Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Lehman Brothers Holdings(LEH) said the worst of the global credit market rout caused by the US subprime mortgage slump is over.
- Win Thin, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman said he is a “Long-term US dollar bull.”
- Bank of America(BAC), the second-largest US bank, said the slump in global credit markets caused by subprime mortgage defaults is overstated and investors should buy corporate debt.
- Crude oil rose to an 11-month high in NY and London after a pipeline “shutdown” and “maintenance” work reduced North Sea Brent oil production.
- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is backing efforts to boost taxes for managers of private-equity firms and hedge funds.
- Shares of Baker Hughes(BHI), the world’s third-largest oilfield-services provider, fell more than 5% after the company said second-quarter profit was less than analysts expected because of a slowdown in drilling in Canada and higher tax rates and costs.
- Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.(HOV) shares jumped the most since December 2004, leading homebuilders higher, on speculation Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway(BRK/A) may buy a stake in the company.
- General Electric(GE) said second-quarter profit rose 12% on sales of power-plant turbines, jet engines and commercial loans outside the US.
- President Bush said US help in rebuilding Iraq can lead to a more stable government and pave the way toward resolving sectarian disputes. “Grassroots efforts to improve services, to improve the economy, to encourage local government are all aimed at enhancing this concept of reconciliation from the bottom up,” Bush said.
- Christie’s Intl., the world’s largest art seller, said auctions rose almost 30% on premium prices for Warhols and an influx of new buyers.
- Alcoa(AA) shares may be valued as high as $59 if the world’s second-largest aluminum company is taken over, according to a CSFB report.
- The US is urging China’s central bank to buy more mortgage-backed securities after a surge in defaults by risky borrowers eroded demand for such instruments. US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jackson is in Beijing to persuade the Chinese central bank to buy more securities from Ginnie Mae, a mortgage assoc. under the Housing Dept.
- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is running for re-election virtually unopposed, more popular than ever, after admitting to having an affair with a top aide’s wife and entering an alcohol-treatment program.
- Gasoline futures are falling for the third day on rising inventories and after failing to break through a technical level.
- Copper inventories in Shanghai surged 11% this week.

Wall Street Journal:
- Pearson Plc’s Financial Times newspaper and CNBC, the US-based business news television channel, are in talks to share news to attract more online readers.
- Dealers for the four automakers with the biggest US sales will urge members of Congress next week to back “soft” fuel-economy proposals.
- Empirica Capital LLC founder and author Nassim Nicholas Taleb is helping start Universa Investments LP, a California-based hedge fund raising more than $1 billion for a special fund based on ideas in his investment books.
- The US NASD and the NYSE agreed to change the name of a new joint regulatory body after the first choice offended some Muslims, citing NASD spokesman Howard Schloss. Originally titled the Securities Industry Regulatory Authority, or SIRA, the body started receiving complaints from Muslims who said SIRA sounded similar to an Arabic word which refers to biographies of the Prophet Muhammad. The new enforcement unit will now be known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.

NY Times:
- US imports will be more widely inspected and violators of safety regulators will face stiffer penalties under rules being crafted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- Al Gore, promoter of last weekend’s Live Earth concerts, is sponsoring a contest to raise awareness of climate change through television and Web ad “ecospots.” “Since we face a true planetary emergency, we have to give the planet a PR agent,” Gore, who plans to raise millions of dollars to place the ads, said.

Washington Post:
- Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.(BRL) has seen sales of its Plan B morning-after pill double since the US FDA approved the pill’s use without prescription last August.

Chicago Tribune:
- Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has submitted an application to buy Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

AP:
- The $1.9 billion renovation of the headquarters of the United Nations in New York is at least $148 million over budget even before construction has begun, auditors said.

Guardian:
- European spending on Internet advertising will probably double in the next five years, from 7.5 billion euros last year to more than 16 billion euros in 2012, citing a forecast by Forrester, a US research company.

AFP:
- Iran will let United Nations inspectors visit a reactor under construction that could produce plutonium, citing the UN’s IAEA.

Business Report:
- The global supply of platinum may rise by 67% over the next five years as miners of the metal expand their operations, citing a study by Investec Securities.

El Nacional:
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s plans to amend the country’s constitution will include the elimination of term limits. Chavez’s proposal would allow the president to seek re-election every six years.

Valor Economico:
- Goldman Sachs Group(GS) may buy a stake in a group of Brazilian sugar and ethanol mills that are merging to form the country’s second-largest cane processor.

Xinhua News Agency:
- China, which supplies a third of the world’s steel, imported 26.9 million tons in June, the lowest level in six months, citing the country’s customs data. Imports fell 6.4% last month from a year-ago period and 2.61% compared with imports in May.