via WSJ.com

Time to unfurl Old Glory and break out the red, white and blue boxer shorts.

Four years after China became the first country since 1992 to win more Olympic gold medals than the U.S., The Wall Street Journal’s medal projections for London suggest the Star-Spangled Banner will once again play more often than any other anthem.

And for the fifth consecutive Summer Games, the U.S. should finish atop theoverall medal table.

China’s victory in the gold-medal race in 2008 was supposed to herald the arrival of the newest Olympic superpower, a vast country with 1.3 billion people and a proven government-sponsored training program. Even at the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs, there was a growing sense that China would win the most gold and overall medals in 2012.

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via CNBC.com

Asian stocks edged down on Friday as weak U.S. economic data outweighed robust corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 index [.SPX  1376.51    3.73  (+0.27%)   ] rallied to a fresh 2-1/2 month peak overnight on a strong full-year outlook from IBM [IBM  195.34   7.09  (+3.77%)   ], bullish earnings from eBay [EBAY  43.95    3.49  (+8.63%)   ]and Qualcomm’s [QCOM  58.435    2.385  (+4.26%)   ] expectations for a strong December quarter. But weaker-than-expected readings on U.S. manufacturing, housing and labor markets capped gains.

The FTSE CNBC Asia 100 Index [.FTFCNBCA  6019.05    -14.26  (-0.24%)], which measures markets across Asia, dipped 0.3 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei share average slipped in early trade as a firmer yen offset positive sentiment after U.S. stocks, buoyed by corporate earnings, rose for a third straight day.

The Nikkei [.N225  8792.19    -3.36  (-0.04%)   ] eased 0.4 percent to 8,764.45, holding above its five-day moving average at 8,752.53, while the broaderTopix index was down 0.6 percent at 743.05.

Oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan retreated 0.4 percent after it shut the 220,000 barrels per day No. 2 crude distillation unit at its Chiba refinery, east of Tokyo, on Thursday evening after fire.

Toyota is close to an agreement to purchase light commercial vans from PSA Peugeot Citroen’s threatened Sevelnord plant in northern France, La Tribune reported. Its stock slipped 0.3 percent.

Seoul shares was flat as robust corporate earnings offset weak U.S. economic data.

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ZURICH/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of banks being investigated in an interest rate rigging scandal are looking to pursue a group settlement with regulators rather than face a Barclays-style backlash by going it alone, people familiar with the banks’ thinking said.

Such discussions are preliminary, and it is unclear if regulators will enter these talks, aimed at resolving allegations that banks attempted to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, a benchmark that underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars in contracts.

Still, there are powerful incentives for the banks to enter joint negotiations.

Barclays Plc was the first to settle with U.S. and British regulators, paying a $453 million penalty and admitting to its role in a deal announced June 27. Its chief executive, Bob Diamond, abruptly quit the next week, bowing to public pressure and erosion of the bank’s reputation.

The sources told Reuters that none of the banks involved now want to be second in line for fear that they will get similarly hostile treatment from politicians and the public. Bank discussions about a group settlement initially took place before the Barclays agreement, and picked back up in the aftermath.

It is unclear which banks are involved in the potential settlement talks. The banks being investigated include Citigroup, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase. They all declined to comment.

A group agreement would appeal to financial watchdogs because they would be able to announce a headline-grabbing figure, showing that they were dealing firmly with the banking industry’s misdemeanors, a banker told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hotter-than-average temperatures are expected over the vast majority of the contiguous 48 U.S. states in August, with below-average precipitation for Midwest areas already hit by the worst drought in a half century, the government said on Thursday.

After the hottest half-year on record in the United States, hotter, drier conditions from the Southwest, through the Midwest and across the East Coast from Florida to Maine are forecast to continue through October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Drought hit 29 U.S. states, with Texas feeling the heaviest impact, followed by Colorado, Missouri, Florida, New Mexico, Arkansas, Indiana and Hawaii.

The word is going out quietly to Republican activists across New Jersey: If you’re going to the GOP convention in Tampa next month, be sure to be there by Tuesday night, Aug. 28, because Gov. Chris Christie is going to be giving the keynote speech that night.
“We’ve been told that’s the night to be there, that’s when the governor is going to speak. They’re saying he’s the keynoter,” one top party activist told The Post yesterday.

NYPOST.com

read the full results here 

(CNSNews.com) — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by yet another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The illegal-alien flight-school attendees including eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO.

Six of the illegal aliens were actually able to get pilot’s licenses.

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Social networks are rife with online polls, but beginning as early as next week, residents of Washington State will have a new way to sign up for the real things, when Washington becomes the first US state to allow citizens to register to vote via Facebook.

“In this age of social media and more people going online for services, this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered,” Shane Hamlin, Washington’s co-director of elections, told the Associated Press.

The state has collaborated with Facebook and Microsoft to build an app that lets voters register from right within the social network. Users will also be able to “like” the app to recommend it to their friends.

Washington – not to be confused with Washington, DC, the US capital – is currently one of only 13 states that allow voters to register online. So far, they have been able to do so via the state-run “My Vote” website, and for the most part it has worked out well.

A 2010 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that online voter registration was popular in Washington, with nearly all respondents saying they found the system easy to use and that they would recommend it to others. Furthermore, voters who registered online were more likely to actually vote in elections than those who registered using traditional means.

The problem, the Pew study found, was that most Washington voters simply did not know that web-based registration was possible. In 2010, only 27 per cent of registered Washington voters knew about the online system.

Adding Facebook-based registration as a second online option could help get the word out to many more potential voters, particularly younger ones, though whether they will be able to tear themselves away from FarmVille long enough to cast their ballots remains to be seen.

The Department of State has issued this Worldwide Caution to update information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. U.S. citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. This replaces the Worldwide Caution dated January 24, 2012, to provide updated information on security threats and terrorist activities worldwide.

The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas. Current information suggests that al-Qaida, its affiliated organizations, and other terrorist organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bombings.

Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons, and target both official and private interests. Examples of such targets include high-profile sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas, and other tourist destinations both in the United States and abroad where U.S. citizens gather in large numbers, including during holidays.

U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Extremists have targeted and attempted attacks on subway and rail systems, aviation, and maritime services. In the past, these types of attacks have occurred in cities such as Moscow, London, Madrid, Glasgow, and New York City.

via CNBC.com

Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman told the audience at Delivering Alpha that his fund would take an activist role in Proctor & Gamble.

“We’re going to take a hard look to see if we can add any value” to Proctor & Gamble [PG 64.82    0.04  (+0.06%)   ], Ackman said.

Perhsing Square, a hedge fund with roughly $10 billion under management, has been a large and active investor in Canadian Pacific Railway [CP  74.88    0.01 (+0.01%)   ] and retailer J.C. Penney [JCP  19.71    0.46  (+2.39%)   ].

Earlier in the day, Ackman had told investors in a letter that it sold itsCitigroup[C  27.10    -0.28  (-1.02%)   ] shares to help build a stake in Procter & Gamble. Ackman told CNBC his fund owns about $1.8 billion dollars worth of stock in P&G.

Ackman revealed that his fund owns $1.8 billion worth of stock in the company.

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Hat Tip: @BrokeHerman on Twitter for the story lead…

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., are close to a deal on legislation to legalize online poker while tightening restrictions on other forms of Internet gaming and are seeking Republican support for the agreement, according to Reid and a Democratic aide.

“Here’s the issue, Sen. Kyl and I’ve worked very hard. What we need to do is get some Republican support. That hasn’t been forthcoming yet,” Reid told Tech Daily Dose on Tuesday. He did not elaborate on where negotiations stand, but a Democratic aide said Reid and Kyl are close to a deal and are now trying to solicit GOP support.

The Democratic aide said Reid is looking to his fellow Nevada senator, Republican Dean Heller and Kyl to sell the deal to other Republicans.

Kyl was one of the authors of a 2006 law that aimed to curb online gambling by barring banks, credit card companies and others from processing payments for online bets.

Federal authority over online gambling, however, was tossed into limbo late last year after the Justice Department released an opinion reversing its interpretation of the 1961 federal Wire Act and said it no longer believed the law barred all Internet gambling. In response to state inquiries, Justice said in the memorandum that the Wire Act only applies to sports bets.

READ THE REST HERE AT TECHDAILYDOSE.COM

USA! USA!

via CNBC.com

Developing…

While the year-on-year figure missed expectations, sequential data showed some strength, beating projections by 20 basis points at a 1.8 percent gain.

Here are the key figures:

Real GDP (YoY): +7.6%

Real GDP (QoQ): +1.8%

Industrial Production (YoY): +10.5%

Retail Sales (YoY): +13.7%

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-q2-gdp-2012-7#ixzz20SqzsF8A

via Ed Thomas @ forexlive.com 

via CNBC

Traders on Wall Street are always looking to get an edge and pull ahead, especially in this catch-a-falling knife market. The latest secret weapon isn’t some complex trade or computer algorithm, it’s something more primal — testosterone.

M.G. Mooij | Getty Images I can take this kid!

Testosterone has been blamed for many a bar fight but some aging traders and executives — and aging on Wall Street means 30 and up — who feel these young kids breathing down their necks and the economic screws tightening, say boosting their testosterone levels has helped them get their edge back.

Testosterone levels in men tend to be anywhere from 150 to 850 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL), depending on age and other factors. Testosterone levels typically start to decline after age 30. For some men, as they get older, those levels fall to 200 or below. “Low T” as its been branded, has been attributed to that sluggish feeling, muscle aches, belly fat, low stamina, low sex drive and lack of focus that many just attribute to the aging process.
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Hat Tip: @StockSage1 on Twitter

via Bloomberg

Italy’s bond rating was cut and its negative outlook reiterated by Moody’s Investors Service as the euro area’s third-biggest economy faces higher funding costs and contagion risk from Greece and Spain.

The ratings company lowered Italy’s government bond rating by two steps to Baa2 from A3, citing a greater risk of a Greek exit from the euro and the Spanish banking system experiencing greater credit losses, according to a statement released in Frankfurt today. That makes Italy’s rating the same as those of Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Brazil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Italy’s near-term economic outlook has deteriorated, as manifest in both weaker growth and higher unemployment, which creates risk of failure to meet fiscal consolidation targets,” Moody’s said. “Failure to meet fiscal targets in turn could weaken market confidence further, raising the risk of a sudden stop in market funding.”

The euro fell toward a two-year low after the downgrade. The 17-nation currency bought $1.2189 as of 9:06 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.2203 yesterday in New York, when it touched $1.2167, the least since June 2010.

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Developing...

Asian shares edged up in cautious trade on Friday, as the market braces for Chinese GDP data that is likely to show a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Economists polled by Reuters expect China’s April-June economic growth, due around 0200 GMT, to have slowed to 7.6 percent from 8.1 percent in the previous quarter.

Worries are increasing that slower growth in top economies such as China will lead to more profit warnings, overshadowing hopes of any boost from additional policy measures around the world.

The FTSE CNBC Asia 100 Index [.FTFCNBCA  5824.04    0.18  (+0%)], which measures markets across Asia, was flat.

READ REST HERE AT CNBC