MARKETS

DOW FINISHES WITHIN REACH OF ITS ALL-TIME HIGH Wall Street ended yesterday mixed, with an analyst’s upgrade of General Motors carrying the Dow Jones industrials to a fresh six-year high and within reach of its best-ever close. Dell’s profit warning put a dent in the tech sector.

The Dow pressed toward its all-time closing high although investors anxiously awaited the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates when policymakers meet today. Many on Wall Street are hoping the Fed will signal that an end to its rate tightening is near. But analysts say the Dow is poised to break its record and could push higher.

– Associated Press

BUYOUTS

THOMAS LEE PARTNERS TO RAISE $9 BILLION FUND Thomas H. Lee Partners plans to raise $9 billion for its sixth and biggest buyout fund, 20% more than an initial target set about a year ago, a person familiar with the matter said.

The new fund is the Boston-based firm’s first since 62-year-old founder Thomas H. Lee left in March.

– Bloomberg News

COMMODITIES

CITIGROUP PLANS TO DOUBLE STAFF OF COMMODITIES-TRADING UNIT Citigroup plans to almost double staff at its commodities-trading unit worldwide as competition increases on Wall Street for a greater share of growing energy and metals markets. Citigroup plans to increase the number of people trading oil, metals, and other commodities to 150 by the end of the year from 85, the bank’s global head of commodities, John Casaudoumecq, said in an interview. Citigroup intends to expand power and gas trading in North America to Europe and start trading coal and carbon-dioxide emissions.

– Bloomberg News

INTERNET

TIME WARNER TO CUT 7% OF WORKFORCE Time Warner will eliminate 1,300 jobs at its AOL Internet unit, or 7% of the staff, as part of an effort to reduce costs by $1 billion. AOL will close a call center in Jacksonville, Fla., and other cuts will come at centers in Ogden, Utah, and Tucson, Ariz., a spokesman for Dulles, Va.-based AOL, Nicholas Graham, said. The unit has 20,000 employees worldwide.

– Bloomberg News

BANKING

BANK OF CHINA PLANS TO RAISE $9.8 BILLION IN ITS IPO HONG KONG – Bank of China, the country’s second-largest lender, plans to raise as much as $9.8 billion in its June initial public offering, in what could be China’s biggest IPO ever, according to people familiar with the share sale.

The sale comes amid high demand for China stocks, especially banking shares, as investors seek to tap the country’s rapid economic growth and expanding market of consumers. Already the bank has drawn commitments from 12 so-called cornerstone investors that have pledged to buy about $2.16 billion of shares, people close to the deal said.

– The Wall Street Journal

REAL ESTATE

AMERIQUEST SEES DECLINES, DECIDES TO CLOSE ALL RETAIL BRANCHES Ameriquest Mortgage Company’s decision to close all 229 of its retail branches and eliminate 3,800 jobs follows a steep decline in its lending volume and attempts to find a buyer, according to analysts who follow the home-loan business.

The Orange, Calif.,-based lender said Friday that it was not for sale. But it has been squeezed hard by rising interest rates and bitter competition. Ameriquest officials said loan volume plunged 46% to $2.6 billion in the first quarter from $4.8 billion a year earlier. What’s more, it spent last year dealing with government investigations of alleged predatory lending practices at some of its branches. Privately held Ameriquest is a specialist in the so-called sub-prime market for people with credit problems or other issues that prevent them from obtaining lowercost loans.

– Los Angeles Times

IN BRIEF

An arbitration panel handed down a $5 million award against Morgan Stanley in a case in which the Wall Street firm was accused of changing a client’s stated investment objectives … Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for home loans made in America, said it will spend $800 million this year on accountants and lawyers to correct $10.8 billion in bookkeeping mistakes, bringing the total bill to $1.37 billion.

– Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg News