Bloomberg:- Crude oil rose to $75 a barrel in NY after France said that the Iranian nuclear dispute will be referred back to the UN Security Council and a government report showed that US oil and gas supplies fell last week.
- US regulators said they approved a once-a-day pill from Gilead Sciences(GILD) and Bristol-Myers(BMY) combining three of the most frequently used AIDS drugs, capping a decades-long quest to make treatment simpler for patients with HIV.
- The SEC issued tougher guidelines for the kinds of services money managers can get from brokerages while passing the cots onto their clients.
- China and Russia moved toward acceptance of stronger UN action to stop North Korea’s ballistic missile program, introducing a resolution that the US and Japan said was still too weak to win their support.
Wall Street Journal:- The SEC will probably propose changes to a rule covering so-called naked short-selling that would reduce the number of open short positions in stocks.
- US executives are stepping up contributions to health causes, adding to a growing movement among wealthy entrepreneurs to donate money to charity.
- US private equity firms are targeting retailers as they seek to extract the best value from their investments.
- Three Wall Street executives are starting a financial advisory boutique today in the latest move by bankers to do business outside the influence of the big banks. The firm, known as Centerview Partners, will initially consist of Stephen Crawford, former co-president at Morgan Stanley, Blair Effron, a former vice chairman at UBS AG, and Robert Pruzan, former CEO at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein North America.
- US states and cities are cracking down on illegal immigration as legislation on the issue remains stuck in Congress.
Chicago Tribune:- Chicago plans to invest $550 million in tax dollars to upgrade the infrastructure and building in a 49-block area downtown.
Washington Post:- The US Army Corps of Engineers submitted a plan for protecting Louisiana from hurricanes to Congress that would involve building multiple levees and may cost more than $10 billion.
NY Times:- Nanjing Automobile Group, which last year purchased the assets of MG Rover, plans to be the first Chinese carmaker to open a factory in the US.
- Biotechnology companies founded in Europe or Australia are moving to the US to draw on the world’s largest investment pool and capitalize on a more lucrative market for their products.
USA Today:- The number of US schools that tested middle- and high-school students for illegal drugs jumped almost 500% in the past two years as federal funding increased.
AP:- The four biggest broadcast television networks in the US last week had their lowest viewing figures in recorded history.
al-Hayat:- Iraq’s Kurdistan parliament approved an investment law, paving the way for direct foreign investment in the northern region.
