Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• German Euro Critics Say Top Court Has to Await European Ruling. A group of German plaintiffs led by Professor Markus Kerber said it filed a complaint asking the country’s highest court to await a European Court of Justice ruling on the euro region’s future permanent financial backstop before issuing its own opinion. Irish lawmaker Thomas Pringle had challenged legislation on the backstop, the European Stability Mechanism, and was referred to the European Court of Justice after Ireland’s Supreme Court last month ruled that it can’t block the government from ratifying domestic legislation on the ESM. “As long as the European Court of Justice hasn’t taken a final decision on the incompatibility of these treaties, neither the Federal Constitutional Court nor the Federal President must take a decision,” the group led by Kerber said in a statement on its Internet site. Kerber, an economics professor at Berlin’s Free University, is founder of the euro-critical Europolis group.
• Greek Recession Making Bailout Targets Harder to Meet: Economy. Greece’s economy contracted for a ninth straight quarter, making it harder for the government to meet the budget-reduction targets required under the country’s international bailouts. Gross domestic product declined 6.2 percent in the second quarter from the same period last year after dropping 6.5 percent in the first, the Athens-based Hellenic Statistical Authority said in an e-mailed statement today. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a contraction of 7 percent. The authority doesn’t publish seasonally adjusted data or quarter-on-quarter rates.
• German 10-Year Bunds Drop on Greek GDP as Italy Sells Bills. German 10-year bunds declined after a report showed that Greece’s economy contracted at a slower pace in the second quarter and Italy reached its 8 billion euros ($9.9 billion) maximum target at an auction of one-year bills. Two-year note yields rose the most in more than a week as data showed Greek gross domestic product shrank 6.2 percent from a year earlier, after dropping 6.5 percent in the previous three months. Italian bonds outperformed bunds as investors bid for 1.69 times the amount of bills sold, up from a so-called bid-to- cover ratio of 1.55 last month. Bunds pared declines after Handelsblatt newspaper reported a complaint filed with the Constitutional Court may delay its ruling on the euro region’s permanent financial backstop. “The Italian auction was slightly better in terms of bid to cover than the most recent,” said Marius Daheim, a senior fixed-income strategist at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich. “Both factors played a role, but the Greek GDP was the major driver. I suspect this down-move will be a short-lived.”
• China’s Stocks Drop Most in Month on Growth, Policy Concerns. China’s stocks fell by the most in almost a month after Bank of America Corp. cut its economic growth forecasts for China and on speculation the government won’t loosen monetary policy as property prices rebound. Anhui Conch Cement Co. (SHCOMP) led declines for construction material stocks after Bank of America joined Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc in reducing growth forecasts for China. China Vanke Co. and Poly Real Estate Group Co. slid more than 4 percent after the Financial News said the central bank is being “cautious” in reducing banks’ reserve-requirement ratios to prevent home prices from rising further. Citic Securities Co. and Haitong Securities Co Ltd. (600837) plunged more than 8 percent on concern that a weak stock market will hurt brokerage earnings. “Investors lack confidence in the market,” said Xu Shengjun, an analyst at Jianghai Securities Co. in Shanghai. “With bad economic data last week and more bad earnings, the market is set to continue falling. People are disappointed there are no new stimulus measures and the chance of major measures are unlikely.” The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5 percent to 2,136.08 at the close, the biggest decline since July 16. The CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) lost 2 percent to 2,351.93.
• America’s Energy Seen Adding 3.6 Million Jobs Along With 3% GDP. On the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, about an hour upstream from New Orleans, the outline of Nucor Corp. (NUE)’s new $750 million iron-processing plant is rising between fields of sugar cane and sweet gum trees.
• Google(GOOG) to Acquire Frommer’s Travel Assets From John Wiley. Google Inc. agreed to acquire all of John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW/A)’s travel assets, including the Frommer’s brand, as the owner of the world’s largest Internet search engine expands local services.

Wall Street Journal:

• Romney Takes Medicare Message to Florida. Mitt Romney vowed that he and his new running mate would protect Medicare and revive the housing market, as the GOP candidate pivoted back to the issues. Mr. Romney used his first solo event since introducing Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential pick to try to ease concerns about the aggressive approach the duo would take to overhauling entitlements—a salient message in this retiree-rich state. "We want to make sure that we preserve and protect Medicare," Mr. Romney said of the federal health-care program for retirees.
• House Panel Sues for Release of Fast and Furious Documents. A House committee filed a civil suit Monday seeking to force Attorney General Eric Holder to turn over documents related to a bungled gun-trafficking probe called Fast and Furious.
• Italian Banks Seek to Revalue Stakes.
• Best Photos of the Olympics.
  

CNBC.com:

• China's Largest Broker Plunges on Rumors Over Losses. Shares of Shanghai-listed Citic Securities, China’s largest brokerage firm, fell by 9.1 percent on Monday after rumors the company had suffered a large 2.9 billion yuan ($460 million) loss on overseas trading.
• Motorola Set for Big Job Cuts as Google(GOOG) Reinvents It.
• Italy Public Debt Hits Record, Bailout Looms. Italy's public debt hit an all-time high in June of almost 2 trillion euros and the annual budget deficit was also bigger than a year before, due largely to Italy's share of bailouts for other euro zone states, the central bank said on Monday.
• Problems Riddle Moves to Collect Credit Card Debt. The same problems that plagued the foreclosure process — and prompted a multibillion-dollar settlement with big banks — are now emerging in the debt collection practices of credit card companies.

Business Insider:

• The US Government Is Buying $170 Million Of Pork, Lamb, Chicken And Catfish. The government will buy up to $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help drought-stricken farmers, the White House said Monday as President Barack Obama brought his re-election campaign to rural voters in Iowa.
• iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Said To Begin September 12.

Zero Hedge:

• Italy's Latest Record Debt Load: Bigger, Faster, More. (graph)
• Complacency At 5 Year Highs.
• LCH Hikes Spain, Italy Margins.
• High Yield Credit Diverging From Stocks. (graph)
  

Washington Post:

• Positive Views of Ryan Jump Higher Over Weekend. Overall, in interviews after his selection, 38 percent of all Americans express favorable views of Ryan, 33 percent negative ones. One of the largest movements on Ryan’s favorability numbers was the 21-point jump among conservative Republicans, but the initial movement was positive among independents as well, doubling from 19 to 39 percent.

Washington Examiner:

• Poll: Ryan boosts Romney to tie with Obama. Picking Rep. Paul Ryan as his GOP running mate is working for presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to a new JZ Analytics poll conducted after Ryan was picked on Saturday and provided to Secrets, the race is now dead even, 46 percent to 46 percent. Only 8 percent of likely voters are undecided. According to Zogby the Ryan pick helped Romney with younger voters and independents, two key battleground constituencies. "Romney saw a bump in support among 18-29 year olds with 41 percent saying they would vote for the ticket of Romney and Ryan," said Zogby. "More importantly, Romney and Ryan led Obama and Biden among independent voters 45 percent to 40 percent." Added the pollsters: "If numbers like this hold, this could spell real trouble for the president who won with 66 percent of 18-29 year olds in 2008."

The Christian Science Monitor:

• Social Security: Surplus dwindling, huge shortfall looms. Social Security surplus is projected to run out in 2033, forcing a 25 percent cut in benefits. To fix Social Security, Congress would have to find $8.6 trillion.

Reuters:

• Copper extends losses.
• World powers weigh emergency meeting on food prices. Leading members of the Group of 20 nations are prepared to trigger an emergency meeting to tackle soaring grain prices caused by the worst U.S. drought in more than half a century and poor crops from the Black Sea bread basket.
• Spanish short-term yields rise as ECB doubts set in. Short-term Spanish government bond yields rose on Monday as investors reassessed the likelihood that the ECB would resume its bond-buying programme, taking the view that it may be too soon to expect intervention.
• After Olympics boost, Britons face austerity to 2020. After the party, the hangover looms: London's golden Olympics may soon be a distant memory as Britain returns to the reality of its economic mess and years of more belt tightening. The 2012 Games have lifted the nation's spirits, but the government has few alternatives to an austerity drive that may last for the rest of this decade - although some academics and economists believe yet more radical policies may be needed.

Telegraph:

• Olli Rehn warns of 'decisive juncture' in eurozone as he reveals 'economic and monetary union 2.0'. Olli Rehn, the vice-president of the European Commission, has warned that the eurozone is at a "decisive juncture" as he revealed his plans for "Economic and Monetary Union 2.0".

Der Spiegel:

• Investors Prepare for Euro Collapse. Banks, companies and investors are preparing themselves for a collapse of the euro. Cross-border bank lending is falling, asset managers are shunning Europe and money is flowing into German real estate and bonds. The euro remains stable against the dollar because America has debt problems too. But unlike the euro, the dollar's structure isn't in doubt.

Die Welt:

• German Banks Preparing for Potential Greece Euro Exit. Small- and medium-sized banks often lack a detailed response plan to Greece defaulting.
  

Beijing Times:

• China's property curbs have been affirmed in 16 provinces and cities by inspectors, citing the results of a nationwide inspection of property curbs' implementation.