crude oil CLc1 motored past $67 per barrel to aseven-month high sending shares in BP BP

crude oil CLc1 motored past $67 per barrel to aseven-month high, sending shares in BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell(RDSa.L) and BG Group (BG.L) up between 0.7 and 1.4 percent. Oil giant Shell plans to cut 350-450 senior management rolesas part of its restructuring programme, according to a websiteto which employees post internal information. [ID:nLU499375] OUTLOOK INDICATORS Data showed Britain's manufacturing sector contracted at itsslowest pace in a year in May, but the market was expecting astrong number and the FTSE showed little reaction.[ID:nLAG003470] Shares in Barclays (BARC.L) were up 2 percent, StandardChartered (STAN.L) rose 1.4 percent, and Lloyds (LLOY.L) was up2.5 percent However, HSBC (HSBA.L) underperformed, gaining 0.5percent. Sterling climbed to its strongest level since early Novemberagainst the U.S dollar GBP=D4. Lenhoff said so far thepound's strength was not undermining the FTSE's drive higher,though it could in coming weeks if the dollar continued toslide.

In the United States, officials said General Motors CorpGM.N will file for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economicmight and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of governmentownership [ID:nN31495007]. The move removes short-term uncertainty from the market,traders said (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Stocks China Japan. Invesco Perpetual Select Trust plc HEADLINE: Listing Rule 15.5.1 - Transactions in a close periodIn accordance with LR 15.5.1, the directors of Invesco Perpetual Select Trustplc (`the Company') can confirm that they are satisfied that all insideinformation which the directors and the Company have in leading up to theannouncement of the annual financial results has been notified to a RegulatedInformation Service.Philip Jonesfor and on behalf ofInvesco Asset Management Limited1 June 2009END. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb killed four people and wounded 13 in a Baghdad vegetable market Monday, police and witnesses said, in the second attack there in just over two weeks. WorldPolice said the death toll from the blast in Baghdad's Doura district in the early hours, when farmers and merchants gather at the market, was unlikely to rise further.On May 21, a bomb in the same market killed three U.S. soldiers and 12 civilians."All of a sudden there was an explosion People were torn apart and killed and wounded.

Why? For nothing," said a man who gave his name as Abu Haider, who said he had helped some of the casualties."Do you see an American soldier here? Or an Iraqi soldier? There are just traders."The number of Iraqi civilians killed by violence fell last month to its lowest level since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, figures from the Ministry of Health showed.The U.S. military says al Qaeda -- whom it blames for most of the blasts in Iraq -- has been weakened and recent attacks represent an attempt to show they are still around.The spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, Major-General David Perkins, told Reuters last week the Sunni Islamist militants were running out of suicide bombers, forcing them to leave more bombs on roadsides, a less effective means of killing."The majority of the vehicle-borne (bombs) we've seen in the last couple of months are abandoned vehicles .. on a timer. It is instructive that they (al Qaeda) are having a more difficult time recruiting suicide bombers to drive the vehicles," he said.(Reporting by Haider Salahuddin; Additional reporting by Deborah Lutterbeck in Washington; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Roche) World. * Las Vegas Sands, Wynn look good for Asian exposure Stocks * MGM looks shaky on high debt load, small Macau business * Macau gaming stocks hot for higher growth potential (For other Reuters BUY OR SELL items, click [BUYSELL/]) By Sui-Lee Wee HONG KONG, June 1 (Reuters) - Casino stocks have had arecent winning streak, fuelled by hopes that some debt-heavyfirms have staved off bankruptcy and a betting sector slump hashit bottom. Among top global gaming stocks, Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) hasmore than quadrupled since March, versus the Dow Jonesindustrial average's .DJI 19 percent gain, while MGM Mirage(MGM.N) has more than doubled and Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) is up74 percent.

But the shares still trade well below year-ago levels, andmost analysts rate them a "hold" -- advising investors to takea wait-and-see approach before making any moves. (For a global gaming sector package, click [ID:nHKG213363]) ASIAN JACKPOT With more than half their operating profits earned in theChinese gambling enclave of Macau, Sands and Wynn are thepreferred choice for investors who want exposure to Asia's moreresilient gaming capital than to a volatile Las Vegas. Pure Macau plays such as Galaxy Entertainment Group(0027.HK), Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL.O) and SJM Holdings(0880.HK) have nearly doubled or more since March. Macau, the world's biggest gaming market, is likely toreturn to a growth track by September, but the third quarter inLas Vegas is expected to remain weak, analysts said.[ID:nHKG261502] Sands, which operates two casinos in Macau, opensSingapore's first mega-casino late this year or in early 2010. "The Singapore casino looks like it'll be a slam dunk forthem," said analyst Janet Brashear of Sanford Bernstein.