MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" is inclined to take profits in the disk-drive market while others are popping the champagne; specifically in Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC), which Barron's wrote about positively four months ago and has appreciated 29.6%.
• Emerging markets are outperforming their U.S. and European counterparts this year, but investing in some countries -- including Turkey and Hungary -- is still risky, according to the "Heard on the Street" column in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Russian oil company Lukoil Holding (OTC: LUKOY), which is 20% owned by ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), is planning a $9B European spending spree.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Los Angeles Times reported that Washington Mutual Inc (NYSE: WM), the largest U.S. savings and loan bank, will close two mortgage divisions, resulting in about 1,000 job cuts.
• Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF) said it is in talks with Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) concerning the right to sell the company's new phone, the iPhone, in Spain, next summer, Telecom Paper (subscription required) reported.

WEBSITES:

• A rumored partnership between Apple and Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY) to develop an "iCar" with iPod connectivity could benefit both companies but is unlikely to yield an actual automobile for three or four years, according to market intelligence firm iSuppli Corp., reported AppleInsider.com.

According to TUAW, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will be holding an analyst/press event next Tuesday, August 7th. The focus of the event will be the Mac computer. What is likely to be discussed?

• New iMacs -- there is speculation that there will be new 20" and 24" models, and that the 17" model will be discontinued.
• iLife '08, iWork '08 -- there is also talk that Jobs will demonstrate these two long-awaited software programs.
• New slim keyboards -- we will also likely see if the new slimmer iMac keyboard is a reality or a fraud.

Fact is, Apple can use a little positive, non-iPhone related news, as the stock has been on edge with every whisper of the too-early-to-tell-if-it's-a-success iPhone. Whatever is announced, expect the Mac fan boys and girls to go wild.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI), used a pseudonym to blog about his company on Yahoo message boards for eight years, including panning rival Wild Oats Markets Inc (NASDAQ: OATS), which Whole Foods is trying to buy.
• Carl Icahn's American Real Estate Partners new offer of $37.25 a share for Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA), supported by the Lear board, has been rejected by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Service, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" column reported that two institutional investors, Buckingham Capital Investment and Morgan Stanley, have sold about 3.2M shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc (NYSE: BBW), as they feel the company won't get much more of a premium as a takeover target, if private equity is still even interested at all.
• JP Morgan Chase and Company (NYSE: JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) have obtained key roles advising Apollo Management on its expected IPO, reported the Financial Times (subscription required).

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to representatives from Congress, exclusivity deals like Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) multi-year iPhone contract with phone provider AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) trap customers, forcing the users to stay with the providers as long as they want to continue using certain devices, reported AppleInsider.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that E.On AG (NYSE: EON), the German utility, today raised its takeover offer for Spain's Endesa (ELE) to EUR40 a share, valuing the utility at about EUR42.36B.
• Also in the Wall Street Journal, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) is expected to cut 15,000 jobs under its restructuring plan.
• According to the Financial Times (subscription required), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI) is seeking a strategic investor and has named Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) to assist in the process.
• The Financial Times also reported that Saudi Basic is preparing a bid for General Electrics Company (NYSE: GE) GE Plastics division, that could be worth up to $12B.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Blackberry maker Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is getting a line of mobile games from Gameloft, a leading cell phone games maker, reported the New York Times.
• The Los Angeles Times reported that Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) is said to be favoring Sam Zell's $33 per share offer for the company, according to a person familiar with the talks.
• The Sunday Telegraph reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is preparing to launch a range of audio and video phones.

WEBSITES:

• According to AppleInsider.com, Jeff Hansen, Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Senior Director of Channel Sales and Distribution, told colleagues in a company e-mail that he plans to retire from his post effective March 31st.
• According to ChinaTechNews.com, China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) will reportedly sell is CDMA business for RMB70 billion to China Telecom Corporation Limited (NYSE: CHA), but China Telecom reportedly wants the price cut by RM35 billion.

Last week, PortalPlayer released news that it would not be supplying its digital chips for the next version of the iPod Nano. The report implied that Apple would be redesigning the guts of the tiny but wildly popular music device and spurred interest in potential details.

Now, the first reports are surfacing which provide some details on when the new Nano will be released and what design features it might possess. AppleInsider is reporting that a release date may be scheduled for September in time for the Christmas buying splurge.

The report also suggests that the new Nano will have a "significant internal redesign" which leaves those of us who obsessively follow new Apple products to speculate on which companies might be tapped to supply the replacement chips.