I don't think I am breaking any news that you didn't expect, but the Associated Press announced that its monthly analysis of conditions around the country showed that economic difficulties continued during July.

The study showed that unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates didn't change when compared to June. In areas where the workforces are dependent upon agriculture, mining, wholesale trade, and finance, the economic stress eased. Unfortunately, retail and real estate employees saw higher distress during July. The study shows that roughly 54% of the 3,141 counties in the U.S. saw economic stress decline (24 of the 50 states).

As more and more newspapers trim costs and find alternative information sources with lower costs, the Associated Press has seen revenues dwindle. The internet has swooped in and replaced the newspaper in many ways, and although the AP is big into online content as well, it hasn't landed huge deals with any huge internet properties. That is, until now.

Associated Press has made it quite clear that the organization intends to put the hammer down on bloggers who quote that news service. As one who routinely quotes and links to Associated Press content, all I can say is, "Yeah, good luck with that."

At first, AP took a hard-line stance, demanding that one particular blog should remove seven pieces of content which featured quotes from AP articles and stating that bloggers across the internet should curtail the use of AP content. However, when faced with a swift backlash from a cross section of well-known and heavily-read bloggers, the news service took a big step back. The New York Times reported that Jim Kennedy, vice president and strategy director of The A.P., stated in an interview that the agency was "heavy-handed" and that A.P. would "rethink its policies toward bloggers."

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, content firms such as Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) are getting hammered, and there appears to be no letup in sight because while online traffic is up 60% a year over the last few years, those firm's shares are expensive and, says S&P's Scott Kessler, "There's plenty more room for [Akamai and Limelight] to fall."
• TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is looking at a new revenue source -- being paid to give out market research to advertisers, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company plans to announce today that it will add demographic data, including age, income, marital status and ethnicity, about its viewers.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Ford (NYSE: F) is likely to have to pay any buyer of its Jaguar and Land Rover units because of a $2B pension deficit, according to people close to the situation.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that Con Edison (NYSE: ED) was fined $18M for service disruptions in 2006, including the nine-day blackout in western Queens, NY.
• The Associated Press reported that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) is considering listing on the Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets, according to the company's CEO.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ: NDAQ) will acquire the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for $652M, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

OTHER PAPERS:

• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced yesterday that it fired Chief Information Officer Stuart L. Scott on Friday for violating company policies, although the company did not specify an exact reason for the dismissal, reported the Associated Press.
• Laurence Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), has met with the executive search firm responsible for filling the CEO vacancy at Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER). Fink is believed to be the leading candidate to become Merrill's CEO, according to the New York Times.

WEBSITES:

• GigaOM reported that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is kicking off its game-focused advertising initiative later this month, according to inside sources.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street," Frederick Cannon of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods says that Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) stock will "underperform" the market, and that they haven't indicated that they can "earn above its cost of capital" especially when future mortgage losses are unclear.
• Last month Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) reported a 61% fall in third quarter earnings and chairman and CEO James Cayne has announced that 300 staffers are being laid off, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• As a result of banking reforms in Japan, JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon says the bank is ready to make a significant acquisitions there, according to the Financial Times.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) intends to close six unnamed plants that the UAW wants to remain open, and the company is willing to compromise if the UAW agrees to certain concessions, reported the Associated Press.
• On the heels of a strong third quarter, mall developer Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) is in a buying mode, looking for troubled companies, reported the Indianapolis Star.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• If AT&T (NYSE: T) were to acquire EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) or DirectTV Group (NYSE: DTV), it's estimated that it would cost between $30B and $40B, and that should concern investors, according to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column.
• Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is signing up tens of thousands of new subscribers tor it FiOs high speed TV and Internet service, that uses fiber optics, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the push is threatening the cable industry.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported that Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) reported another $2.9B in write-downs today.
• Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is expected to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen company for measuring how many people are viewing TV ads on a second-by-second basis, reported the New York Times.
• Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan Motor Co (NASDAQ: NSANY) and Renault, continues to be interested in a partnership with a U.S. automaker, but says he 's not now speaking with anyone, reported the Associated Press.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace is investing heavily in games to go along with its successful music and video offerings, and beginning in January, thanks to a deal with games distributor Oberon, will offer hundreds of free "casual" games, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
  
• The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg overturned a law that had been on the books in Germany since 1960 to prevent hostile foreign takeovers, reported the Wall Street Journal. The immediate result is expected to be a takeover attempt by Porsche, a 31% holder of Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY) shares.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Mobile Telecom company France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) is close to creating a joint venture for long distance operations in India with Indian optical storage manufacturer Moser Baer, reported the Economic Times.
• British financial services company HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) is looking to sell Marbles, the online credit card business it acquired in 2003, reported the Independent.
• The first undersea telecommunications cable linking China and the U.S. -- called the Trans-Pacific Express -- has begun to be constructed, reports the Associated Press, and it's expected to be in place before the Beijing Olympics next July. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is involved and says the cable will be 11,000 miles long and cost about $500M.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In an interview with the Financial Times (subscription required), Carl Icahn said of Motorola (NYSE: MOT): "There is value there, and if that value doesn't manifest itself, I as an activist, would think very seriously about coming back."

OTHER PAPERS:

• Universal Music is in talks with Sony Corporation's (NYSE: SNE) Sony BMG and Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) over launching a music subscription service to be called Total Music, which would be free on certain devices, reported the Telegraph.
• While Emerging Memory Technologies CEO Sreedhar Natarajan would not confirm the deal, stating "I'm under a non-disclosure agreement," it is clear that EMT has been acquired by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM), the Ottawa Citizen reported.
• Lehman Brothers analyst Douglas Anmuth believes Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will launch a mobile phone similar to that of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone in February, reported the Independent.
• The Associated Press reported that Nomura Holdings (NYSE: NMR) announced that it will close its mortgage-backed securities business in the U.S., and expects a group pretax loss of between $240M and $510M for the quarter ended in September.

WEBSITES:

• According to Unstrung.com's sources in the finance community, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is expected to enter the WiMax arena before the end of the month, and Navini Networks is Cisco's preferred target.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has agreed to pay penalties totaling $15M to end a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by the Justice Department for the EPA, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• In 1992 Ecuador left OPEC, but this month is expected to rejoin the organization, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" section reported that Warren Buffett exercised call options to purchase 7.847M shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI).

OTHER PAPERS:

• The UK is going to purchase 140 armored vehicles from Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) for use in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.
• India's Reliance Retail has won the exclusive marketing and distribution rights for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stores in India. The first Apple-owned store in India is scheduled to open at the end of this month, reported the Economic Times.
• Independent movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE: LGF) has signed a partnership agreement with Mexican media conglomerate Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) to make movies and TV shows, and distribute Grupo's film library, reported the Los Angeles Times.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Sprint Nextel Corporation's (NYSE: S) investors are unhappy, and led by the activist investor Ralph Whitworth, are voicing their displeasure with chairman and CEO Gary Forsee and the company's board, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Merrill Lynch and Company (NYSE: MER) has fired several top executives as a result of the fallout from the credit crunch, The Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Associated Press reported that members of the United Automobile Workers union at two General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) locals have approved the union's tentative contract agreement with GM, local union officials said Wednesday.
• Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) has been ordered by a Delaware court to provide confidential information about its stock-granting practices to a Louisiana-based police pension fund that has invested in Countrywide, reported the Los Angeles Times.

WEBSITES:

• According to the Register, Alvarion Ltd (NASDAQ: ALVR) and Redline Performance Products (NASDAQ: REDL) are considered the most likely WiMAX companies to be acquired by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), but Airspan Networks (NASDAQ: AIRN), Aperto, and Navini have also been mentioned as possible acquisitions for the Internet networking giant.
• CNet.com reported that Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) is upgrading its e-mail system starting today with technology designed to block phishing, spam, and other fraudulent e-mails that look like they come from eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and PayPal, but actually don't.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Singapore Airlines deal to buy 15.7% of China Eastern Airlines (NYSE: CEA), along with their parent Temasek Holding's 8.3% share, may be in jeopardy as Cathay Pacific Airways is said to also be interested in China Eastern, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• As a part of its annual report to be released this week, BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) is expected to announce that it has uncovered potentially the largest gold reserves in the world at its South Australian Olympic Dam mine, reported the Herald Sun.
• According to the Washington Post, citing congressional investigators, the FBI is investigating technology company Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) after it allegedly failed to detect "cyber break-ins traced to a Chinese-language Web site and then tried to cover up its deficiencies."
• The Telegraph reported that British bank Barclays (NYSE: BCS) is reportedly preparing to sell FirstPlus, one of its subprime consumer loan units, at a loss. Barclays is expected to obtain a price lower than GBP4.5B, the book value of the unit's loan portfolio.
• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will tomorrow release its 'Halo 3' video game and the company expects over $150M in sales in the first 24 hours of its release, and a profit margin that could reach 90%, reported the Los Angeles Times.
• Housing slump or not, Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) CEO Frank Blake says there will be no large jobs cuts or store closings, reported the Associated Press.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader Extra" reported that Wall Street is eyeing the negotiations of the First Data Corp (NYSE: FDC) buyout, as there has been talk that Kravis Roberts might be willing to make some concessions to a bank group arranging financing for the purchase.
• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) has sent the UAW two proposals as their negotiations are nearing the deadline.
• With near record high oil prices, there are signs that OPEC may increase crude output 2%, or 500,000 barrels a day, as a gesture to comfort oil markets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Associated Press reported that EPR, a leftist guerrilla group, said they caused a number of explosions yesterday aimed at about six Mexican oil and gas pipelines, resulting in millions of dollars in lost production and unsettling financial markets.
• Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) is reportedly working with Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and a law firm to put together another multi-billion dollar bailout plan for Countrywide, the nation's largest home lender, reported the New York Post.
• Sir Martin Sorrell believes that WPP Group (NASDAQ: WPPGY), the company he has built and is currently the CEO of, is likely to appoint his successor from within the company, reported the Telegraph.

"All the News That's Fit to Print" has run at the top of the front page of the New York Times for decades. But, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is taking that a step further. It will begin to run a breath-taking amount of news from the Press Association of Britain, Canadian Press, Agence France-Presse and the AP. Google has licensed the feeds and will run the entire stories from the sources. It solves a dispute it has had with some news agencies which claimed that Google was using their headlines to draw users without compensating them as the content holders.

It also changes the Google News model. Google will no longer just run headlines. The stories from these four sources will no longer show up when they run in other media. AP stories are currently picked up by Google, even when they run at AP's newspaper partners. This has sent traffic to a number of newspaper websites, and that will traffic flow is very likely to be undermined.

Google's ability to run entire stories will also allow it to sell advertising on these news pages. Google News is currently "ad free."

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) is expected to soon announce another recall of toys made in China, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Merck and Co. Inc (NYSE: MRK) CFO Judy Lewent sold 200K shares for $10.3M from July 26 through Aug. 7, at an average price of $51.31 per share, reported Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column.
• The Royal Bank of Scotland (OTC: RBSPY)-led consortium seeking to purchase Dutch bank ABN Amro Holdings NV (NYSE: ABN) raised its stake in ABN to more than 3% between Friday and Monday, reported the Financial Times.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Independent reported that Barclays' (NYSE: BCS) bid for Dutch bank ABM Amro was approved by the Netherlands' Ministry of Finance yesterday.
• A highly publicized civilian nuclear deal with the U.S. still allows India to test nuclear weapons, according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reported the Associated Press.