Bloomberg:- The Italian economy grew at the fastest pace in more than four years in the second quarter, pulling the country out of recession and back on course to grow this year.
- The UN nuclear watchdog will vote on a resolution criticizing Iran’s resumption of uranium processing activities today.
- Pfizer said it is revamping its consumer marketing, including educating doctors for at least six months about new medicines before beginning television and print ads.
- Qualcomm agreed to buy Flarion Technologies for as much as $805 million to increase sales of modems and chips for high-speed wireless networks.
- US Treasuries are rising after demand from international investors rose for the first time this week at an auction by the Treasury.
- Crude oil is rising to a record $66 a barrel in NY after the IEA reduced its estimate of output by Russia and other non-OPEC producers.
- The US dollar dropped to a 10-week low against the euro and fell the weakest since June versus the yen after a government report showed US retail sales in July grew less than forecast.
Wall Street Journal:- US credit-card issuers such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup’s Citibank and Bank of America are raising their maximum late-payment penalty rates past 30%, as the cost of using the cards rises.
- The revised US bankruptcy law with tighter rules on debtors that takes effect Oct. 17 may prompt companies to file for bankruptcy earlier than they had considered.
- US economists, including those from universities and even the Federal Reserve, have started “blogging,” posting their thoughts on all manner of subjects on the Internet.
- Cell phone text messaging, popular in China and Europe, is beginning to find favor among US consumers.
NY Times:- Michael Powell, former chief of the FCC, is joining private equity firm Providence Equity Partners.
- Goldman Sachs reversed an earlier decision and now plans to build a $2 billion office opposite NY’s former World Trade Center site.
- US food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo have ordered scientists to try to find food ingredients that have either less fat, white flour, sugar and salt, or healthier components such as whole grains, fiber and fish oil.
Detroit News:- Ford Motor will produce new Lincoln models at a plant in Atlanta.
Star-Ledger:- New Jersey said 851 public schools failed to meet performance test standards last year, up from 585 schools the year before.
Chicago Tribune:- Sears Holdings has posted about 90 help-wanted notices for executive positions on job Web site Monster.com
Newsweek:- Cingular Wireless LLC and Time Warner’s HBO network are in talks to provide HBO shows on Cingular phones.
Reuters:- DirectTV Group will stop marketing TiVo’s digital video recorders this year and replace them with its own products.
