Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today joined Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Baghdad on an unscheduled visit to support the country’s new government.
- Tony Snow, a Fox News radio host and former presidential speechwriter, has accepted the job of White House press secretary.
- Exxon Mobil(XOM) CEO Tillerson plans to spend $100 billion on oil exploration to increase production and profits.
- US Treasuries are falling for a second day after government reported showed orders for durable goods and new home sales rose more than forecast, bolstering speculation the Fed will continue raising interest rates.
- The US economy expanded across most parts of the country with “tightening” labor markets as companies struggled with higher energy costs, the Federal Reserve said today.
- Crude oil is falling for a third day after the EIA reported that US refineries increased output of gasoline and other fuels.

Wall Street Journal:
- Microsoft(MSFT) plans to acquire Massive Inc., a closely held company that places ads in video games, for $200 million to $400 million.
- Bank of America(BAC) is considering starting a new credit-card brand and processing network to compete with Visa USA and MasterCard Inc.
- Anheuser-Busch’s(BUD) goal of selling a beer that appeals to millions of people is out of step with rising demand for niche products.
- US mutual funds, buoyed up by rising stock markets in the past year, are increasing their advertising expenditure and trumpeting their performance.
- Iran’s oil minister said in an interview that oil exports won’t be used as a political weapon in the confrontation over the country’s nuclear program.

Washington Post:
- Power plants in Alabama and North Dakota will be required to spend more than $300 million to reduce emissions as the result of two air pollution cases settled by the US Justice Dept. and the Environmental Protection Agency.

NY Times:
- A GlaxoSmithKline Plc(GSK) executive who is leading marketing efforts for an over the counter weight-loss drug to be introduced in the US has lost 60 pounds in the past three years by using the prescription version of the treatment.

AP:
- The top US general in Iraq said the country’s progress in forming a new government is a “major step” toward the US implementing a planned reduction in troops this year.

Capital:
- Google’s(GOOG) German Web site will start a new search function that allows users to locate restaurants, doctors and other businesses in their neighborhood.

San Antonio Express:
- Drivers in Bee County in southeast Texas are being urged by elected officials to boycott Exxon Mobil(XOM) gasoline pumps to protest prices that have climbed above $3 gallon.