Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- US Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said it’s unlikely Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) will fail.
- Man Group Plc, the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, said assets under management rose 6.6 percent to a record in the past three months as clients added money and investments gained.
- Dow Chemical Co.(DOW), under pressure from record oil prices, agreed to buy Rohm & Haas Co.(ROH) for about $18.8 billion to increase sales of more lucrative electronics materials and adhesives in its biggest acquisition ever.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he's been assured by the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that the two government-chartered mortgage companies have enough capital.
- General Motors Corp.(GM), the biggest U.S. automaker, has ``no thoughts whatsoever'' of bankruptcy, Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said.
- Toyota Motor Corp. will build its Prius gasoline-electric car in the U.S., responding to a weakened dollar by producing the world's best-selling hybrid where there's most demand.
- Crude oil rose more than $5 a barrel after Iran test-fired more missiles in the Persian Gulf and a Nigerian militant group said it will end a cease-fire this week.

Wall Street Journal:
- Merck & Co.(MRK), Eli Lilly & Co.(LLY) and Pfizer Inc.(PFE) are teaming up to create new drug-discovery methods, which the companies say could save them large sums by reducing the failure rate of clinical trials.
- A Bipartisan Fix for the Oil Crisis.

NY Times:
- Spy Cases Raise Concern on China’s Intentions.
- Apple(AAPL) Moves to Dominate Internet Mobile Devices.

International Herald Tribune:
- The AFL-CIO is mobilizing union members who are military veterans to work against Republican presidential candidate John McCain and other office seekers it opposes, officials said Thursday. The union also launched an ad that will air Thursday that features a Vietnam combat veteran criticizing McCain's stance on the war in Iraq and on veterans issues. The ad will air for three weeks on national cable and in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, union officials said.