SINGAPORE: Asian shares climbed Tuesday and the dollar held its gains, after JPMorgan Chase raised its bid for Bear Stearns and U.S. home sales rose unexpectedly, lifting expectations for a recovery in the U.S. housing and credit markets.

Japanese government bond futures retreated, pulling away from last weeks five-year highs, after U.S. Treasuries slid on tentative hopes the worlds top economy would weather the credit crisis.

Financial stocks, from Kookmin Bank in South Korea to Babcock Brown in Australia, rang up big gains after JP Morgans sweetened offer for Bear Stearns signaled there was more value in financial assets than previously thought.

MSCIs index of shares outside Asia rose 1.9 percent by midday, the third day of gains, although the benchmark is still down around 16 percent this year.

Stocks on Wall Street rallied on Monday after a long Easter holiday weekend, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 3 percent.

Better-than-expected U.S. housing data also helped to lift optimism over the economic outlook.

“If theres even a hint that the U.S. housing slump might be coming to an end, and combined with an improved offer for Bear Stearns, it gives people hope that maybe the darkest period is over,” said Hans Kunnen, head of investment markets research at Colonial First State in Sydney.

“But the market is just operating like a yo-yo within a band. I refuse to get carried away.”

The Nikkei index in Tokyo ended the morning 1.3 percent better as Canon and other exporters climbed as the yen traded well below a near 13-year high posted last week against the dollar, easing some concern about earnings outlooks.

The dollar trading above 100 yen “makes a lot of difference for investor sentiment,” said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities.

The benchmark Kospi in Seoul added 1.1 percent, the SP/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 3 percent, and the Straits Times in Singapore climbed 1.9 percent.

June 10-year JGB futures fell 0.34 point to 140.31, pulling away from a five-year peak of 142.00 hit last week.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 1.265 percent staying above a three-year low of 1.230 percent hit last Monday.

In the currency markets, the dollar crept up to 100.76 yen, holding near the previous sessions highs hit after data showed that sales of existing U.S. home sales rose in February for the first time since July.

The dollar had plunged to as low as 95.77 yen last week, its lowest since 1995, amid the Federal Reserves aggressive efforts to ease the credit crisis.

Oil fell more than $1 to below $100 a barrel, extending a 10 percent fall from last weeks record, sent down by a buildup in U.S. crude stocks, concerns over slower energy demand and a recovering dollar.

U.S. light crude for May delivery was down 87 cents at $99.98 a barrel.

“There is a realization in the market that the fundamentals really dont justify prices to be so far above $100. One of the key factors is the recent buildup in U.S. stockpiles and the stocks are looking pretty healthy at this stage,” said Gerard Burg, a resource analyst at the National Australia Bank.

Gold dropped and held near its lowest in a month, with its appeal as a hedge against inflation weakened by a firming U.S. dollar and sliding crude oil prices.

Gold fell to $920.40/921.20 an ounce, and was within sight of last weeks one-month low of $904.65 an ounce.

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Justice Department approved Sirius Satellite Radios $5 billion buyout of its rival XM Satellite Radio on Monday, saying the deal was unlikely to hurt competition or consumers.

The deal was approved despite opposition from consumer groups and an intense lobbying campaign by the land-based radio industry.

The buyout received shareholder approval in November. The companies said the merger would save hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs, which would benefit customers.

David Joyce, analyst at Miller Tabak, said the savings could be significant.

“The net present value of synergies could be north of $3 billon,” Joyce said.

The Justice Department said the combination of the companies would not hurt competition because the companies are not competing today. Customers must buy equipment that is exclusive to either XM or Sirius, and subscribers rarely switch providers.

“People just dont do that,” said Thomas Barnett, an assistant attorney general.

The government seemed to endorse the argument of the companies that they compete with other forms of audio entertainment, including “high-definition” radio, Internet-based radio stations and even devices like the iPod.

“The likely evolution of technology in the future, including the expected introduction in the next several years of mobile broadband Internet devices, made it even more unlikely that the transaction would harm consumers in the longer term,” the Justice Department said.

XM Satellite shares rose $1.97, or 16.5 percent, to $13.90 in afternoon trading after the governments announcement while Sirius shares rose 28 cents, or almost 10 percent, to $3.18.

The deal is also being examined by the Federal Communications Commission, also expected to approve.

April Horace, an analyst at Janco Partners, was bullish on approval.

“The takeaway here is that historically the FCC does not go against the DOJ,” Horace said, referring to the Justice Department. “We obviously think the two agencies have been talking and this is not necessarily a surprise to the FCC.”

NEW YORK: Tiffany, the U.S. jewelry company, posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday as increased sales overseas and new stores helped offset the effect of a weaker U.S. economy that has strained consumer spending.

The shares of the company jumped more than 13 percent after it also gave a strong earnings outlook for the current fiscal year and forecast robust sales growth in overseas markets other than Japan.

Still, Tiffany maintained a cautious stand on U.S. sales, as it continued to expect earnings to be pressured in the first and second quarters.

The company, like mid-tier rivals Zale and Finlay Enterprises, saw sales at established U.S. stores drop in the November-December holiday period as shoppers, faced with a weak economy, cut back on purchases of jewelry and other discretionary items.

But domestic sales benefited from scores of tourists, especially from Europe, who took advantage of the weak dollar and shopped actively in Tiffanys flagship location in New York and at stores in cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas.

International sales rose 21 percent during the fourth quarter ended on January 31.

The company, which will unveil the first of its smaller format stores in the Los Angeles market this year, opened 17 new stores worldwide during the past fiscal year.

Tiffany said it expected net earnings per share of $2.75 to $2.85 for the current year, up from a previous outlook of $2.50 to $2.55. Analysts on average were expecting $2.49, according to Reuters Estimates.

The brighter outlook was partly based on a change in the way inventory is valued, a spokesman said.

Tiffany did not change its forecast for a 10 percent rise in sales from $2.9 billion in the previous 12 months.

The company forecast same-store sales growth at a low-single-digit percentage rate in the United States and in the mid-single-digits internationally.

“I think that there is more stability to the business than we might expect,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick, who has a “buy” rating on its shares.

He said it was better for retailers to be conservative rather than optimistic in 2008, given the state of consumers.

Fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent to $118.3 million, or 89 cents a share, from $140.5 million, or $1.02 a share, a year earlier.

But excluding special items, earnings were $1.27 a share, 6 cents higher than the analysts average forecast compiled by Reuters Estimates.

Items included charges for discontinuing some watch models after a tie-up with Swatch Group and loans made to Tahera Diamond.

Sales rose 10 percent, or 7 percent on a constant-currency basis, to $1.05 billion in the quarter.

U.S. retail sales rose 4 percent to $527.9 million.

Schick said Tiffanys business seemed to be more stable than expected, given the uncertainty about the consumer, and agreed international sales and tourists played an important role.

New York-based Tiffany declined to comment on the cost of precious metals, but said it was “modestly benefiting” from a hedging program that takes care of a part of its platinum and silver requirements.

Tiffany has said it will raise retail prices as necessary, as commodity costs increase.

Tiffany shares were up $5.16, or 13.4 percent, at $43.76, in afternoon trading after rising as high as $44.38 earlier on the New York Stock Exchange.