Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Retail sales in the 12 nations sharing the euro fell for the fifth month in six in June as unemployment and record oil prices weighed on consumer confidence.
- US mortgage applications rose last week as home purchases rebounded to the third-highest level on record and refinancing increased.
- French President Jacques Chirac, who flew to Singapore to present Paris’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics, came away empty-handed, suffering his fourth defeat in 15 months.
- London won the vote to stage the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, snatching the prize from the favorite Paris to become the first city to host the event three times.
- The US had no deaths from tornados between March and yesterday for the first time since official recordkeeping began in 1950, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
- Zions Bancorp, which operates almost 400 bank offices in eight Western US states, agreed to buy Amegy Bancorp for $1.7 billion to extend its branch network into Texas.
- Amvescap Plc, owner of the AIM mutual funds group, received an unsolicited takeover offer from CI Fund Management, Canada’s No. 3 fund manager.
- Tropical Storm Cindy left more than 318,000 people along the Louisiana coast without power, as Dennis headed toward the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to become the earliest hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean this year.
- PacifiCare Health Systems shares surged as much as 15% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the health insurance company is in “advanced” talks to be bought by United Health Group.
- Oil approached $61/bbl. in NY after Tropical Storm Cindy disrupted shipments along the US Gulf coast and another storm threatened the region.

Wall Street Journal:
- Eastman Kodak has become the biggest seller of digital cameras by concentrating on women and simplifying the processs.
- Maytag, AK Steel and other US companies could be forced to put more cash into their retirement plans in legislation proposed by a US House of Representatives committee last week.
- Disney may say today that it will market its own brand of mobile phones to children as young as eight and their parents.

NY Times:
- Methamphetamine is the largest drug problem for US law enforcement agencies, citing a survey of 500 local law officials.

Financial Times:
- The Chicago Board of Trade will impose limits on how many Treasury futures traders can hold in the days before a contract matures in order to curb volatility in the securitites.

Al-Hayat:
- More than 25 international companies are competing to win a $100 million contract to operate Iraq’s mobile phone network, citing the country’s communication minister.