ECONOMY

U.S. FACTORY ORDERS RISE 0.7% IN MAY American factory orders rose in May, as a rise in nondurable goods offset a big drop in demand for aircraft.

Factory orders rose 0.7% in May, following a revised 2.0% decline in April, the Commerce Department said yesterday. April orders were originally reported down 1.8%.

Orders were just slightly stronger than the 0.3% increase Wall Street economists had predicted ahead of the report. Recent data indicate the manufacturing sector of the American economy is softening amid rising prices.

James Glassman, economist at JP Morgan Securities, said inflation – spurred by rising energy prices – is responsible for much of the gain in May factory orders.” This report is consistent with a gentle slowing in manufacturing,” Mr. Glassman said.

Yesterday’s factory report showed demand for durable goods, designed to last at least three years, fell 0.2%, following a 4.7% drop in April. The May figure was revised slightly upward from the Commerce Department’s originally estimated 0.3% decline.

– Dow Jones Newswires

IN THE BOARDROOM

GOLDMAN ASIA EXECUTIVE QUITS TO START HEDGE FUND Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its co-head of securities for Asia, Hyder Ahmad, has resigned to start an Asian hedge fund.

Mr. Ahmad, 38 years old, will end 11 years working at Goldman at the end of July, according to a Goldman Sachs spokesman. Mr. Ahmad joined the firm in 1995 and, after working in the bank’s equities division, was made co-head of securities in 2002. – Dow Jones Newswires

EXPERTS: KERKORIAN MAY TAKE CONTROL OF GM Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian could seize control of General Motors Corp. easily with help from automakers Nissan and Renault.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. owns 9.9% of GM’s shares. If Renault SA of France and Nissan Motor Co. of Japan each buy stakes of up to 10%, they collectively would be the largest shareholder and could have their way with the icon of American industry, analysts said yesterday.

With such control, the disgruntled Mr. Kerkorian could oust GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and replace him with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan.

– Associated Press

FOREIGN MARKETS

JAPANESE STOCKS DECLINE ON U.S. RATES, RECORD OIL PRICES Japanese stocks declined after a report on American factory orders and record oil prices indicated the Federal Reserve may keep raising interest rates. Exporters such as Sony Corp. led the drop.

“What we care about most are the prospects for the U.S. economy,” said Haruo Otsuka, who oversees about $870 million in assets at Toyota Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “With higher oil prices and rising interest rates, earnings may not meet our expectations and this will hit Japanese stocks” such as technology-related companies.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 217.49, or 1.4%, to 15,306.45 as of 10:35 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index lost 19.16, or 1.2%, to 1570.81. Crude oil touched a record $75.40 a barrel in New York after North Korea test-fired missiles into the Sea of Japan yesterday, raising concern geopolitical conflicts may disrupt supplies.

– Bloomberg News