Thursday, March 16, 2006

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Iran is ready to hold talks with the US on Iraq, the country’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said, signaling a shift in Iran’s policy toward the US.
- Shares of Qualcomm(QCOM) were raised to “buy” at Merrill Lynch(MER) on expectations the company will win sales form market leader Texas Instruments(TXN).
- More Americans, especially gay men, are getting syphilis, a potentially deadly infection, US data show.
- Microsoft(MSFT) plans to spend $500 million on a new ad campaign and sales strategy to help win corporate customers from IBM(IBM).
- Oil is rising after the US and Iraqi forces launched the largest air assault in Iraq since the March 2003 liberation that ousted Saddam Hussein.
- US Treasuries are rallying, pushing 10-year notes to their biggest gain since December, as a report showing consumer prices rose less than forecast bolstered optimism that the Fed has inflation under control.

Wall Street Journal:
- Google(GOOG) plans to increase the number of retailers who can receive payment through Google Base, the company’s online payment-processing service.
- The tv business, which in the past relied upon a network of invisible fences and geographical limitations to protect its income, is losing out to the Internet as viewers use the web to access for free content that they would normally have to pay for.

NY Times:
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament is a bigger draw for advertisers than the Super Bowl or World Series, citing TNS Media Intelligence.

News in Ghana:
- Ghana may have at least 2 billion barrels of oil reserves, based on prospects identified by nine energy companies.

Al-Hayat:
-.Saudi Arabia may split the par value of stocks listed on its bourse to lure more investors after the benchmark index fell to a five-month low this week.

WAM:
- The United Arab Emirates central bank and bourse officials raised the amount banks can lend investors to buy shares and ordered companies to repay share sale surpluses to counter declining stock prices.

Reuters:
- McAfee(MFE) will provide security software to mobile phone makers and wireless carriers under five new contracts.

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