Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The cost to protect corporate debt from default dropped to the lowest in more than two months as futures signaled the US stock market is poised to rise for the fourth day this week. Credit-default swaps n the Market CDX North America Investment Grade Index of 125 companies fell 10.5 basis points to 102.5, according to broker Phoenix Partners Group. The Markit LCDX index, a gauge of confidence in the US high-yield, high-risk loan market that rises as sentiment improves, gained .55 percentage point to 95.1, according to Goldman Sachs(GS). Contracts on the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of 50 companies with mostly high-risk, high-yield credit rating dropped 40 basis points to 465, according to JPMorgan Chase(JPM).
- Crude oil rose more than $2 a barrel as the US dollar fell against the euro, prompting speculators to purchase commodities.
- Buy Wal-Mart(WMT), Sell Goldman(GS) Becoming Easiest Trade. The best trade on Wall Street these days may be buying Wal-Mart Stores(WMT) and companies whose earnings will increase as the US economy recovers, while selling the banks that were behind the subprime market meltdown.
- Jim O’Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs(GS), says the economy is “not as bad as they all think.” (video)
- India’s inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in more than three years.
- Federal Reserve officials signaled the central bank will keep lowering interest rates because financial markets remain distressed.

Wall Street Journal:
- Nokia Corp.(NOK) is counting on people such as Rita El Khoury, who splurged on the Finnish phone maker’s $674 N81 handset so she could be an early user of the company’s N-Gage Internet service platform for videogames.
- Microsoft(MSFT) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO) senior executives met this week to discuss Microsoft’s proposal to acquire the Internet company but failed to resolve any of their differences.
- Failure by the US Congress to pass a free-trade agreement with Colombia this year would be a serious setback for Washington’s closet ally in South America, President Alvaro Uribe said.

NY Times:
- Rising Leader for Next Phase of Al Qaeda’s War.

Washington Post:
- Democrats Fight for Super-Superdelegates.

CNNMoney.com:
- Michigan Democrats will not go to the polls again to choose a presidential nominee, even though the national party has refused to recognize the results of their vote in January, the party announced.

Reuters:
- JPMorgan Chase(JPM), which is taking over rival investment bank Bear Stearns(BSC), will dominate the management ranks of the combined investment banking and trading businesses, according to an internal memo.

Financial Times Deutschland:
- Otmar Issing, the European Central Bank’s former chief economist, said the euro’s appreciation helps curb inflation.

Market News International:
- European Central Bank council member Vitor Constancio said slower economic growth will damp inflation. Constancio predicted the US slowdown will impact on the euro-region economy with a “delay.”

Ansa:
- The IMF cut its 2008 forecast for Italy’s economy to .3%. The last prediction for Italy, Europe’s fourth largest economy, was for economic expansion of 1.3%.