Among other individual movers, Inmarsat (ISA.L) added 1.9percent after the satellite communications company said it wasconfident of meeting its full-year revenue growth target afterfirst-quarter sales rose 10.5 percent. [ID:nL834098] Pivate equity group 3i (III.L) put on 3.2 percent. The FTSE250-listed company launched a 732 million-pound rights issuesaying it would use the money to pay down debt and bolster itsbalance sheet (Editing by Greg Mahlich) Stocks. LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) – The rate range banks charge eachother for lending three-month euro funds widened on Friday,following the as-expected decision of the EuropeanCentral Bank to cut its key rate by 25 basis points to a recordlow 1.0 percent the previous day. Three-month dollar deposit rates USD3MD= were indicated ina range of 0.80-1.04 percent versus 0.85-1.20 percent early onThursday, while three-month euro deposit rates EUR3MD= wereindicated in a 0.85 to 1.35 percent range compared with 1.05-1.33percent. Equivalent three-month sterling rates were between1.01 and 1.06 percent versus 1.03-1.15 percent GBP3MD= a dayafter the Bank of England, as expected, left its official ratesteady at an historic low of 0.5 percent There was little traded volume in sterling The U.S. two-year swap spread, seen as a key measure ofbroader banking and financial market stress, narrowed to 45basis points from around 47 basis points, Reuters charts showed.Late on Thursday, that spread narrowed to 43 bps — its tightestlevel since mid-June 2007, pre-dating the start of the globalcredit crisis.

Interbank deposit rates are only indicative prices of wherebanks are lending to each other, which institutions use as abase to set their own lending rates (Reporting by George Matlock) Bonds Bonds. *Adjusted opg profit falls 45.6 pct Argentina *Refining and Marketing and Argentina better than expected *Weak year-on-year oil prices hit upstream division *Shares up 0.73 percent(Adds details, background) MADRID, May 8 (Reuters) – Spanish oil company Repsol(REP.MC) reported that first-quarter adjusted operating profitnearly halved but was well ahead of analysts’ estimates after astrong performance at its Argentine and refining and marketingoperations. The company said on Friday adjusted operating profit atcurrent cost of supply (CCS), which strips out unrealised gainsor losses related to changes in the value of inventories andone-off items, came in at 746 million euros ($999.7 million),beating estimates for 698 million euros from a Reuters poll ofeight analysts. “Results came in 14 percent ahead of our estimates atRepsol’s Argentine YPF unit and 17 percent ahead of estimates atits downstream division,” an analyst at a leading European banksaid. Despite beating estimates, operating profit fell 45.6percent, with strength at the group’s refining and marketingoperations not sufficient to offset weakness at the group’supstream operations because of sharply lower oil prices. Adjusted net profit fell to 421 million euros from 811million in the first quarter of 2008, but beat estimates for 346million. Repsol’s net debt stood at 5.37 billion euros, up 2 billionfrom the end of 2008, mainly due to Repsol’s subscribing itsstake in Gas Natural’s (GAS.MC) to the company’s rights issue topartly finance the gas group’s bid for Union Fenosa UNF.MC.

At 0712 GMT, Repsol was up 0.73 percent compared with a 0.89percent rise in the Dow Jones European Oil and Gas index. The company will hold a conference call with analysts at1400 GMT. ($1=.7462 Euro) (Reporting by Jonathan Gleave; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Argentina. * Some in BOJ say more corporate funding steps may be needed Currencies  |  Bonds  |  Japan * Focus on bank lending, corporate earnings – minutes (Adds details) By Leika Kihara TOKYO, May 8 (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan warned that thecountry’s corporate financing environment remained severe, andsome of its policy board members saw room for more steps ifconditions worsened, minutes of an April board meeting showed. While funding conditions have improved for big Japanesecompanies, many small and midsize firms, which employ 70 percentof the nation’s workforce, remain strapped for cash withcommercial banks hesitant to take on risk.

Bankruptcies and joblessness are on the rise despite thegovernment’s $156 billion stimulus package, suggesting that anyeconomic recovery in Japan, in its worst recession since WorldWar Two, could be slow and fragile as the pain from the globalfinancial crisis broadens. “Board members agreed that while the commercial paper andcorporate bond issuance environment has improved, Japan’sfinancial environment remains severe as a whole,” minutes of theApril 6-7 meeting showed on Friday. Some on the board said that if corporate financing conditionsworsened more than expected, further steps to ease credit strainsmight be needed, the minutes showed. The meeting came a week after the March 31 end of Japan’sfiscal year, when many companies close their books. Although the board did not discuss any specific steps, theysignalled that the focus would be on whether banks would curblending as slumping global demand hits corporate earnings. Easing fears of further financial turmoil have pushed upshare prices across the globe including in Japan, with the Nikkeistock average .N225 hitting a six-month closing high on Friday U.S.

regulators told top banks on Thursday to raise $74.6billion to build a capital cushion that officials hope willrestore faith in financial firms and set a course out of thedeepest recession in decades. [ID:nN07333426] But the global downturn is still taking its toll on somesectors. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world’s biggestautomaker, forecast a much deeper-than-expected annual loss of$8.6 billion as sales tumble, keeping dozens of its factoriesunderused. [ID:nT285085] SMALL FIRMS FEELING PAIN At the April meeting, the BOJ decided to lend against a widerrange of municipal debt in a move to support regional banksreeling from their borrowers’ worsening revenues. [ID:nSP168810] The central bank kept policy unchanged at the followingmeeting on April 30, when it slashed its economic forecasts butprojected a recovery by early next year in a half-yearly outlookreport.