* C$ steady at C$0.9869 vs US$, or $1.0133
* Bond prices climb across curve

By Claire Sibonney
TORONTO, May 1 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar held steady
against its US counterpart on Tuesday after stumbling in the
previous session on data that showed the domestic economy
unexpectedly shrank in February.
Stable oil prices were also somewhat supportive of the
currency as economic expansion in China helped counter a
sluggish US economy and bubbling euro zone debt crisis that
may depress demand for fuel.
The Canadian dollar outperformed other commodity-linked
currencies after the Reserve Bank...

Indonesia’s rupiah dropped and
government bonds were steady before official data forecast to
show inflation accelerated for a second month.

Consumer prices rose 4.46 percent in April from a year
earlier, the most since September, according to the median
estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The report is
due around 11 am in Jakarta.

“If inflation reaches above 4.5 percent then we may see
the rupiah weaken beyond 9,200 per dollar,” said Dave Hartono,
a Jakarta-based foreign-exchange trader at PT Bank ICBC
Indonesia. “Otherwise, it will be in a very tight range of
9,170 to 9,200 for the week.”...

NYON, Switzerland — Europes top clubs are set to get a 15 percent raise in Champions League prize money for the next three seasons, the head of UEFAs commercial division said Tuesday.

UEFAs current three-year Champions League broadcasting and sponsorship deals have earned $1.46 billion annually, and finalists typically earn about $66 million each.

Increased demand and improved contracts will see combined revenues for the Champions League and Europa League top $2 billion for the 2012-15 cycle, UEFA events chief executive David Taylor told The Associated Press.

The Champions League is a must-have property for major broadcasters, Taylor said in an interview. I think...

* Private sector loan growth 0.6 pct y/y vs 0.8 pct in Feb

* Monthly flow of loans to firms at -5 bln eur

* Euro zone banks stock up on government bonds

* Data shows ECB LTROs yet to impact real economy

* March M3 annual growth 3.2 pct vs 2.8 pct in Feb

By Eva Kuehnen

FRANKFURT, April 30 (Reuters) – Growth in lending to euro
zone firms and consumers slowed in March as banks scaled up
purchases of government bonds, showing that an ambitious funding
drive by the European Central Bank has yet to trickle down to
the real economy.

Mondays ECB data offered the first pointer to loan activity
since the central bank...

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Matt Kemp have played 23 games this season and Kemp has 12 home runs. That puts Kemp on pace to hit 85 home runs and break Barry Bonds record of 73 in a single season.

The season is still young, but this looks like more than just a hot start from a good player.

Thislookslike a new norm for an outstanding player.

If Kemp continues to hit for as much power as he has thus far, then Barry Bondsasteriskmight be a mere afterthought. In Bonds record-setting season, he hit 11 home runs in his first 23 games.

Kemp is one home run ahead of that pace.

Its hard to understand how impressive Kemps tear is until you look at what the rest of the league...

VICTORIAS growth will stagnate and debt will soar over coming years, potentially triggering a review of the states prized triple-A credit rating.

When will it be needed? When the stock market goes down!  So, why not? Why not buy stocks? What can you lose? If they go up, you keep the gains. If they go downol’ Benny will be there with wads of cash to buck them up.

So where does the money come from? “Out of thin air,” was an expression used by John Maynard Keynes. But how could that be? How can you get cash money out of nowhere? And what kind of money could it be if you could get it at no expense? It must be a “funny” money, zombie food.

It must be worthless, right? But it’s not. That’s the crazy thing. The Fed plucks this money out of the air gives it to Citigroup, Bank of America,...

Do you really want to breach a contract with the employees who have committed a long part of their lives to the state of Louisiana? Carpenter asked state lawmakers recently.

For years, state governments lured workers with the promise of lucrative pensions that provide nearly the pay that employees earned on the job. But after years of budget crunches, nearly every state has revamped public retirement benefits in an effort to shrink the long-term obligations that are billions of dollars short of what is needed to cover benefits.

The moves have triggered a legal and political battle over whether states are reneging on their promises to millions of public-sector workers.

The...

Erie police have charged a man with using stolen credit cards to make hundreds of dollars worth of purchases.

Dale E. Gabler, 39, no address available, was arraigned before Erie 4th Ward District Judge Tom Robie over the weekend on charges of access device fraud, receiving stolen property, theft from a motor vehicle and criminal mischief.

Police accuse Gabler of breaking into two vehicles that were parked outside of a club in the 2600 block of Peach Street on March 17 and 18 and stealing a GPS unit and a wallet from one vehicle, and a purse containing a cell phone, cash and credit cards from the other vehicle.

Police allege that Gabler used a credit...

NEW YORK, Apr 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Fitch Ratings has affirmed its long-term ‘A’ rating of the Virginia Port
Authority’s (VPA) outstanding port facilities revenue and refunding
bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Key Rating Drivers:

Third Largest Atlantic Port with Focus on Containers: VPA is the 3rd
largest East Coast port by TEUs volume, and benefits from a diverse mix
of customers, with no one customer representing...