Bloomberg:
- Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global sees potential for oil near $86/bbl. (video)
- American Express(AXP), the biggest credit-card company by US purchases and cash advances, led the Dow higher after affirming profit this year may be higher than some analysts expected.
- China’s stocks fell to a six-week low on speculation government measures to control prices will dent earnings for steel and coal producers. The benchmark CSI 300 has plunged 34% this year, the most among the world’s 20 biggest equity markets.
- The OECD cut its forecast for global growth, while cautioning central banks against reducing interest rates. Economic expansion in the OECD’s 30 members will slow to 1.8% this year and 1.7% in 2009.
- European Retail Sales Drop by Record on Gas, Food Costs.
- Dollar Trades Near Two-Week High Versus Euro on U.S. Resilience.
- Monsanto(MON), the world’s largest seed producer, pledged to develop seeds that will double yields for three major row crops to meeting rising global demand for food, fuel and fiber.
- Copper Declines to Two-Month Low in NY on Demand Concerns.
- Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein said private-equity firms will buy smaller asset managers to expand beyond the leveraged-buyout business.
- MBIA, Ambac Credit Ratings Under Threat at Moody’s.
- Lehman Brothers(LEH) snapped a three-day decline in NY trading after Merrill(MER) told clients to buy the shares.
- Malaysia will raise fuel and power prices as record oil costs force the government to cut subsidies that keep domestic prices artificially low. The price of 97-RON grade gasoline will increase 41% tomorrow.
- The cost of protecting the debt of Lehman Brothers(LEH) fell after a Merrill analyst said that funding concerns at the securities firm are exaggerated. Credit default swaps on Lehman fell to 260 basis points from 275 basis points earlier in the morning.
Wall Street Journal:
- Dangers spared outweigh Iraq war origins says Fouad Ajami.
- Washington’s push for tougher measures to rein in energy and agricultural commodities markets gained steam Tuesday.
- Drake Capital Closes Two More Hedge Funds After Losses.
NY Times:
- On Long Island, a Push to Nurture Biotech Work.
- Lehman(LEH) Battles an Insurgent Investor. For eight months now, David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, a rabble-rousing hedge fund manager, has pilloried the venerable Lehman Brothers in an effort to drive down the bank’s stock prices, which he is short. Critics says he is needlessly fanning fears about the health of the financial industry at the very moment executives are struggling to stabilize their ailing companies. Many on Wall Street still wonder if hedge funds like Greenlight helped bring down Bear Stearns(BSC) and spread false rumors about the bank, a possibility the SEC is investigating. Mr. Einhorn instigated the latest dive in Lehman’s stock price two weeks ago when he encouraged other investors to short the stock at a large conference in NY. It is impossible to quantify Mr. Einhorn’s influence on Lehman’s stock price. But hours before his speech two weeks ago, trading volume exploded for Lehman stock puts, which are options to sell the stock and profit if it falls in value.
- The priest whose mocking of Senator Hillary Clinton stirred more racially tinged controversy in the presidential campaign was effectively placed on leave from his pastoral work Tuesday.
TheStreet.com:
- Google’s(GOOG) Android Preview Mind-Blowing.
- Clinton backers push her for VP.
Guardian:
- Jimmy Carter tells Barack Obama not to pick Hillary Clinton as running mate.
- Russian consumer prices rose 7.7% through May. Price growth accelerated to a monthly 1.4% in May from .6% in the same month last year, citing a govt. official.