Media Digest (7/8/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) may become the largest lender in the U.S. soon (Reuters)

Jobs numbers may show that the economy has finally turned the corner (Reuters)

Fitch downgraded Minnesota from AAA as its government shutdown continued (Reuters)

Eric Schmidt of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) says there is room for several social networks (Reuters)

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store downloads reached 15 billion (Reuters)

Twitter’s security is behind that of many other social sites according to experts (Reuters)

Several media and cable companies said they will track download pirates and warn them about the legality of their actions (WSJ)

Tobacco bonds helped lift some hedge funds results in June (WSJ)

The number of empty stores at malls rose (WSJ)

The ECB indicated it will have more rate increases (WSJ)

New rules will force state and local pensions to disclose their performance and financial status (WSJ)

Blue chip stocks are near 2011 highs (WSJ)

ADP showed the private sector added 157,000 jobs (WSJ)

The $6 billion ethanol subsidy may end soon (WSJ)

The EPA said power plants in the eastern U.S. will have to cut air borne pollution (WSJ)

An Obama deficit reduction plan would cut entitlement programs (WSJ)

The ECB said it would protect Portugal’s banks after its national debt was downgraded (WSJ)

A slowdown in the ratification of trade arrangements with South Korea and other countries has hurt some large U.S. companies (WSJ)

Recalls of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) hip replacements has caused a huge litigation threat (WSJ)

Retail gains for June were often caused by discounts at companies, including Macy’s (NYSE: M), Target (NYSE: TGT) and Costco (NASDAQ: COST) (WSJ)

Difference on employment levels may make UAW negotiations with Ford (NYSE: F), GM (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler difficult (WSJ)

Ron Burkle, who owns shares in Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), may try to upset a buyout by Liberty Media (WSJ)

Higher wages may be as critical to the recovery as new jobs (WSJ)

JP Morgan will settle charges it influenced muni bond auctions with a payment of a $228 million penalty (WSJ)

Mortgage rates have risen sharply in the last several week (WSJ)

The Administration will press a new program to allow the unemployed to skip some mortgage payments (NYT)

Carlyle may buy Energy Capital to show it has more diverse investments before its IPO (NYT)

Russia has sold gold as prices have risen in an effort to fund its deficit (NYT)

The EU’s bank stress tests are inadequate according to many financial experts (FT)

Bank for International Settlements said international banks sold less gold last year (FT)

German exports surged in May (Bloomberg)

Washington lawmakers may cut Social Security to address some deficit problems (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre