Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- GM’s Saturn division, whose sales peaked a dozen years ago, is turning to new models with European styling to shake up its humdrum image and boost profit with higher-priced vehicles.
- UBS AG, Europe’s largest bank by assets, agreed to buy the private client network of Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray Companies(PJC) for as much as $875 million to expand its wealth management business in the US.
- Heartened by increased hiring and wage growth this year, economists raised their 2006 US growth forecast, according to the latest monthly survey on the economy by Bloomberg.
- The benchmark index in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, continued its recent plunge for a third day on concern that prices don’t reflect prospects for profit growth after a three-year rally.
- Nokia(NOK) said handset prices in the first quarter exceeded the company’s forecast as more advanced models were sold.
- Federal prosecutors will charge people who worked for Merrill Lynch(MER) and Goldman Sachs(GS) with insider trading.
- Merck(MRK) should pay $9 million in punitive damages to a man who blamed the drug for his heart attack, a jury ruled.
- The IRS is examining some electronic-payment transactions processed by EBay’s(EBAY) PayPal unit to find US taxpayers who keep unreported income in offshore accounts, officials said.
- Fidelity Investments bought 12 million shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp., becoming the carrier’s biggest stockholder with a 13% stake.
- Iranian Presidetn Ahmadinejad said his country completed its first enrichment of uranium two days ago.
- Nasdaq Stock Market(NDAQ) bought 15% of London Stock Exchange for $781.5 million, less than two weeks after withdrawing its takeover offer.

Wall Street Journal:
- Alcatel SA’s(ALA) proposed acquisition of Lucent Technologies(LU) could prompt a similar offer by another telecom technology company for Juniper Networks(JNPR).
- The US is preparing plans to cut the number of troops in Iraq and hand over responsibility for security to local forces, citing military officials.
- Humana Inc.(HUM) is marketing consumer-directed plans that offer various deductible-premium combinations, and is making contacts with potential customers as a way to keep down medical costs.
- Carnival Corp.(CCL), Royal Caribbean Cruises(RCL) and other cruise lines are offering deep discounts to draw customers as industry growth slows amid hurricanes and safety concerns.

NY Times:
- China’s population, recognizing the power of independent organization, are increasingly challenging what is a totalitarian system of government in their country.
- McDonald’s Corp.(MCD) is beginning to use call centers in other parts of the country to take orders from drive-through windows.
- The United Farm Workers, the biggest US union of agricultural laborers, plans to announce today that it has signed the first nationwide contract covering agricultural guest workers.

CNet News.com:
- Lenovo Group Ltd. will sell its ThinkPad notebook computers and 3000 line desktop systems in Best Buy’s(BBY) stores.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
- Georgia’s tax revenue is more than $1 billion ahead of the same period a year ago, spurred by double-digit growth in sales and income tax receipts.

Financial Times:
- Walt Disney’s(DIS) plan to offer hit ABC television shows free on the Internet is a sensible way of experimenting with ways of boosting advertising using technology.

Reuters:
- Time Warner’s(TWX) cable unit is in early-stage discussions about developing an auction system that would let advertisers bid for ad spots on video-on-demand channels.