Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The S&P 500 is posting its best two-day gain since August, led by technology and steelmaking shares.
- Halliburton Co.(HAL), the world’s second-largest oilfield services company, said first-quarter profit will be lower than expected because of decreased drilling in Canada and the northern US. The shares plunged almost 10% on the report.
- Crude oil is falling another .37/bbl. on forecasts for warmer weather and diminished interest from speculators as global inventories remain at multi-year highs as demand wanes.
- US House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank will write legislation to require hedge funds to retain records of their financial transactions to use in legal proceedings if funds fail.
- SAC Capital Advisors LLC, a $10 billion hedge fund run by Steven Cohen, raised its stake in WCI Communities(WCI), a Florida homebuilders that is the subject of a $956 million bid from billionaire investor Carl Icahn. SAC now owns 4 million shares, or 9.5% of the company.
- Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.(LEND) got a $200 million loan commitment from hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC, giving the money-losing subprime mortgage company time to attract more financing or find a buyer.
- Natural gas and liquid fuels extracted from coal count as alternative fuels, according to legislation the Bush administration sent to Congress today. “The goal of this policy is to reduce reliance on crude oil, specifically foreign supplies of crude oil,” said Craig Stevens, a spokesman for the Energy Dept. The proposed legislation also said biological fuels, such as ethanol, and fuel from municipal solid waste would count as alternative fuels. Bush plans to reduce US gasoline consumption by 20% over the next 10 years.
- European energy companies that grow crops used to make biofuels, such as D1 Oils Plc, may outperform, Goldman Sachs(GS) said.
- Copper supplies from mines and scrap yards outpaced demand by 350,000 metric tons in 2006, compared with a 100,000 deficit in 2005, the International Copper Study Group said. Usage in China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, fell 1% in 2006.
- President Bush gave embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales assurances he wants him to remain on the job.
- Shares of Palm Inc.(PALM) rose as much as 10% after technology Web site Unstrung.com said the company is close to finding a buyer.

Wall Street Journal:
- Barclays Plc is offering more than $80 billion for ABN Amro Holding NV.
- Merrill Lynch(MER) and the California Public Employees Retirement System, called for legislation requiring emissions cuts of 60% to 90% by the middle of this century.

NY Times:
- Russia told Iran that it will withhold nuclear fuel for an almost finished power plant unless Iran suspends its uranium enrichment, citing officials from Europe, the US and Iran. Russian President Putin had resisted abandoning the project because it is highly profitable. The shift may stem from a public argument between Russia and Iran concerning Iran’s payment of bills or growing frustration on Moscow’s part over Iran’s refusal to stop enriching uranium at its Natanz facility.
- Some Republicans are questioning Democratic Senator Charles Schumer’s credibility as he leads a Judiciary Committee inquiry into the dismissals of eight US attorneys. Some argue that Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is seeking political gain instead of an impartial investigation.

Washington Post:
- The FBI, criticized for gathering telephone records in terrorism cases, announced a new set of procedures to seek records only in emergencies.
- Strategists for Democratic Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama criticized their opposing Iraq war positions during a public forum at Harvard University.
- The Knowledge is Power Program plans to announce today that it will build 42 charter schools in Houston, Texas, with $65 million in donations, making it the largest operator of such schools in the US. KIPP’s announcement raises the charter-school movement to a new level of influence, financial strength and public awareness, citing education experts.

NY Post:
- Apollo Management LP is close to buying children’s jewelry retailer Claire’s Stores(CLE) for $3 billion.

Financial Times:
- The Intercontinental Exchange(ICE) plans to expand 10-fold the capacity of its in-house clearing system in an attempt to boost its bid for the Chicago Board of Trade(BOT).
- The SEC is considering starting a test program with foreign regulators that would allow for mutual recognition of standards, citing an interview with SEC Commissioner Roel Campos.
- Legislators from California, Missouri and other states are seeking to make pension funds sell shares in companies that do business with Iran, North Korea or Sudan. Such a ban could force the funds to sell stock in many European companies that do business with these countries.

Panama America:
- Panamanian police and members of the US DEA seized about 20 tons of cocaine during a raid on a boat off the Central American country’s Pacific coast.

Valor Economico:
- Twelve new biodiesel plants will be built this year in Goias state, Brazil’s fourth-largest soybean producer and third-biggest cotton grower.