Bloomberg:- Half of Japanese companies in China said in a survey that illegal copies of their products were exported in the two years ending in 2004, a preliminary report by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.
- Hedge funds that invest in convertible bonds posted their worst performance ever during the first five months of this year.
- Target raised its forecast for June same-store-sales.
- Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the world’s third-largest movie chain, said it will merge with AMC Entertainment to create a company that will have 450 theaters and 5,900 screens.
- Gains in global
oil supplies will outpace increases in demand over the next five years, Cambridge Energy Research Associates said in a report that counters arguments that have pushed prices to an all-time high.
- Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, said the Fed may reduce its interest-rate target early next year.
- US 10-year Treasury notes rose the most in two weeks, following gains in European bonds, after Sweden’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate more than economists forecast.
Wall Street Journal:- US anesthesiologists have boosted patient safety in a bid to reduce risk and lower the medical-malpractice insurance premiums they pay.
- Every French government since the 1970s has made the battle against unemployment a priority, with uniformly poor results, according to Eric Chaney, the chief European economist at Morgan Stanley. Chaney also said to boost employment and to preserve France’s social model simultaneously is doomed to failure.
- US independent gas-station owners are using futures contracts to stabilize prices they pay and increase profit.
- The US Federal Aviation Administration is stepping up training and boosted technology at airports to better track ground airplane movement and avoid accidents.
- GM will cut the price for slower-selling 2006-season models such as the Buick Rainier, the Buick Rendezvous and the Chevrolet Impala LS by as much as $1,500.
- A possible bid by CNOOC Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, for Unocal Corp., the eighth-biggest US oil company, won’t threaten US national security, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
NY Times:- The Writers Guild of America is trying to unionize about 1,200 reality tv show writers, editors and producers.
- A black market in stolen credit card accounts and other information is growing on the Internet as companies such as CardSystems Solutions report that their databases have been breached.
USA Today:- The percentage of Americans who fear a terrorist attack in the US in the near future is the lowest since October 2001.
Financial Times:- Continental Air, Northwest Air, and UAL’s United Air are among US carriers that have given up their recent attempts to raise prices for last-minute corporate travelers.
