blog for sinoam: 07/18/2010

Breaking News - BP agrees to $20 billion escrow fund

Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:55:06 -0400

Ten people killed in mass panic at Love Parade music festival in
Duisburg, Germany, say police.

International Headlines

Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:02:06 -0400
TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 24 July, 2010

> NORTH KOREA RAMPS UP THREATS AGAINST U.S. MILITARY EXERCISES
North Korea says it will use "nuclear deterrence" to counter
upcoming U.S.-South Korea military exercises prompted after a
South Korean warship was sunk.

> MASS GRAVES DISCOVERED IN MEXICO
Authorities in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon are
investigating after finding at least 38 bodies in nine hidden
mass graves, the state's attorney general said.

> 7 OUT OF 91 BANKS FAIL EU STRESS TESTS
Of 91 European banks, only seven fail to satisfy an EU measure
of capital strength, causing some analysts to question the rigor
of so-called banking "stress tests."

> EARTHQUAKES STRIKE SOUTH OF PHILIPPINES
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines' Moro Gulf
early Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

> STORM DISRUPTS GULF OIL SPILL RELIEF EFFORT
More than 2,000 workers involved in efforts to dig a relief well
are preparing to evacuate as Tropical Storm Bonnie heads for
areas affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

> WORKER: GULF OIL RIG ALARM WAS 'INHIBITED'
An alarm on the Deepwater Horizon had been "inhibited" nearly a
year before the April 20 explosion that started the nation's
worst oil disaster, a worker testified today.

> DRONE STRIKE IN PAKISTAN KILLS 16
A suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region killed
16 alleged militants Saturday morning, Pakistani officials sais.

> MCCHRYSTAL JOKES AT RETIREMENT EVENT
A ceremony honoring retiring Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal is
scheduled for Friday in Washington

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> FOR ALL ITS MIGHT, GOOGLE IS NO 'PRODUCT-KILLER'
Google has invested billions of dollars building dozens of
different products across a wide swath of the technology
industry, from productivity tools to mobile phones to
e-commerce.

> AVIATION BOOM AS FARNBOROUGH DEALS HIT $47 BILLION
A total of $47 billion worth of deals were struck this year at
Farnborough Airshow, the event's organizers announced Friday.

> FORD POSTS BEST QUARTER IN SIX YEARS
Ford Motor continued its successful turnaround as
better-than-expected sales and profits easily outdistanced
expectations and reversed the operating loss of a year ago.

Markets, Friday, 07/23/2010

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:31:04 -0400

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dow : 10,424.62 up 102.32 | S & P : 1,102.66 up 8.99
|
| NASDAQ: 2,269.47 up 23.58 | Bond (10Y): 2.99% up 0.062
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MARKETS:
Stocks rally on day, week
Market surges after European stress tests reassure investors about the
global economy. Stronger profit results from Microsoft, Ford and AmEx
also in focus.

Stocks close higher after European banks pass stress tests. Dow finishes up 101 points; Nasdaq, S&P each gain about 1%.

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:02:07 -0400

Stocks close higher after European banks pass stress tests. Dow
finishes up 101 points; Nasdaq, S&P each gain about 1%.

Regulators say Europe's major banks pass stress tests, would survive a severe downturn. But 7 mostly smaller lenders could suffer.

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:14:04 -0400

Regulators say Europe's major banks pass stress tests, would survive a
severe downturn. But 7 mostly smaller lenders could suffer.

Stress test methodology triggers jitters

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:01:56 -0400

STRESS TEST METHODOLOGY TRIGGERS JITTERS
Details of the methodology behind the stress tests conducted on 91
European banks emerged Friday, erasing gains for the European single
currency.

U.S. STOCKS TICK HIGHER AHEAD OF STRESS TESTS
U.S. stocks edge up Friday as investors take encouragement from a
round of largely positive earnings, but concerns simmer that the
results of European bank stress tests won't resolve lingering
uncertainties about the banks' stability.

GOOGLE MISSES DEADLINE IN HIGH-PROFILE L.A. DEAL
Roughly nine months after Google edged out rival Microsoft to win a
high-profile contract to supply email and collaboration software to
the City of Los Angeles, the company misses a June deadline for full
implementation due to lingering security concerns.

AMAZON SHARES FALL AFTER EARNINGS DISAPPOINT
Amazon.com shares fall Friday morning, a day after the firm posted
second-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street's estimates as it
upped infrastructure and marketing spending.

AMAZON INCURS WALL STREET'S WRATH
At first blush it might seem that Wall Street is bored with Amazon.com
Inc., whose stock price has plunged to its lowest point in about nine
months.

International Headlines

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:02:08 -0400
TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 23 July, 2010

> STORM DISRUPTS GULF OF MEXICO RELIEF WELL OPERATION
More than 2,000 workers involved in efforts to dig a relief well
are preparing to evacuate as Tropical Storm Bonnie heads for
areas affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

> AUSTRALIAN PM LAYS OUT CLIMATE PLAN
Australian PM Julia Gillard on Friday embraced the same policy
on climate change that her predecessor failed to pass, but said
any action would be delayed until 2012.

> ISRAEL TO LIMIT USE OF WHITE PHOSPHORUS
Israel pledged to limit the use of munitions containing white
phosphorus and make greater efforts to protect civilians during
conflicts, in a report this week to the United Nations.

> U.N., N. KOREA DISCUSS SINKING OF SHIP
The second round of talks between North Korea and the U.S.-led
U.N. Command on the peninsula ended Friday.

> VENEZUELA BREAKS TIES WITH COLOMBIA
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that he is
breaking off relations with Colombia and called the country's
president "crazed."

> COURT: KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE LEGAL
Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 did not
violate international law, according to an advisory opinion
issued by the International Court of Justice.

> U.N. STEPS UP DEFENSE OF ITS BOSS
The United Nations stepped up its defense Thursday of its
beleaguered boss with high-level staffers speaking out in
support of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

> EUROPE BANKS SET FOR STRESS TESTS
European officials are scheduled to issue report cards Friday
afternoon following stress tests of 91 major banks. The tests
will rate how big banks would fare in another economic downturn.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> GULF SPILL COULD COST REGION $22.7 BILLION IN TRAVEL DOLLARS
Perception is the wild card in how the oil disaster will affect
the Gulf coast region's travel revenue, according to analysis
conducted by Oxford Economics for the U.S. Travel Association.

> AIR-LEASE PIONEER PREDICTS AVIATION GROWTH
Aircraft leasing pioneer Steven Udvar-Hazy tells CNN the
aviation industry is finally bouncing back from the economic
downturn as he places orders valued in the region of $10 billion
at the Farnborough Air Show.

> BECKHAM BOOSTS LEGO TAJ MAHAL SALES
At $300, Lego's Taj Mahal model replica is considered the
biggest and one of the most advanced models developed by Lego
Group to date.

Stocks open lower as investors await reports on European stress tests and U.S. exec pay. Dow edges down 28 points.

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:33:03 -0400

Stocks open lower as investors await reports on European stress tests
and U.S. exec pay. Dow edges down 28 points.

President Obama has signed a bill extending unemployment benefits through November. Millions to see checks restored.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:21:07 -0400

President Obama has signed a bill extending unemployment benefits
through November. Millions to see checks restored.

Markets, Thursday, 07/22/2010

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:32:06 -0400

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dow : 10,322.30 up 201.77 | S & P : 1,093.67 up 24.08
|
| NASDAQ: 2,245.89 up 58.56 | Bond (10Y): 2.93% up 0.040
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MARKETS:
Dow's 200-point rebound
Better-than-expected results and forecasts from UPS, 3M and
Caterpillar help lift stocks. A smaller-than-expected drop in existing
home sales and a rise in the euro are also in play.

House passes unemployment benefits extension, sends the bill to President Obama for his signature.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:13:03 -0400

House passes unemployment benefits extension, sends the bill to
President Obama for his signature.

Stocks surge on strong corporate profits and better-than-expected economic data. Dow soars 198 points; Nasdaq, S&P up more than 2%.z

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:01:07 -0400

Stocks surge on strong corporate profits and better-than-expected
economic data. Dow soars 198 points; Nasdaq, S&P up more than 2%.

International Headlines

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 22 July, 2010

> FLOODING FEARS HEIGHTEN AS STORM NEARS CHINA COAST
Tropical storm Chanthu is edging ominously closer to an area of
southern China that is already deluged with rain and deadly
floods.

> IRAN: SCIENTIST LEARNED INFO ABOUT CIA
The Iranian nuclear scientist who returned home last week from
the United States has provided valuable information about the
CIA, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said Wednesday.

> SUDAN LEADER DEFIES WARRANT ON TRIP
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir visits neighbouring Chad -- a
country required to arrest him for war crimes and hand him over
to the International Criminal Court .

> BP MAY EFFORT PERMANENT SEAL OF WELL
In the next 48 hours, BP could begin pumping mud into its
damaged Gulf of Mexico well to force oil back into the reservoir
below, an operation called a "static kill."

> BAIDU PROFITS SURGE
While Google struggles in China, local search giant Baidu is
soaring to new heights. Baidu's earnings doubled in the most
recent quarter as its sales hit a record high.

> VISA OF PIANIST ACCUSED OF RAPE REVOKED
Thailand has revoked the visa of a Russian pianist accused of
raping a 14-year-old boy, an immigration official said Thursday.

> BRAZIL ENACTS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION LAW
With a few quick strokes of a pen this week, Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed into law a widely debated
measure that aims to end hundreds of years of racial disparity.

> BP BOSS INVITED TO US LOCKERBIE HEARING
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has invited BP Chief
Executive Tony Hayward to answer questions next week about BP
and the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, a
congressional source told CNN Wednesday.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> OBAMA SIGNS WALL STREET REFORM LAW
U.S. President Barack Obama inks the most sweeping overhaul of
the financial system since the New Deal, giving regulators
stronger powers to break up financial firms that have grown too
big.

> GOLDMAN PROFITS PLUMMET BY 83 PERCENT
Goldman Sachs reports a steep drop in quarterly profits as the
exceptional trading conditions that followed the 2008 financial
crisis evaporated, exacting a toll on Wall Street's most
powerful profit engine.

Number of people filing for first-time jobless benefits jumps 37,000 to 464,000 in the latest week -- many more than expected.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:38:05 -0400

Number of people filing for first-time jobless benefits jumps 37,000
to 464,000 in the latest week -- many more than expected.

U.S. existing-home sales fall 5.1%; Realtors say inventory could pressure prices

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:05:08 -0400

U.S. existing-home sales fall 5.1%; Realtors say inventory could pressure prices
07/22/2010 10:03:09 AM EDT

Stocks rally at the open as investors seek to recoup previous session's losses. Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500 surge more than 1.2%.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:35:07 -0400

Stocks rally at the open as investors seek to recoup previous
session's losses. Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500 surge more than 1.2%.

Senate votes 59 to 39 to extend unemployment benefits. House expected to vote Thursday.

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:04:07 -0400

Senate votes 59 to 39 to extend unemployment benefits. House expected
to vote Thursday.

Markets, Wednesday, 07/21/2010

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:31:05 -0400

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dow : 10,120.53 down 109.43| S & P : 1,069.59 down 13.89 |
| NASDAQ: 2,187.33 down 35.16| Bond (10Y): 2.89% down 0.040
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MARKETS:
Stocks slump on Bernanke comments
Fed chairman's uncertain outlook on the economy serves to unnerve
investors, adding to market weakness.

Stocks slump on Bernanke comments. Dow ends down 109 points; Nasdaq and the S&P each lose more than 1%.

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:01:07 -0400

Stocks slump on Bernanke comments. Dow ends down 109 points; Nasdaq
and the S&P each lose more than 1%.

Dow tumbles 100 points after Bernanke testifies that economic recovery is 'unusually uncertain.'

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:32:04 -0400

Dow tumbles 100 points after Bernanke testifies that economic recovery
is 'unusually uncertain.'

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says economic outlook is 'unusually uncertain' - sees continued growth, but warns of possible setbacks.

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:01:08 -0400

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says economic outlook is 'unusually
uncertain' - sees continued growth, but warns of possible setbacks.

Obama signs Wall Street reform bill into law, saying 'it will provide the strongest consumer protections in history.'

Date: Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 11:51 AM

Obama signs Wall Street reform bill into law, saying 'it will provide the strongest consumer protections in history.'

Stocks fall after see-sawing on mixed results

Date: Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 12:00 PM

STOCKS FALL AFTER SEE-SAWING ON MIXED RESULTS
U.S. stocks on Wednesday lurched between gains and losses as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and weighed mixed results from household names including Coca-Cola Co. and Apple Inc.

DOLLAR MOSTLY HIGHER, EURO SLIPS AHEAD OF BERNANKE
The U.S. dollar advances versus the euro and other major currencies as investors await congressional testimony later in the day by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

MINERAL EXTRACTORS LEAD SHARP GAINS IN EUROPE
European shares rise on Wednesday, helped by another day of gains for commodity-sector firms and earnings from technology companies.

STEEL MAKERS FRONT BROAD GAINS IN ASIA
Most Asian markets advance steel stocks rally on news China is aiming to consolidate the local industry, while Japanese exporters shrink on the yen's strength against major currencies.

International Headlines

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:02:07 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 21 July, 2010

> CLINTON, GATES CRITICIZE N. KOREA DURING TRIP TO SOUTH
Top U.S. officials visit S. Korea in a rare meeting to show U.S.
support for the key Asian ally over the sinking of its warship,
which a probe said North Korea was responsible for.

> STORM BARRELS TOWARD SOUTHERN CHINA
A tropical storm is intensifying and making its way toward
southern China, coming on the heels of major flooding and
landslides in the country's center.

> BRITISH PM: I UNDERSTAND U.S. ANGER AT BP
As tests continue Tuesday on BP's ruptured oil well in the Gulf
of Mexico, scientists are weighing a new option for permanently
sealing it.

> AFGHANISTAN TO ASSUME SECURITY BY 2014
Afghanistan is "determined" to be responsible for its own
security operations by 2014, President Hamid Karzai has told an
international donors conference in Kabul.

> VENEZUELA OWNS PART OF OPPOSITION TV
Venezuela will name a government representative to the board of
opposition broadcaster Globovision, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez said in speech Tuesday.

> FRENCH FOOTBALLERS QUIZZED IN SEX PROBE
Two members of the French national soccer team, Franck Ribery
and Karim Benzema, were being questioned by French police
Tuesday in connection with an alleged underage prostitution
ring, French police said.

> EXITING OFFICIAL: U.N. SLIPS INTO IRRELEVANCE
A departing senior U.N. official has released a rare rebuke of
her boss's performance -- saying the United Nations is "drifting
into irrelevance" under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
management.

> GOLDMAN PROFITS PLUMMET BY 83 PERCENT
Goldman Sachs reported a steep drop in quarterly profits on
Tuesday as the exceptional trading conditions that followed the
2008 financial crisis evaporated, exacting a toll on Wall
Street's most powerful profit engine.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> COURT APPROVES BAIL FOR CONRAD BLACK
An U.S. appellate court rules that jailed media mogul Conrad
Black can be released on bail. A judge will now set the bail
conditions for Black, who is serving a six-and-a-half-year
prison term for fraud.

> CHINA NOW WORLD'S BIGGEST ENERGY USER
China overtook the U.S. last year to become the world's biggest
energy user, the International Energy Agency reveals.

> OIL SPILL WILL 'FOREVER CHANGE' INDUSTRY
Interior Department regulators designing disaster contingency
plans didn't prepare for a calamity the size of the current Gulf
of Mexico oil spill crisis because of a lack of precedent, a
former interior secretary said Tuesday.

Stocks open modestly higher as investors digest earnings reports from Apple, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:33:03 -0400

Stocks open modestly higher as investors digest earnings reports from
Apple, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Markets, Tuesday, 07/20/2010

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:31:04 -0400

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dow : 10,229.96 up 75.53 | S & P : 1,083.48 up 12.23
|
| NASDAQ: 2,222.49 up 24.26 | Bond (10Y): 2.93% down 0.032
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MARKETS:
Wall Street stages a comeback
Wall Street struggles higher in afternoon trading with Dow bouncing
back from 146-point drop, as investors look to second-quarter results
from Apple and Yahoo.

International Headlines

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:02:07 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 20 July, 2010

> BRITISH PM TO MEET U.S. SENATORS OVER LOCKERBIE CASE
British Prime Minister David Cameron offers to meet with U.S.
senators to discuss the release of a Libyan convicted over the
1988 bombing of a jetliner above Scotland.

> COURT APPROVES BAIL FOR CONRAD BLACK
An appellate court has ruled that jailed media mogul Conrad
Black, who is serving a six-and-a-half-year prison term for
fraud, can be released on bail.

> BP WELL TESTS EXTENDED AMID CONCERNS
Tests on the ruptured BP well in the Gulf of Mexico will go on
for another 24 hours as officials try to explain "anomalous"
pressure readings and possible leaks.

> MILITANTS KILLED, HELD OVER KABUL RAID
Several insurgents were killed and two were detained while
troops were looking for a Taliban facilitator who was believed
to be in the final stages of planning an attack against an
international conference in Kabul, authorities said Tuesday.

> EMBASSY: BRITON KILLED IN MOSUL BLAST
One Briton was among those killed in Monday's suicide car bomb
attack that targeted a British private security firm in Mosul,
the British Embassy said.

> CHINA IN BATTLE TO CLEAN UP OIL SPILL
More than 500 fishing boats joined the effort to clean up oil
that gushed into a harbor in northeast China when two pipelines
exploded Friday, a Chinese state-run news agency reported
Monday.

> TRAIN CRASH TOLL RISES TO 63 IN INDIA
The death toll from Monday's train collision in eastern India
has risen to 63, officials said Tuesday.

> DEATH TOLL RISES IN CHINA FLOODS
The death toll has risen to 34 as a result of floods and
landslides in two provinces in China, the state-run Xinhua news
agency reported Monday.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> CEO: BOEING'S DREAMLINER TO LAUNCH BY 2011
Fans of Boeing's much anticipated Dreamliner may have to wait a
while longer before the aircraft is available for commercial
use, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said Monday.

> CHINA NOW WORLD'S BIGGEST ENERGY USER
China overtook the U.S. last year to become the world's biggest
energy user, the International Energy Agency revealed on Monday.

> GOOGLE QUIETLY KILLS ITS NEXUS ONE PHONE
With the eyes of the technology world squarely on Apple's iPhone
4, Google quietly announced it will stop selling the Nexus One,
its first and possibly only foray into the smartphone world.

Breaking News Tue., July 20, 2010

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:12:20 -0700 (PDT)

Interim W. Va. Senator Casts Vote Breaking GOP Filibuster on Extension
of Jobless Benefits [2:58 p.m. ET]

Goldman Sachs profit slumps 82%

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:01:01 -0400

GOLDMAN SACHS PROFIT SLUMPS 82%
Goldman's second-quarter profit is hurt by its settlement with the
SEC, the U.K. bank payroll tax and sharp revenue drops in its trading
and investment-banking units.

GOLDMAN'S SHINE DULLS A LITTLE
Earnings day used to be Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s day to shine, an
opportunity to remind the doubters that the investment bank was still
the best in class.

GOLDMAN'S NEW DREAM-INCEPTION TECHNOLOGY
They get in fast. Milliseconds: "Implant." Out fast: "Extraction." All
traces erased. What happened? Paradigm shifted? Not sure? Maybe
Goldman's latest high-frequency trading algorithms? No. Maybe
artificial intelligence? No.

U.S. STOCKS LAPSE AS QUARTERLY REPORTS DISAPPOINT
Stocks decline, bringing the Dow industrials precipitously close to
10,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks, as investors jeer
less-than-expected revenue from companies including Goldman Sachs
Group and International Business Machines.

TUESDAY'S BIGGEST GAINING AND DECLINING STOCKS
Stocks that are seeing significant moves in trading Tuesday include
Harley-Davidson, IBM, RadioShack and Texas Instruments.

Stocks tumble at the open. Goldman Sachs' disappointing earnings drag down financials. Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq all sink over 1%.

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:33:05 -0400

Stocks tumble at the open. Goldman Sachs' disappointing earnings drag
down financials. Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq all sink over 1%.

Markets, Monday, 07/19/2010

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:31:08 -0400

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Dow : 10,154.43 up 56.53 | S & P : 1,071.25 up 6.37
|
| NASDAQ: 2,198.23 up 19.18| Bond (10Y): 2.96% up 0.025
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

MARKETS:
Stocks close higher after late-day advance
Investors look past a drop in homebuilder confidence to focus on
second-quarter results from 122 companies this week.

Stocks close higher on earnings optimism. Dow climbs 57 points; Nasdaq gains 0.9%, S&P adds 0.6%.

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:02:03 -0400

Stocks close higher on earnings optimism. Dow climbs 57 points; Nasdaq
gains 0.9%, S&P adds 0.6%.

U.S. stocks waver after downbeat housing data

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:01:02 -0400

U.S. STOCKS WAVER AFTER DOWNBEAT HOUSING DATA
Stocks maintain tentative gains after a monthly survey finds increased
pessimism among home builders, offsetting better-than-expected
quarterly results from oilfield-services firm Halliburton.

AIRBUS SCORES MORE THAN $9 BLN OF A320 ORDERS
Air Lease Corp., a new leasing company, placed an order Monday for 51
Airbus A320 family jets valued at $4.43 billion at list prices.

AIRBUS, BOEING FACE DECISION ON SINGLE-AISLE JETS
As much as they may wish to do so, Boeing and Airbus won't be able to
delay sprucing up their bestselling 737 and A320 jet families much
longer, as competition from smaller manufacturers heats up and
airlines clamor for more fuel-efficient planes.

QATAR MAY STILL ORDER C-SERIES BUT TALKS STALLED
Qatar Airways is still in talks with Canadian aircraft maker
Bombardier about placing an order for its C-Series aircraft, but
"issues" related to the engine manufacturer are holding back
discussions, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said Monday.

NO NATION THREATENING TO PULL OUT OF A400M PROGRAM
Negotiations to ratify a new funding agreement for the Airbus A400M
military transport aircraft are continuing, and while no resolution is
expected until the fall, no participating country has threatened to
pull out, EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois said this weekend.

International Headlines

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 18 July, 2010

> U.S.: ALLEGED DRUG KINGPIN ARRESTED
Alleged drug kingpin Jose David Figueroa Agosto -- "the most
wanted fugitive by Puerto Rican and Dominican authorities,"
according to U.S. authorities -- is in custody.

> BAGHDAD SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS 43
A suicide bomber killed at least 43 people and wounded 40 others
in an attack outside Baghdad on Sunday morning, police said.

> TESTS ON RECAPPED GULF WELL EXTENDED
Encouraged by results so far, BP and the government agreed to
another 24 hours of testing of the recently recapped Gulf well.

> CAMPAIGN VIOLATIONS COST BIDEN $219,000
A day after the U.S. Federal Elections Commission slapped Joe
Biden with a $219,000 fine for spending violations during his
failed presidential bid, a spokeswoman for the vice president is
calling the ruling "commonplace."

> EU: WE'RE COMMITTED TO THE PALESTINIANS
The European Union's foreign affairs chief said the alliance is
committed to Palestinian statehood and to improving Gaza's
situation.

> HILLARY CLINTON TO VISIT AFGHANISTAN
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to Afghanistan on
a mission that will take her to a major international conference
in Kabul focusing on the problems and the future of the war-torn
nation.

> IRANIANS MOURN 27 KILLED IN BOMBINGS
The bodies of 27 people killed in a pair of suicide bombings in
the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan were laid to rest,
Iran's official news agency reported.

> CONVOY ATTACK KILLS 16 IN PAKISTAN
Grenades and gunfire killed 16 people and injured several others
when militants attacked a convoy of civilian vehicles that the
Pakistani military was escorting through the country's tribal
region, intelligence officials said.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> BET FOUNDER TO BUILD SPA RESORT IN LIBERIA
Billionaire businessman Bob Johnson has chosen Liberia for his
latest venture, the country's first top class hotel.

> TOUR OPERATOR COLLAPSE HITS THOUSANDS
Thousands of vacationers were left stranded Saturday in Greece
and Turkey after the financial collapse of a British tour
operator.

Stocks gain at Monday's open as investors show signs of hope about forthcoming corporate results. Dow adds 25 points.

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:32:04 -04000

Stocks gain at Monday's open as investors show signs of hope about
forthcoming corporate results. Dow adds 25 points.

International Headlines

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:02:04 -0400