Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Apple Inc.(AAPL), maker of the iPod digital music player, will offer its iPhone handset in Hong Kong and Macau this year to subscribers of Hutchinson Telecommunications Intl. Ltd.
- The number of Asian hedge fund managers will likely stagnate this year as smaller firms struggle to raise assets, said Pete Douglas, principal of Singapore-based hedge fund consulting firm GFIA Pte.
- Karsten Schroeder, CEO of Amplitude Capital LLP, Sees ‘Substantially Less’ Hedge Fund Inflows. (video)
- Credit-default swaps tied to the bonds of Countrywide’s(CFC) home-loan unit dropped 65 basis points to 230 basis points, according to broker Phoenix Partners Group.
- MasterCard Inc.(MA), the world’s second-biggest credit card network, rose to its highest level in NY trading since going public in May 2006 after increasing its profit-growth target on expanding card use.
- Crude Oil Falls More Than $4 as Higher Prices Curb Fuel Demand.
- Wheat Falls to 9-Month Low as US Starts Harvesting More Grain.
- The US dollar reached a three-month high against the yen as US stocks rose and crude plunged, brightening the outlook for the world’s biggest economy.

Wall Street Journal:
- In the quest to increase Americans’ access to broadband Internet, federal regulators are considering a new plan: get someone to give it away free.
- Blame Congress for High Oil Prices.
- Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has told Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO) he may want the Internet company to make a deal with Google(GOOG) if Microsoft(MSFT) doesn’t pursue a full takeover.

NY Times:
- NY to Back Same-Sex Marriages From Elsewhere.

Newsday.com:
- Honda will meet growing US demand for small cars while maintaining North American jobs by moving production of two bigger models from Canada to Alabama, CEO Takeo Fukui said.

Dow Jones:
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC) says it is investigating the US crude oil market for manipulation.
- Russian oil company OAO Lukoil’s VP Andrey Kuzayev held talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Bagdahd yesterday on reviving a contract to develop the West Qurna-2 field. The field has an estimated reserve capacity of more than 4 billion barrels of oil.

engadget:
- Apple(AAPL) patents systems to warn of impending dropped calls, track down your keys.

Barron’s:
- Credit Insurance Says Banks Should Rally.

Energy Intelligence:
- Iran plans to cut the amount of crude stored in tankers in the Persian Gulf from next month, citing Hojatollah Ghanimifard, executive director of international affairs at National Iranian Oil Co.

Forbes:
- Google(GOOG) is turning YouTube into its own kind of data gold mine.

Seeking Alpha:
- August ’07 Quant Meltdown: Investors Learned a Lesson, but Did Managers?

The Economic Times:
- Saudi pumps in extra oil, offers to step up supply. “The majority of OPEC producers definitely don’t like this high oil price because it is neither in their interest nor in the interest of the global economy, and it’s especially painful for the developing world,” said Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi.

Le Temps:
- UBS Chief Rohner Says Worst of Crisis Is Over.

Interfax:
- Russia’s central bank may raise some or all of its interest rates, citing the bank’s Chairman Sergey Ignatiev. The bank also sees inflation at 10.5% in 2008. Russian consumer prices jumped 7.5% in the year through May 26.

Press Trust of India:
- India may decide on raising fuel prices today.

The National:
- Osama Bin Laden Bounty Rises to $25 Million.

KUNA:
- Kuwaiti crude oil dropped $4.77 to $117.47 a barrel yesterday, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

Emirates Business 24/7:
- United Arab Emirates’ inflation accelerated to 14% last year as fuel, housing and construction costs soared, citing a report from the state-controlled Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. Higher gasoline and diesel fuel prices increased the cost of building in the UAE and are threatening builders’ ability to finance loans taken from banks.