TOKYO May 5
TOKYO, May 5 (Reuters) - The Swiss franc fell against thedollar on Tuesday after comments from Swiss National BankVice-Chairman Philipp Hildebrand that the central bank wastaking deflation risks seriously and it had to use exchangerate policy to prevent it. Currencies | Global Markets | France The dollar rose to 1.1290 francs CHF= from about 1.1270beforehand, up 0.2 percent on the day. The euro edged up to1.5090 francs EURCHF=R from about 1.5078 beforehand. For story see [ID:nWEA9985]. Currencies Global Markets France. May 5 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in theNew York Times business pages on Tuesday. Reuters has notverified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Stocks | Media | Italy * In areas hardest hit by the housing crisis, likeSacramento, California, and parts of Florida and Nevada, morerobust markets suggest the housing sector may be in the earlystages of recovery * U.S.
President Barack Obama on Monday called for curbingoffshore tax havens and corporate tax breaks to collectbillions of dollars more from multinational companies andwealthy individuals. * India's phenomenal growth in recent years was largelyfinanced by foreign investments and loans, which have fallensharply in the downturn. * Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry intowhether the close ties between the boards of two oftechnology's most prominent companies, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) andGoogle Inc (GOOG.O), amount to a violation of antitrust laws,according to several people briefed on the inquiry. * Many automotive mergers and alliances have done poorlybut Fiat (FIA.MI) is determined not to let that happen in itslink with Chrysler. * In a setback for the fledgling field of personalizedmedicine, Medicare has decided not to pay for genetic testsintended to help doctors determine the best dose of the bloodthinner warfarin for a particular patient. * Filene's Basement, the century-old retailer known forselling deeply discounted clothes and accessories by the likesof Gucci and Calvin Klein, filed for bankruptcy protection onMonday and said it planned to sell off most of its remainingstores. * The German government on Monday said it would considerhelping the Italian automaker Fiat (FIA.MI) grab control ofOpel, the German subsidiary of General Motors Corp GM.N, theailing American giant.
* The Supreme Court set aside an appeals court rulingoverturning CBS Corp's (CBS.N) $550,000 fine levied by theFederal Communications Commission for Janet Jackson's "wardrobemalfunction." * Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) reported nearly a $600 millionnet loss on a 12 percent decline in revenue during its firstquarter, largely because of defections of the company'scustomers to other wireless carriers. * The European Commission on Monday lowered its growthforecast for the European Union as a result of job losses, aweak housing market and a slump in global trade. * After wringing concessions from all but one of The BostonGlobe's labor unions, The New York Times Co (NYT.N) on Mondaypostponed its threat to start the process of closing The Globe,leaving the newspaper's immediate future resting on talks withthe largest union, the Boston Newspaper Guild. * The Supreme Court made it harder on Monday for thegovernment to recover the often enormous costs of environmentalcleanups from companies with only minor or limitedresponsibility for toxic spills. * Pending sales of previously owned homes rose for a secondmonth in March, while construction spending edged higher,according to reports on Monday that suggested moderation in thelong housing slump. * Two janitors were arrested in the attempted sabotage ofan Indian billionaire's helicopter, a senior police officialsaid Monday, describing the tampering as part of an internaldispute at the company that maintained the aircraft.
* Liberty Media Corp (LINTA.O) said Monday it plans tocombine the DirecTV Group Inc (DTV.O), the satellite TVservice, with its other media assets to form a new company. * MGM Mirage (MGM.N), the hotel and casino company, saidits first-quarter profit fell 11 percent as revenue fell shortof expectations. * Pepsi Bottling Group Inc PBG.N said on Monday its boardhad rejected a proposal by PepsiCo (PEP.N) to buy the remainingstake in the bottler, citing the offer as "grossly inadequate." * Connecticut added its name on Monday to the list ofpublic entities that have fired Aldus Equity Partners, thepension advisory firm whose founder was accused of securitiesfraud by federal and state authorities last week. Stocks Media Italy. LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 is seen gainingas much as 1.8 percent by financial bookmakers on Tuesday,catching up with gains from its continental European peers theprevious session when it was closed for a public holiday.
Stocks | Global Markets | France The UK's blue chip index is seen opening 74-76 pointshigher, after the FTSEuofirst 300 .FTEU3 added up 1.6 percentat 842.70 points the previous session, its highest close sinceJanuary 12. France's CAC .FCHI is seen up 3-15 points, or as much as0.5 percent while Germany's DAX .GDAX is seen edging 3-6points higher or as much as 0.1 percent. (Reporting by Simon Falush) Stocks Global Markets France. Stocks | Bonds Reuters publishes a Western European company diary coveringearnings, shareholder meetings, news conferences and analystmeetings Click on [WEU/EQUITY] or type in the code and hit F9. Please note: - All events/times provisional and in local time. - The inclusion of an event does not necessarily mean thatReuters will file a story based on it BRUSSELS - Thrombogenics (THR.BR) annual shareholders meeting BRUSSELS - Treasury certificate auction (three, six months) ------------------------------------------------------- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING CODES: [BE/DIA] for the long-term Belgian and Luxembourg diary [PRESS/BE] for today's Belgian press digest Stocks Bonds. Reuters publishes a Western European company diary coveringearnings, shareholder meetings, news conferences and analystmeetings Double-click on [WEU/EQUITY] or type in the code andhit F9.