TOP STORIES 
 
U.S. ECONOMY GROWS 3.7%, FASTER THAN FIRST ESTIMATED 

The U.S. economy expanded at a brisker pace than initially thought in the second quarter as businesses ramped up spending.

MARKET RECOVERY GAINS STEAM 

Stocks in the U.S., Europe and Asia rose sharply, building on a rebound that began after reassuring comments from central bankers and positive U.S. economic data.

GOOGLE REBUFFS EUROPEAN UNION ON ANTITRUST CHARGES 

Google rebuffed the European Union's demand that it change the way it ranks online comparison-shopping services in its search results, setting up a potentially drawn-out legal battle.

OIL SURGES WITH STOCKS 

Oil prices surged to their biggest one-day rally since January on Thursday as gains in global stock and commodity markets and positive U.S. economic data spurred a rebound for a market that has been trading at six-year lows.

PENDING HOME SALES INDEX RISES 

The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index rose 0.5% in July from the previous month.

DOLLAR GENERAL EARNINGS EDGE ABOVE EXPECTATIONS 

Dollar General Corp.'s profit edged above expectations for its second quarter, though revenue growth missed views despite continued gains in store traffic and transaction value.

FDA WARNS CIGARETTE MAKERS ON 'NATURAL' LABELING 

The FDA sent warning letters targeting the owners of top-10 cigarettes brands Winston and Natural American Spirit for violating federal law by marketing the brands as "additive-free" or "natural."

FREEPORT-MCMORAN CUTS CAPEX 29% 

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. on Thursday cut its capital spending plans for 2016 by 29% and said it would reduce head count at U.S. mining operations as copper prices near six-year lows.

PBOC USES UNUSUAL TOOL TO TAME YUAN FALL EXPECTATIONS 

Intervention by the People's Bank of China caused U.S. dollar-yuan foreign exchange swaps to fall sharply.

GREECE CLOSER TO FORMAL ELECTION CALL 

Greece is set to officially begin its second election campaign period of the year, after opposition parties, as expected, conceded they can't assemble a ruling majority in parliament to replace the outgoing government of Alexis Tsipras.

LILLY LUNG-CANCER DRUG STIRS PRICE DEBATE 

An experimental Eli Lilly & Co. lung-cancer drug hasn't reached the market, but some doctors are already weighing in on how much it should cost-arguing the price should be below average because the drug extended patient lives by only six to seven weeks in a clinical trial.

KANSAS CITY FED INDEX DECLINES IN AUGUST 

Conditions for plains states manufacturers continued to decline in August, as weak oil and gas activity along with a stronger dollar continued to weigh on regional factories.

MEDICAL-DEVICE COMPANY GREATBATCH TO BUY LAKE REGION MEDICAL 

Medical-device company Greatbatch has agreed to buy Lake Region Medical for about $730 million in cash and stock to expand in advanced-surgical and interventional cardiology.

U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL AS LABOR MARKET REMAINS STRONG 

The number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market remains healthy.

TOTAL SELLS ASSETS WORTH $905 MILLION 

French oil company Total has agreed to sell a gas pipeline and gas terminal in the North Sea to North Sea Midstream Partners for 585 million pounds ($905 million) as it battles against the oil price collapse.

SAIC BLAMES SLOWING CHINA ECONOMY FOR REDUCED PROFIT GAIN 

SAIC Motor, China's largest auto maker by sales, said its first-half net profit rose just 4.4% from a year earlier, reeling from slowing sales volumes and falling car prices.

ABSOLUT DRAG: PERNOD WRITES DOWN ITS VODKA 

Pernod Ricard took a hefty write-down on its struggling Absolut vodka brand, leading to a 15% drop in fiscal full-year profit.

ECB'S COEURÉ  SAYS MONETARY POLICY ALONE WON'T BRING STRONG GROWTH 

European Central Bank executive board member Benoî t Coeuré says cheap energy and monetary policy alone won't bring strong growth.

UKRAINE CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE 

Ukraine's central bank lowered its key interest rate, saying slowing inflation meant "it is possible to start a softening of monetary-credit policy."

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK EARNINGS BEAT EXPECTATIONS 

Toronto-Dominion Bank posted fiscal third-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat analyst expectations, with results powered by higher profits in its retail and wholesale banking divisions.

 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
Business 
ADVISERS HELP INVEST CASH DURING STOCK PLUNGE 
 

The stock market's sharp drop on Monday presented an opportunity-but also a risk-for advisers with clients looking to invest a large chunk of cash from an inheritance, home sale or other life event.

 
Heard on the Street 
CHINA'S OIL GIANTS DON'T FIT INTO CHEAP-OIL WORLD 
 

PetroChina, Sinopec and Cnooc's latest results show China's oil giants are still spending too much.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 27, 2015 13:10 ET (17:10 GMT)

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