Media Digest 3/17/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

Reuters:   China took a hard position on the value of the yuan despite US pressure.

Reuters:   Google’s (GOOG) ad partners in China expressed concerns about its plans.

Reuters:   If banking laws change, Goldman Sachs (GS) may be unable to cope.

Reuters:   China’s demand for natural gas may surprise global markets.

Reuters:   Arrow will shortly reply to an offer from Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) and PetroChina (PTR).

Reuters:   The World Bank told China to tighten it monetary policy.

Reuters:   Intel’s (INTC) stock moved up on comments about first quarter revenue.

Reuters:   The Fed renewed its policy to keep rates low for and extended period.

Reuters:   PIMCO says that the Fed’s end to mortgage purchasing is a form of tightening.

Reuters:   A Senate panel is likely to approve bank reform.

WSJ:   Foreign companies find it harder to do business in China against its membership in the WTO.

WSJ:   Simon Property is readying a new bid for GGP.

WSJ:   Bank of Japan loosened its monetary policy.

WSJ:   VirnetX Holding won a patent suit against Microsoft (MSFT) for use of virtual private network software.

WSJ:   Regulators ordered Boeing (BA) to fix problems on 777s.

WSJ:   Pepsi (PEP) said it will move full-calorie sweetened drinks from schools in 200 countries by 2012.

WSJ:   The Google (GOOG) Nexus One will compete with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone on the AT&T (T) network.

WSJ:   Large tech companies are dominating the innovation market because of their huge cash balances.

WSJ:   A new FCC plan to broaden broadband distribution will not bring down current prices.

WSJ:   The Hartford plans to repay TARP funds.

WSJ:   GE (GE) expects to raise it dividend.

WSJ:   Honda (HMC) recalled over 400,00 cars.

WSJ:   A move to 4G may change the cellular service pricing model.

NYT:   Drug companies are losing market share to local firms in emerging markets.

NYT:   A weak euro has raised questions about the region’s growth prospects.

NYT:   Web data collection companies can access people’s social security numbers.

NYT:   Lawmakers want more study of how regulation will affect financial markets.

NYT:   Lehman hid money with help of global financial regulations.

FT:   China asked multinational companies to fight efforts to change its currency policies.

FT:   Blockbuster (BBI) may have trouble with DVD supplies because of money problems.

Bloomberg:   Economist Martin Feldstein says that Greece cannot drop its deficit as fast as expected.

Douglas A. McIntyre