Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Scientists genetically altered cells in the body’s immune system to carry a receptor that recognizes melanoma cancer at the molecular level and marks it for destruction, a study says.
- A late surge in back-to-school spending helped many US retailers post August sales gains that topped analysts’ estimates.
- Downtown Manhattan’s office vacancy rate is poised to fall below 10% for the first time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a forecast by Jones Lang LaSalle, the largest US commercial real estate broker.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said “strong” growth in US productivity will probably go on for “some time” as companies and industries make better use of computers to raise workers’ per-hour output.
- Goldcorp Inc., Canada’s third-largest producer of the metal, agreed to buy Glamis Gold for about $8.6 billion as a four-year rally spurs mining companies to consolidate.
- Iran has continued uranium enrichment in the past month, a signal the Islamic Republic will ignore today’s UN Security Council deadline to suspend the nuclear work and trigger a debate on sanctions.

Wall Street Journal:
- Kellogg(K), Tyson Foods(TSN) and scores of other companies are adapting snacks to boost sales of school breakfast foods under federally funded programs for children from low-income families.
- Novatel’s(NVTL) new laptop ExpressCard versions for cellular broadband networks are easy to use and work well though they provide different access to high-speed networks.

NY Times:
- A new US National Park Service policy will emphasize conservation of cultural and natural resources in favor of recreational pursuits.

NY Post:
- NY traffic will be as congested as it is in LA in coming decades, citing a study by the Reason Foundation.

AP:
- BP Plc(BP) may be able to resume full production of oil from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, sooner than expected by diverting the oil around 16 miles of corroded pipelines, citing an executive.
- The new superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point says applications for the next school year are rising after several years of decline since September 11.

Facts magazine:
- UBS AG(UBS), Europe’s largest bank by assets, dropped business in Iran and Syria this year due to business risks and “economic considerations.”