Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Abby Joseph Cohen, the Goldman Sachs Group strategist, predicted the S&P 500 will rise 14% by the end of next year.
- Dell Inc.(DELL) will resume its stock-buyback program this week with a $10 billion repurchase, the first since it restated four years of earnings.
- AutoZone(AZO), the largest US retailer of automobile parts, reported first-quarter profit that rose more than analysts estimated on the biggest sales increase in six quarters.
- Legg Mason’s Bill Miller said financial stocks are the cheapest since 1990 and that consumer stocks are very cheap.
- Prudential Financial(PRU) rose in NY trading after saying its subprime holdings will keep their value and the company will repurchase at least $3.5 billion of stock in both 2009 and 2010.
- Crude oil is falling more than $1/bbl. on speculation OPEC may increase production at its meeting tomorrow and worries over decelerating global demand.
- The Canadian dollar fell to a 10-week low after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to support an economic expansion threatened by slowing exports and a decline in the availability of credit.
- Markit Group, the data provider that bought the iTraxx and CDX credit-default swap index owners last month, has agreed to buy electronic trade processor SwapsWire.

NY Times:
- MySpace, the social-networking site owned by News Corp.(NWS/A), is starting a new program for musicians to sell live performances of their material.

USAToday.com:
- Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani lost support among US Democrats and Republicans, respectively, during the past month while retaining their lead over political rivals, a USA Today/Gallup Poll found. Clinton’s support fell 11 percentage points since early November and Giuliani’s declined by 9, the poll found.

Reuters:
- CEOs take brighter view of economy: survey.

Financial Times:
- Lennar’s(LEN) sale of an 80% in 11,000 houses to Morgan Stanley at a low price may be a sign that the housing slump is heading toward resolution.