Business - Investor's Business Daily

Economy: We keep looking for the much-anticipated recession, but it doesn't seem to have gotten here yet. Could it be that many of those expecting a downturn were wrong, and the economy's not going into the tank?

1 That's well up from the initial reading of a 1.9% annual rate and views for 2.7%. Exports surged, accounting for nearly all of Q2's growth. Some fear export gains will slow, but lower oil prices should curb imports. Inventories fell sharply -- but less than first thought. Tax rebates perked up consumer spending. Housing was a drag, but less so than in recent quarters.

Dell went for market share gains at the expense of the bottom line last quarter, posting results Thursday that lagged profit views while warning that weak IT spending is "spreading" beyond the U.S.

It was a strange sight for Democrats, seeing former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney roaming around the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

The U.S. economy accelerated in the spring even faster than first thought, the Commerce Department said Thursday, as a weak dollar bolstered exports abroad and rebate checks spurred consumer spending at home.

A lightweight, solar-powered plane reportedly has broken the world record for the longest-lasting unmanned flight. The Zephyr aircraft produced by the U.K. firm QinetiQ flew for nearly 84 hours, more than double the previous best time. It's being developed for possible defense applications such as reconnaissance. The 66-pound propeller plane features paper-thin solar panels that recharge the craft's batteries during the day, allowing it to stay aloft through the night. It's flown by an autopilot and via satellite at an altitude of 60,000 feet.

U.S. forces have arrested Ali al-Lami, a top Shiite in charge of keeping senior supporters of Saddam Hussein out of the gov't. An unnamed Iraqi official said al-Lami was arrested at Baghdad's airport upon his return from Lebanon. U.S. military officials said they arrested a senior Shiite militant at the airport, but did not release his name.

Most California voters oppose a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage, 54%-40%, although they are evenly split on the practice itself, according to a poll released this week. The ballot question essentially will ask voters to prohibit the practice of same-sex marriage, which was approved this year by the California Supreme Court.

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by 10,000 in the week ended Aug. 23 to 425,000, the gov't said, in line with views. It was the lowest in a month, but still high. The 4-week average fell 6,000 to 440,250 from the prior week's 6-year high. The number of Americans continuing to collect jobless benefits after an initial week of aid rose to 3.423 mil, the highest since Nov. '03. Businesses are cutting staff and scrapping hiring plans on sentiment that the economy will slow in the 2nd half of this year.

Investors yanked $26.36 billion from stock funds in July -- the most since $44.84 billion in January. July trumps June's outflow figure of $4.82 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute.

The deluge of digital records, video and other files is leading to a torrent of growth for CommVault Systems as more and more companies turn to the software firm to help back-up and manage their data.

Steve Barnhart, Orbitz Worldwide's chief executive, is talking comeback -- and he's says it won't be long in coming.

Becoming a land baron was once considered the domain of billionaires. They, along with pension funds and institutional investors, were the big buyers.

As a teenager, Muhammad Ali studied the best fighters of his day -- and learned what not to do.

The best firms aren't led from ivory towers. Top leaders persist on getting out in the field. Tips for connecting at ground level:

It often ran out of ink. Refilling the cartridges took too much time.

The thrill of owning a soaring stock can make you dizzy. But stay alert -- when that superstar reverses, the decline is rarely mild. Spotting the sell signals will protect you from giving back too much of those hard-won gains.

Election '08: The idea of Democrats emerging unified from their acrimonious convention is laughable. If the GOP convention had the Clinton/Obama feud and John Edwards scandal, it would be declared a catastrophe.

Election '08: The Obama camp tries to suppress a campaign ad and university archives linking the candidate to a '60s terrorist who hosted his first campaign fundraiser. Is he being "swiftboated," or is this a cover-up?

1 A strong durable goods report helped the major averages advance despite another day of higher energy prices. The Nasdaq climbed 0.9% while the Dow and S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The NYSE composite was up 1%. Volume rose on the Nasdaq but fell on the NYSE. Building and financial groups did well. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 2 basis points to 3.76%.

Demand for big-ticket, long-lasting items rose unexpectedly last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, as the export boom continues.

The Democratic National Convention in Denver is like a big family reunion -- with all of the tension and infighting that it can bring.

If Democrats again fall short in Ohio, as John Kerry did in 2004, Plan B is certain to involve Colorado.

Nearly 500 U.S. colleges have bought a training program that aims to help students and employees survive campus shootings like the one at Va. Tech. Some campus police say the potential for shootings wasn't an issue a decade ago, but unfortunately now needs to be addressed. The program features a DVD called "Shots Fired" and suggests that participants fight back, using their strength in numbers, as well as laptops as improvised weapons. The program is run by the Center for Personal Protection & Safety, a company headed by a former Defense Dept. hostage negotiator.

Three years after being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, residents of the Gulf Coast could face a potential new threat from Tropical Storm Gustav in a few days, forecasters warned. Gustav is expected to strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane after crossing Cuba. Meteorologists warned it may become even more powerful as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, with some computer models projecting it'll hit the U.S. mainland by Sun. or Mon.

The FAA blamed an unprecedented computer glitch for disrupting and delaying 650 commercial flights a day earlier. Diane Spitalire of the FAA said the agency had never experienced a computer failure this severe. The computer failure left air traffic controllers unable to access flight plans needed to safely guide thousands of planes in the air at any one time. The FAA processes more than 300,000 flight plans in the U.S. each day. Sen. John McCain said the episode highlights the need to "repair a broken system."

U.S. mortgage application volume rose for the first time in 3 weeks as interest rates dipped, the Mortgage Bankers Assoc. said. The industry group's seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ended Aug. 22 rose 0.5% to 421.6, after falling the week before to its slowest pace since Dec. 2000. Refinance volume rose 0.3%, while purchase volume increased 0.6% during the week.

What a busy week for ETF providers! Invesco PowerShares Capital Management said Wednesday that it's releasing four new global, commodity-based ETFs that include the largest and most liquid companies in their sectors: