Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Some US Federal Communications Commission officials are unreasonably pressuring the television broadcast networks to bring back a “family viewing hour” in a policy that is “doomed to failure,” said Bob Wright, vice chairman of General Electric and CEO of NBC Universal.
- US Treasuries fell the most since July 2005 after a government report showed the nation’s jobless rated declined to a historically low 4.4%. The US dollar surged the most in a month against the euro and yen on the same report.
- Morgan Stanley(MS), the largest real estate investor among Wall Street banks, is raising as much as $8 billion for the biggest high-yield property fund.
- Niger militants are preparing to stage a large-scale attack on oil facilities in the Niger delta, the US government said. The news is resulting in a $1.07/bbl. rise in oil to $58.95/bbl.
- China orders banks to set aside more money as reserves for the third time this year to curtail a credit-fueled investment boom.
- Edward Silliere, an independent trader at the NY Merc sees oil heading to $40/bbl. by spring.

Wall Street Journal:
- Intel Corp.(INTC), Motorola(MOT), Microsoft(MSFT), Advanced Micro Devices(AMD) and Quanta Computer are donating large amounts of technology to emerging market countries in a campaign that is partly philanthropic and partly commercial.
- NBC’s new show, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” gives the US television network the dilemma of a show with very low ratings yet a premium audience. The show has lost 37% of its viewers since it debuted.
- Managers of some big providers of exchange-traded funds aren’t investing their own money in the funds they run.

NY Times:
- Democrats, who have made a “culture of corruption” one of their main complaints against Republicans in Congress during this election campaign, face their own ethics problems. The Democratic administration of Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich is being investigated for endemic hiring fraud, and one of his top fundraisers was indicted on accusations that he sought millions of dollars in kickbacks. In addition to Blagojevich, the re-election campaigns of Louisiana Representative William Jefferson, West Virginia Representative Alan Mollohan and Senator Robert Menendez in New Jersey have been marked by claims of ethical failings.

NY Daily News:
- Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund run by supporters of US Senator Hillary R. Clinton of New York, hired Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, as a junior manager.

China Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals:
- China may have an oversupply of gasoline after the commissioning of Hainan Petrochemical Co., a unit of China Petroleum & Chemical. The 200,000 tons of gasoline produced by the refinery each month boosts China’s total gasoline output by 5%. This may contribute to excess supply because domestic consumption in the five months starting in October may remain little changed, while the government discourages refiners from exporting the auto fuel, according to China OGP.