Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• Euro-Area Industrial Production Expands Less Than Estimated. Euro-area industrial output expanded less than economists estimated in June as the currency bloc’s economy struggles to emerge from a record-long recession. Factory production in the 17-nation euro area rose 0.7 percent from May, when it decreased a revised 0.2 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That was less than the gain of 1 percent projected by economists, according to the median of 37 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. June production rose 0.3 percent from the year-earlier month, the first annual increase in 20 months. 
• European Stocks Climb as German Confidence Rises. European stocks gained for a fourth day, extending a 10-week high, as companies posted better-than-estimated earnings and German investor confidence climbed. EON SE rose the most in six weeks after Germany’s biggest utility posted first-half profit that exceeded analysts’ projections. GAM Holding AG, a Swiss asset manager, surged the most in four years as earnings more than tripled. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA led Italian banks higher as the nation’s 10-year yield premium over benchmark German bunds shrank to the lowest in two years. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 307.79 at the close of trading, the highest level since May 28.
• Dollar Gains as Increase in Retail Sales Boosts Fed-Taper Bets. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index added 0.6 percent to 1,026.25 at 2:42 p.m. New York time after rising 0.7 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Aug. 1.
• WTI Trades Near One-Week High on U.S. Supply, Mideast. WTI for September delivery advanced as much as $1.09 to $107.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $106.38 as of 12:52 p.m. London time. The volume of all futures traded was 8 percent above the 100-day average. Prices have climbed 16 percent this year. 
• Copper Rises for 3rd Session in 4 on Signs of Demand Gain. Copper futures for delivery in September rose 0.4 percent to settle at $3.317 a pound at 1:15 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after earlier climbing to $3.343, the highest for a most-active contract since June 7. Prices gained 4.2 percent last week, the most since September.
• Li & Fung Profit Misses Estimates on Weaker U.S. Demand. Li & Fung Ltd., the world’s largest supplier of clothes and toys to retailers, reported first-half profit that missed analyst estimates amid sluggish demand from U.S. retail customers.
• Nigerian Islamist Leader Vows Attacks as 56 People Killed. At least 56 people died in two attacks in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, as the leader of the militant Islamist Boko Haram group vowed to continue its fight against the country’s military. 
• Novartis Is Said to Be Out of Bidding for Onyx(ONXX). Novartis AG is out of the bidding for Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to a person familiar with the situation. Onyx’s current valuation made it too expensive for Novartis, said the person, who declined to be identified because the matter is private. Lori Melancon, a spokeswoman for Onyx, said the company wouldn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Novartis spokesman Eric Althoff also declined to comment.

Wall Street Journal:

• Citigroup(C) Seeks to Exit Alternative Investments Unit. Citi Infrastructure Investors Executives Sought Management Buyout of $3.4 Billion Fund.

Fox News:

• Distorted data? Feds close 600 weather stations amid criticism they're situated to report warming. Data from hundreds of weather stations located around the U.S. appear to show the planet is getting warmer, but some critics say it's the government's books that are getting cooked -- thanks to temperature readings from sweltering parking lots, airports and other locations that distort the true state of the climate.

CNBC: 

• A limit on consumer costs is delayed in health care law. In another setback for President Obama's health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care. 
• Too early to lay out asset-buying exit: Fed's Lockhart. U.S. economic performance remains too mixed for Federal Reserve policymakers to lay out a detailed path for reducing and eventually halting their asset-purchase stimulus plan at their September meeting, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.

Zero Hedge: 

• Modest Retail Sales Miss Means Taper On Deck, Furniture Sales Slide.(graph)
• Goldman(GS): "Without The Boost From Housing, Real GDP Growth Would Fall Below 1% This Year". (graph)
• Airline Stocks Monkeyhammered On News DOJ Seeks To Block American-US Airways Merger. 
• Europe's Riskiest Bonds Rally Most In 3 Weeks To 2 Year Low Spreads. (graphs)
• Carl Icahn Speaks (On Twitter): Reveals "Large Apple(AAPL) Position".
• Picturing The Dis-United States Of Europe. (graphs)
• Are We Re-Tracing A Market Peak? (graphs)

Business Insider:

• In Devastating Detail, JPM(JPM) Economist Explains Why The Growth Potential Of The United States Is Nothing Like It Used To Be.
• How The Emerging Markets Will Unravel As China Unwinds Its Debt.
• JPMorgan(JPM) And Goldman Sachs(GS) Are Playing Whack-A-Mole With Everyone Suing Them Over Their Metal Warehousing Businesses.
• CHART OF THE DAY: Low Trading Volume Has Been Quite Awesome For Stocks. (graph)

NY Post:

• Ripe for picking. BlackBerry(BBRY) looking to sell out to white knight. BlackBerry is searching for a strategic white knight with a big bankroll. The struggling smartphone company put itself on the sales block yesterday and hired JPMorgan to advise it, sending the shares up more than 10 percent. The Canadian firm is aiming ideally for a “Google-like” investor rather than a private-equity firm, The Post has learned.

Reuters:

• Zombie Banks in India. India's banks are starring into an abyss. Loans are soaring rapidly as the economy stalls. Meanwhile, rising bond yields are making it harder for lenders to absorb credit losses from current earnings.
• Lilly(LLY) lung cancer drug boosts survival, shares jump.

Telegraph:

• Investors euphoric as US margin debt reaches 'danger' levels. Fund managers are around the world are gripped by euphoria, convinced that America is in full recovery and Europe has overcome its debt crisis.

LiveMint.com:

• Jim Rogers: Why I’m shorting India. The hedge fund manager on the financial crisis, his bets for the future and his decision to be extremely negative about India in his just-released book.

Xinhua:

• China to Punish Extravagant Spending in Official Galas. All government departments should encourage frugal event planning, citing a government notice. No government funds should be used to invite high-cost entertainers. Those who create waster will be severely punished, the report said.