Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s “very optimistic” the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions can be resolved by negotiation.
- Manufacturing in the Philly area accelerated more than expected this month, another sign the economy is gaining momentum, a Federal Reserve survey showed.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said the US economy will show a “significant” recovery from the fourth quarter.

Wall Street Journal:
- A Washington State bill that would force large companies such as Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) to spend more on health-care insurance for employees may be dead after it didn’t advance out of committee for a vote.
- The world’s ability to contain the spread of avian flu has improved markedly in the last six months, citing Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
- A group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP is the head bidder for a majority stake in General Motors’(GM) GMAC finance unit.
- Helio, a mobile phone venture owned by EarthLink Inc. and South Korea’s SK Telecom, will announce today a partnership with News Corp.’s(NWS) MySpace.com networking site.

NY Post:
- Utah and Connecticut state securities regulators investigating alleged naked short-selling have subpoenaed records of Wall Street’s largest firms.

Washington Post:
- US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced new initiatives aimed at fighting against housing discrimination, child exploitation and gang violence.

NY Times:
- Some US venture capitalists are investing in educational reform by donating money to so-called charter schools and then overseeing the school’s business operations.
- Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will propose a group of executives and corporate-governance experts today as candidates for Time Warner’s(TWX) board.
- The Bush administration said it would ask Congress for $4.2 billion more to help Louisiana residents whose homes were damaged by last year’s hurricanes.
- BlackRock(BLK) CEO Fink, who yesterday engineered the money-management industry’s biggest acquisition ever, said more takeovers were inevitable as firms seek to expand globally.

Guardian:
- US companies seem likely to get the bulk of a $87 billion nuclear clean-up program in the UK.

AFP:
- Iran’s nuclear program is a “clandestine, military project,” French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on France 2 television.