Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- China’s economic growth is “still too high,” Deputy Finance Minister Li Yong said.
- Mittal Steel, the world’s largest steelmaker, has shut two US mills for maintenance work. They will be restarted “when business conditions demand.”
- General Electric increased its second-quarter profit forecast by 1 cent a share after restating results for prior years because of changes in derivatives accounting.
- Crude oil is rising on speculation the US economy is stronger than some had anticipated after the better-than-expected employment report.
- US Treasuries are falling, pushing the two-year note to its biggest decline in a year, after the economy last month created more jobs than forecast.
- The US dollar is climbing the most in six weeks against the euro and is rising versus the yen as expectations for further Fed rates hikes increased.

CNBC:
- Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst plans to sell 22.5 million shares of Clear Channel Communications, most of the 37.5 million shares it owns.

Wall Street Journal:
- Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark International face rising competition from brokers who buy empty cartridges and resell them to be refilled.
- The median pay of US mutual-fund managers, including salary and bonus, is $390,000, 34% higher than two years ago and higher than the $330,000 median figure for hedge fund managers.

NY Times:
- US House lawmakers approved $200 million in aid for Palestinians, and the White House welcomed the vote.

Boston Globe:
- Boston’s business costs were 36% higher than the national average in 2003, making it the most costly city in which to do business in the US.

Boston Herald:
- Analogic plansto begin tests of its new Cobra explosives detection machine today at Boston’s Logan International Airport, which may give the US a better way of spotting weapons or bombs.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
- Merrill Lynch global markets and investment banking head Greg Fleming expects mergers worldwide to increase between 15 and 25% this year.