WALL STREET JOURNAL

People with the matter said that Ken Wilson, Goldman Sachs Group’s (GS) most senior financial-institutions broker, will temporarily exit the firm, the Wall Street Journal reported, in an effort to advise Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on how to resolve the country’s banking crisis…FINANCIAL TIMES: The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, a union with a stake in Citigroup (C) called for the financial services company to break itself up. The Financial Times reported that the demand will almost definitely be rejected by Citigroup…NEW YORK TIMES: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan for rescuing Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) calls for the creation of a new regulatory agency that would seek to assert more stringent control over the banks and lessen the damage they could cause to the American financial system, the New York Times reported…DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Daily Telegraph reported that BP (BP) blocked a $1.8B dividend payment to its Russian partners in the TNK-BP joint venture…PAIDCONTENT.ORG: According to paidContent.org, now that its cash on hand exceeds its market cap, speculation that Napster (NAPS) could be a takeover target heated up…

Weekly additions to the Investors Business Daily-100

The following are additions to the Investors Business Daily- 100 list for the week of July 18: Research In Motion (RIMM), New Oriental Education & Tech.(EDU), China Medical Tech (CMED), Colfax Corp. (CFX), Sadia SA (SDA), Activision Blizzard (ATVD), ABB Ltd, (ABB), Mindray Medical (MR), Valmont Industries (VMI), Amphenol Corp (APH), True Religion Apparel (TRLG), Gulfmark Offshore (GLF), Microsemi (MSCC), Cash America Intl. (CSH), Buenaventura Comp ADS (BVN), Cameron Intl. (CAM), Buckle Inc (BKE), HUB Group (HUBG), Ametek Inc. (AME), Cummins (CMI),Fluor (FLR), smith International (SII), Gulf Island Fabrication (GIFI)

Weekly subtractions from the Investor’s Business Daily-100

The following are subtractions from the Investors Business Daily-100 list for the week of July 18: Southwestern Energy (SWN), Hess Corp. (HES), Companhia Siderurgic (SID), Quicksilver Resources (KWK), Baytex Energy Trust (BTE), Berry Petroleum (BRY), Venoco (VQ), Arch Coal (ACI), Noble Energy (NBL), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Cimarex Energy (XEC), Baidu.com (BIDU), Apple (AAPL), Core Laboratories (CLB), Encana Corporation (ECA), E O G Resources (EOG), Forest Oil (FST), Plains Exploration & Production (PXP), Helmerich & Payne (HP), Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), ITC Holdings (ITC), Monsanto (MON), Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS)

Alpha Natural had held talks with other bidders prior to deal-Financial Times
As reported in the Financial Times, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) had held talks with other foreign concerns prior to its deal with Cleveland Cliffs (CLF), like ArcelorMittal (MT). according to dealReporter. Harbinger Capital Partners, Cleveland Cliffs largest shareholder is said to be unhappy with the deal and there are Alpha Natural shareholders who think they should have gotten more, leaving shareholder approval on both sides questionable.

HSBC shares gain on report about possible investment from Chinese firm-Telegraph
A report that China Investment Corporation is negotiating a possible investment in HSBC (HBC) sent HSBC’s shares up almost 4.2% today. The report originally appeared in the Telegraph. HSBC Chairman Stephen Green is understood to have met China Investment executives several times to discuss the matter in recent months.

Biogen Idec’s Tysabri sales expected to pass $1B in 2008-WSJ
Three years after it was recalled, Biogen Idec’s (BIIB) Tysabri, used to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease, may now become a blockbuster seller, expected to pass $1B in sales this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The recall in 2005 was because two people died from a brain infection, and patients are warned that the drug has a 1-in-1,000 risk of developing a related infection. The company reports second quarter results tomorrow.

Is the espresso drink expansion hurting McDonald’s?-WSJ
McDonald’s (MCD) aggressive expansion into the specialty coffee business–they want to add them to all of their 14,000 U.S. restaurants by sometime next year–may be hurting the company, which reports second quarter results on Wednesday, reports the Wall Street Journal. With Starbucks (SBUX) closing hundreds of stores nationwide, and the cost of ingredients and gasoline soaring, company data indicates sales are sluggish.

J.P. Morgan’s Dimon challenges validity of Tier 1 ratios-WSJ
The validity of investment bank’s capital ratios, under the direction of the SEC, are being challenged by J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) CEO James Dimon. One reason is because the guidelines for commercial banks are different and are watched by the Federal Reserve, and that is seen as allowing banks to set their own capital requirements, according to the Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street”. “It’s going to take a lot of structural fixes before there’s a meaningful reporting environment that gives credible, accurate and reliable information about capital to investors,” says Louisiana State University finance professor Joseph Mason, who adds, until there are changes: “Don’t trust any one ratio.”

ITC Holdings transmits electricity and sees its earnings surge-IBD
Formed in 2003 when it was divested from DTE Energy (DTE), ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC), a transmitter of electricity, went public in 2005 and has seen its earnings increase at a 94% five year growth rate and revenue at a 31% rate, according to Investor’s Business Daily’s “The New America”. For the first quarter, earnings jumped 36% to 53 cents a share, while revenue gained 40% to $141.9M. ITC has three subsidiaries, and owns 15,000 miles of high high-voltage electric transmission lines in Michigan and parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. It customers are utilities, the independent power producers such as wind farms and others that provide electricity to consumers. The company is not a typical utility in that it transmits electricity at high voltages across long distances.