Media Digest (8/27/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Hurricane Isaac causes several companies, including BP PLC (NYSE: BP), to shut down drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. (Reuters)

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) will buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG) for $2.3 billion. (Reuters)

Angela Merkel tries to settle battles between German interests and the European Central Bank. (Reuters)

Samsung loses $12 billion of its market cap as its shares fall in reaction to an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) patent verdict. (Reuters)

IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) closes a deal to buy About.com from The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). (Reuters)

Banks that may have manipulated rates likely will be hit by billions of dollars in private suits. (WSJ)

Apple’s victory could make carriers alter their product launch plans and prompt companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to reexamine their product lines. (WSJ)

The ECB continues to consider how it can keep bond yields of weak EU nations low while not becoming enmeshed in their austerity plans. (WSJ)

As hospitals buy practices, they often raise rates without adding services. (WSJ)

Carrefour will release earnings as investors await the future plans of CEO Georges Plassat. (WSJ)

The French government says Hyundai and Kia are dumping cars in the country to increase market share. (WSJ)

Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA) will add more commercials to its cable channels to bolster sales. (WSJ)

Smartphone companies with product designs very different from the Apple iPhone may benefit from Samsung patent case loss. (NYT)

Germany’s central bank comes out against bond buying by the ECB. (NYT)

Spain is likely to take $75 billion in rescue funds to bail out its banks. (FT)

The U.S. drought will cause insurance companies to pay out large sums to farmers who took crop insurance. (FT)

August sees a huge increase in issuance of corporate debt as investors move away from low-yielding Treasuries. (FT)

A ban on sales of Samsung phones in the United States may help sales of Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) devices that run Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) operating software. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre