NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Retailer Steve & Barry's LLC is
readying plans to close more than 100 of its stores, and is
contemplating a full liquidation should it not find emergency
financing, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on
Monday.

The article, citing people familiar with the company, said
the retail chain is seeking a tentative plan for about $40
million in debtor-in-possession financing if it must file for
bankruptcy protection. Steve & Barry could not immediately be
reached for comment.

The report said that last weekend, Steve & Barry's
bankruptcy counsel, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, prepared for a
potential bankruptcy filing as soon as this week.

The article said bankruptcy attorney Harvey Miller is
handling the case. Miller could not immediately be reached for
comment.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Editing by Gary Hill)

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TOKYO - Confidence at major Japanese manufacturers fell for the third straight quarter as soaring oil prices and fears of a U.S. economic slowdown weighed on the economy, a central bank survey said Tuesday.

The central bank's closely watched quarterly "tankan" survey showed that the index for large manufacturers' business sentiment fell to 5 in June, down from 11 in the March survey. The figure represents the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good, minus those saying conditions are unfavorable.

The latest result was the lowest in almost five years but slightly better than market predictions for a reading of between 2 and 4. Also positive were big Japanese companies' plans to boost capital expenditures by 2.4 percent in the fiscal year through March 2009, better than the 1.6 percent decrease they estimated in March.

The decline in confidence, however, was broad-based and hit small- and medium-size firms especially hard.

The index for large non-manufacturers fell slightly to 10 from 12 three months ago.

The index for small manufacturers tumbled to minus 10, while the small non-manufacturers' index hit minus 20.

"High energy prices and increased uncertainty over the U.S. economy provide the major background to the weakness in sentiment," UBS economist Akira Maekawa said in a tankan preview report. "Future business sentiment will probably remain soft, as uncertainty over the economic environment is likely to be expected to stay for a while."

Companies expect business conditions to deteriorate further in the months ahead. The sentiment index for big manufacturers is forecast to drop to 4 in September, while the figure for large non-manufacturers will likely fall to 8, the tankan showed.

Managers also said they expect an average dollar value of 102.74 yen during the fiscal year, lower than their previous estimate of 109.21 yen.

The Bank of Japan surveyed 10,579 companies from May 28 to June 30, and 98.9 percent responded.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Morgan Stanley recommended investors
buy Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) shares, setting a price target of
$31, after the beleaguered investment banking firm's stock fell
nearly 11 percent on Monday, owing to rumors that it would be
bought out well below its current price.

Lehman shares were up 4.1 percent at $20.62 in extended-
hours trading after Morgan's initiation of Lehman shares at an
"overweight" stock rating.

"We think near-term risk of incremental write-downs is
balanced by solid liquidity and capital footing," wrote
analysts Patrick Pinschmidt and Avi Ghosh. "The firm's ability
to weather near-term market headwinds and return to respectable
return on equity generation should help the shares trade closer
to book value."

The Morgan analysts expect ROE to rise from 3 percent in
the second half of this year to 12 percent in 2009 and 14
percent in 2010 -- even as debt trading declines 28 percent
versus its peak.

"A return to profitability amid a healing credit market
should drive valuation close to book value," they added.

(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Jan
Paschal)

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