Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- IBM Corp.(IBM), the world’s biggest computer-services company, announced plans to buy back $15 billion of stock. The stock surged to a four-month high.
- International Game Technology(IGT), the world’s largest slot machine maker, might boost earnings more than 10% by purchasing a competitor without weakening the equity of shareholders. Shuffle Master(SHFL) is the most likely target. Other candidates may include Bally Technologies(BYI) and WMS Industries(WMS).
- MBIA Inc.(MBI) had its Aaa bond insurer rating affirmed by Moody’s Investors Service, removing the threat of an immediate downgrade that would have sparked losses across the credit markets.
- The Fed’s Poole said financial markets are not healed, but he sees progress. He also said the TIPS spread is well within its two-year range, he sees no change in direction of Fed policy yet and that the US economy will likely avoid recession.
- Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said turmoil in credit markets and the possibility of even slower growth pose a “greater threat” than inflation.
- Crude oil is rising above $100/bbl. in NY after the US dollar dropping to a three-week low prompted investment funds to boost speculation in the commodity.

Wall Street Journal:
- US Pushes Sovereign Funds To Open to Outside Scrutiny.

CNBC:
- Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments LLC, told CNBC that the US economy isn’t going into a recession and that the housing market will begin its “recovery phase” in the next few months. “Obviously, what we have going on is an attempt to creat a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said. “We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.”
- Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said in an interview on CNBC today that while inflation numbers need to be monitored closely, the US is far from the “stagflation” of the 1970s.

Forbes:
- The world’s largest hedge fund, US-based Renaissance Technologies, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to operate in the nation’s stock markets as a foreign institutional investor.

USA Today:
- Shortage of surgeons pinches US hospitals. Cuts in medical school enrollments in ‘80s and ‘90s now felt nationwide.

LA Times:
- California to Pump Up Access to Biofuels.

AP:
- Internet advertising revenue surpassed $21 billion for the first time in 2007, citing the Interactive Ad Bureau. Ad revenue rose 25% from almost $17 billion in 2006.

AFP:
- Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the “great success” of the country’s nuclear program, citing a speech aired on state tv.

Jerusalem Post:
- “I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, then you’re anti-Israel, and that can’t be the measure of our friendship with Israel,” leading Democratic presidential contender Illinois Senator Barack Obama said.

al-Hayat:
- Saudi Arabia has no plans to end pricing crude oil in dollars and change to euros, citing Mohamed Al-Jasser, vice governor of the kingdom’s central bank.

Tehran Times:
- Iranian companies will soon start work on public infrastructure projects in Iraq as part of cooperation efforts between the two neighbors, citing Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalifaf.