Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Countrywide Financial Corp.(CFC) Chief Operating Officer David Sambol said the US subprime market is stabilizing.
- John Reade, an analyst at UBS AG, said he expects nickel prices to fall “quite sharply” and that he would “not be a buyer of any metals at current prices.”
- The House of Representatives approved legislation today that would make gasoline price gouging a federal crime, subjecting companies to as much as $150 million in fines.
- Marathon Oil(MRO) expects its crude oil and natural-gas output to soar as much as 42% within 3 years from its average last year.
- Ethanol consumption in the European Union may exceed that of biodiesel by 2020.
- The number of US vehicles that can run on ethanol and gasoline will rise 600% within 8 years, boosting demand for the alternative fuel and reducing the prospects of a glut, according to the Renewable Fuels Assoc.
- Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) played down a possible deal with Yahoo!(YHOO) and said its has everything needed to build its advertising business.
- Internet ad sales soared 35% to $16.9 billion in the US last year as marketers accelerated their pursuit of Web-site audiences.
- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, ending a meeting with China’s top economic leaders, said the negotiations produced “tangible results” that will help build confidence in bilateral trade ties.
- Boeing Co.(BA) affirmed its profit forecasts for this year and next with an “upward bias” for 2008, CFO Bell said.
- Former Fed Chairman Greenspan said Chinese stocks may suffer a “dramatic contraction.”

Wall Street Journal:
- A unilateral withdrawal from Iraq would help al-Qaeda because Iraq is the “primary battleground” against “radical Islamists” who “declared war” on the US in the 1990s and carry out attacks today, said Bob Kerrey, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska.
- American Express(AXP) will today say that it is introducing a program to let customers put their monthly mortgage payments on charge cards, and let them earn rewards for doing so.
- Hedge funds have shown more of a bias towards energy, technology and small-company stocks than mutual funds recently, citing a report by Goldman Sachs(GS).
- The FBI’s success foiling a plot to attack the US Army base in New Jersey underscores how the agency has reverted to more methodical investigations before taking action.
- Coach’s(COH) stock does well when the luxury handbag maker’s chief executive scraps plans to sell his shares, as he’s done three times when he thought they were undervalued.

NY Times:
- US Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives are finding it difficult to get members of their party to agree on an overhaul of congressional ethics rules. Some Democrats are opposing a measure that would require lobbyists to make public the campaign contributions they collect on behalf of lawmakers.
- MGM Mirage(MGM) said it has formed an independent committee to study billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s offer to purchase two Las Vegas properties and maybe restructure the company.

AP:
- The US House of Representatives passed a bill to crack down on spyware, software that uses the Internet to collect data on consumers and pass it on to third parties without consent.

Financial Times:
- The venture-capital market might be tempting some investors to take a fresh look to avoid the crowds chasing leveraged buyouts.

Toronto Globe and Mail:
- Alcan Inc.(AL) has started “early-stage” talks with BHP Billiton Ltd.(BHP) to help fend off a takeover bid by rival Alcoa(AA).

Al-Hayat:- Iraq’s debt was reduced by $140 billion as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and countries including Saudi Arabia and China, citing Finance Minister Bayan al-Zubaidi.