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Bloomberg 13:30 Budget for U.S. Newspapers, Oct. 19

By Bloomberg

October 19, 2011

Stories identified with the prefix PUBLISH in the slug have been shaped for newspaper use, and the suffix -TRIM indicates the original version has been shortened. All move times are New York time. Inquiries should be directed to Jeffrey Tannenbaum in content syndication, jtannenbaum@bloomberg.net or 1-212-617- 5392. The main number for the department is 1-212-617-4300.

TOP BUSINESS NEWS

Major companies due to report earnings after the 16:00 close of regular trading in New York: American Express Co.

U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Apple Earnings Offset Housing Data

U.S. stocks were little changed, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied to the highest level since August, as a decline in Apple Inc. shares offset better-than-estimated housing data. Developing. US-STOCKS-FINAL to move by 17:00. By Rita Nazareth. Also see GLOBAL-MARKETS-WRAP, US-OIL-MARKET.

ECONOMY-US

U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Jump, Consumer Prices Stabilize

Builders began work on more U.S. homes than forecast in September and consumer prices climbed at the slowest pace in three months, supporting Federal Reserve forecasts for a pickup in growth and a moderation in inflation. 860. Moved at 11:25. By Bob Willis and Alex Kowalski.

SEC-CITI-CDO

Citigroup Said to Agree to Almost $300 Million SEC Settlement

Citigroup Inc. has agreed to pay close to $300 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that it misled investors about a financial product linked to risky mortgages, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. 300. Moved at 12:20. By Joshua Gallu.

WSJ-EUROPE-VAN-MOL

News Corp. Ignored Wall Street Journal Aberrant Circulation Data

News Corp., the media company facing an investor uprising over its business practices, was alerted to a plan to inflate circulation at the Wall Street Journal Europe almost a year before the newspaper’s publisher resigned, according to a former employee and internal documents. 1,940. Moved at 12:40. By Edmund Lee.

ABBOTT-BREAK-UP

Abbott to Separate Into Two Companies Focusing on Drug Areas

Abbott Laboratories, the maker of infant formula, heart stents and prescription drugs, will split into two companies, with one selling generic drugs and medical devices and the other research-based medicines. 600. Moved at 9:35. By Alex Nussbaum. Also see ABBOTT-BONDS-DROP.

MORGAN-STANLEY-EARNS

Morgan Stanley Beats Estimates on Accounting Gain, Trading

Morgan Stanley, owner of the world’s largest brokerage, reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates on a $3.4 billion accounting gain and higher revenue from stock trading. 1,080. Moved at 10:10. By Michael J. Moore. Also see MORGAN-STANLEY- PAY.

USB-EARNINGS

U.S. Bancorp Profit Rises on Revenue Gains, Credit Quality

U.S. Bancorp, the nation’s fifth-largest commercial bank, posted a 40 percent gain in third-quarter profit as revenue and lending expanded and fewer borrowers fell behind on payments. 450. Moved at 7:35. By Charles Mead.

GRPN-IPO-TIMING

Groupon Is Said to Plan to Market IPO as Soon as Next Week

Groupon Inc., the largest online-coupon site, plans to begin marketing its initial public offering to investors before the end of October, three people with knowledge of the plans said. 300. Moved at 3:15. By Lee Spears, Serena Saitto and Douglas MacMillan

TRAVELERS-EARNS

Travelers Profit Falls 67% as Irene Adds to Disaster Claims

Travelers Cos., the lone insurer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, said third-quarter profit fell 67 percent on claims from disasters including Hurricane Irene. 700. Moved at 8:15. By Noah Buhayar.

SPAIN-MOODYS

Spain’s Rating Cut by Moody’s for Third Time Since 2010

Spain’s credit rating was cut for the third time in 13 months by Moody’s Investors Service as Europe’s debt crisis threatens to engulf the nation. 840. Moved at 4:15. By Angeline Benoit and Sandrine Rastello.

BANKS-ASSETS-SALES

Europe Banks Vow $1 Trillion Cuts as Recapitalization Looms

European banks, assuring investors they can weather the sovereign debt crisis by selling assets and reducing lending, may not be able to raise money fast enough to prevent government-forced recapitalizations. 2,200. Moved at 12:30. By Anne-Sylvaine Chassany and Liam Vaughan.

FOREIGN-CARS-CURRENCY

Audi-Ford Price Gap Widest Since 1999 as U.S. Gains Share: Cars

Foreign cars are selling in the U.S. at the biggest price premium to domestic autos in almost 12 years as a weak dollar curtails imports of lower-priced models, allowing General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. to gain share. 815. Moved at midnight. By Craig Trudell.

TOP GENERAL NEWS

MILITARY-KILLER-DRONES

U.S. Deploys Kamikaze Drones to Attack Afghan Taliban Targets

U.S. Army and Air Force special operations forces have used miniature kamikaze drones against Taliban targets and plan to renew the attacks next year, according to documents and an Army official. 655 Moved at midnight. By Tony Capaccio.

IMMIGRATION-PERRY

Romney Faults Perry on Immigration as Republican Rift Widens

Mitt Romney wants the U.S. to build a fence to keep out illegal immigrants. Herman Cain suggested constructing an electrified “Great Wall of China” along the Mexican border. And Rick Perry, who once called the fence idea “idiocy,” is accusing Romney of employing illegal workers.

The issue of how to combat illegal immigration has emerged as the clearest dividing line in a crowded Republican presidential field, even as the weak economy dominates surveys of voters’ concerns. 1,230. Moved at 2:15. By Lisa Lerer.

GREECE-CLASHES-AUSTERITY

Greeks Clash With Police as Papandreou Demands More Austerity

Greek protesters clashed with police in central Athens after Prime Minister George Papandreou vowed to push through a further round of austerity and appealed to Europe to cut Greece’s debt load at an Oct. 23 summit. 1,020. Moved at 11:25. By Natalie Weeks and Tom Stoukas. Also see GREEK-PARALYSIS.

SOMALIA-QUAGMIRE

Kenya Faces Somalia Quagmire After U.S., Ethiopian Failures

Kenya’s military drive into neighboring Somalia to thwart attacks by the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab risks ending like previous interventions by the U.S. and Ethiopia -- in retreat and failure.

While Kenya’s well-equipped army has been able to advance into southern Somalia, it may not be able to withstand attacks by a determined guerrilla force, according to Thomas Cargill, assistant head of the Africa Program at the London-based international-affairs institute Chatham House, who called it Kenya’s first foreign intervention. 1,330. Moved at 9:10. By Sarah McGregor.

OBAMA-LIBYA

Clinton’s Visit to Tripoli Lets Obama Show Critics Libya Results

The applause that greeted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tripoli stands in contrast to the months of criticism weathered by President Barack Obama for a Libya strategy his opponents said amounted to seeking victory on the cheap. 1,150. Moved at 10:35. By Viola Gienger.

CLINTON-OMAN-IRAN

Clinton in Oman for Talks on Iran, Protests Across Arab World

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting Oman today to thank the Gulf state’s ruler for his role in securing the release of three American hikers jailed by Iran, and to discuss efforts to meet demands for greater economic and political freedoms in the sultanate. 400. Moved at 2:10. By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan.

TUNISIA-VOTE-ISLAMISTS

Islamists Lead Polls Before First Democratic Tunisia Election

Tunisia, the first country to rise up in the so-called Arab Spring, may also become the region’s first new democracy to vote an Islamist party into power.

Ennahdha, an Islamic party legalized only six months ago, is the front-runner in the Oct. 23 vote to choose an assembly to write a new constitution, according to an OpinionWay poll released just before a pre-election polling ban took effect on Oct. 1. The party says it won’t impose its views on what is now the most secular country in the region. 1,400. Moved at 11:15. By Gregory Viscusi and Jihen Laghmari.

CAIN-TAX

Cain 9-9-9 Plan Challenged as Raising Taxes for Lower Income

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain’s so-called 9-9-9 plan will face renewed scrutiny after an independent analysis found it would cut taxes for higher earners while raising them for middle-income Americans. 430. Moved at 2:45. By Steven Sloan.

DC-WEALTH

Beltway Earnings Make U.S. Capital Richer Than Silicon Valley

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area. 950. Moved at 8:45. By Frank Bass and Timothy R. Homan.

BUSINESS NEWS FEATURES

US-PRODUCTIVITY-GROWTH-SLOWING

Second Miracle in 15 Years Needed for U.S. as Productivity Wanes

The world’s largest economy may need its second miracle in 15 years as waning productivity growth sets the stage for slower income gains, fewer job opportunities and larger federal deficits in the U.S.

Worker output per hour has fallen for two consecutive quarters, the first back-to-back decline since 2008, and Labor Department revisions show the measure remains below levels typical for this point in a recovery. Going forward, business efficiency will advance at only about half the 3.4 percent pace during the so-called productivity miracle of 1997 to 2003, according to economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 1,460. Moved at 12:55. By Alexander Kowalski and Ilan Kolet.

GENERAL NEWS FEATURES

HONG-KONG-BABY-BURDEN

Dragon Babies Escaping One-Child Policy Overrun Hong Kong Wards

Hong Kong resident Renee James wanted to keep news of her pregnancy quiet for a few months. Her doctor urged her to book a hospital immediately. By the time James started calling at 10 weeks, it was too late.

Every private hospital with a maternity ward in Hong Kong, where Australian James and her husband have lived for two years, was full at the time of her due date. The reason: Mainland mothers-to-be are filling the slots to avoid China’s one-child policy and win residency rights for their children. 1,180. Moved at 13:00. By Natasha Khan.

ARTS-GREECE-DEBT

Greece’s $473 Billion Debt Mirrors Crisis in Cultural Assets

Plato doesn’t live here anymore.

A pack of feral cats chases the rodents that run past the Gypsy squatters who inhabit the bleak 32-acre Athens park that masks the birthplace of Western civilization. Alexandros Stanas says what’s interred beneath the debris illustrates both a solution to Greece’s 345 billion euro ($473 billion) sovereign debt crisis and why his country roils in catastrophe.

“Economics, politics, philosophy, everything that empowers our reasoning and ability to solve today’s problems was born here at Plato’s Academy,” says Stanas, a former management consultant at the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism who is now general director of the Art-Athina International Contemporary Art Fair.

“This is the original holy ground,” Stanas says, walking across the garbage that covers the buried foundation of the 387 B.C. intellectual incubator. “This is what we Greeks have allowed to happen to our ultimate metaphor for excellence.” 1,810. Moved at 11:20. By A. Craig Copetas.

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-0- Oct/19/2011 17:37 GMT