Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Bill Miller, whose $19 billion Legg Mason Value Trust has beaten the S&P 500 for 15 straight years, said the biggest US companies are ripe for investment because they have slumped over five years.
- US authorities uncovered a plot by a group possibly linked to slain al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to bomb NY’s Holland Tunnel and flood the city’s financial district.
- Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark USA may borrow $1 billion to transform 13,000 US theater screens to digital film from reel-to-reel.
- 3M(MMM) said second-quarter profit missed its forecast on costs to start an optical film unit and slack demand from flat-panel TV makers.
- US Treasuries rose for a second day after a government report showed the economy created fewer jobs last month than analysts forecast, damping speculation the Fed will lift interest rates next month.
- Crude oil fell after Iran’s nuclear negotiator said he had constructive talks with a top EU official over the country’s proposed uranium enrichment program.

Wall Street Journal:
- Verizon Communications(VZ) is close to spinning off its directories business in a transaction that could be worth as much as $13 billion.
- The SEC asked the accounting regulator to delay guidance related to backdating stock options.

Street.com:
- HBK Investments, a Dallas-based hedge fund, is under investigation by the SEC for possible involvement in stock shorting before its acquisition of private shares in Plug Power(PLUG).

NY Post:
- The Children’s Place(PLCE) Retail Stores has boosted sales and pared operating losses at its Disney Store unit by bringing in new merchandise lines and setting everyday prices lower.

USA Today:
- Recent college graduates are applying at record levels to volunteer service organizations such as Teach for America, AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.

CNBC:
- ImClone Systems’(IMCL) planned sale was postponed until mid-July from late June.

Kydo News:
- North Korea said Japan must lift sanctions imposed in response to the communist country’s missile tests or face “strong measures.”

Die Welt:
- The number of Germans leaving the country rose to he highest since 1950 last year as young and highly qualified Germans sought better prospects abroad.