Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Chinese markets are too big and complicated for China to be able to fix a market drop, so the government should concentrate instead on making them more flexible and independent, said Fang Xinghai, former deputy chief executive of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
- JPMorgan Chase(JPM) plans to invest $1 billion to expand its investment-banking unit this year.
- Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) should sell most of their $1.4 trillion in assets to refocus on homeownership among low-income Americans, Fed Chairman Benanke said.
- Shares of New Century Financial(NEW) and rival mortgage lenders snapped back sharply today.
- Russian reporter Ivan Safronov was investigating state plans to sell advanced weapons to Iran and Syria when he fell to his death from a window in his Moscow apartment building March 2, his newspaper Kommersant said.
- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson moved to cool concern about the sub-prime mortgage market, saying the woes won’t spill over to banks that make less risky loans.
- Monsanto and DuPont, the world’s leading developers of genetically modified seeds, may win faster approval to sell their products in Brazil under new biotech regulations, analysts said.

Wall Street Journal:
- Honeywell Intl.(HON) is venturing into consumer electronics for the first time with a branding deal for a new flat-panel tv.
- UAL Corp. is using computerized flight mapping to cut navigational fees, citing Anthony Concil, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association.
- US makers of orthopedic implants, such as Stryker(SYK) and Zimmer(ZMH), are a safe long-term investment as people live longer and more knees and hips wear out.
- The US government should lower tax rates and regulatory burdens to allow automakers to remain competitive in the global market, said Jack Kemp, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

NY Times:
- No solid evidence exists to prove the effectiveness of a common treatment to reform sexual offenders in the US. A California study conducted from 1985 to 2001 on the relapse prevention treatment found people were slightly more likely to have another sexual offense after going through the treatment than those who didn’t receive it.

La Tribune:
- France no longer opposes setting a fixed target for the use of renewable energies such as solar and wind power within the European Union.