WRAPUP 1-U.S. new home sales ease, while confidence falls

(Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes fell 1.6 percent last month to an
annual rate of 915,000 from a downwardly revised rate of
930,000 in April, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
Analysts had been looking for May new home sales of 925,000.




While sales fell, sales prices rose. The median sales price
of a new home climbed 1.5 percent in May to $236,100 from
$232,700 in April. That marked a reversal for new homes from
April, when prices fell a record amount but sales rose
strongly.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

CDOs in `6-Inch Hooker Heels' Fooled Moody's and S&P, Pimco's Gross Says

(Bloomberg) -- Holders of some investment-grade
portions of collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime
mortgages will lose all of their money, according to Bill Gross,
manager of the world's biggest bond fund.

Bankers and money managers bundle securities into CDOs and
divide them into slices with credit ratings as high as AAA from
Standard & Poor's and Aaa by Moody's Investors Service.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Blackstone units fall below $31 IPO price

(Reuters) - The units traded as low as $30.36, down 6.4 percent, after losing nearly 8 percent on Monday. They jumped 13 percent in their market debut on Friday.




Analysts said the second-day decline was partly tied to investor concern that the private equity market may have run out of steam.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Canada's Dollar Little Changed as Report Shows U.S. New Home Sales Fell

(Bloomberg) -- The Canadian dollar was little
changed after U.S. statistics showed declines in new home sales
for May.

The government housing data may raise speculation the
Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, boosting the
allure of Canada's currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The
Canadian dollar's advance was capped on concern that slowing
U.S. growth may hurt Canada's exports. About 80 percent of
Canadian shipments go to the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

June consumer confidence at 10-month low: survey

(Reuters) - The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters was for 105.5, down from an originally reported May reading of 108.0.




"A perceived softening in present-day business and employment conditions are the major reasons behind this month's pull-back in confidence," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Oil Falls More Than $1 a Barrel on Forecasts for U.S. Inventory Increase

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel
on forecasts that an Energy Department report will show U.S. oil
and fuel inventories rose.

Crude-oil stockpiles increased 1.05 million barrels in the
week ended June 22, according to the median of responses by 14
analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Inventories of gasoline and
distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel,
also rose, the survey showed.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

UPDATE 1-Dassault Systemes launches 3D Internet software

(Reuters) - Dassault, whose clients include blue-chip companies such as
U.S. planemaker Boeing and Japanese carmaker Toyota
, also said it was extending a partnership with
Microsoft .




"3D must be used by all and for all," Chairman and Chief
Executive Bernard Charles told Reuters on the sidelines of a
technology conference the company is holding.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News