Replies to post #287747 on $Stock*Shop*Charts*News*Option$

[Stock Lobster]

BL: U.S. Stock Futures Advance as Toll Brothers Gains; Lehman Falls

By Adam Haigh and Michael Patterson

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures climbed as better-than-expected results from Toll Brothers Inc. overshadowed concern that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will be forced to raise more capital because of credit losses.

Toll Brothers, the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, rose after reporting a narrower second-quarter loss than analysts' estimated. Lehman retreated after analysts said the fourth- largest U.S. securities firm may post its first quarterly loss since going public in 1994, while the Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman may have to raise fresh capital.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in June gained 1.5, or 0.1 percent, to 1,386.9 at 7:47 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 4 to 12,510. Nasdaq- 100 Index futures rose 1.75 to 2,013. Declines in banks helped send the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its first drop in four days, while European stocks bounced between gains and losses.

U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days yesterday as Wachovia Corp. ousted its chief executive officer and Standard & Poor's lowered its debt ratings on Lehman, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch & Co. Financial shares have led the S&P 500's 11 percent decline from a record in October as writedowns and credit losses stemming from the subprime-mortgage market's collapse approach $400 billion worldwide.

Lehman, Toll Brothers

Lehman slid 63 cents to $33.20. The securities firm will probably post a second-quarter loss of 50 cents to 75 cents a share, according to analysts at Oppenheimer & Co. and Bank of America Corp. Lehman may seek as much as $4 billion by selling common stock, the Wall Street Journal said today, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

New York-based Lehman holds ``very large, illiquid'' assets and ``we can't rule out equity issuance'' to replenish the balance sheet, analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co. said in a report yesterday. Lehman spokesman Mark Lane declined to comment.

Toll Brothers reported a net loss for the fiscal second quarter ended April 30 of $93.7 million, or 59 cents a share. The company was projected to report a loss of about 90 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 11 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The shares gained 29 cents to $21.25.

For related news:

To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Haigh in London at [e-mail]; Michael Patterson in New York at [e-mail].

Last Updated: June 3, 2008 07:52 EDT

[xanadu90]

GM Stock Lobster. The Eastern markets - Asia and Middle-East are very keen on LNG. Qatar has ordered a huge fleet of LNG carriers, but for the time being there are not many LNG ships. On the other hand there are not so many gas refineries capable of liquefying gas, so the traffic has not been very lively. There are several LNG refineries being built now, at least in Europe, so the future of LNG carriers looks bright.

GLNG $18.64 Golar LNG and Teekay LNG (TGP $29.45) declare dividends ($0.25 and $0.53) for this quarter.