STOCKS NEWS US-Soros: credit default swaps should be banned

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0748 ET 12June2009-Soros: credit default swaps should be banned
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Credit default swaps are "instruments of destruction" that should be
outlawed, billionaire investor George Soros said on Friday.

Soros said the asymmetry of risk and reward embedded in CDS exerted so much
downward pressure on the bonds underlying the contracts that companies and
financial institutions could be brought to their knees.

"Some derivatives ought not to be allowed to be traded at all. I have in
mind credit default swaps. The more I've heard about them, the more I've
realized they're truly toxic," he told a banking conference.

For details, see [ID:nPEK343673]

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0743 ET 12June2009-Futures pressured by drop in crude oil
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U.S. index futures were under pressure on Friday, weighed on by a drop in
the price of crude oil. Investors were also looking ahead to key consumer
confidence data.

For details, see [ID:nN12541207]

Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 fell 8 points while S&P 500
futures SPc1 fell 4.40 1.6 points and Nasdaq 100 futures NDc1 were down
1.75 points.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0732 ET 12June2009-Microsoft to ship new Windows w/o IE in Europe
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Software giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to send the newest version of
its Windows operating system in Europe without its Internet Explorer web
browser, in a step to counter pressure from European regulators.

The reversal comes shortly before the European Commission is due to rule on
antitrust charges brought against Microsoft in January, claiming that the
world's largest software company abuses its dominant position by bundling its
Internet Explorer browser, shielding it from head-to-head competition with
rival products.

Until now, Microsoft has claimed that the browser was an integral part of
the operating system and should not be pulled out, but it now plans to do that
for a European version of Windows 7, due to be rolled out later this year.

For details, see [ID:nN11506625]

Shares of the Dow component fell 3 cents to $22.80 in premarket trading.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0725 ET 12June2009-Crude oil falls on stronger U.S. dollar
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July crude futures tumbled on Friday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Investor concerns that prices had risen too far despite improving sentiment
about the economy also affected oil prices.

Crude oil reached a near eight-month high on Thursday.

"Most commodity markets are still quite overbought and could be subject to
a modest sell-off next week," said Edward Meir, analyst at MF Global. "We are
getting to a stage where the steep run-up in prices has arguably
over-discounted the modest brightening we are seeing in the U.S. macro
picture."

For details, see [ID:nLC158279]

The contract fell 1.8 percent to $71.38 per barrel.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0717 ET 12June2009-Hoku plunges, may not continue as going concern
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Shares of Hoku Scientific (HOKU.O) plummeted in premarket trading on
Friday, a day after it reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss, helped by lower
expenses, but said it may not be able to continue as a going concern over the
next 12 months.

The company, which provides raw materials to the solar industry, said it
may not be able to secure final funding for its polysilicon facility, which it
estimates would cost about $390 million to construct.

"The company may not have sufficient funds to complete the construction of
its polysilicon plant, or to continue as a going concern for the next 12
months," it said in a statement.

For details, see [ID:nBNG449926]

The stock sank 28 percent to $3.15 in premarket trading.