Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet today agreed to tighter transparency rules for private equity and hedge funds, reneging on an earlier promise to the finance industry to remove clamps that are holding up investment.
- Emerging-market shares and currencies fell, with Indonesian stocks tumbling the most in three years, after widening losses linked to US subprime loans prompted investors to shun riskier assets.
- Tropical Storm Erin formed over the Gulf of Mexico today and is forecast to hit the south Texas coast tomorrow, while another system is gaining strength in the Atlantic Ocean and heading toward the Caribbean.
- Wind River Systems(WIND) shares rose as much as 9.8% today after a Web site that reports on technology companies said the software consultant might be bought by IBM(IBM).

Wall Street Journal:
- NY Democratic Senator Charles Schumer supports a proposed tax increase on managers of hedge funds and private-equity firms provided the increase applies to other investment partnerships.
- More US companies are basing bonuses and pay increases on job performance, citing a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
- DirecTV Group(DTV), may announce today an agreement with Current Group LLC to provide high-speed Internet service over electric-power lines.

NY Times:
- Seven US labor unions are asking the government to order employers to bargain with them, even when they don’t represent a majority of employees.

Interfax:
- China’s copper production rose 14% in the first seven months of the year to 1.86 million metric tons.