Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The $168 billion of subprime-mortgage bonds held by Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE), the two largest US mortgage finance companies, have probably lost $.134 billion of value this year, according to UBS AG analysts. “While no market decline is a positive, we feel a market decline of this magnitude is not at a dangerous or alarming level,” the analyst said.
- Shares of heavily shorted Beazer Homes(BZH) plunged this morning on speculation the homebuilder may file for bankruptcy. Beazer said the rumor was false.
- GM(GM) said US sale fell in July as Ford(F), Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and DaimlerChrysler also posted declines.
- US Treasury Secretary Paulson said he’s confident about the strength of the American economy and suggested it can weather the sell-off in global financial markets.
- Crude oil is falling $1.71/bbl. after the EIA reported gasoline supplies rose again as oil supplies remain near 10-year highs. Gasoline futures also fell 3.5% on the news.

Wall Street Journal:
- Deutsche Lufthansa AG is to link up with a group of companies led by T-Mobile, a Deutsche Telekom AG unit, to offer broadband Internet access and wireless e-mail to passengers on long flights.
- Harvard University lost about $350 million through an investment in Sowood Capital Management LP, a hedge-fund firm founded by one of its own former fund managers.
- Google Inc.(GOOG), Microsoft(MSFT) and other computer-industry companies plan to contest what they say are excessive copyright-violation warnings by content companies, including book publishers and film studios.

Le Monde:
- Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, said that his country and France may sign military contracts and cooperation agreements.

Al-Wasat:
- As many as 85 international oil companies, mostly from the US, have shown an interest in exploring for oil and natural gas in Bahrain.