Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Crude oil is falling $.70/bbl. in NY after the Energy Department reported gasoline supplies rose more than estimates even as refinery utilization increased less than estimates.
- Valero Energy(VLO), the largest US oil refiner, halted fuel production at its Houston refinery due to “steam system and boiler problems.” The Houston complex is capable of processing 130,000 barrels of oil a day. Unusually low refinery utilization as a result of a rash of nationwide “outages” has been the driving force behind the recent surge in gas prices.
- Amazon.com(AMZN) will offer music downloads later this year and said it will make songs from more than 12,000 record labels available without copyright-protection software.
- Gold in NY is falling $12/oz. to the lowest in seven weeks after the US dollar index surged .56%. Silver is falling to a two month low.
- Copper is falling 3.3%, the most in three months, on speculation that demand may slow in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal.

Wall Street Journal:
- Elad Group, which owns NYC’s Plaza Hotel, will today announce a $5 billion plan to develop a casino, hotel, convention center and shopping project on the Las Vegas Strip.

Washington Post:
- Latino groups, representing the nation’s largest minority, have virtual veto power in Congress’s debate on immigration reform. The League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the National Immigration Forum are among a network of organizations conferring in nightly conference calls and strategy sessions on immigration bills before Congress.

Reuters:
- Coffee consumption and production is gaining in China, a traditionally tea-drinking country, citing farmers and traders.
- Alcan Inc.(AL), subject of a $27.3 billion unsolicited takeover bid from rival Alcoa Inc.(AA), is set to hire UBS AG as part of its defense team with Morgan Stanley.

Computer Reseller News:
- Dell Inc.(DELL) CEO Michael Dell said the second-largest maker of personal computers will began selling PCs in retail stores in the US and overseas over the next several quarters.

Financial Times:
- The AFL-CIO is urging the SEC to stop the proposed IPO by Blackstone Group LP leveraged buyout fund.

London-based Times:
- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s days in power are numbered as protests against his rule reach every “nook and cranny” of the country, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said.

Globe and Mail:
- BMW AG’s plan to transfer some production of its X3 sport-utility vehicle to its own plant in South Carolina from a Magna International(MGA) factory in Austria could cost the Canadian auto parts maker up to $1.82 billion.