Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The US and other major powers that pay most of the United Nations’ budget are on a collision course with developing nations over selecting a successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
- Fed Bank of Atlanta President Guynn announced he will retire on Oct.1.
- The US Senate rejected two measures proposed by Democrats calling on President Bush to withdraw US troops from Iraq.
- Three-time champion Italy and Ghana reached the second round of soccer’s World Cup, as the US and the Czech Republic failed to get the wins that would have kept them in the tournament.
- US Treasuries fell a seventh day, the longest losing streak since March 2002, as traders push yields to where they expect the Fed will lift its benchmark lending rate.

Wall Street Journal:
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is enjoying popularity at home, even as he is denounced abroad, because of his stance of economic populism.
- Stock market volatility of the last two months has resulted in a handful of hedge funds closing down, prompting some concern that a rough period could cause havoc on a scale comparable to that seen when Long-term Capital collapsed in 1998.
- An arrangement by Mount Sinai hospital in NY to have staff visit patients at home helps the state cut Medicaid bills and could serve as a model for the rest of the country.
- The SEC unveiled new rules for hedge “fund of funds” aimed at giving investors clearer information on fees.
- Federated Dept. Stores(FD) is close to agreeing to sell its Lord & Taylor department-store chain to private equity firm Apollo Real Estate Advisers and shopping mall developer NRDC Real Estate Advisors LLC for about $1.2 billion.
- Teenagers are increasingly choosing sports drinks, bottled teas and energy drinks over carbonated soft-drinks.

SparkSpread:
- Citadel Investment Group’s chief operating officer for energy trading resigned.

NY Post:
- Sales of higher octane gasoline have declined 46% in volume in recent months as US drivers shift to cheaper grades, citing EIA data released in March.
- Michael’s Stores(MIK) has received two bids at about $40 a share, or $5 billion.

NY Times:
- Gannett(GCI) and Tribune(TRB) have spoken to newspaper publishers about the possible sale of a stake in the job recruitment site CareerBuilder.
- Wal-Mart Stores is developing a program to teach its 1.3 million US workers to take better care of the environment and their health.

Financial Times:
- The hedge-fund practice of negotiating “side letters” with some clients could favor those customers at the expense of others.

Nihon Keizai:
- Sanyo Electric will cancel plans to set up a mobile phone venture with Nodia Oyj(NOK) of Finland after failing to agree on the details of the venture.

Financial Mail:
- Gold exploration companies seeking to revive idled gold mines in South Africa sell shares in Johannesburg and London.