Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Israeli and Lebanese politicians are acting together in an effort to defeat Hezbollah, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said.
- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said terrorism threatens economic prosperity in South Asia and urged neighboring Pakistan to clamp down on extremists.
- Heathrow Airport plans to cancel 20% of departing flights today, down from about a third yesterday, as schedules slowly return to normal six days after UK police said they foiled a plot to bomb planes en route to the US.
- Home Depot(HD) said second-quarter profit rose 5.3% on higher sales to professional builders.
- Goldman Sachs(GS) extended its lead over securities firms reporting second-quarter equities and fixed-income trading revenue.
- The Chinese yuan fell the most since China ended a peg to the dollar last year, tracking Asian currencies lower as traders bet the central bank is reducing its control over the exchange rate.
- Deere(DE) said third-quarter profit rose 13%, helped by sales of construction products. The company lowered its 06 forecast.
- Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) reported the first decline in profit in more than a decade on costs to sell its German unit.
- Bill Miller bought more shares of computer maker Dell(DELL) and media company Time Warner(TWX) in the second quarter.
- Iranian President Ahmadinejad said his country won’t give in to force over a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment program by Aug. 31.
- Monsanto(MON) agreed to buy cotton-seek maker Delta & Pine Land(DLP) for $1.5 billion.
- US Treasury 10-year notes rose the most in a month after a report showing wholesale price inflation slowed prompted traders to increase bets the Fed is finished raising interest rates.

Wall Street Journal:
- Sirius Satellite Radio(SIRI) will lose customers as several car-based free-trials end in coming months.
- San Francisco Intl. Airport has started a bomb-detection program that will allow it to screen almost every air cargo for possible explosives.
- Deere & Co.(DE) is offering starting salaries of $55,500 a year and $2,500 signing bonuses to attract increasingly scarce welders.
- Google(GOOG) plans to start today a free service that allows businesses to offer printable coupons using Google Maps.
- Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE), the biggest buyers of US home mortgages, face unprecedented demand for their longer-term callable debt as some investors expect interest rates will remain flat or fall.

NY Times:
- Yahoo!(YHOO) and other companies are building increasingly sophisticated systems that track online consumer behavior as they try to capture more of the $14 billion market.
- US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday ordered a comparison of US and UK counterterrorism laws.

Lupa Internet:
- Google(GOOG) has purchased the google.cz domain name, easing the company’s entrance to the Czech market.

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