Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Crude oil is rising above $78 a barrel in NY, nearing a record, on historic investment fund speculation.
- American Home Mortgage Investment(AHM) said it’s unable to fund new loans and may have to liquidate assets.
- The Fed’s Poole said last week’s slump in benchmark US stock indexes was a “typical market upset.” “The market understands, I believe, that the Fed will act in due time if and when evidence accumulates that action would be appropriate,” he said.
- Democratic NY Governor Eliot Spitzer rejected a state senator’s request to appoint a special prosecutor with power to compel sworn testimony in an investigation of allegations the governor’s aides used state police to gather information on a political rival.
- The risk of owning corporate bonds fell by the most in at least three years after GMAC LLC’s mortgage unit posted improved results and Citadel Investment Group LLC bought the assets of a failed hedge fund.

Wall Street Journal:
- US Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani plans to propose a tax deduction of as much as $15,000 per family to purchase health-insurance, citing Giuliani.
- Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG plan to cut most of their business ties to Iran after increased US pressure on companies to end links to the Middle Eastern nation because of its nuclear policy.
- Some investors may want to bet that pending mergers and acquisitions will be completed because some deals are being discounted on concerns that restricted financing will jeopardize the transactions.
- Bancroft family members controlling 32% of Dow Jones(DJ) favor a sale to News Corp.(NWS/A), likely giving Rupert Murdoch enough support to complete a takeover.

NY Times:
- Builders of new nuclear plants in the US may be eligible for billion of dollars in loan guarantees during the next two years under a one-sentence provision included in the energy bill recently approved by the Senate.
- Liz Claiborne(LIZ) CEO William McComb is trying to reduce the company’s dependence on department stores such as Macy’s in a strategy that may result in the company opening thousands of its own stores.

AFP:
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined cuts in health-care reimbursements paid by the national welfare system during a hospital visit today in Dax, Southern France. The money saved will be shifted to fund research into cancer, Alzheimer disease, and hospice care, the president said.

Xinhua News Agency:
- North Korea cooperated with United Nations inspectors after shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, citing Adel Tolba, head of the UN monitoring team.