Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Alcatel SA, the world’s biggest broadband Internet equipment supplier, said second-quarter earnings were higher than expected amid increased demand for networks used for mobile communications and by businesses.
- Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest software company, posted a smaller-than-expected 37% gain in its first-quarter profit after raising wages to retain employees.
- Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second-biggest lender, agreed to buy Hudson United Bancorp for $1.9 billion in cash and stock to expand its TD Banknorth unit in the NY City area.
- Intel was raided by European Union antitrust regulators today in a probe spurred by competitor Advanced Micro Devices.
- Crude oil prices are rising for the first session in four on concerns over hurricane disruptions.
- The US dollar is falling, heading for its biggest two-day decline against the euro since August, on speculation a government report tomorrow will show no shrinkage in the US trade deficit.

Wall Street Journal:
- AnnTaylor Stores is trying to restore luster to its dressier namesake collections without cutting sales of its hipper Loft line.
- Bear Stearns signaled that it might pay $200 million or more to settle charges by US regulators that it helped hedge funds to trade improperly in mutual-fund shares.
- California’s choice real estate neighborhoods such as Atherton, one of Silicon Valley’s most elite residential locations, are getting a boost from investors who made money on Google’s stock offering.
- Concern among investors that Wachovia CEO Thompson is preparing to make another big acquisition have pushed the shares to their lowest level relative to peers since 2001.
- Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, CSFB and UBS Securities are among companies considering buying a stake in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
- Walt Disney may be seeking a buyer for its $3 billion radio station and network group, and it is considering a process that would take out cash and make the move a tax-free spin-off to shareholders.
- Drugs sold by Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly may help keep people with early symptoms of diabetes from developing the full-blown disease.

NY Times:
- US Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that Democrats were unlikely to use a filibuster against President Bush’s Supreme Court justice nominee to replace the retiring Sandra Day O-Connor.

LA Times:
- IHOP is changing its menu to lure more diners to lunch and dinner.

AP:
- Comcast plans to offer residential customers the chance to double the speed of their Internet service at a cost of $10 more per month if they already have cable television service.

Financial Times Deutschland:
- Microsoft plans to replace products by Siebel Systems with its own version of software to help manage customer contacts.

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