STOCKS NEWS US-BofA paying bonuses to lure talent: NY Post

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0851 ET 18June2009-BofA paying bonuses to lure talent: NY Post
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Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) has been paying millions in
bonuses in order to lure talent and retain investment bankers
the company views as vital, the New York Post reported, citing
sources.

Among those who are said to have received payouts are two
former Merrill Lynch bankers, Fares Noujaim, recently appointed
BofA's vice chairman of investment banking, and Harry McMahon,
the paper said.

Both were offered guarantees not to leave, the paper said.

For details, see [ID:nLI729151]

Shares of the Dow component rose 7 cents to $12.37 in
premarket trading.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0845 ET 18June2009-Futures turn higher after jobless data
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U.S. stock index futures turned higher on Thursday,
following a government report showing that the number of people
staying on jobless benefits after drawing an initial week of
aid posted its largest one-week drop since November 2001.

For details, see [ID:nN18380021]

Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 rose 23 points
while S&P 500 futures SPc1 gained 2.5 points and Nasdaq 100
futures NDc1 were up 3.25 points.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0835 ET 18June2009-Jobless claims rise in latest week
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The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless
benefits rose last week but the number of people staying on the
benefit rolls after collecting an initial week of aid fell for
the first time since January, a government report showed on
Thursday.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance rose 3,000
to a higher-than-expected seasonally adjusted 608,000, the
Labor Department said. Analysts polled by Reuters were
expecting claims to dip to 600,000 from a previously reported
601,000.

For details, see [ID:nN18383787]

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0827 ET 18June2009-Crude oil edges lower as dollar firms
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July crude futures edged lower on Thursday, dropping 0.3
percent to $70.82 per barrel as the dollar firmed and equity
markets slipped.

"Recently, the oil market is looking more at the
correlation between the euro and the dollar," said Ryuichi
Sato, an analyst at Tokyo-based Mizuho Corporate Bank.

For details, see [ID:nSIN282931]

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0819 ET 18June2009-J&J, Shire win backing of European court
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Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Shire Plc (SHP.L) on Thursday
won the backing of Europe's highest court in their battle for
data exclusivity against a generic rival for Alzheimer's drug
Reminyl, the court said.

The decision represents a wider victory for originator drug
companies, since a ruling against Shire and J&J could have
opened the door to generic versions of other medicines
developed in relatively new European Union member states.

For details, see [ID:nLI79267]

Shares of J&J, a Dow component, closed Wednesday at
$55.20.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
0813 ET 18June2009-Baird expects YRC to eventually go bankrupt
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Robert W. Baird on Thursday downgraded YRC Worldwide
(YRCW.O) to underperform, expecting the trucking company to
eventually go bankrupt, though that could take several months
or quarters.

Cash flow analysis suggests YRC would violate its $100
million liquidity covenant in the middle of the second half of
2009, with a negative cash balance in the first half of 2010
given required debt repayments, the firm wrote, expecting the
bankruptcy within nine months.

For details, see [ID:nBNG479250]

Shares sank 7.8 percent to $2 in premarket trading.

Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net