Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Russia’s slowing economic growth is threatening President Vladimir Putin’s goal of raising living standards and doubling the size of the economy in the decade to 2010, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government launched a review of the powers it holds to deport people who incite violence in Britain, and started consultations with opposition parties about new laws to curb terrorism.
- Crude oil is plunging almost $3/bbl. as Hurricane Emily was forecast to miss Gulf of Mexico platforms, China’s economy slows and the IEA downgraded global demand for crude.

Wall Street Journal:
- With gasoline prices near records, US carmakers are gearing up to start selling fuel-efficient compact cars again, instead of pushing SUVs and powerful sedans.
- IBM is creating a database of staff, accessible on its internal Web site, which catalogs skills, availability and salaries, aiming to cut labor costs by ensuring all employees are used effectively.
- US authorities are looking into whether the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway’s General Reinsurance unit played a role in a controversial transaction between General Re and AIG.
- US inventors’ purchases of foreign stocks have risen and those of US stocks by investors abroad have declined in the past five years.

NY Times:
- US grandparents are contributing more money for their grandchildren as life spans grow and the elderly have more money.
- US Senator Hillary Clinton of NY and other Democrats want the size of the Army boosted by 80,000 troops.

Chicago Sun-Times:
- Potbelly Sandwich Works, which has 84 restaurants in nine states and the District of Columbia, is ready to sell shares to the public.

Detroit News:
- UnitedHealth Group said it will cover as much as half the cost of corrective laser eye surgeries, including Lasik, for its members, which can cost $1,800 per eye.

Vedomosti:
- Starbucks won the rights to its trademark in Russia, ending a three-year legal dispute that kept the US company out of the $500 million brewed-coffee market.

Svenska Dagbladet:
- Hennes & Mauritz AB is moving Chinese production of some clothes made for the US market to other Asian countries because the company has already filled its US import quotas.

Daily Mirror:
- UK Muslims should “root out” extremists and other British people should avoid criticizing the Muslim community after the July 7 bombings in London, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne wrote.