Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- US Airways made an unsolicited $8 billion offer for bankrupt Delta Air to create the world’s largest airline.
- US Treasuries fell the most in a week after manufacturing in NY state unexpectedly surged.
- DreamWorks Animation(DWA) investors including Paul Allen and Viacom(VIA) plan to sell $330 million shares in an offering that will unwind the partnership that controls the movie studio.
- Senate Republicans chose Mitch McConnell to be minority leader and picked Trent Lott to be whip.
- Touradji Capital Management LP, founded by Paul Touradji, a former commodities trader at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, sold all holdings in iron and steel mining companies in the third quarter.
- Al Jazeera, the Arabic television news channel, begins airing its 24-hour English-language service today in a bid to compete with CNN and the BBC.
- Gold is falling for a fourth straight session as the prospect of better returns from US equities, a rising US dollar and declining inflation eroded appeal for the metal.
- Chile’s peso fell to its lowest in a month on a plunge in copper prices, the country’s top export, and expectations that slowing growth will discourage policy makers from lifting interest rates.
- Gold demand fell 3% in the third quarter as price volatility discouraged purchases by investors and jewelers, the producer-funded World Gold Council said.
- KKR and Carlyle Group, the manager of the biggest US buyout fund, are among 13 private equity firms accused in a class-action lawsuit of rigging the market to take companies private.

Wall Street Journal:
- The US may today file a revised World Trade Organization complaint against subsidies that it says European governments pay to Airbus SAS.
- Boeing(BA) may receive orders worth more than $10 billion in the next few weeks as airlines hurry to take up the dwindling number of early delivery slots in the company’s production schedule.
- The number of Wikipedia users in China has surged after the government lifted a ban on the Web site.
- Cuba’s armed force, headed by Defense Minister Raul Castro, have a crucial role in the island’s economy and may follow a “Chinese model” of economic changes.
- Cingular Wireless LLC plans to offer a service that allows cell-phone users to check bank account balances, transfer money and pay bills over the phones.
- Internet ad sales this year will probably exceed 2005 after spending for the first nine months of 2006 almost matched the amount for all of 2005, citing the Interactive Ad Bureau.
- Wal-Mart Stores critics backed by labor unions are planning an ad campaign that attacks the company. The campaign is being coordinated by a group that’s funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

NY Times:
- US Democrats who want a troop withdrawal from Iraq face opposition from a number of military officers, experts and former generals, including some of the most vehement critics of US tactics in Iraq. Anthony Zinni, a retired general who had called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, said any substantial force reduction would send Iraq into civil war.
- OJ Simpson, who was acquitted of killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, sand her friend Ronald L. Goldman, has written a book on how he would have committed the murders had he been involved. The book, using the working title “OJ Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How it Happened,” is scheduled to be released Nov. 30 by ReganBooks.
- General Mills(GIS), McDonald’s(MCD), Coca-Cola(KO) and seven other food and beverage companies plan to cut back junk-food advertising to children under 12.

Washington Post:
- Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia are providing arms, training and financing to Islamic militants in the east African state of Somalia, citing a UN report.

Financial Times:
- UK inflation may be so much better than the Bank of England expected that it’s receding as a concern.

Financial Times Deutschland:
- Nvidia Corp.(NVDA) “prefers” to stay independent, CEO Huang said after speculation about a takeover of his company.

Arab News:
- Saudi Arabia has settled border problems with all its Gulf neighbors, citing the Saudi Minister of Defense and Deputy Premier Crown Prince Sultan.

AFP:
- Iran will “resist to the end” to defend its nuclear program, citing Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Al-Alam al-Yom:
- Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, bought 1.2 million metric tons of US wheat worth $250 million since the beginning of the marketing year in July.

China Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals:
- China Petroleum & Chemical, or Sinopec, is increasing production at two oilfields, including the nation’s second largest.

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