Private sector sheds 298,000 jobs in August: ADP

Date: Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:01:26 -0400

Private sector sheds 298,000 jobs in August: ADP

Employment in the U.S. private sector falls by 298,000 in August, according to
data based on a sampling of ADP-administered payrolls. While this
figure is the fewest in any month since last September, observers had
been holding for few private-sector job cuts.

WEEK-TO-WEEK MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS FALL 2.2%: MBA

Mortgage filings drop a seasonally adjusted 2.2% in the week ended
Aug. 28 compared with the week before, as lower interest rates offered
on home loans prove an insufficient lure for applicants, Mortgage
Bankers Association data show. Government-insured mortgages make up
40.4% of all applications filed for
August, the highest proportion seen since February 1991.

FDIC CHIEF: COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES A LOOMING PROBLEM

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chief Sheila Bair says commercial
mortgages may run more banks out of business this year and next.

WEDNESDAY'S BIGGEST GAINING AND DECLINING STOCKS

MDS, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, VeriFone and Alcatel-Lucent were among the
companies whose shares are making notable moves in Wednesday's stock market.

OIL AND GAS PRODUCERS BUCK LOWER LONDON TREND

Most U.K. stocks are weighed down by banking and mining shares, but BP paces
oil gainers after the firm boasts a major oil discovery.