Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Oil Declines Most in a Week on Arab League's Libya Crisis Resolution Plan. Oil slipped for the first time in three days in New York after Venezuela offered to mediate a resolution to the crisis in Libya, which has cut crude supplies from Africa’s third-biggest producer. Crude dropped the most in a week after the Arab League said it’s weighing an offer by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez to intervene in Libya’s civil conflict. Prices may be starting to hurt global economic growth, said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank AG. “Things still look grim in Libya, with all the signs of a prolonged conflict that will severely hamper oil and gas exports,” said Christopher Bellew, senior broker with Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. Crude for April delivery slid as much as $1.86, the biggest decline since Feb. 24, to $100.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $101.19 at 1:34 p.m. in London.
• World Food Prices Increase to a Record, United Nations Says. Global food prices rose to a record in February and grain costs may continue to rise in the next several months, with only rice keeping the world from a repeat of the crisis three years ago, the United Nations said. An index of 55 food commodities rose 2.2 percent to 236 points from 230.7 in January, the eighth consecutive gain, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said today. Wheat rose as much as 58 percent on the Chicago Board of Trade in the past 12 months, corn gained 87 percent and rice added 6.5 percent. “I’ve never loved rice more than now,” Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the FAO in Rome, said by phone. The grain is the staple food of more than half of the world population, according to the International Rice Research Institute. “Probably rice is the commodity which is separating us from a food crisis,” Abbassian said. Turmoil in oil-producing countries including Libya has pushed crude above $100 a barrel, which may drive corn and wheat prices even higher, Abbassian said. Higher crude prices make biofuels produced from crops more competitive while raising the cost of tractor fuel and fertilizer for farmers. “The hike in food prices is deeply worrying,” Thierry Kesteloot, a food-policy adviser at Oxford, England-based hunger-relief charity Oxfam, said in an e-mailed statement. “Millions more people are sliding into poverty as they struggle to afford basic food supplies, and more and more are at risk of going hungry.” The World Bank said last month 44 million people have been forced into extreme poverty since June by food inflation. The UN’s food-price index rose 34 percent from 175.9 points a year earlier, with all five food groups advancing.
• U.S. Service Industries Grow at Fastest Pace in Five Years. Service industries expanded more than forecast in February, showing the U.S. expansion has broadened beyond manufacturing. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing businesses increased to 59.7, the highest level since August 2005, from 59.4 in January. Economists forecast the gauge would fall to 59.3, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The group’s employment gauge increased to 55.6, the highest since April 2006, from 54.5 a month earlier. The index of prices paid jumped to 73.3 from 72.1. Other reports today showed consumer confidence held near a three-year high last week as more Americans said their finances were in good shape, and claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, formerly the ABC News U.S. Weekly Consumer Comfort Index, was minus 39.3 in the period to Feb. 27, compared with minus 39.2 the prior week. Respondents’ view of their financial situation climbed to an almost two-year high. At the same time, rising food and fuel costs may strain household budgets. The cost of gasoline advanced 8.8 percent last month, with regular fuel averaging $3.17 a gallon in February, according to AAA, the nation’s largest motorist organization. It reached $3.39 a gallon on March 1, the highest price since October 2008. The number of applications for unemployment insurance payments fell by 20,000 to 368,000 in the week ended Feb. 26, according to the Labor Department. Economists forecast claims would climb to 395,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
• Shanghai Stocks Fall on Concern Economic Growth is Slowing, CPI Rising. China’s stocks fell, driving down the benchmark index by the most in a week, on concern higher material prices will fuel inflation and the nation’s tightening policies are slowing the world’s second-biggest economy.
• Merkel Digs In On Bailout Terms as Discord Mars European Debt Crisis Talks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is digging in against easing bailout conditions as haggling over a blueprint to end the euro debt crisis enters its home stretch. With the European Union nearing its March 25 deadline for a reinforced plan to aid debt-strapped countries, Merkel has told parliamentary allies that a deal was unlikely on cutting rescue- loan rates, a sign that German officials are stepping back from a willingness to forge a grand bargain to protect the euro.
• Frankfurt Airport Gun Suspect May Be 'Radicalized Muslim' Who Acted Alone. The Kosovar man suspected of killing two U.S. airmen yesterday at Frankfurt Airport during a personnel transfer to Afghanistan, may be a “radicalized Muslim” acting alone, a German state official said. The alleged gunman, a 21-year-old postal worker at the airport who wasn’t based in a high-security area, admitted to the attack, said Boris Rhein, interior minister of the state of Hesse. The suspect, previously unknown to authorities, was arrested while fleeing to the terminal when his gun jammed as he was attacking the U.S. military bus picking up the airmen, Rhein said today. Relatives of the suspect in Kosovo described him as a devout Muslim who was born and raised in Germany and worked at the airport, the Associated Press reported, citing an uncle identified as Rexhep Uka.
• Trichet Says ECB May Raise Rates, Show 'Strong Vigilance'. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB may raise interest rates next month for the first time in almost three years to fight mounting inflation pressures. An “increase of interest rates in the next meeting is possible,” Trichet told reporters in Frankfurt today after the central bank set its benchmark rate at a record low of 1 percent for a 23rd month. “Strong vigilance is warranted,” he said, adding that any move would not necessarily be the start of a “series.” The comments surprised economists and investors, most of whom hadn’t expected the ECB to raise rates before August.
• EU Banks Face 50% Capital Surcharge on Private-Equity Stakes. European banks will have to hold 50 percent more capital in reserve against investments in private equity and hedge funds under draft capital rules being considered by the European Union to curb risk. Lenders will have to price risky investments at one-and-a- half times their current value, according to a draft European Commission document obtained by Bloomberg News, and so hold more regulatory capital against those holdings on their balance sheets to cover potential losses. The higher-risk categories include “investments in venture capital firms, private equity investments, hedge funds and speculative real estate financing and investments,” according to the undated document.
• Fink Says He's a 'Big Buyer' of Dollars That Gross Says Avoid. BlackRock Inc. (BLK)’s Laurence D. Fink, chief executive officer of the world’s largest asset manager, said he’s a “big buyer” of the U.S. dollar, which rival Bill Gross has urged investors to avoid. Fink, 58, doesn’t see a “bear market” in bonds and would buy U.S. Treasuries if yields rise above 4 percent, he said today in an interview from New York with Bloomberg Television’s Erik Schatzker. Gross, manager of the world’s largest mutual fund, has said the best days for bonds are over. He has cut holdings in U.S. government debt to the smallest level in two years, while boosting non-dollar securities. “We believe rates will creep up,” Fink said. Still, with inflation likely to be muted, “we’re not calling that a bear market.”
• No Sex for Almost 30% of Americans Under 24 as Virginity Jumps. Almost a third of Americans ages 15 to 24 say they have never had sexual contact with another person, a higher percentage than in a 2002 survey, according to a U.S. government study. Of those surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 percent of men and 29 percent of women ages 15 to 24 reported being virgins, the Atlanta-based agency said today. In the previous study, about 22 percent of males and females 15 to 24 said they never had sex.
• iPad, Rival Tablet Demand Crimping Personal-Computer Growth, Gartner Says. Personal-computer shipments will grow at a slower pace than previously forecast as consumers reach for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPad and other tablet devices, Gartner Inc. (IT) said. Gartner lowered its projection for worldwide shipments this year to 387.8 million units, or 10.5 percent growth, from an earlier projection of 15.9 percent growth, according to a report today. The Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm cited decreased demand for laptop computers as the main reason. The recalculation is also the result of a slowdown in China of mobile-PC sales, Gartner said. Laptops and simpler netbooks have driven growth in the global computer market during the past five years. Consumers who used those devices to e-mail and search the Web are now often turning to tablets. In addition, laptop owners are holding on to their machines longer instead of buying new ones, Gartner said. “We expect growing consumer enthusiasm for mobile-PC alternatives, such as the iPad and other media tablets, to dramatically slow home mobile-PC sales, especially in mature markets,” said George Shiffler, a research director at Gartner.
• Egypt Stock Exchange Postpones Opening Again After Prime Minister Quits. Egypt’s bourse, home to the world’s worst performing benchmark index this year, postponed plans to resume trading for the second time in a week after Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik quit. No date was given for the opening.

Wall Street Journal:

• California Cap-and-Trade Faces Potential Hurdle. California's cap-and-trade program is being threatened by groups of local residents, even after the ambitious climate plan survived an electoral challenge in November. Communities For A Better Environment, California Communities Against Toxics, Society For Positive Action and other groups and individuals have sued state regulators, claiming the climate plan won't reduce pollution. The plaintiffs argue that industrial facilities should cut their actual emissions, rather than trade rights to pollute. "All the evidence showed that cap-and-trade programs have failed environmental justice communities," said Alegria de la Cruz, an attorney with the Center on Race, Poverty & The Environment, who is representing the plaintiffs.
• IEA: Libya Unrest Starting to Hit Oil Supplies. Unrest in Libya is starting to affect Europe's oil supplies, although no member country of the International Energy Agency has requested permission to release strategic oil stocks, IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said Thursday. "This disruption is starting to have an impact, especially on European countries," Mr. Tanaka said in an interview on the sidelines of an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Paris. But no country has asked the IEA to release their stockpiles.
• Consumer Outlook Index Falls, Hurt by Gas, Food Costs. Sticker shock at the gas pump and grocery aisle are taking a toll on consumer psyches in March. The Royal Bank of Canada‘s consumer outlook index fell to 42.5 this month from a reading of 44.5 in February. The index has fallen for three consecutive months. The RBC current conditions index fell to 32.4 this month from 34.4 in February, while the expectations index dropped to 53.6 from 56.8. “What really stands out to us is worry about the future,” says Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC. He said consumers are worried about their ability to save and invest. In a series of special questions, RBC asked consumers about the impact of higher gas prices on other spending decisions. A third of consumers, 32%, say they have already cut back on discretionary spending because of higher fuel costs. Another 36% said a price between $3.25 and $4 per gallon would force changes in shopping. Another 23% need prices to rise above $4 before cutting back elsewhere.
• China Autos in a Growth Shift. The world's biggest auto market is getting congested. Lured to China by a powerful trend—rising incomes mean rising demand for autos—auto makers now face a slowdown in growth. The government has phased out tax breaks that encouraged car buying in 2009 and 2010, financing purchases has become more difficult and Beijing has begun to restrict issuance of license plates.

CNBC.com:

• US Standard of Living in Peril From Dollar's Weakness: Zell. The US standard of living could drop 25 percent if the dollar loses its standing as the world's reserve currency, investor Sam Zell told CNBC.
• JPMorgan(JPM) Chase Made Nearly a Billion Dollars From Madoff.
• Most Retailers Top Estimates, Some See Weak March. The Thomson Reuters Same-Store Sales Index rose 4.2 percent in February, topping not only estimates, which called for an increase of 3.6 percent, but also growth in the year-ago period.

Business Insider:

• Obama Says Military Response IS an Option: Qaddafi Must Go.
• John Edwards Masterminded The Whole Rielle Hunter Cover-Up, Says Accomplice. Former presidential candidate John Edwards is still being investigated for using campaign funds to cover up his affair and love-child with Rielle Hunter.
• The 23 Governments That Could Get Crushed by Food Price Inflation.
  
• Libyan Rebels to Chavez: NO WAY.
• Sam Zell: Obamacare and Dodd-Frank Are Economy-Killling Monstrosities, And There Won't Be New Construction for Years.
• David Rosenberg: Business Insider is Right, Rates Will Move Down after QEII Ends.
  

Zero Hedge:

• On Charles Ponzi Day We Celebrate Another All Time Record in Food Stamp Usage. (graph)

NJ.com:

• Murray Hill-Based Bell Labs Develops 2-Inch Cube That Could Replace Unsightly Cell Towers. They tower over the landscape, sometimes disguised in a way that does not fool anyone. Big trees that look so fake, they are derided as "Frankenpines." Flagpoles that soar higher than any flag would warrant. Or unadorned towers that offer absolutely no pretense as to their purpose. But a day could soon come when those sky-high, unsightly cell phone towers that litter the countryside may be replaced with something no bigger than a Rubik’s cube. Called the lightRadio cube, the new device developed by Bell Labs in Murray Hill is generating major buzz by cell phone carriers around the world. "The lightRadio could radically transform the model for wireless networks and could actually change the way the wireless industry operates," predicted Dan Hays, a telecommunications consultant with PRTM in Washington, D.C.

Rasmussen Reports:

• Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16 (see trends).

Politico:

• Report: Union Heads Make Six Figures. As the standoff between unions and Wisconsin Republicans wages on, an analysis of the nation’s 10 largest labor unions shows some top leaders — who are being derided as “union bosses” — make six-figure salaries funded by members’ dues. Leaders earned between $173,000 and $618,000 at major unions, the Center for Public Integrity found in examining 2009 tax records, with some groups paying dozens of employees in the six figures. At the three major unions , which together represent more than 5.6 million public workers, presidents’ salaries in 2009 ranged between $400,000 and $500,000.

Reuters:

• Shi'ites Stage Small Protest in Saudi Oil Province. Around 100 Saudi Shi'ites staged a protest in Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province on Thursday, demanding the release of prisoners they say are being held without trial, witnesses said. Mostly young men marched through the small town of Awwamiya, near the Shi'ite centre of Qatif on the Gulf coast. "Peaceful, peaceful," the demonstrators shouted, holding up pictures of Shi'ites they say have been long held without trial, while policemen stood by without interfering.
• FACTBOX - Coming Events in Eurozone Debt Crisis.
  

Telegraph:

• Saudi Shiites Call for 'Day of Anger' in Kingdom. Saudi cyber activists have created a group on Facebook calling for a "Day of Anger" on Friday in the eastern Shiite-majority region following the arrest of a Shiite cleric. The group of more than 500 members is calling for protests after Friday prayers in Al-Hufuf, in Eastern Province's Al-Ihsaa governorate, to demand the release of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer. Mr Amer was arrested after calling for a "constitutional monarchy" in the Sunni-dominated kingdom, according to the Rasid website, which specialises in Shiite Saudi news. It said that Mr Amer has been held several times in the ultraconservative absolute monarchy over his calls "for giving Shiites further freedom to exercise their religious rights". The Shiites, who are mainly concentrated in the oil-rich Eastern Province, and make up about 10 per cent of the Saudi population as a whole, complain of marginalisation in the kingdom.
• America Must Escape the Doomed Path of EU-Style Decline. Since the Greek financial debacle last year, there has been a great deal of interest across the Atlantic in Europe’s debt crisis and the lessons that can be learned for America. Not least because the United States may face its own Greek-style economic meltdown in a few years time unless it gets its own house in order. Fortunately, there is a new wave of political leaders on Capitol Hill who are serious about cutting spending, reining in the deficit, and challenging the Big Government culture that has dominated Washington in recent years.

CTK:

• Only 15% of Czechs are in favor of adopting the euro, citing a poll by Medea Research.

Xinhua:

• The aging of China's population has quickened, citing the National Bureau of Statistics. About 12.5% of the total population consists of people 60 years or older. Since 2005, the proportion of people aged 14 years or younger has declined, while those over 14 has risen.

China Business News:

• Shenzhen will raise the minimum wage to 1,320 yuan a month, a 20% increase from 1,100 yuan, with effect from April 1, citing the city government.

Al Watan:

• Libyan authorities have detained a "large number" of Syrian workers on charges of "inciting revolution" in the North African nation.