Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Time Warner’s AOL is investing about $50 million on a new national advertising campaign to highlight the content and features of the company’s free Internet site.
- Seizures of Ecstasy pills on New York streets have plummeted in the past four years as has the price of the drug. Authorities say the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s NY unit is seizing hundreds of thousands of Ecstasy pills each year, meaning shipments are being caught before they reach the street.
- Crude oil is falling for the sixth day in seven and gasoline dropped on signs that near-record prices have substantially cut fuel consumption.
- Lincoln National agreed to buy Jefferson-Pilot for about $7.5 billion as low interest rates squeeze profits.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said foreign purchases of US debt are probably having a “modest” effect on Treasury yields, and the low rates may result mainly from the increase in the global savings rate.

Wall Street Journal:
- Clear Channel Communications and other media companies are rushing into podcasting in a bid to grab young listeners.
- BellSouth may announce today that it has signed an agreement with Sprint Nextel that will let BellSouth extend its network to serve businesses nationwide.
- Motorola plans to start pilot testing this week of a communications system that would allow local police to share information about possible terrorist threats.
- Russia’s government plans to cut the value-added tax to 13% from 18% to spur economic growth and achieve President Vladimir Putin’s goal of doubling the economy this decade.

NY Post:
- Yahoo! plans to begin testing a free service today where users can find, organize and rate audio programs to be played on portable music players.
- Verizon Communications is boosting print and broadcast advertisements of its Broadband Access wireless Internet service to compete with rivals offering Wi-Fi technology.

NY Times:
- US Online shopping sites are likely to benefit as customers shop online in a bid to cut gasoline costs.
- US television networks including GE’s NBC have lowered their expectations this season for ratings on reality shows such as NBC’s “The Apprentice.”

AP:
- The White House has authorized $50 million of aid for Pakistan after the country was hit by an earthquake two days ago.

Guardian:
- A Chinese democracy activist was beaten, possibly to death, by a mob near a village in southern China that has become a flashpoint for a growing wave of rural unrest in the nation.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
- Yahoo! expects rising spending by companies on internet advertising will hurt revenue of television companies.