Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- VMware Inc.(VMW) shares soared as much as 91% in their first day of trading, giving the software market a bigger market value than Ford Motor(F).
- Mattel Inc.(MAT) is recalling Chinese-made products for the second time in two weeks on concerns that children will swallow magnets attached to the toys.
- NASA has revised climate data to show 1934 as the hottest US year on record, ousting 1998 and challenging the argument that national temperatures are reaching new highs amid global warming.
- Sentinel Management Group, the Illinois-based firm that manages $1.6 billion, said it asked regulators for permission to freeze client withdrawals because credit-market turmoil made it impossible to trade.

Wall Street Journal:
- BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and other European automakers are gearing up to expand production in the US.
- Many Facebook Inc. users are willing to give such personal information as phone numbers, home addresses and e-mail addresses to strangers, citing a study carried out by Sophos Plc, a computer-security firm.
- Verizon Wireless may be the main beneficiary of a FCC auction of airwaves spectrum early next year.
- A wave of investment in steel mills in the US is a long-term gamble on the strength of the country’s steel market and its manufacturing industries.
- Small US investors who borrowed money, sold stocks short and took out complex options are finding that market volatility has undermined their investments. Many non-professional investors turned to foreign stocks and currencies, so-called “market neutral” funds, commodities futures and short-selling to avoid a possible market decline. Instead, they’re finding that many hedges aren’t working as expected.
- US index funds are going through a price war over expenses, partly because of competition from ETFs.

NY Times:
- More than 100 communities across the US are trying to make neighborhoods safe, affordable and comfortable places to grow old.
- Google Inc.(GOOG) and Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) are developing plans to improve the US health-care system by giving more control to patients.

USA Today:
- US casinos, once confined to tourist destinations in depressed towns, are being built in or near major cities to maximize tax revenue.