Stocks Drop in Global Pullback; U.S. Economy Is Still Sputtering (WashPost)

Reaction from one investment strategist: ""Whether it's the facts catching up with the expectations or the expectations catching up with the facts, I'm not sure which." You can those words to the bank. WSJ speculation, Telegraph (U.K.) on fears that rally's over; Seeking Alpha's The Mole on the bear.

Foreclosures Rise With Unemployment Rate (WashPost)

"The country's growing unemployment is overtaking subprime mortgages as the main driver of foreclosures, threatening to send even higher the number of borrowers who will lose their homes and making the foreclosure crisis far more complicated to unwind." In the first quarter, prime foreclosures outnumbered subprime ones.

Squeaking by on $300,000 (WashPost)

Droll profile of one Laura Steins in ritzy NYC suburb Harrison: "[S]he's months overdue for a visit to her colorist, a telltale sign of economic distress for a woman such as Steins."

Fox News on pace for best year ever (AP)

Sailing on its swift boat with its three Gilligans — little buddies Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity — Fox has seen its viewership rise 11 percent from last year. CNN and MSNBC are down.

MORE HEADLINES FOLLOW

Most health industry players would win under overhaul (Kaiser Health News)

The health industries were "understandably nervous" about the Democrats' overhaul plans, but the anxiety was "misplaced" because hospitals, health insurers and drug companies "are likely to benefit — some handsomely — over the long term." Putting it in terms that those of you without good health insurance can understand, insurer-funded lobby exec Nancy Chockley says, "Everyone has been nicked a little bit, but they are all flesh wounds."

Tax Bills Put Pressure on Struggling Homeowners (NYT)

"Investors buy tax liens from local governments and charge high interest rates and thousands of dollars in fees."

Backdating Likely More Widespread (WSJ)

"The majority of companies that improperly backdated stock options never were caught or confessed, according to an academic study." What a shock.

Chapter 11 Is Next Page for Reader's Digest (WSJ)

The little magazine that for decades was a staple for constipated readers has itself gone down the toilet. Also wiped out is the entire $1.6 million investment by private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings and its partners.

3 Indicted in Theft of 130 Million Card Numbers (NYT)

Suspects are a 28-year-old Miami schemer "and two unnamed Russian conspirators." Largest case of computer crime and identity theft ever prosecuted, this story says.

Brazil Seeks More Control of Oil Beneath Its Seas (NYT)

Development of huge deep-sea oil discovery will be controlled by Petrobras, not foreign oil companies.

It's a Deal: Strasburg, Nationals Agree (WashPost)

Washington Nationals turn over $15.1 million seconds before their time ran out to sign San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg. What a gamble. As justbet.com notes, the last college pitcher to get so much guaranteed money was Mark Prior, who "raked in $10.5 million before ever putting on a Cubs jersey." Prior's career, by the way, briefly flamed, but an astounding number of injuries destroyed it. He was released from his latest contract, a minor-league one, on August 1.

SEC Delays Action on Restricting Short Sales (WashPost)

Tough talk in April has evaporated in August. The SEC supposedly "has not settled on an approach." More likely that Wall Street's close friends in the Obama administration aren't eager to fuck around with the market this way.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Executive Pay (NYT)

Jones v. Harris Associates may to be the court's first big statement on a culture that contributed to the recession.

Clarifying America's No-Win Economic Dilemma (Seeking Alpha, Stephen Leeb)

Our days as the planet's economic superpower are over, so don't look for us to resume our previously exalted status at the end of this recession. Look at the link between commodities and growth.

The Untouchable (New Yorker, Ben McGrath)

"After seven and a half years in office, Michael Bloomberg has amassed so much power and respect that he seems more a Medici than a mayor ..."