Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- On March 11, the day the Federal Reserve attempted to shore up confidence in the credit markets with a $200 billion lending program that for the first time monetized Wall Street's devalued collateral, somebody else decided Bear Stearns Cos. was going to collapse. In a gambit with such low odds of success that traders question its legitimacy, someone wagered $1.7 million that Bear Stearns shares would suffer an unprecedented decline within days. Options specialists are convinced that the buyer, or buyers, made a concerted effort to drive the fifth-biggest U.S. securities firm out of business and, in the process, reap a profit of more than $270 million.
- Commodities slumped as signs of slowing global growth sent crude oil, gold and silver tumbling and an index of 24 raw materials into a bear market. The gauge dropped below its 200-day moving average of 697.14. The speculative fervor may be over as traders ``rotate'' into non-commodity assets, Hellwig of Morgan Asset Management said.
- Slept Through Rice Age, Awoke to Commodity Bear. It seems like only yesterday that analysts were stroking their chins and telling us in all-knowing tones that the global supply of commodities could not keep up with the global demand. Prices of corn, wheat and rice -- yes, rice! that cheap, out-of-the-box starchy meal extender -- went berserk this year. The neo-Malthusians came out of the closet, joined by their close cousins, the peak oil enthusiasts. ``I half expected to see corn shooting up from the terraces of Manhattan,'' says Michael Aronstein, president of Marketfield Asset Management in New York. ``We have to invent a rationale,'' says Aronstein, who thinks the seven-year bull market in commodities is over, not taking a breather. He thinks the real price of oil should be the equivalent of the real price of plow horses. ``The crux of the matter is, can we replace a 100-year-old technology -- the internal combustion engine -- that has way outlived its place in the world?'' Aronstein says. ``There are hordes of people with 140-plus IQs working on this. It's absurd to bet against it.'' Last month, Senators Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins and Maria Cantwell introduced the Commodity Speculation Reform Act of 2008, which, among other things, closes the loophole allowing some commodity investors to evade the position limits set by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
- The US dollar increased to a 5 1/2- month high against the euro on speculation a drop in commodity prices will boost U.S. consumer spending.
- Corn and soybean crops in the U.S., the world's largest producer, probably avoided the flood damage investors anticipated in June as warm weather dried out fields, analysts estimate a government report will show.
- Crude oil fell more than $2 a barrel to a 14-week low. ``It's become clear that demand is cratering, which is making it hard to rally,'' said Rick Mueller, director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, fell 0.8 cents to $3.81 a gallon, AAA, the nation's largest motorist organization, said on its Web site. Pump prices reached a record $4.114 a gallon on July 17.
- Copper fell to a six-month low in New York as slowing economic growth and rising stockpiles spurred concern that manufacturing demand is waning. Industrial production in France unexpectedly fell in June, a report showed today. Inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange are at the highest level since February.
- Russia sent ground forces into Georgia proper for the first time since fighting began five days ago, seizing a military base and forcing the Georgian army to retreat toward the capital.
- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,(WMT) the world's largest retailer, may exceed analysts' second-quarter estimates and increase its profit forecast because of less discounting on home and apparel products, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
- Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) rose to a seven- month high in Nasdaq trading after Citigroup Inc. doubled its estimate for the number of Kindle electronic reading devices the world's largest Internet retailer might sell this year.
- Ciena Corp.(CIEN), the maker of network equipment for AT&T Inc., rose the most in five months in Nasdaq trading after Morgan Keegan & Co. recommended buying the stock because it is cheaper than the industry average.

Wall Street Journal:
- Apple Inc.'s(AAPL) on cellphone software appears to be paying off. In the month since Apple opened an online software clearinghouse called the App Store, users have downloaded more than 60 million programs for the iPhone, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in an interview at Apple's headquarters. While most of those applications were free, Apple sold an average of $1 million a day in applications for a total of about $30 million in sales over the month, Mr. Jobs said. If sales stay at the current pace, Apple stands to reap at least $360 million a year in new revenue from the App Store, Mr. Jobs said. "This thing's going to crest a half a billion, soon," he added. "Who knows, maybe it will be a $1 billion marketplace at some point in time." "I've never seen anything like this in my career for software," he said.
- Best Buy Co.(BBY) plans to open about a dozen automated vending points at airports across the country. The kiosks will dispense mobile phone and computer accessories as well as digital cameras, adapters, chargers and headphones.
- Ostensibly, the Russia/Georgia war is about an unresolved separatist conflict. Yet in reality, it is a war about the independence and the future of Georgia. And above all, it is a war over the kind of Europe our children will live in. Let us be frank: This conflict is about the future of freedom in Europe. No country of the former Soviet Union has made more progress toward consolidating democracy, eradicating corruption and building an independent foreign policy than Georgia. This is precisely what Russia seeks to crush.
- 7 Prizes to Improve Life.
- Waste Management Inc., North America’s largest trash hauler, may raise its bid to acquire rival Republic Services Inc. to $6.73 billion.

NY Times:
- Wal-Mart(WMT), Kohl’s(KSS), Safeway(SWY), Whole Foods(WFMI) Turn to Solar Energy.

LA Times:
- Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

Investment News:
- The hedge fund industry faces growing opposition to its efforts to hold back restrictions on naked short selling. What's more, South Dakota voters will decide in November whether to approve an initiative that the state's securities director says would ban all short selling. The group sponsoring that action promises to get similar initiatives on ballots in 18 other states if the SEC doesn't put more restrictions on short sales. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Robert Greifeld, chief executive of The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. of New York, as well as the Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, both of Washington, have all indicated support for the SEC's efforts to impose more restrictions on short-selling.

New York Post:
- Corporate raider turned activist investor Carl Icahn is having a tough year. Shares of Icahn Enterprises, which include the hedge funds and other businesses, have plummeted nearly 50 percent this year as investors have backed away from their initial enthusiasm for the activist investor. His funds were up about 2 percent last month, but are down roughly 6 percent for the year, according to investors.

Market News:
- European Central Bank council member Klaus Liebsher said the bank remains focused on the “worrying” level of inflation.

USA Today:
- Small cars are on track to hit a sales level this year not seen since the 1980s — if automakers can build enough. Both Ford Motor (F) and General Motors (GM) officials say they think small-car sales could hit 3 million, an increase of more than 10% from last year. Ford sales analyst George Pipas says that by his calculation, the closest previous total was 2.9 million in 1986. The sales trend is significant because it shows how seriously many motorists are taking the rise in gasoline prices.
- The Transportation Security Administration is planning a massive expansion of aviation security that for the first time will regulate thousands of private planes now flying with no security rules. The new regulations, expected to be proposed in coming months, stop short of passenger screening, but would aim to prevent someone from flying a small plane, possibly packed with explosives, into a building. Authorities also worry about terrorists transporting hazardous materials or themselves on private aircraft.

Reuters:
- India’s gold imports in July fell nearly 56% from a year ago as higher prices led to a drop in retail sales, a top industry official said. The country, the biggest consumer of the yellow metal, imported about 30 tons of gold, Harmesh Arora, vp of the Bombay Bullion Assoc., said. India imported 68 tons in July last year. India’s gold imports touched 79 tons in August 2007, the highest of the year.

Financial Times:
- Rick Wagoner, chairman and chief executive of General Motors(GM) , said the worst may be over for the beleaguered carmaker, in terms of US job cuts, retiree healthcare costs and pension problems.

Naftemporiki:
- Greece’s economic expansion slowed to an annual 3.4% in the second quarter from 3.6% in the first quarter. That would be the slowest rate of growth since 2000. Consumer spending waned and investment fell 3.5% as demand for new homes declined and public investment was restrained.

Folha de S. Paulo:
- Brazilian freight costs have risen as much as 1250% this year to a record because of oil prices. Automobile shipping costs have risen as much as 57%, while transport of iron ore has increased up to 150%. For every $10 rise in the price of oil per barrel, the cost of freight by cargo ship increased $500 per day, citing the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade.

Buenos Aires Economico:
- Argentina’s economy expanded 6% in June, the slowest pace in about five years, citing the Economy Ministry.

Xinhua News Agency:
- China’s Premier Wen Jiabao expressed hopes for a stable US currency in his meeting with US President George W. Bush on Aug. 10. Wen told Bush, who is in Beijing for the Olympic games that he hopes the US economy will expand and the dollar will become stable. Wen also said the two countries should step up efforts to prevent protectionism and promote communication on macroeconomic policy and international trade.

Economic Times:
- China imported 7% less crude oil in July versus a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday. Last month's imports at 13.79 million tons, or 3.25 million barrels per day (bpd), dropped from 3.545 million bpd in June.

Iraqi TV:
- King Abdullah of Jordan arrived in Iraq, becoming the first Arab leader to do so since the US-led liberation in 2003. The Jordanian monarch met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after his arrival today. The US has been encouraging Iraq’s neighbors to set up diplomatic missions and engage with al-Maliki’s administration.