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

NEWS AT A GLANCE

China's booming economy slows a bit

China's gross domestic product rose 10.1 percent in the second quarter, its slowest growth since 2005, and consumer prices rose 7.1 percent in June, down from 7.7 percent in May. Still, China is growing faster than the other 19 top global economies. The yuan also fell 0.2 percent versus the dollar. (Bloomberg) China's Shanghai Composite index closed down 2.7 percent yesterday, capping a 48.6 percent year-to-date decline. That pushes it past Vietnam to become the worst-performing stock market this year. The Shanghai Composite was the best-performing market in 2007, growing 97 percent, so a "corrective phase is not unexpected," said Robert Lutts at Cabot Money Management. (MarketWatch)

Teva in talks for generics rival Barr Pharmaceuticals

Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva is in talks to buy New Jersey-based generics rival Barr Pharmaceuticals for up to $7.5 billion, according to several Israeli newspaper reports. If completed, the deal would be the biggest on record in Israel. (The Jerusalem Post) The $7.5 billion price tag would represent about a 50 percent premium for Barr. Israeli investment bank Excellence Nessuah said Teva had a net debt of $2.1 billion in March, and "a potential deal of this size would clearly entail raising more debt and a large equity payment." Barr shares jumped 19 percent in extended trading. (MarketWatch) Teva shares dropped more than 1 percent early today. (Reuters)

EBay profits rise, growth slows

EBay reported a 22 percent rise in quarterly profit, to $460.3 million, slightly topping analysts' expectations, on strong growth in advertising, international classifieds, and its PayPal unit. Revenue, at $2.2 billion, grew 20 percent. (BusinessWeek.com) But the average price for items sold on eBay sites fell 6 percent, and eBay said sales growth slowed in the quarter and would remain soft this quarter, sending its shares down more than 6 percent in extended trading. (Bloomberg) "In an environment where consumers have become price-sensitive, eBay is at a disadvantage because their product mix tends toward more expensive items," said analyst John Aiken at Majestic Research. (The New York Times)

The Yankees' coming yard sale

When 85-year-old Yankee Stadium is torn down this year, the Yankees will make some serious money selling off pieces of the historic ballpark. The blue plastic seats, at $1,000 a pop, could bring in $20 million on their own, and Derek Jeter's locker could sell for up to $100,000 at auction. The New York Mets' home, 44-year-old Shea Stadium, is also being demolished this year, but its memorabilia isn't expected to fetch nearly as much -- a Mets seat might sell for $350. "There is nothing in the world that compares to Yankee Stadium," said Mike Heffner of Lelands Inc. auction house. "Anything in there is sellable." (Bloomberg)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The diminishing returns on college

"For decades, the typical college graduate's wage rose well above inflation," says Greg Ip in The Wall Street Journal. No more. The typical weekly salary for a U.S. worker with a bachelor's degree was flat last year, adjusted for inflation, and 1.7 percent lower than the 2001 level. That's partly because there are more college-educated workers, but employers now are also looking for skills "more narrow, more abstract, and less easily learned in college," thanks to globalization and technology advances. College-educated workers still earn 75 percent more than those with high school diplomas, but for strong wage growth -- at least until recently -- your best bet was the financial sector.

Why flat is the new up

"Flat is the new up" is "the hot business buzzphrase for 2008," says Daniel Gross in Slate, but why? The phrase started in the media industry, and it makes sense in that context -- after years of declining circulation and ad revenue, "editors and managers have been patting themselves on their backs for simply treading water." But then it spread to recently hot sectors, like investment banking, law, and even hedge funds. So "is claiming flatness as a virtue lame? It depends." On the one hand, if your rivals are down 20 percent, flat looks good. However, amid high inflation, flat is "quite bad news." On the whole, though, if "in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king," then "in a bear market, a flat fund is king."

GOOD DAY FOR: New York's mayor, after Merrill Lynch's reported $4.5 billion sale of its 20 percent stake in Bloomberg LP values the private financial news and data company at $22.5 billion. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who owns 72 percent of the company he founded, is expected to buy the stake. Merrill will keep its 49 percent stake in money manager BlackRock. (The New York Times)

BAD DAY FOR: Sore losers, after Pakistani investors threw stones and broke windows at the Karachi stock exchange to show their displeasure over its worst losing streak in 18 years. The Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index has fallen for 15 straight days and lost 30 billion in market value in three months. (Bloomberg)

NOTED: JPMorgan Chase, the No. 3 U.S. bank, reported a 53 percent drop in quarterly profit, to $2 billion, soundly beating analysts' expectations. The drop in profit was due largely to $1.1 billion in write-downs at its investment banking business, but JPMorgan has weathered the credit crunch better than most of its peers. Investors reacted positively to the earnings news. (Reuters)

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