Wednesday News Roundup

US ECONOMY

Prices of Imports Climb 1.7%, More Than Forecast, on Weaker Dollar, Fuel Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose more than forecast in July as a weaker dollar and higher fuel and food costs made foreign purchases more expensive.

XX Sean’s note -- Import prices from China are up year over year, every single month since May of 2007.

INTERNATIONAL

Global Confidence Gains as Oil Retreats, Dollar Strengthens Against Euro Confidence in the global economy rose from a 10-month low in August as oil prices retreated from record levels, a survey of Bloomberg users on five continents showed.

Internet attacks on Georgia expose a key flaw for more than 100 nations
As Georgian troops retreated to defend their capital from Russian attack, the websites of their government, also under fire, retreated to Google. In an Internet first, Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reopened its site on Google's free Blogger network and gave reporters a Gmail address to reach the National Security Council.

The attacks have deluged the websites of the president, various ministries, and news agencies with bogus traffic. The jam not only shut down those sites but also clogged Georgia's Internet access, exposing its reliance on Russian Internet pipelines.

"The lesson here for Washington is that any modern conflict will include a cyberwarfare component, simply because it's too inexpensive to be passed up," says Bill Woodcock, research director at Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit Internet research institute in San Francisco.

ENERGY

Crude Oil Futures Rise in N.Y. Before Publication of U.S. Inventory Report Crude oil rose for the first day in four before a report forecast to show that U.S. gasoline supplies fell for a third week. The U.S. Energy Department will probably say in a report today that gasoline stockpiles fell 2.15 million barrels last week from 209.2 million barrels the week before, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Drivers Rack Up 12.2 Billion Fewer Miles Over The Same Time Last Year As summer vacation season kicked in, Americans got out of their cars, driving 12.2 billion fewer miles in June than the same month a year earlier. The 4.7 percent decline, which came while gas prices were peaking, was the biggest monthly driving drop in a downward trend that began in November, the Federal Highway Administration said Wednesday.

As Gas Prices Recede, Fuel-Efficiency Concerns May, Too. In July, consumers' consideration of presumably out-of-favor segments including large crossovers, minivans and sports cars began a significant recovery, while consideration of small cars and hybrids actually began declining from levels in June.

URANIUM

Water inflows halt Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium project yet again
The problems which have plagued Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium project are not quite finished as the company temporarily suspended remediation work again to water inflow concerns.

GOLD

Gold Rallies From Seven-Month Low in London on Jewelry, Investment Demand Gold rebounded in London as jewelry and investment demand revived after the price of the metal declined to a seven-month low. Platinum and silver also gained.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com