MAJOR PAPERS:

• Chinese finance minister Jin Renqing unexpectedly quit, just ahead of an important Communist Party meeting this October, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Coors Brewing, part of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), will introduce "above-premium beers," its beer wholesalers were recently informed, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Sony Corporation's (NYSE: SNE) Sony Ericsson is expanding into fast growing emerging markets such as India and Latin America, and is developing low cost models for those areas, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra is conducting due diligence on Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) divisions Jaguar and Land Rover, which are both up for sale, but the Indian company is more interested in Land Rover, reported the Financial Times, citing sources.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to the Telegraph, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) dealmaker Alain Carrier is set to leave the company to take a job with the Canadian government.
• The Globe and Mail reported that General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) will eliminate 1,000 jobs at a Canadian truck plant in Ontario.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, some investors are speculating that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) could buy struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC).
• Five insiders bought $592.7K in Orbitz Worldwide Inc's (NYSE: OWW) stock at per-share prices ranging from $9.55 to $10.10, reported Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" column.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is believed to be considering the sale of Lake, its Japanese consumer finance subsidiary.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) has bought a 26% stake in ECL Finance, the non-banking finance company of India's Edelweiss Capital, for about $4.3M, reported the Business Standard.
• Brookfield Asset Management Inc (NYSE: BAM) has shelved its plan to buy Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE: CP) due to the global credit crunch and the current lack of funding for leveraged buyouts, reported the Globe and Mail.

WEBSITES:

• According to security company Symantec Corporation's (NASDAQ: SYMC) blog, there is a new Trojan called "infostealer.monstres" which is attacking online recruitment site Monster.com (NASDAQ: MNST).

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Dow Jones & Company Inc (NYSE: DJ) controlling Bancroft family will meet in private today to review News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) $5B offer from about two weeks ago to buy the company, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Live Mint," Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) is in talks with potential bidders, including IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM), for a stake in its business process outsourcing arm, Citigroup Global Services.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) will focus on becoming more personalized over the next five years, said Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to inside sources, Canadian aluminum company Alcan Inc (NYSE: AL) has entered talks with global mining giant BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) after rejecting a $28.4B hostile takeover attempt by Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), reported the Globe and Mail.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column speculated that the stock of Fiat SpA ADR (NYSE: FIA), which has been a remarkable turnaround story, may be running out of gas.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) announced that it has completed a $13.4B takeover Nikko Cordial, Japan's third largest brokerage firm.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Canadian aluminum producer Alcan Inc's (NYSE: AL) CEO Dick Evans said yesterday that a federal budget measure that will scrap a tax deduction could make the company a foreign takeover target, reported the Globe and Mail, with Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RTP) and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO) as possible suitors.
• The New York Times reported that online retailer Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is expanding a program, known as Fulfillment by Amazon, which is designed to allow independent sellers, including e-auction rival eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY), to use its distribution center network to store and ship their products.
• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section:
• Some pros believe the recovery plan at Cooper Companies Inc (NYSE: COO) is working.
• Insurer Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR) looks cheap at about $23.
  
• Metabolix Inc's (NASDAQ: MBLX) deal with Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) reduces risk in the name.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) has pushed into the high-end copier market with two new multi-function color printers.
• According to people close to the matter, Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways has agreed to but up to 24 of Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliners, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Economic Times reported that US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) will invest almost $80M in an Indian special economic zone, or SEZ, and may invest up to $300M in the venture.
• The Globe and Mail reported that Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) is looking for store locations in Canada, according to industry sources.

WEBSITES:

• TheDeal.com (subscription required) speculated that the proposed buyout of LaSalle Bank by Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) could catalyze a slew of bank acquisitions in the Chicago market, with possible acquirers including Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) and National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC), and possible targets including TCF Financial Corp (NYSE: TCB).
• DigiTimes.com reported that the VP of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) reportedly said that a buyout of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI) by private equity firms would be positive.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street," Navigant Consulting Inc (NYSE: NCI), which looks for improper stock-options backdating for other companies, may want to inspect its own records.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) will acquire Initial Electronic Security Group, a unit of Rentokil Initial plc (OTC: RTOKY) for $1.17B in cash.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that billionaires Ron Burkle and Eli Broad submitted a last-minute offer for Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) last night, offering $34 a share, according to sources.

OTHER PAPERS:

• BusinessWeek reported, citing sources close to the companies, that DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group unit is getting a bids from Magna International Inc (NYSE: MGA) and Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus has decided to pursue Chrysler alone, while Magna will partner with a different private equity group to make its bid.
• The Globe and Mail reported that BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is reportedly considering radical changes that could include a merger with Telus Corporation (NYSE: TU), after rejecting advances by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

WEBSITES:

• CNet.com's Gadgets blog reported that AT&T Inc's (NYSE: T) Cingular has confirmed that the release date of Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) upcoming iPhone will be June 11, the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

BCE Inc. (NYSE: BCE), better known as Bell Canada, supposedly held discussions to be taken private by KKR during the past few weeks, as we previously blogged about here. The report from Globe and Mail said KKR might pay a 20% premium, in Canadian dollars, to current market trading.

BCE issued a statement addressing the speculation, saying there have been no ongoing discussions with any private equity investor to privatize the company. The company added that it has no intention to pursue such talks.

If the talks did happen, KKR would likely have to come to the table with a nice offer to get regulators and Canadian shareholders to approve this deal.

BCE has been working hard to appease shareholders by getting rid of non-core assets to gain investor interest. Despite their efforts, the stock has remained in a tight trading range between $25 and $30. So, if KKR comes with a good enough offer, will they really stand by their statement?

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., reportedly has BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE), the owner of Bell Canada, in its sights.

A deal for the telecom company would be worth about CAD$30 billion (over USD$25 billion), making it the largest acquisition in Canadian history and one of the largest buyouts ever, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper. KKR is looking for Canadian partners such as the Ontario Teachers' Fund since foreign firms are prohibited from owning more than 46% of a telecom company's voting shares.

Shares of BCE were up 12% pre-market trading. They have dropped about 4% this year.

KKR already has its hands full:

The New York-based buyout firm is part of the $45 billion TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU) deal, the largest buyout ever. KKR also is among the companies in the hunt for Australian retailer Coles Group Ltd. Last month, it agreed to buy Dollar General Stores Corp. (NYSE: DG).

Apparently, there's no limit to the number of multi-billion acquisitions that KKR can juggle at the same time.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Financial Times (subscription required) wrote that Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) has shaken up its top management structure, giving senior status to executives outside New York in a move to recognize the bank's growth prospects abroad.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" was positive on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ADS (NASDAQ: TEVA), writing that despite challenges in 2007, the company could win back its crown.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Globe and Mail reported that DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group will eliminate 20%, or 2,000, of its 10,000 jobs in Canada.
• According to French paper Les Echoes (in French), Alcatel-Lucent ADS (NYSE: ALU) is expected to announce 12,000-13,000 job cuts, or more than 15% of its work force.
• Technology website CNet.com reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will release Windows 6, the latest software for powering mobile phones, on Monday.
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column was positive on bed manufacturer Tempur-Pedic International Inc (NYSE: TPX), which makes visco-elastic foam mattresses. The company has been able to stay in front by doubling its R&D and increasing its ad spending.