Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- Google(GOOG) today will introduce a new version of its GMail e-mail service that lets Web users see whether their contacts are online and exchange instant messages.
- Two pharmaceutical companies are testing the first promising class of AIDS medicines in almost three years, treatments that may provide a new weapon against the drug-resistant strains of the deadly virus.
- Libya, holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, is preparing to hire foreign companies to develop more than 300 untapped fields after an increase in energy prices made it an economically viable way of raising output.
- Gold is falling $18, the most in more than a year, after a drop in the cost of oil eased speculation that inflation will accelerate and erode the value of assets.
- Crude oil is falling to a three-week low on expectations that an Energy Dept. report tomorrow will show US inventories of oil and gas jumped last week.

Wall Street Journal:
- AstraZeneca Plc.(AZN), Johnson & Johnson(JNJ), Novartis AG(NVS), Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY) and other drugmakers are developing a plan to offer discounts of as much as 50% to low-income seniors when Medicare stops paying.
- Lockheed Martin(LMT) is moving into the rapidly developing market for unmanned spacecraft, or drones, that have become an essential weapon in modern warfare.
- Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), Dell Inc.(DELL) and other personal computer makers have joined with Google(GOOG) to offer users software other than from Microsoft(MSFT).
- Cisco Systems(CSCO) bought Scientific-Atlanta(SFA) using debt in a transaction that signals a change in the way many technology companies are financing acquisitions.
- JC Penney(JCP) plans to begin a marketing campaign on March 2 to attract customers to updated brands carried by the chain.
- Texas Instruments(TXN) and Intel Corp.(INTC) are announcing developments in their technology that reduce the power consumption of their microchips, while IBM(IBM) is eking out performance by boosting the frequency of its chips.
- US corporations paid a record $9.6 billion last year to shareholders to settle class-action securities suits.
- Amazon.com(AMZN) said it’s testing an advertising technique that enables Web site owners to get sponsored by a third-party provider.

NY Times:
- US sleeping-pill prescriptions last year totaled 42 million, 60% more than in 2000, citing IMS Health Inc.
- CSL Ltd., an Australian producer of flu vaccine, plans to begin sales in the US, pending approval by the FDA, in time for the 2007-2008 season.

Washington Post:
- John Thorne, a Verizon Communications(VZ) senior vice president, said Google(GOOG) and other companies that benefit from Internet access to homes should pay for that capability.

AP:
- Tennessee lawmakers passed a broad ethics bill that would restrict lobbyists and limit cash political donations at $50.
- One of Iran’s largest newspapers today said it plans to hold a contest for cartoons about the Holocaust to see whether Western nations extend the principle of free speech to the Nazi genocide.

Star-Ledger of Newark:
- A committee of the New Jersey Senate approved a proposal that would allow police to pull over and ticket drivers for using hand-held wireless phones.

El Financiero:
- Mexico’s government spent $705 million to hedge revenue against a drop in oil prices this year, citing Finance Ministry officials it didn’t name.

IRNA:
- Iran cut trade relations with Denmark following the publication of cartoons showing Islam’s prophet Mohammed as a militant.

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