Consumers Cautious, But Keep
Shopping

U.S. consumer confidence rose
in May despite record gasoline prices and unrest in Iraq, Reuters
reported. The Conference Board said its monthly gauge of consumer
confidence rose in May to 93.2 from 93.0 in April. Economists said the
reports showed healthy consumer spending that should stay strong this
year as hiring keeps improving, though another surge in already steep
gas prices could pose a threat. 'The recent upturn in the present
situation index is being spurred by strong employment gains in March and
April,' said Lynn Franco, director of the Board's consumer research
center.

NRG Hires KPMG As New Auditor
After PWC Steps Away

NRG Energy Inc. has hired Big
Four accounting firm KPMG as its new auditor after rival
PricewaterhouseCoopers decided not to stand for reelection, the U.S.
power company said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. NRG, which emerged from
bankruptcy in December, had said earlier this month that it did not know
why PricewaterhouseCoopers had decided against continuing as the
company's auditor and that there were no disagreements with the firm.
KPMG will begin its appointment with a review of the company's
second-quarter report to be filed with U.S. regulators, the newswire
reported.

Prosecutors to Call for
Parmalat Trial

Prosecutors investigating Italian food group Parmalat
plan to call today for 29 executives and three financial institutions to
stand trial for crimes in the multi-billion-euro scandal, a judicial
source said, Reuters reported. The request for a trial would come five
months after the company filed for bankruptcy, leaving creditors holding
billions of euros of near worthless paper. The financial scandal has
called into question the actions of some of the world's biggest banks
and auditors. The Milan investigators will ask the judge to order the
accused to stand trial on charges of market-rigging, false auditing and
regulatory obstruction, the newswire reported.

Integrated Telecom Express
Announces District Court Decision in Bankruptcy Appeal

Integrated Telecom Express Inc.
yesterday announced in a press release that the U.S. District Court for
the District of Delaware upheld the January 2003 order of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, denying the motion filed
by the company's former landlord and largest creditor to dismiss the
bankruptcy case. The U.S. District Court also affirmed the bankruptcy
court's order confirming the company's second amended plan of
liquidation under chapter 11. The landlord has indicated that it will
appeal the decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kmart Promises 'Baby
Steps' in Recovery Plan

Kmart Holding Corp. on Tuesday
said it would focus on improving merchandise and customer service in
hopes of winning back shoppers who defected before and during the
retailer's bankruptcy, Reuters reported. In its first annual shareholder
meeting since filing for chapter 11 protection in January 2002, Kmart
said it was taking small steps such as coordinating its print and
television advertising campaigns and clearing out unwanted merchandise
as it tries to rebound from years of sagging sales.

'I wish I could tell you that
there is some grand five-year plan,' Chairman Edward Lampert told a
small contingent of shareholders. 'We're taking baby steps to try to
define a message that we think ... will resonate with customers.' At the
meeting, the company made no financial projections and gave few concrete
examples of how it plans to improve sales. In the recently ended fiscal
first quarter, Kmart's total sales were down 25 percent, while sales at
stores open at least 13 months, a key retail measure known as same-store
sales, fell nearly 13 percent.

Alstom Presses Rescue
Deal Talks After Big Loss

France's Alstom is close to a state-backed bail-out
that would invest up to 2.5 billion euros ($3.0 billion) into the
company and ward off bankruptcy, the engineering firm said today,
Reuters reported. But the company played down demands by Brussels that
it form industrial tie-ups as a condition for EU approval of the rescue,
vowing to keep control of core units. Alstom provided details of the
revamped rescue plan as it reported that its net loss ballooned to a
bigger-than-expected 1.84 billion euros in the year to March 2004 from a
1.43 billion loss the year before. The company was hit by interest
charges, restructuring costs from cutting jobs, and a slide in sales,
the newswire reported.

Trump Hotels Bonds Up On
Expected Debt Payment

Bonds of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts rose on
Tuesday as traders bet the casino company of Donald Trump would meet a
$73 million interest payment due at the end of the month and stave off
default, Reuters reported. Trump had a 30-day grace period to make the
interest payment after missing a May 1 due date. Trump could see his
casino company pushed into bankruptcy if the final deadline is missed,
analysts said. 'There's no chance he doesn't make it,' said Jacques
Cornet, head of leveraged finance research at CIBC World Markets. 'You
open up (the company) to somebody else coming in and taking the
properties,' he said, the newswire reported.

S&P Revises Caribbean
Restaurants' Outlook

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today assigned
its 'B+' bank loan rating to quick-service restaurant operator Caribbean
Restaurants LLC's (CRI) proposed $30 million revolving credit facility
and $180 million term loan B, which mature in 2009, the rating agency
announced in a press release. A recovery rating of '3' was also
assigned to the loan, indicating the expectation of a meaningful
recovery of principal in the event of a bankruptcy or default. The
proceeds from the term loan, together with the proceeds from the
issuance of $75 million of unrated subordinated notes and $2 million of
borrowings under the revolving credit facility, will be used to fund a
portion of the $335 million acquisition of CRI, to repay existing debt,
and for general corporate purposes.

Labor Woes Cast Shadow Over
Stanley Cup Final

The National Hockey League's event was overshadowed by
labor problems on Tuesday, with league Commissioner Gary Bettman
painting a gloomy picture of negotiations ahead of the Stanley Cup
finals, Reuters reported. Just hours before the start of the
best-of-seven series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Calgary
Flames, Bettman announced there was 'no new news' to come from his
meeting with NHL Players Association (NHLPA) representatives as the two
sides continue to stall over a new collective bargaining agreement.
Bettman underlined the league's dire financial situation announcing
during his pre-finals news conference that the San Jose Sharks, who
advanced to the Western conference finals before falling to the Flames,
will lose money this year, the newswire reported.

Court OKs Disclosure Statement
For Fleming Chapter 11 Plan

Fleming Cos. Tuesday won
court permission to send out its plan of reorganization to creditors for
a vote. Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath signed off on an
order indicating that the disclosure statement spelling out the plan
gives creditors enough information to decide whether to support it. The
order sets a July 26 date for the confirmation hearing at which the
court will decide whether the grocery company's plan can be put into
effect.

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Russian Aluminum Seeks
To Block Kaiser's Sale Of Jamaican Plant

ZAO Russian Aluminum is seeking
a court injunction to stop Kaiser Aluminum Corp. from selling its stake
in a Jamaican alumina refining joint venture to Kaiser's partner in the
venture. On Tuesday, an affiliate of Norsk Hydro ASA said in a statement
it exercised a right of first refusal to purchase Kaiser's 65
percent stake in Aluminum Partners of Jamaica, or Alpart. Norsk
Hydros's Hydro Aluminum Jamaica affiliate owns the remaining 35
percent of the Jamaican operation. According to court documents,
Hydro now has until June 6 to reach an agreement to complete the asset
purchase.

May 262004

Consumers Cautious, But Keep Shopping

NRG Hires KPMG As New Auditor After PWC Steps Away

Prosecutors to Call for Parmalat Trial

S&P Revises Caribbean Restaurants' Outlook

Labor Woes Cast Shadow Over Stanley Cup Final