STOCKS NEWS US-Odds of rate hike by April falls after FOMC

Stocks on the move Real-time Equity news U.S. stock market report 0811 EST 05Nov2009-Odds of rate hike by April falls to 36 pct after FOMC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Following the very dovish statement from the Federal Reserve, the odds of a 25 bps rate hike by April have fallen to 36 percent from 54 percent yesterday and the odds of a hike by June have fallen below 100 percent for the first time, Peter Boockvar, equity Strategist at Miller Tabak + Co, said in a note. In response, inflation expectations 10 years out have risen to 2.12 percent, up from 2 percent just a week ago and are at the highest level since August 2008. Boockvar added, the Bank of England left rates unchanged as expected and raised the total size of their asset purchases by 25b pounds but that was less than expected. The BoE expected inflation to rise sharply above the 2 percent target in the near term in part due to higher energy prices and the pound is higher in response. The European Central Bank also left rates unchanged after Euro region retail sales unexpectedly fell in Sept. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0755 EST 05Nov2009-CF shares tumble in premarket trading after Agrium's offer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shares of CF Industries fell in premarket trading on Thursday after Canada's Agrium Inc again sweetened its hostile bid for the U.S. rival company. The stock fell 7 percent to $80.35 from closing at $86.39 in the previous session. Agrium said it has raised the cash portion of its bid by $5 and is now offering $45.00 in cash plus one common share of Agrium for each CF share. The offer implies a deal value of $92.99 per CF share, or $4.52 billion based on Agrium's closing stock price on November 4. For details see, Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0741 EST 05Nov2009-Jefferies upgrades Dominion to "hold" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jefferies & Co on Thursday upgraded Dominion Resources Inc to "hold" from "underperform," saying Virginia State Corporation Commission's permission to Virginia Electric Power Co (VEPCO) to issue $1.5 billion new equity will favor the power company. "Based on the projected higher equity allowed at VEPCO, we believe that the utility will be able to earn at a higher level over the next several years," the brokerage said in a note. For details, see Shares of Dominion closed Wednesday at $35.10. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0729 EST 05Nov2009-Futures little changed ahead of claims data ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday, ahead of the release of weekly jobless claims data, as well as data on productivity. For details, see Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 2 points while S&P 500 futures gained 1.3 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.5 points. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0710 EST 05Nov2009-Toyota posts surprise Q2 profit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Toyota Motor Corp reported a surprise second-quarter operating profit on Thursday and halved its forecast for a full-year operating loss. While the loss outlook was narrowed, it was still wider than analysts were expecting. For details, see U.S.-listed shares of Toyota closed Wednesday at $79.46. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0705 EST 05Nov2009-JDA Software to buy i2 Technologies ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ JDA Software Group Inc agreed on Thursday to buy i2 Technologies Inc in a deal valued at $434.4 million. Under the terms of the agreement, JDA will buy i2's common equity for $18 per share. For details, see Shares of i2 closed Wednesday at $16.51. JDA shares closed at $20.70. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0657 EST 05Nov2009-Microsoft CEO eyes Yahoo deal outside U.S. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday the company could look to extend its search engine partnership with Yahoo Inc outside the United States, if it gets regulatory approval. Earlier this year Microsoft and Yahoo signed a 10-year Web search partnership to challenge Google Inc, a pact that U.S. and European antitrust regulators are evaluating. For details, see Shares of Microsoft, a Dow component, closed Wednesday at $28.06, while Yahoo closed at $15.69. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0655 EST 05Nov2009-Dow Chemical revives plan with Shenhua ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dow Chemical Co and Shenhua Group, China's largest coal miner, will reportedly move ahead with their planned $10 billion coal-to-chemical project in Shaanxi province after a delay of at least one year. Top executives from the companies, senior officials in Shaanxi province and representatives from the U.S. Embassy in China attended a cornerstone laying ceremony on Nov. 3, the China Chemical Industry News reported on Thursday. For details, see Shares of Dow closed Wednesday at $23.67. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] 0650 EST 05Nov2009-Crude oil falls on stronger dollar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ December crude futures were down on Thursday, following a strong gain in the previous session as the U.S. dollar firmed. For details, see The contract fell 0.6 percent to $79.96 per barrel. Reuters Messaging: [e-mail] Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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