May 28, 2012 08:25PM

Shares edge up, Spanish debt costs curb risk appetite

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher but the euro eased on Tuesday, as a relief rally from last week's heavy selling proved short-lived, with a surge in Spanish borrowing costs adding to simmering worries about Europe's debt restructuring challenges. The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.2530, just above its 2-month low of $1.2495 hit on Friday, while the Australian dollar, often seen as a gauge for risk appetite, fell 0.2 percent to $0.9830. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.6 percent, after having shed as much as 0. ...

May 28, 2012 10:04PM

Analysis: JPMorgan dips into cookie jar to offset "London Whale" losses

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has sold an estimated $25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to prop up earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous "London Whale," compounding the cost of those trades. CEO Jamie Dimon earlier this month said the bank sold corporate bonds and other securities, pocketing $1 billion in gains that will help offset more than $2 billion in losses. As a result, the bank will not have to report as big an earnings hit for the second quarter. ...

May 28, 2012 10:10PM

Marubeni nears $3.5 billion-plus Gavilon deal: sources

TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp is nearing a deal to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for about $3.5 billion excluding debt and could announce the transaction as early as Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo, according to people familiar with the matter. Marubeni, Japan's fifth-largest trading company, has been in advanced talks to buy Gavilon since early May. The Japanese company has confirmed its interest in Gavilon but said no decision had been made. ...

May 28, 2012 09:19PM

Samsung Galaxy S3 gets head start on rival iPhone

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co launches its latest Galaxy S smartphone in Europe on Tuesday, with the third generation model expected to be even more successful than its predecessor, which helped the South Korean company topple Apple Inc as the world's top smartphone maker. The S3, which tracks the user's eye movements to keep the screen from dimming or turning off while in use, hits stores in 28 European and Middle East countries, including Germany and Britain, as Samsung aims to widen the gap with Apple months ahead of its rival's new iPhone, expected in the third quarter. ...

May 28, 2012 10:24PM

China May official PMI to affirm weaker second-quarter growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's official manufacturing managers' index (PMI) may have eased to 52.2 in May from a 13-month high in April, affirming the economy is slowing for the sixth consecutive quarter even as the government steps up stimulus measures, a Reuters poll showed. Unexpectedly weak data for April, including a 9.3 percent annual rise in factory output, the weakest pace in nearly three years, has fuelled expectations that the world's second-largest economy would only hit bottom in June at the earliest. ...