TOP STORIES 
 
REYNOLDS AMERICAN, LORILLARD CONFIRM MERGER TALKS 

Reynolds American is in talks to buy smaller rival Lorillard, both companies confirmed, in a multibillion-dollar deal that would reshape the U.S. tobacco industry and create a more-powerful No. 2 to industry leader Altria Group.

 
WELLS FARGO'S PROFIT EDGES UP 
 

Wells Fargo said its 2Q profit rose to $5.73 billion, even as revenue declined 1.5% to $21.07 billion. Shares were down 2% as a key measure of lending profitability declined and the bank's cost-cutting progress stalled.

 
U.S. STOCKS INCH LOWER 
 

U.S. stock benchmarks were mostly lower, putting them on track for their biggest weekly loss since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 30 points.

 
AMAZON ASKS FAA FOR PERMISSION TO FLY DRONES 
 

Amazon.com formally requested permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to start testing drones, an important step toward the online retail giant's goal to use the devices to deliver packages.

 
AMID ROCKET ATTACKS, ISRAEL TRADES FIRE WITH LEBANON 
 

Israel traded fire with Lebanon and an Israeli gas station burst into flames after a rocket strike as the conflict between Israel and Hamas stretched into another day.

 
FED'S PLOSSER SAYS U.S. POLICYMAKERS ARE CONFLICTED 
 

Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said that the nation's policymakers are deeply conflicted about how much risk taking they want in the economy.

 
ECB RAISES CONCERNS ON USE OF COMPUTER-BASED FOREX TRADING 
 

Some officials at the ECB raised concerns linked to the increasing popularity of complex computer programs that investors and others use to trade currencies at an industry meeting earlier this week.

 
SEC SUSPENDS TRADING IN CYNK TECHNOLOGY 
 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it had suspended trading in Cynk Technology, the former penny stock whose market capitalization shot up to more than $6 billion yesterday.

 
U.S. CONSUMER WATCHDOG DEMANDS INFORMATION FROM EXPERIAN 
 

A U.S. consumer watchdog has demanded information from Experian as it investigates whether companies that provide information about consumers' credit worthiness are engaging in unlawful practices.

 
CHINA LABELS IPHONE A SECURITY THREAT 
 

China's influential state broadcaster called a location-tracking function offered by Apple's iPhone a "national security concern," in the latest sign of a backlash in the country against U.S. technology firms.

 
INVESTORS PULL 20% OF ASSETS FROM BOAZ WEINSTEIN FUND 
 

Boaz Weinstein, the hedge-fund manager noted for his public wager against J.P. Morgan Chase's "London whale" trader, saw investors pull nearly 20% of the assets in his main fund at the end of the first half of this year.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
Heard on the Street 
A CASH HEADACHE FOR COMPANIES 
 

After the financial crisis, companies built strong cash buffers to ride out the storm, but that comfort has come at a cost to corporate treasurers grappling with the consequences of ultra-loose monetary policy, writes Richard Barley.

 
The Wall Street Journal 
IMMIGRANT CHILDREN FACE A LONG JOURNEY UPON ARRIVAL 
 

The case of Jordi Castanon, who illegally crossed into the U.S. at the age of 15 in 2009 from Guatemala, shows how the adjudication process for immigrant children can be stretched out for years.