** MORNING WRAP **

** US MARKETS **
Dow 0,89%; Nasdaq 1,96%; S&P 1,04%; Soxx 3,77%; Russel2k 2,39%; DJAIG 0,6%;
10yr Bond 0,01%; 10yr Yield 4,77%; Crude future 63,95; Gold 582,08

| ConsDisc 2,4%| Technology 1,88%| Financials 1,21%| Healthcare 1,16%| Materials
1,09%| Telecom 1,08%| Industrials 0,95%| ConsStaples 0,14%| Energy -0,64%|
Utilities -0,67%

** US: IN PLAY TODAY **
– Crude Oil Trades Near a FiveMonth Low After IEA Lowers Demand Forecast

- New York Times Co. rose 86 cents, or 3.9 percent,
to $23.14 in extended trading. The third-largest U.S. newspaper
publisher said it plans to sell its broadcast media group,
including nine U.S. television stations, to focus on building
revenue at its newspapers and Web sites. The business accounted
for about 4 percent of revenue last year, the company said.

- The August Treasury Budget (-$67.0 bln consensus) is the only scheduled
economic release (20:00 CET), but it’s unlikely the report will have a major
impact on trade, while the Energy Depts weekly oil report, in contrast, will
garner added attention when it hits the wires at 16:30 CET, especially with oil
prices at their lowest levels since March. Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH)
reports before the market open and will be closely watched by investors after
Goldman Sachs Group (GS) reported better-than-expected earnings. Brady
Corp. (BRC) and OSI Systems (OSIS) also report tomorrow before the open.

** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei 0,16%; Kospi 0,55%; HSI 0,84%; Taiwan 0,59%; China 0,91%; India 1,36%;
Thailand 1,52%; Australia 0,62%

** ASIAN HEADLINES **
– Bank of Japan to Gradually Raise Interest Rates, Board Member Mizuno Says
- Ping An Insurance May Raise $2.5 Billion in China Share Sale, People Say
- Asian Stocks Gain on Cheaper Oil; Toyota Motor, Samsung Electronics Climb
- Larsen & Toubro to Spend $400 Million on Shipbuilding in India, Naik Says
- China’s Industrial Production Grows at Slowest Pace in 17 Months on Curbs
- Singapore’s Casino Beats Las Vegas in Attracting Cheaper Bank Financing
- Petrobras May Invest in Exxon’s Okinawa Refinery to Target Sales in China
- Medco to Seek Oil in Iraq, Algeria as Indonesian Opportunities Diminish
- Australia’s Lafayette Mining Secures 60-Day Permit to Run Philippine Mine
- Mongolia May Repeal 4-Month-Old Excess Profit Tax Law for Mining Companies
- Yen May Climb After Bank of Japan’s Mizuno Signals Higher Interest Rates
- Gold in Asia Falls for the Sixth Day, Pacing Decline in Crude Oil Futures

** EUROPE: IN PLAY TODAY **
- Electrolux May Be Target of Leveraged Buyout, Credit-Default Swaps Show
- Unemployment in U.K. Probably Rose to Four-Year High on Surge in Migration
- U.K. Households Struggle to Meet Monthly Mortgage Payments, Times Reports

- Boliden AB: BHP Billiton Plc made an offer of 205
kronor ($28.14) a share for Boliden, newspaper Dagens Industri
reported on its Web site, citing unidentified people familiar
with the matter. The offer was made to Boliden’s board via
Goldman, Sachs & Co., BHP Billiton’s investment bank, the
newspaper said. Ulf Soederstroem, a spokesman for Boliden,
declined to confirm or deny any contacts with possible bidders.

- Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA: Spain’s biggest
airline said passenger traffic rose 3 percent in August from a
year earlier. Iberia added 1 cent, or 0.5 percent, to 1.94 euros.

- Linde AG: The world’s biggest industrial-gases
maker is in talks with rival Airgas Inc. to sell U.S. operations
it must dispose of after acquiring BOC Group Plc, Financial Times
Deutschland said, citing unidentified people close to the talks.

- MAN AG: Scania AB, Sweden’s second-largest
truckmaker said it has ``reasonable grounds’’ to assume German
competitor MAN AG will make a takeover bid.

- RWE AG: Europe’s third-largest utility is more
likely to invest in small or medium-sized companies than larger
ones, Chief Executive Officer Harry Roels said.

- Total SA: Europe’s third-largest oil company will
invest 400 million euros and cut 300 jobs by 2011 at its French
petrochemical unit to improve profitability.