Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Optiver Holding BV, a Dutch trading fund, allegedly manipulated and attempted to manipulate energy markets on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said today. The commission's complaint alleges the company tried to ``bully the market'' by buying large volumes of futures contracts to influence prices. The alleged scheme resulted in a $1 million profit to the defendants, the commission said. The commission alleged Optiver, based in Amsterdam, along with two of its subsidiaries and three employees, tried on 19 separate instances to manipulate energy futures markets, specifically New York Mercantile Exchange light sweet crude oil, New York Harbor heating oil and New York Harbor gasoline markets. At least five of those attempts were successful, ``causing artificial prices,'' the commission said. Since December 2002, the commission, before today, had filed 41 enforcement actions charging a total of 66 defendants with energy market violations. Civil penalties to settle the actions have totaled almost $500 million, the CFTC said earlier in a statement.
- An effort to scale down the $62 trillion credit-default swap market by eliminating duplicate trades may cut the amount of some outstanding contracts between banks by as much as 75 percent.
- The cost of protecting Credit Suisse Group AG from default fell to the lowest in almost two months after Switzerland's second-biggest bank posted earnings that beat analysts' forecasts.
- The Federal Reserve, looking to spur investment in banks hit by credit losses, is weighing three measures to ease regulatory constraints on private-equity funds that buy stakes in lenders, people with knowledge of the deliberations said.
- The U.S. Senate plans to consider the housing legislation designed to shore up confidence in Fannie Mae(FNM) and Freddie Mac(FRE) and stem record mortgage foreclosures after the House of Representatives approved it yesterday.
- Nickel fell the most in two months in London as stainless-steel producers reduced usage of the metal. Copper, aluminum and tin also dropped. Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., China's biggest maker of the rust-resistant alloy, said today it plans to produce more goods with a low nickel content. Outokumpu Oyj, the world's fourth largest, said distributors postponed purchases because of the nickel price decline and softening demand in construction. ``Demand for nickel is weak in China, the U.S. and Europe.'' Nickel has slumped 28 percent this year, the most among the LME's six industrial metals.
- German business confidence fell the most since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, signaling growth is faltering in Europe's biggest economy. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 97.5 from 101.2 in June. That's the weakest reading since September 2005.
- Tokyo overtook London to be the world's second-most expensive city, and living expenses in Indian cities leapt as the dollar weakened and inflation surged, a survey by Mercer LLC said.
- The euro fell to the lowest level against the dollar in more than two weeks as a drop in business confidence in Germany reduced speculation that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates again this year.
- U.K. retail sales dropped in June by the most since at least 1986 as accelerating inflation and the slowdown in economic growth prompted consumers to cut spending.

Wall Street Journal:
- Intel Corp.(INTC) Wednesday unveiled the first fruits of a new effort to make multifunction chips, a strategy that could accelerate a longtime goal to diversify beyond computers.
- Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) will announce plans to bring its Web search and search ads to social-networking site Facebook Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

NY Times:
- China Pays Parents for Silence Over Earthquake Deaths.
- Waste-to-Fuel Attracts Investments as Oil Prices Rise.

StarTribune.com:
- Poll: McCain closes in on Obama in some states.

CNNMoney.com:
- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said U.S. regulators intend to extend restrictions on short- sales to the entire market.

Scotsman.com:
- BUSINESS confidence among Scottish manufacturers has slumped to its lowest level for almost three decades, a survey has revealed. Confidence north of the Border is at a 28-year low, driven downwards by rising costs combined with expectations of a slowdown, according to the latest Scottish Industrial Trends Survey published by CBI Scotland.

La Repubblica:
- European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Alumina said the euro’s strength against other currencies is a “real problem” that should be addressed by speaking with a “single voice.” “The euro is overvalued while other currencies with a an official exchange rate, like the Chinese yuan, are clearly undervalued,” Alumina said.