June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks rose as durable goods orders unexpectedly jumped and earnings topped estimates at Oracle Corp. Equities pared gains and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as the Federal Reserve disappointed investors by not increasing its bond-purchase program. Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank that got $45 billion of government funds, will raise base salaries by as much as 50 percent to help compensate for a reduction in annual bonuses, a person familiar with the plan said.

TOP STORIES/MOST READ ON BLOOMBERG

Citigroup Plans to Raise Salaries by as Much as 50%

Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank that got $45 billion of government funds, will raise base salaries by as much as 50 percent to help compensate for a reduction in annual bonuses, a person familiar with the plan said.

Buffett Acolyte Donates $2.11 Million as Thank You

Zhao Danyang , the hedge fund manager who paid more than $2.11 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett, said he owed his firm’s 600 percent return over the past six years to lessons he learned from the Oracle of Omaha.

Governor Sanford Admits Affair, Quits Republican Post

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, explaining his week- long disappearance from the state, said he has been unfaithful to his wife and will resign as chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association.

Microsoft’s Bing to Rival Google With Decision-Making

Microsoft Corp. said its Bing search Web site is being developed to break Google Inc.’s dominance by helping users make decisions from queries instead of providing links to indexed pages.

MAIN ECONOMIC RELEASES TODAY Taiwan Central Bank May Keep Interest Rate Unchanged at 1.25% N.Z.’s 1Q Current Account Deficit Seen Narrowing to NZ$1.13 Bln South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Index for June Is Released South Korean Finance Ministry Due to Release 2H Economic Outlook Conference Board’s Australian Leading Economic Index for April Hong Kong’s Exports Seen Declining 19.7% in May From Year Ago India’s Wholesale Prices Seen Dropping 1.69% in June 13 Week Philippines Imports Report for April Is Due to Be Released

MAIN ANALYST UPGRADES/DOWNGRADES *SHARP CORP. RAISED TO ‘NEUTRAL PLUS’ AT MITO SECURITIES *NEC RATED NEW ‘NEUTRAL’ AT MERRILL *MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC RATED NEW ‘BUY’ AT MERRILL *FUJITSU RATED ‘BUY’ IN NEW COVERAGE AT MERRILL *GUANGZHOU PHARMACEUTICAL RAISED TO ‘BUY’ VS ‘SELL’ AT UBS *MELCO RATED ‘NEUTRAL’ AS NOMURA INITIATES COVERAGE *SHUN TAK UPGRADED TO ‘BUY’ FROM ‘NEUTRAL’ AT NOMURA *GALAXY UPGRADED TO ‘BUY’ FROM ‘NEUTRAL’ AT NOMURA *DAIICHI SANKYO CUT TO ‘NEUTRAL’ AT DAIWA *KYORIN CUT TO ‘NEUTRAL’ AT DAIWA SECURITIES

ASIAN MARKETS

The Nikkei 225 futures contract due in June rose 185 points to 9,755. The Hang Seng Index futures for June climbed 479 to 17,950. The S&P/ASX 200 Index futures contract due in June advanced 22 to 3,790 at 6:59 a.m. in Sydney.

Most U.S. Stocks Rise on Durable Goods, Pare Gains on Fed

Most U.S. stocks rose as durable goods orders unexpectedly jumped and earnings topped estimates at Oracle Corp. Equities pared gains and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as the Federal Reserve disappointed investors by not increasing its bond-purchase program.

Treasuries Decline After Fed Keeps Size of Purchases Unchanged

Treasuries fell for the first time in four days as the Federal Reserve kept the size of its asset-purchase programs unchanged, failing to ease concern that record government borrowing may lead to higher interest rates.

Dollar Weakens Most in Six Weeks as Fed Speculation Declines

European Stocks Advance on Economy; Rio Tinto, SAP Lead Gains

European stocks rose the most in three weeks after U.S. durable goods orders unexpectedly increased and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development boosted its forecasts for the global economy.

German Two-Year Notes Rise as OECD Lowers Euro-Region Forecast

German two-year notes rose as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said the euro-region will contract more than it forecast in March.

Gold Rises on Speculation Renewed Inflation Will Spur Demand

Gold rose for a second day on speculation that the Federal Reserve will spur inflation by continuing to buy Treasury securities in a bid to revive the economy. Silver also advanced.

Crude, Gasoline Fall on Bigger-Than-Forecast Fuel Supply Gain

Crude oil and gasoline fell after a government report showed that fuel supplies climbed more than forecast as refineries increased operating rates.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NEWSPAPERS

Air India May Become a Low-Fare Carrier, Times of India Reports

Air India may have to transform itself into a low-fare carrier on most domestic routes in an effort to acquire bailout funding from the government, the Times of India reported, citing Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

Last Updated: June 24, 2009 17:06 EDT