Reuters:   The Congressional Oversight Panel said the Treasury should do more to get toxic assets off bank balance sheets.

Reuters:   A federal judge still refuses to sign off on an SEC deal with Bank of America (BAC) and the SEC to settle charges regarding Merrill Lynch bonus payments.

Reuters:   Rio Tinto (RTP) says that there is no evidence against its employees detained in China.

Reuters:   Facebook bought social media start-up FriendFeed.

Reuters:   US home prices fell in Q2 but the pace slowed.

Reuters:   Deals in which buyers used distress debt to take control of companies rose to $84.4 billion in 2009.

Reuters:   State Street (STT) said it legal reserves may be inadequate.

Reuters:   Banks which have fired huge numbers of employees now find themselves short of people for key positions.

Reuters:   GE (GE) said bids are coming in for its water division.

WSJ:   The SEC is stepping up its enforcement activity, in part to repair its damaged reputation.

WSJ:   As Wall St. fired employees, second tier firms are getting some of their best traders.

WSJ:   There are two sides to the results of Verizon’s (VZ) deal making.

WSJ:   China National Petroleum Corp. and Cnooc have made a $17 billion bid for all of Repsol YPF SA’s stake in YPF, its Argentine unit.

WSJ:   Car dealers are having trouble filling their lots due to the “cash for clunkers” offers.

WSJ:   Executive pay at government contractors is growing.

WSJ:   A large holder of Lenovo is trying to sell its share.

WSJ:   An increase in productivity may signal an end to the recession or it may be a misleading number.

WSJ:   Options traders are betting on a recovery of shares in Best Buy (BBY).

WSJ:   Australia’s appetite for investment from China is being tested by the Rio Tinto (RTP) case.

WSJ:   Barnes & Noble  (BKS) is buying a college-bookstore chain  from chairman Riggio for $596 million, a move to bolster cash flow

WSJ:   GM’s talks to sell Saab are on track.

WSJ:   Brazil’s car industry is expanding rapidly.

WSJ:   Priceline (PCLN) has a sharp increase in earnings.

WSJ:   American college graduates are finding jobs in China.

WSJ:   Data from China shows it is slowly climbing out of a recession.

WSJ:   McDonald’s (MCD) posted another rise in sales.

FT:   The New York Fed is on a hiring spree.

FT:   This week will test US bond investors with $75 billion in debt sales.

FT:   Bank lending in China dropped sharply in July.

Bloomberg:   Exports and lending in China fell according to new data.

Bloomberg:   Bank of Japan kept its key rate at .1%.

Bloomberg:   The TARP oversight panel said smaller US banks may have to add to reserves.

Douglas A. McIntyre