WSJ: What's Wrong With America's Job Engine?

ECONOMY JULY 27, 2011
What's Wrong With America's Job Engine?
Wary Companies Rely on Temps, Part-Timers, Hire Overseas
By DAVID WESSEL

Over the past 10 years:

• The U.S. economy's output of goods and services has expanded 19%.
• Nonfinancial corporate profits have risen 85%.
• The labor force has grown by 10.1 million.
• But the number of private-sector jobs has fallen by nearly two million.
• And the percentage of American adults at work has dropped to 58.2%, a low not seen since 1983.

WSJ: Obama Warns of Default Risk

POLITICS JULY 26, 2011
Obama Warns of Default Risk
President and Boehner Spar Over Competing Debt Plans as Deadline Approaches

With Congress deadlocked a week before the government runs out of cash to pay its bills, President Barack Obama warned Monday in his starkest terms yet that the U.S. is on the brink of a default that could trigger an economic upheaval.

NYT: U.S. Housing Prices Remain Weak

U.S. Housing Prices Remain Weak
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Published: July 26, 2011

Home prices in the United States rose slightly for the second consecutive month in May, but the real estate market still has a long way to go before a recovery, analysts said on Tuesday.

CNNMoney: Home prices dip 4.5%

Home prices dip 4.5%
By Les Christie July 26, 2011: 11:39 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- May home prices in 20 major cities dipped 4.5% from one year ago, marking a continued decline in the already battered housing market.

Bloomberg: U.S. June New-Home Sales Fall More Than Estimated to 312,000 Annual Pace

Related News: Bloomberg, US, Real Estate, Economy
U.S. June New-Home Sales Fall More Than Estimated to 312,000 Annual Pace

Sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly fell for a second month and a gauge of property values also dropped, showing the industry that sparked the recession is stagnating.

Greece: Improved Debt Sustainability

Greece: Improved Debt Sustainability

The EU Summit agreed a maturity extension and a reduction in the interest rates on both existing and new loans provided by the EFSF.

European Summit: A Yorktown Moment?

European Summit: A Yorktown Moment?

The EU summit may be a significant turning point in the eurozone crisis.

Bloomberg: Societe Generale Undermined by Greek Debt Crisis in Recovery from Kerviel

Related News: Finance, Europe, France, Executive, Markets Magazine
Societe Generale Undermined by Greek Debt Crisis in Recovery from Kerviel
By Richard Tomlinson and Fabio Benedetti-Valentini - Jul 26, 2011 6:15 AM GMT+0900
Bloomberg Markets Magazine

In a locked room on the 33rd floor of Societe Generale (GLE) SA’s 36-story headquarters in western Paris, members of the bank’s fraud control team peer at their computers, scrutinizing the trades being executed by dealers in eight trading rooms on the floors below.

WSJ: Forget About Black Swans, the One Floating Ahead is Neon

THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR JULY 23, 2011
Forget About Black Swans, the One Floating Ahead is Neon
By JASON ZWEIG

You've heard of black swans—events that are unthinkably rare, immensely important, and as unpredictable in advance as they are inevitable in hindsight. Now, with no one ruling out a default or downgrade of U.S. Treasury debt, investors face a new kind of threat: what we will call the neon swan, an event that is unthinkably rare, immensely important and blindingly obvious.

For Blackstone, Real Estate Now Giveth

http://online.wsj.com/

EARNINGS
July 22, 2011

For Blackstone, Real Estate Now Giveth

By GREGORY ZUCKERMAN And AMY OR

Blackstone Group LP, (BX) like many of its private-equity peers, suffered paper losses from the collapse of the property market. Now, surging real-estate profits are helping to drive gains for the private-equity powerhouse.