Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Google is likely to report today that profit rose more than fourfold as it lured Web surfers from Yahoo! and attracted advertisers with a popular new online map.
- China loosened its fixed-exchange rate against the dollar for the first time in a decade, letting the yuan fluctuate versus a basket of currencies.
- Alcoholism should be treated with drugs, much like depression, a US scientific institute said for the first time, a suggestion that could help prompt a shift in treatment emphasis from counselors to doctors.
- Treasury notes dropped after China let its currency strengthen, boosting speculation the country will reduce purchases of US government debt.
- Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region rebounded this month after a first-quarter inventory build prompted companies to place few orders.
- Three London subway trains and a bus were targets of attempted bombings today, leaving parts of the Underground network paralyzed, two weeks after the worst attack on the capital since WWII.
- Crude oil is falling for a second day after a government report yesterday showed that US inventories fell less-than-expected last week and traders speculated that China’s demand for the commodity will decline after the yuan revaluation.

Wall Street Journal:
- Dow Jones said it will sell its stake in CNBC’s television channels in Asia and Europe to NBC Universal to cut costs.
- Barclays Global Investors, the biggest provider of exchange-traded funds, will shift all but one of its products now traded on the American Stock Exchange to the NYSE and the electronic market run by Archipelago Holdings, which the NYSE is buying.
- Delta Air Lines senior management is debating whether the carrier might be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- Gemstar-TV Guide International, the publisher of TV Guide, may cut the circulation guarantees it gives advertisers by at least a third.
- Comcast and other cable suppliers including Time Warner and Cox Communications are developing transmissions to give customers a bigger array of channels.
- Nike and Bausch & Lomb plan to introduce a new type of tinted prescription contact lenses next month for athletes who don’t want to wear sunglasses.

NY Times:
- Medicare will begin giving doctors record-keeping computer software for patient records as soon as next month.

AP:
- US cyclist Lance Armstrong’s success has helped boost sales of closely held Trek Bicycle, the nation’s top bike manufacturer.

Globe and Mail:
- Biovail is in talks with investors to have them buy the company and take it private.