Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Michael Moskow said further interest-rate increases “may yet be necessary” as the economy appears set to continue expanding. Moscow also said “I think homebuilding will stabilize as we move through the year.”
- DaimlerChrysler AG’s(DCX) US shares rose as much as 6.1% after Automotive News reported that the German automaker is negotiating to sell its Chrysler unit to General Motors(GM). GM shares rose .6% on the report.
- Motorola(MOT) said the president of its handset unit resigned.
- Mills Corp.(MLS) agreed to be acquired for $1.64 billion by Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management LLC, rejecting an offer from Brookfield Asset Management.
- US Treasuries rose, pushing the 10-year note to its biggest weekly gain since December, as inflation continues to show meaningful deceleration and economic data were mixed.
- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s second biggest bank, agreed to buy Compass Bancshares for $9.6 billion to add more than 400 branches in six southern US states.
- Shares of AMR Corp.(AMR) rose as much as 4.4% after Business Week reported that the company may be a buyout target.
- Longer-term stock investors are better off enduring market sell-offs than using protection strategies or buying derivatives as a hedge, according to a study by ABN Amro Holding NV and the London Business School. An investor hold US shares consistently since 1900 would have gained 9.8% annually. Using an order to sell shares when they fell 10%, a so-called stop-loss, would have resulted in an 8.8% rise.
- China ordered banks to set aside more money as reserves for the fifth time in eight months to cool inflation and investment.
- Tudor Investment Corp., the hedge fund firm run by Paul Tudor Jones, sold shares of Virgin Media(VMED) and Gap Inc.(GPS) in the fourth quarter and bought a $363 million stake in Apple Inc.(AAPL). Six of Tudor’s 10 largest new buys in the quarter were technology companies, which make up the biggest piece of his portfolio.
- Crude oil rose above $59/bbl. in NY after the US warned that militant attacks in Nigeria may expand to new areas.
- US ethanol prices increased to the highest in a month on stepped-up consumption f the grain-based gasoline additive.
- Russia and Oman may compete to set up a new benchmark for crude oil that will determine the price for most oil pumped in the world, analysts said.
- Copper supplies from mines and scrap yards outpaced demand by 14,000 metric tons in November, the Intl. Copper Study Group said.

Wall Street Journal:
- General Electric(GE), Siemens AG and Bombardier Inc. are riding high on the Chinese government’s plans to invest billions of dollars into the Asian nation’s transport network.
- Nokia Oyj(NOK) plans to introduce this year a mobile-phone model for players of video-games, as it tries to move into phone-related businesses.
- Boeing Co.(BA) wants to revitalize its commercial satellite-manufacturing business by debuting a smaller, more-versatile line of space vehicles.

Handelsblatt:
- Several US buyout firms have expressed an interest in DaimlerChrysler AG’s(DCX) money-losing Chrysler unit that may be up for sale.

JANA:
- Libya sold crude oil this week at an average price of $54.22/bbl., compared with an average of $55.77/bbl. last week.

Uptream:
- Norsk Hydro ASA, Norway’s second-largest oil producer, found oil in an exploration well at the Nucula prospect in the Barents Sea.

CCTV:
- China’s President Hu Jintao told President Bush the two nations should strengthen cooperation during a phone call last night.