Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- CBS News fired an unidentified producer after finding that a video essay was plagiarized from the Wall Street Journal and posted on the network’s Web site, citing CBS spokeswoman Sandra Genelius.
- Former US Senator and actor Fred Dalton Thompson disclosed today that he has indolent lymphoma, a slow-growing form of the cancer.
- Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke said that a “light regulatory touch” on hedge funds is justified because of the incentives that investors and creditors have to monitor risks.
- Citigroup Inc.(C) and Bank of America(BAC), the two largest US banks will provide $1 billion in fixed-rate, below-market mortgages for predatory-lending victims on the verge of losing their homes, an advocacy group said.
- US aluminum production rose 9.2% in March, according to the Aluminum Assoc.
- Orange-juice futures fell in NY, heading for the biggest weekly drop in 15 months, as rains improved the prospect for next seasons citrus crop in Florida, the biggest US grower of oranges.
- Gasoline futures in NY are rising to an eight-month high, on rising investment fund speculation, as the government reported today that supplies fell more than estimates as refiner utilization remains exceptionally low due to rampant “outages.”
- Federal Reserve officials agreed higher interest rates could still “prove necessary” to control inflation even as they removed a reference in their statement to tighter credit because of increased economic risks.
- Comcast Corp.(CMCSA) CEO Roberts said consumers’ surging appetite for packages of television, telephone and Internet services justifies spending more to keep up with demand.
- ConocoPhillips(COP) CEO Jim Mulva became the first head of a major US oil company to call for federal rules to reduce emissions of so-called greenhouse gases.
- North Korea will start the process of shutting down its main atomic reactor within a day of receiving $25 million in previously frozen funds.

Wall Street Journal:
- Overseas investors quadrupled their ownership stake in big emerging-market companies over five years, citing a Citigroup survey.
- The Bush administration has completed rules requiring motor-fuel refiners to use more renewable fuels including ethanol to reduce dependence on oil imports. The Renewable Fuels Standard, mandated by Congress, requires refiners to use a minimum of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels within 5 years. Officials said it may reduce oil consumption by as much as 3.9 billion gallons and greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 13.1 million metric tons over the same time period.
- The wheels aren’t about to come off at Wells Fargo(WFC), the fourth-biggest US bank, though its shares have taken a dip lately because of the company’s heavy involvement in the subprime mortgage market.

NY Times:
- Retail condominiums are becoming popular investments in major cities with global appeal.

Financial Times:
- Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of NYC, said he is proposing to cut taxes and reduce the federal government payroll as part of his campaign to win the Republican nomination for US president.

Globe and Mail:
- Onex Corp., Canada’s biggest buyout firm, is considering a joint bid with auto-parts maker Magna International for DaimlerChrysler’s(DCX) Chrysler unit.

Gestion:
- Petroleo Brasileiro SA(PBR), Brazil’s state-run oil and natural-gas company, will join other companies in investing a combined $1 billion in energy exploration in Peru this year.

Interfax:
- Russia is concerned by Iran’s decision to conduct air-defense exercises close to a nuclear reactor that it is building in the Islamic state.