Monday, April 04, 2005

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- ChevronTexaco Corp. agreed to buy Unocal Corp. for $16.4 billion, the biggest oil-company merger in three years, to increase its reserves in Asia.
- Oil tanker rates, which usually fall in the second quarter, may climb in the next three months as OPEC boosts production to meet demand from the US and China.
- The European Commission cut its 2005 growth forecast, for the second time in six months, to 1.6% as record oil prices and rising unemployment weigh on the economy of the dozen countries that use the euro.
- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts got $225 million in loans from a group led by CSFB and hede fund Silver Point Capital, pulling the company back from the brink of bankruptcy.
- The US Supreme Court buttressed the ability of people who file for bankruptcy to shield money in their Individual Retirement Accounts from creditors.
- Crude oil is climbing to an inflation-unadjusted record, exceeding $58/bbl. in NY, on speculation that US refiners will be unable to produce enough gas to meet peak demand this summer.
- The US dollar is rising after Fed Bank of St. Louis President Poole reinforce speculation policy makers will keep raising interest rates.

The Wall Street Journal:
- Owens Corning will face $7 billion in potential liabilities for asbestos damages.
- The US Justice Dept. is investigating the gift donations involving staff at Jefferies Group and an unidentified mutual fund.
- Inamed Corp. and rival Mentor Corp. are boosting efforts to persuade the FDA to reauthorize silicone implants.
- Best Buy CEO Anderson said higher gas and home fuel prices may depress sales because they would restrain consumer spending.
- An investment group led by former US vice-president Al Gore plans to use a recently acquired cable channel to start a program for viewers 18-34 years old. The channel will start Aug. 1 under the name Current.

Financial Times:
- Pfizer may say it plans to cut as much as $3 billion in costs to overcome the loss of patents on some of its best-selling medicines.

Dow Jones:
- The governors of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming plan to give their backing today for a massive electricity grid to supply added power by as early as 2011.

The New York Times:
- Tutoring companies supported by the US government’s No Child Left Behind law, which pays for tutoring students at schools classified as failing, will make as much as $200 million in revenue during the current school year.
- The ACLU is representing 21 Michigan same-sex couples who are challenging Attorney General Mike Cox’s March ruling that November 2004 legislation defining marriage prohibited same-sex partners from being eligible for health benefits.
- Comcast Corp. is testing speech-recognition technology from OneVideo Technology and Agile TV that lets television viewers change channels by vocal cues.
- Giving by US foundations hit a record $32.4 billion in 2004.

Chicago Sun-Times:
- UAL’s United Airlines wants to focus on Asia’s growing middle class to help boost profit.

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