According to Reuters, profits at UBS rose to $4.7 billion in Q2, but the bank said the difficult markets could hurt second half results.

Reuters writes that Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Japanese unit, Seiyu Ltd, will post its sixth straight annual loss. The big US retailer has put $1 billion into the company.

Reuters writes that Starbucks (SBUX) believes that there is room for growth of its branded products such as coffee beans, ice cream and chocolate in supermarkets and convenience stores.

Rueters writes that data from the University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index shows that users are gave Yahoo! (YHOO) a better overall rating that Google (GOOG).

Reuters writes that Ford (F) will meet with India’s Tata Motors about sales of its Jaguar and Rover Brands.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Mattel (MAT) is close to recalling a second group of toys made in China.

The Wall Street Journal writes that 41% of Facebook users share personal data with strangers increasing the chances of identity theft.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the increase in video traffic on the internet could strain the capacity of the web’s infrastructure.

The New York Times writes that Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) are both working on improving healthcare by combining better Internet search tools, the vast resources of the Web and online personal health records.

The New York Times also writes that the top lawyer at Qualcomm (QCOM) quit as legal problems for hte company increased.

The New York Times reports that a small study shows that children think food tastes better if they believe it came from McDonald’s (MCD).

The FT writes that VMWare will raise almost $1 billion in its public offering.

Barron’s writes that United Online (UNTD) as filed for an IPO of its Classmates.com unit, trying to cash in on the social networking rage.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.