Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

CFTB speculates on oil contracts

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission has found that financial firms speculating for themselves or for clients hold 81 percent of oil futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That number, much bigger than previously stated, could grow as the CFTB looks into other big lenders. A good example is Vitol, a Swiss firm long listed as an oil-services provider. The CFTB, after looking at its books, found that Vitol was buying oil contracts as investments, not to actually deliver oil, and at one point in July held 11 percent of all NYMEX oil contracts. Some lawmakers, but not the CFTB, blame speculators for the sharp rise in oil prices. (The Washington Post) Oil rose above $116 a barrel early today. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

Germany's Schaeffler becomes top auto-parts group

German auto-parts company Schaeffler reached a deal to buy a controlling stake in larger German rival Continental AG, creating the world's largest car-parts group. The deal came after Schaeffler raised its offer to $111 a share and agreed to buy no more than 49.99 percent of Continental for four years. (Bloomberg) Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer, who opposed the deal, said he would step down. In all, Schaeffler could pay up to $9.6 billion. (MarketWatch) "In the long term, this is a no-brainer stock to have but investors will have to wait a long time to see whether the synergies will improve Continental's bottom line," said FrankfurtFinanz Partner analyst Heino Ruland. (International Herald Tribune)

Lone Star buys first German subprime casualty

U.S. private equity firm Lone Star agreed to buy 90.8 percent of IKB Deutsche Industriebank, Germany's first and most prominent casualty of the subprime crisis. IKB has already been bailed out three times, at a cost of $11.8 billion, primarily by Germany's state bank KfW. (Reuters) KfW, which announced the deal, currently owns about 46 percent of IKB, but will get a roughly 91 percent stake later this year due to the bailout. (MarketWatch) KfW didn't disclose the purchase price, saying only it fell short of the target price of $1.2 billion. "This will finally bring clarity and calm," said KfW administrative board member Christine Scheel. "It was the right decision to sell the bank as quickly as possible." (Bloomberg)

The fall of the aspiration shopper

People are still going to the mall, but the data suggest that middle- and upper-income shoppers are now shopping below their means, perhaps at Marshalls, instead of shopping up at stores like Nordstrom. This is obviously a problem for high-end retailers, but it's also a challenge for the shopping centers that rent space to them. To draw customers, mall owners are doing things like putting on free concerts, and to keep desirable tenants some are making concessions on rent or upgrading facilities. "For years the market strength was in luxury," said chief economist Michael Niemira at the International Council of Shopping Centers. "Now it's Wal-Mart." (Los Angeles Times)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

Paying for college

"For more than two decades," says Money's Penelope Wang in CNNMoney.com, colleges and universities "have been jacking up tuition at a faster rate than costs have risen on any other major product or service." And normal supply and demand "can't begin to explain" the 439 percent jump in total college costs since 1982. If parents are willing to pay exorbitant costs for top schools, the thinking goes, it must be worth it. But the benefits of a college education, notably earning potential, are "not infinite," and they aren't quantitatively better at a more expensive school. And given that post-undergraduate salaries are dropping, while Ph.D.s and master's graduates are earning more, it might be best to save your money for grad school.

So how are families paying for college? says Andrea Coombes in MarketWatch. According to a new survey, most "cobble money together from a variety of sources," and an overwhelming number are willing to stretch themselves financially to pay for the best educational opportunity. But only 14 percent said they rely solely on loans to pay for college, compared with 34 percent who use both loans and savings. Even more, 39 percent, say they pay for college without borrowing any money, using savings, work income, scholarships, and other sources. On average, families said they pay $14,628 a year for a student to go to college -- but when examined closer, it looks like they were underestimating.

GOOD DAY FOR: Small sacrifices, after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told government officials to give up golf to show a sign of solidarity with the public as the country's economy falters. Golf is hugely popular, but also very expensive, in Korea. Lee himself is an avid tennis player. (Reuters)

BAD DAY FOR: The old college try, as some universities are giving iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to incoming students, ostensibly to help spread class and college information and assist with in-class research. Professors, who will now have to compete with the gadgets for student attention, question the wisdom of the move. (The New York Times)

NOTED: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. earned $9.42 billion in the first half of the year, a 57 percent rise in profit, becoming the world's most profitable bank. Its nearest challenger, HSBC, topped out at $7.72 billion. "This shows the rise of economic power in China," said analyst Yuk Kei Lee at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International in Hong Kong. (Bloomberg) Japan also said to today that China has passed the U.S. to become the biggest importer of its goods, for the first time ever. (MarketWatch)

This column was written by Peter Weber and edited by Harold Maass of TheWeekDaily.com.