Bloomberg:- Honda Motor, the no. 5 automaker in the US, said it will increase production of sport-utility vehicles and minivans at its factory in Lincoln, Alabama this year to meet rising demand.
- The EU will urge OPEC next week to boost production to prevent oil prices from doing more harm to Europe’s economy, said the EU’s top energy official.
- SAC Capital Advisers, the $6 billion hedge fund company run by Steven Cohen, may let investors put money in its funds for the first time since the firm opened in 1992.
- L-3 Communications plans to buy Titan for about $2.65 billion in cash and debt to increase sales of secure computer networks to US military and intelligence agencies.
- US 10-year Treasuries fell the most in seven days as some traders and investors said a rally that pushed yields to their lowest in more than a year was excessive.
- Crude oil is rising, heading for a second straight weekly gain, on speculation that refiners will struggle to meet growing demand for gasoline and diesel.
- The euro headed for its biggest weekly drop against the dollar since January after French and Dutch voters rejected the EU constitution.
Wall Street Journal:- John Mack, former co-chief executive of CSFB, will join Pequot Capital Management as the hedge fund’s chairman.
- The US administration is giving a new priority to relations with China as a result of that country’s growing power and influence and potential to become a global rival.
- Time Warne Book Group and other US publishers are finding themselves stuck with an increasing amount of books stores can’t sell.
- Alcoa said its contract talks with the United Steelworkers of America will go before an arbitrator at the end of July.
- WildBlue Communications plans this week to become the first company to offer mass market Internet service via satellite.
NY Times:- Time Warner’s AOL unit will introduce a free Internet portal at its AOL.com Web site to attract new customers and keep subscribers.
Washington Post:- President Bush is poised to send dozens of new judicial nominations to the Senate in the next few weeks.
LA Times:- California lawmakers yesterday passed two bills that would require weapons makers to stamp bullets sold in the state with an identification number or stamp one on when a weapon is fired.
Orange County Register:- Bill Gross, the chief investment officer for PIMCO, said Chris Cox is the “perfect” choice to become the next chairman of the SEC.
Reuters:- Italy should consider abandoning the euro and going back to the lira, citing Italian Labor Minister Roberto Maroni.
Financial Times:- Agco is in talks with First Tractor to make Massey Ferguson tractors in China for the first time.
Aftenposten:- Norwegian support for joining the European Union slumped after French and Dutch voters rejected the EU’s constitution in referendums in the past week.
Hurriyet:- Turkey’s chances of becoming a European Union member have been reduced by French and Dutch rejections of the union’s constitution.
Sun:- Two-thirds of all UK residents think there should be a referendum in the country on the EU constitution, yet only 22% are in favor of it.
Boersen:- Danes will reject the proposed EU constitution in a September 27 referendum, following France and the Netherlands, citing Greens Analysis Institute poll.
Le Monde:- Total SA, Europe’s largest oil refiner, was implicated in an investigation into Iraq’s oil-for-food program.
