Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- One of the al-Qaeda cells arrested early today in Spain may have been planning an attack in Europe, Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said.
- Whole Foods Market(WFMI) made the nation’s largest ever corporate purchase of renewable energy credits to promote use of non-polluting electricity sources.
- GM(GM) said it will cut the prices on about 80% of its cars and trucks.
- Alberto-Culver(ACV) will spin-off its chain of more than 3,200 beauty-supply stores and sell it to Regis Corp.(RGS) in a $2.6 billion transaction.
- Apple Computer’s(AAPL) first quarter revenue reached $5.7 billion, more than the company expected, as iPod sales tripled and Macintosh computer purchases topped 1 million units for the fifth straight period.
- The Bush administration warned Iran that its decision to resume research on uranium reprocessing may lead to action against the country at the UN Security Council.

Wall Street Journal:
- Proposed changes in executive-pay disclosure regulations by the SEC would lower the point at which companies need to disclose perquisites.
- DaimlerChrysler’s(DCX) Chrysler unit plans to reproduce the Dodge Challenger as part of a bid to attract buyers with new versions of favorite old cars.
- Ford Motor(F) and General Motors(GM) have begun marketing so-called flex-fuel vehicles that run on a mix of ethanol and gasoline.
- Growth of public and private US health-care expenditures rose 7.9% in 2004, the smallest increase since 2000.
- IBM(IBM), the top US patent holder for the past 13 years, will lead a group seeking to raise the quality of US patents by weeding out duplicate items.
- Toyota Motor(TM) may install a switch in its gasoline and electric-powered hybrid cars enabling drivers to select “green” or “power,” thus improving fuel-efficiency.

Deal.com:
- The US Dept. of Justice may sue to block Whirlpool’s planned $1.4 billion acquisition of Maytag.

NY Times:
- Many US companies are developing products to help customers with credit cards to reduce time spent paying highway tolls.
- Apple Computer(AAPL) plans to begin offering today a limited number of “Saturday Night Live” skits for download from its iTunes store for $1.99 each.
- News Corp.(NWS) Chairman Murdoch said his plan to make the Internet portal MySpace.com into a competitor for Yahoo!(YHOO) is aimed at increasing the time users spend on the site and at boosting advertising.

AP:
- New Jersey legislators halted executions until a 13-member commission evaluates the costs and fairness of the death penalty.

AFP:
- Iran said today it removed seals on its nuclear research centers to prepare for the resumption of work on the nuclear fuel cycle.

Reuters:
- China is unlikely to reduce the US dollar holdings its foreign-exchange reserves to increase the proportion of other assets, citing Tang Xu, head of the research bureau under the central bank.

Xinhua:
- China’s steel output rose to 348 million metric tons last year.

Il Sole/24:
- De Agostini SpA, an Italian publishing and insurance company, and its partners are seeking to buy Gtech Holdings(GTK), the world’s biggest seller of computerized lottery systems.