General News:
– Surging exports and business spending propelled U.S. growth to the fastest pace in more than a year before turmoil in the credit markets forced the Federal Reserve to warn of a bleaker outlook.
– The U.S. commercial paper market shrank for a third week, extending the biggest slump in at least seven years, as investors balked at buying short-term debt backed by mortgage assets.
– Basis Capital Fund Management Ltd., the Australian investment company that hired Blackstone Group LP to sell assets, sought bankruptcy protection for its second-biggest hedge fund.
GDP rose 4.0%. It was originally 3.4%. Here are the differences:
Exports add $6.6 bln more
Inventories rise $1.8 bln more
Residential construction was weaker
Equipment and software was stronger.
Structures much stronger. UP 27.7% vs. 22.1%
Asia/Europe:
Asia:
– Asian stocks advanced after Esprit Holdings Ltd. and Cnooc Ltd. reported profit that beat estimates, reducing concern earnings in the region will be hampered by a slump in the U.S. housing market.
– Japan’s retail sales fell more than twice as much as economists expected, as a tax increase and a weekend typhoon kept shoppers away from the nation’s department stores and car dealerships.
– China Minsheng Banking Corp., the nation’s first non-state-owned bank, said first-half profit surged 66 percent as it extended more loans and demand for services such as wealth management increased.
– The yen rose, rebounding from the biggest decline versus the euro since January 2001, as concern U.S. subprime mortgage losses are weakening credit markets pushed investors to shun riskier assets funded by loans in Japan.
– The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell against the yen, in the biggest fluctuation in currency markets, after an Australian hedge fund filed for bankruptcy protection on subprime mortgage defaults.
Europe:
– European stocks rose after Credit Agricole SA, France’s second-biggest bank, and Belgian brewer InBev NV reported earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
– Carrefour SA, Europe’s biggest retailer, plans to sell shares in a real-estate unit and buy back as much as 4.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) of stock, bowing to pressure from investors.
– The Bank of England, acting as the lender of last resort, extended 1.6 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) at its highest rate, suggesting commercial banks are reluctant to provide credit after the collapse of the U.S. subprime-mortgage market.
– European retail sales rose for the first time in four months in August after unemployment fell to a record low, the Bloomberg purchasing managers index showed.
– Credit Agricole SA and Natixis SA, two of France’s biggest banks, reported profit that beat estimates, easing concerns over credit market turmoil and sending their shares higher.
– U.K. lenders responsible for 12 percent of the nation’s mortgages are tightening standards for loans on house purchases, withdrawing offers and raising the cost for borrowers with less than perfect credit.
Corporate News:
– Tiffany & Co. (TIF), the world’s second- largest luxury-jewelry retailer, raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts after second-quarter earnings exceeded analysts’ estimates and sales rose the most in seven years.
– Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), the biggest U.S. department-store company, said second-quarter profit fell 40 percent on declining sales at Kmart and its namesake chain. Sears shares dropped 4.8 percent, the most in seven weeks.
– Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) and Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC), four of the five largest securities firms, will earn less than expected through next year after a rout in U.S. subprime mortgages, according to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
