Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Deckers Outdoor Corp.(DECK) CEO Martinez told CNBC in an interview today that the shoe industry is “moving into a sustainable, green approach.” Martinez said the company’s Green Toe shoes, made of organic materials including bamboo and natural latex rubber, deteriorate into the earth a few months after they are discarded.
- TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.(AMTD) shares rose as much as 5.3% after hedge funds Jana Partners LLC and SAC Capital Advisors LLC took a combined 8.4% stake and urged the third-largest online broker to merge with a rival.
- Copper futures in NY are falling the most in two weeks on concern that the metal’s recent rally was overdone.
- Corn is falling to a one-week low in Chicago on speculation that the highest US crop ratings since 1991 signal farmers will harvest more grain than forecast a month ago.
- Stem cells may be produced without destroying embryos or requiring women to donate eggs, say scientists from Harvard University, California and Japan.
- Ford Motor(F) had four of the top 10 brands in a benchmark US survey of new-vehicle quality, which has been dominated by Toyota Motor Corp.(TM).
- New cancer drugs from Pfizer Inc.(PFE) and Genentech(DNA), tested together for the first time, raised each medicine’s tumor fighting power, researchers reported this week.
- The European Central Bank raised interest rates to a six-year high today to keep economic growth from fueling inflation in the 13 nations sharing the euro.

Wall Street Journal:
- Thousands of crosses put on a hill in the San Francisco Bay Area to remember US soldiers killed in Iraq have set off a fight among residents concerned the memorial may lower property values.
- Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) rivals, including Kroger(KR) and SuperValu(SVU), are attracting customers back by cutting back on drugs and beauty products and focusing on gourmet foods and convenience.
- BlackRock Advisors LLC, State Street Global Advisors and Barclays Global Investors are among US management companies offering or set to offer so-called 130/30 funds. Such funds might invest $100 in a group of stocks, then short another $30 in shares they think are overvalued. They then use the proceeds from the short sale to buy stocks believed to be undervalued.
- US patent law faces major revisions in Congress following a Supreme Court ruling this year that makes it harder to get new patents and to defend existing ones.
- Private-equity firms on the acquisition trail are increasingly bringing not only bankers and lawyers to negotiations but also insurance brokers. The reason is that they want to be prepared against nasty surprises, and the trend has meant a significant increase in business for insurance brokerages such as Marsh Inc., Willis Group Holdings and Aon Corp.

NY Times:
- Hillary Rodham Clinton’s comments at a presidential debate that the US is safer now than it was before Sept. 11 has drawn rebuke from challengers for the Democratic presidential nomination.
- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has told a gay rights organization that she would support the repeal of part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Washington Post:
- Congress is renewing a push for US terrorism detainees to receive basic legal rights.

Chronicle of Higher Education:
- The US House of Representatives passes a bill yesterday that would help boost the number of students studying overseas and help them understand other cultures.

San Francisco Chronicle:
- The California Assembly unanimously passed a bill that would force the state’s two public pension funds to sell investments in energy and defense companies that do business in Iran.

USA Today:
- California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit against San Bernardino County for failing to regulate greenhouse gases releases by new homes and residential developments.

Financial Times:
- Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) is set to offer a payment card aimed at the roughly 80 million Americans who do not have a bank account.