Bloomberg:
- Oil is falling another $1.37/bbl. on comments from Saudi Arabia that they are happy with oil around $50/bbl.
- Copper prices are plunging 4% as LME inventories have surged 8% in the last week and are near 3 year highs.
- Corn prices in Chicago fell on speculation that commodity- and hedge-fund managers this week will reduce record net-long positions.
- Stainless-steel producers, which use about two-thirds of global nickel supplies, are reducing the amount of the metal in their products after prices soared to a record, an industry organization said.
- The yen declined to the lowest against the US dollar in more than four years after a Japanese government report showed a drop in retail sales last month.
- Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) expects to see a “bump” in sales from the release of its new Windows Vista program, CEO Ballmer said. Symantec Corp.(SYMC) agreed to buy Altiris Inc. for about $830 million in cash to gain programs that help companies manage software for their businesses.
- Merrill Lynch(MER) agreed to buy First Republic Bank for $1.8 billion in cash and stock.
Wall Street Journal:
- Russia’s OAO Gazprom, the world’s No. 2 oil company by reserves after Exxon Mobil(XOM), will double spending on development to $20 billion this year, said Alexander Medvedev, who heads Gazprom’s export effort.
- US utility companies are competing for the best locations for new nuclear power plants and more than $8 billion in federal subsidies.
NY Times:
- Iran plans to expand economic and military ties with Iraq, including opening a national bank in Baghdad and offering military training, citing an interview with Iran’s ambassador to Iraq.
- Nielsen Media Research will for the first time begin using the viewings of college students living away from home.
USA Today:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and two other top Democrats violated a federal ethics law that requires disclosure of leadership roles at non-profit organizations, citing financial disclosure records.
Washington Post:
- President Bush’s new plan to stabilize Baghdad “corrects the problems that plagued previous efforts,” National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley wrote.
Independent:
- Mark Mobius, who manages the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust, faces criticism from City of London Investment Group, the trust’s biggest investor with a 13% stake. In an open letter to the board, City said Mobius runs the trust like an index-tracking vehicle, without much active stock-selection, and thus fails to justify the fees charged by his company, Franklin Templeton Investments.
Boersen:
- AP Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container-ship owner, expects oil production in the UK part of the North Sea to rise, citing a director. Production growth will stem from new finds and better exploitation of known fields with new technology.
La Gaceta de los Negocios:
- Actividades de Construccion & Servicios SA, a Spanish construction company, may acquire a company or an “attractive” asset in the US to reinforce its presence in that country.
La Lettre de L’Expansion:
- Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY) signed a preliminary agreement to combine last week.
Ma’ariv:
- Nice Systems Ltd. may announce the acquisition of rival Witness Systems(WITS) for $820 million this week.
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