Local.com, SanDisk: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies
whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges
today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges
closed on June 29. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company
names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. in New York.

Apple Inc. (AAPL US) rose $1.36, or 1.1 percent, to $123.40
in trading before U.S. exchanges opened. The U.S. debut of the
iPhone drew thousands of shoppers over the weekend, emptying most
of AT&T Inc.'s (T US) inventory and causing network glitches as
the flood of customers began activating the device. Shoppers
bought as many as 500,000 units over the weekend, Piper Jaffray
analyst Gene Munster said, more than twice his projection of
200,000. JPMorgan analyst Bill Shope estimated sales were
312,000. Before the phone's debut, analysts expected Apple to
sell 50,000 to 200,000 units.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Scottish Power Is Admitted to Endex to Trade Dutch Natural Gas Contracts

(Bloomberg) -- Scottish Power Plc's trading unit
joined the European Energy Derivatives Exchange to handle Dutch
natural gas contracts. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was admitted as the
exchange's seventh clearing member.

Glasgow-based Scottish Power became the 35th trading member
of Endex, the bourse said today in an e-mailed statement. It
will trade Dutch Title Transfer Facility gas futures, Endex
said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

U.S. Stocks Retreat After Bond Yields Gain; Citigroup, JPMorgan Decline

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell after the yield on
the benchmark Treasury bond rose for the first time in four
days, reviving concern higher borrowing costs will curb growth.

Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
led declines in companies that benefit from low interest rates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

British Airways, Clariant, Weather: European Credit-Default Swap Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning European
corporate bonds fell, according to traders in the credit-default
swaps market.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of debt
included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index fell 1,000 euros
to 195,000 euros at 11:05 a.m. in London, according to JPMorgan
Chase & Co.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Akzo Nobel, Pearson, Altadis: European Credit-Default Swap Movers

(Bloomberg) -- The perceived risk of owning
European corporate bonds fell the most in two months today.

Contracts based on 10 million euros ($13 million) of
credit-default swaps included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7
Index dropped 3,500 euros to 190,500 euros at 9:50 a.m. in
London, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices on Bloomberg.
The index is at a two-week low.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Lehman Brothers rising as banking power: Barron's

(Reuters) - This offers investors who are comfortable with going against the crowd or moving ahead of it the chance to buy the weak stock of a firm with a stable franchise that is on the rise, Barron's said.




One complaint about Lehman, however, is that at $600 billion, its balance sheet is not big enough to do many big deals, the paper reported. Goldman's balance sheet is $912 billion, while Morgan Stanley's is more than $1.2 trillion, Barron's said. Citigroup's is about $2 trillion and JPMorgan's is about $1.4 trillion, it said.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE1-Pros Holdings sees IPO priced at $10-$12/shr

(Reuters) - JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank Securities, Jefferies & Company and
Thomas Weisel Partners LLC will underwrite the IPO, according
to the filing.




The selling stockholders have granted the underwriters an
option to purchase up to an additional 1.02 million shares.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News