Friday, July 21, 2006

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The US dollar fell for a third day after minutes of the Fed’s last meeting and comments from Chairman Bernanke suggested the Fed is close to stopping two years of interest-rate increases.
- Israel mobilized several thousand reserve soldiers today to reinforce units fighting Hezbollah gunmen in southern Lebanon.
- Morgan Stanley(MS) CEO Mack will be interviewed by the SEC in connection with a probe into possible insider trading at hedge fund Pequot Capital.
- Dell Inc.(DELL) said profit and sales will fail to meet analysts’ estimates, sending the stock plunging, after the world’s largest pc maker slashed prices to reclaim market share.
- News Corp.(NWS) Chairman Rupert Murdoch said US regulators would find it difficult to reject a merger of his DirectTV Group and rival satellite television provider EchoStar Communications(DISH).
- A new group called Communities United to Strengthen America has opened 12 “resource centers” this year for the avowed purpose of “educating citizens about issues such as health care and energy.” It’s probably no coincidence that all 12 are located in Republican –held congressional districts targeted by Democrats trying to recapture control of the House of Representatives in November’s mid-term elections. Campaign-finance experts cite Communities United as an example of the type of non-profit group that Democrats and their allies are crating to help their campaign, permitting unlimited and undisclosed donations from corporations, unions and the wealthy.

Wall Street Journal:
- US companies’ reserves of cash and their own stock have never been greater after years of record earnings growth, citing research that will be released by S&P.
- US, European and Japanese consumer-electronics companies will cut license fees for an important connector used in high-definition television sets, as they hope to convince Chinese manufacturers to use the same standards.
- General Electric’s(GE) NBC channel signed an agreement with Toyota Motor(TM) requiring the network to demonstrate that its viewers are able to recall particular details about a TV show, such as its storyline.

USA Today:
- Political action committees for US unions, including the Service Employees International Union, have raised more campaign funds in the past 18 months than in the lead-up to the 2002 election.

NY Times:
- An Indiana judge’s order may force law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP, accused of paying people to serve as plaintiffs, to turn over its financial records dating back to 1998.
- The US economy has withstood the effect of higher crude oil prices, which reflects a lesser dependence on oil and a smaller share of consumer spending than 30 years ago.
- Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) and DuPont both took their business away from law firms that haven’t hired more minority and female lawyers.

Washington Post:
- The Plaza Hotel in NYC this week started selling 152 so-called hotel condominiums.

The Times of London:
- Iran threatened to escalate “activity” in the Middle East during talks about its nuclear program if too much pressure was applied to halt it.

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