TOP STORIES 
 
U.S. STOCKS POST STRONG GAINS FOR AUGUST 

The Dow industrials rose in a quiet preholiday session, capping their biggest monthly gain since February. The DJIA added 19 points to 17098, closing out its fourth-straight weekly gain to finish 3.2% higher on the month.

 
U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING FALLS 
 

Household spending fell in July, a sign cautious consumers could hold back economic growth. Personal spending fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1%. Personal income rose 0.2%. Economists expected spending would rise 0.1% and income would rise 0.3%.

 
PUTIN LASHES OUT AT UKRAINE OVER FAILURE OF TALKS 
 

President Vladimir Putin lashed out at Kiev and its Western supporters, accusing them of foot-dragging on new peace talks with rebels in eastern Ukraine, while sidestepping Moscow's role in the conflict.

 
U.S. SEES NO 'SPECIFIC, CREDIBLE' THREATS FROM ISLAMIC STATE 
 

The U.S. said it doesn't know of any "specific, credible" threats to America related to developments in Iraq and Syria, but top U.S. officials said they have been in close contact with the U.K. government, which raised its domestic threat level.

 
PANELS THROWS OUT $1.3 BILLION JURY VERDICT IN ORACLE CASE 
 

A three-judge federal appeals panel threw out a $1.3 billion jury verdict in Oracle's copyright infringement case against rival SAP saying the award had been "based on undue speculation," and set damages at $356.7 million.

 
LEW TO SPEAK ON TAX REFORM, INVERSIONS 
 

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is planning a Sept. 8 speech about a controversial corporate strategy known as tax inversions, suggesting that the White House could be progressing in its effort to upend the practices.

 
U.S. SENTIMENT INDEX IMPROVES 
 

The Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan final-August sentiment index rose to 82.5 from a preliminary reading of 79.2 and the final July reading of 81.8. The latest reading was above the 80.2 expected by economists.

 
TESLA IN DEAL TO ADD CHARGING STATIONS IN CHINA 
 

Tesla Motors struck a deal to greatly expand its network of charging stations in China with China United Network Communications--or China Unicom--a telecom company. Tesla's shares rose 2%.

 
TIME WARNER ENDS TALKS WITH VICE MEDIA 
 

Time Warner is said to have ended talks to forge a joint venture with Vice Media to revamp its struggling HLN channel in an effort to find a younger audience and improve ratings.

 
BOMBARDIER CSERIES JETLINER HIT WITH ANOTHER DELAY 
 

Bombardier's CSeries single-aisle jetliner program has suffered another setback as Swedish carrier Braathens Aviation said it would step back from its role as the first operator of the plane and that it may seek other changes to delivery plans.

 
J&J, BAYER AIM TO EXPAND XARELTO'S USES 
 

Johnson & Johnson and Bayer announced plans to launch clinical trials of the anticoagulant Xarelto against three new diseases in an ambitious bid to widen the market for a drug poised to exceed $1 billion in sales this year.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
The Wall Street Journal 
WITH IRAN TALKS AT CROSSROADS, U.S. LEVELS NEW SANCTIONS 
 

The U.S. imposed a range of sanctions designed to exert new pressure against Iran and deter international business leaders from circumventing Washington's existing punitive measures as talks continue over the country's nuclear program.

 
Heard on the Street 
GETTING TO THE CORE OF THE ECB'S INFLATION PROBLEM 
 

The European Central Bank is under pressure to loosen policy because energy and food prices are dragging inflation lower. The euro zone seems at greater risk of a panic over deflation than of experiencing the phenomenon itself.