Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said 10,000 cars, more than 200 administration buildings and thousands of square meters of commercial property were torched in violence that rocked the country earlier this month.
- Mexico probably will surpass the US in obesity rates for the first time next year.
- US retailers recorded sales of $27.8 billion over the holiday weekend, putting the industry on track for its second-biggest selling season since 1999, said the National Retail Federation.
- Saddam Hussein argued with the judge in his murder and torture case minutes after proceedings resumed in Baghdad today.
- Merck & Co. will eliminate 7,000 jobs and close five plants and said it still has “work to do.”
- Online sales for US retailers rose 24% to $6.96 billion this month as shoppers got an early start on their holiday purchases.
- Crude oil is falling and heating oil touched a four-month low as warm weather in the eastern US reduces fuel consumption, pushing inventories even higher.

Wall Street Journal:
- Tivo Inc. is joining with media-buying groups, including Interpublic Group’s Interpublic Media, to offer customers a way to search for commercials on topics in which they are interested.
- Alvaro de Molina took over as chief financial officer at Bank of America on Sept. 8, and the bank’s shares have risen 9.2% since then, as some investors and analysts bet on de Molina as the “Mr. Fix-It” who’s been needed.
- American Pharmaceutical Partners, a Schaumberg, Illinois-based maker of generic hospital drugs, may acquire its largest shareholder, closely held American BioScience of Santa Monica, California.
- Dallas has distributed about $160 million in grants and tax abatements to convert most of the city’s downtown business district into an upscale neighborhood with 10,000 residences.

NY Post:
- J. Crew Group Inc. will sell men’s accessories out of a custom-outfitted sport-utility vehicle that will make stops throughout Manhattan this week.

Washington Post:
- Democrats are split over legislation aimed at controlling Medicaid growth, with federal lawmakers opposed to the provisions and Democratic governors supporting them.

NY Times:
- Classified advertising on Internet sites rose more than 80% this year, with traffic at Craigslist.org climbing 165% from a year ago.

AP:
- President Bush will travel to Arizona today to speak about border enforcement and call for immigration reform.

Sudan Tribune:
- Sudan will boost oil production to 600,000 barrels a day by the middle of 2006 and may reach 1 million barrels a day by the end of the year, President Umar al-Bashir said.