POLL: OBAMA APPROVALRATING FALLS LOWER

RASMUSSEN: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 32% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –5. The number who strongly disapprove inched up another point to the highest level measured to date and the overall Approval Index is at the lowest level yet for Obama . . . READ MORE

WALL STREET P.M. 07.08.09STOCKS POST SMALL GAINS

DJIA: +14.81 CLOSE 8,178.41
S&P 500 -1.47 CLOSE 879.56
NASDAQ +1.00 CLOSE 1,747.17

MIXED TRADING MARKS DAY
WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. stocks ended mixed Wednesday . . . The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.81 points, or 0.2%, to 8178.41. . . . "Our traders are saying the market is sold off enough to attract some bids," said David Klaskin, chief investment officer at Oak Ridge Investments. "Where we go from here depends on how the second-quarter earnings releases and outlooks go" . . . READ MORE

ALCOA REPORTS MORE LOSSES
CNN/MONEY: Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. reported its third quarterly loss in a row Wednesday . . . In the three months ended June 30, Alcoa lost $454 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with a profit of $546 million, or 66 cents per share, in the same period a year ago . . . READ MORE

ADMINISTRATION ABANDONS
ENERGY JOB-CREATION GOAL
ABC NEWS: When Vice President Joe Biden announced a new $3.3 billion grant program to upgrade the nation's electricity network, the rationale was simple: "This is jobs -- jobs," he said in April. But the Obama administration is now saying it will not take the potential for job creation into account in "rating" proposed projects for possible funding -- after initially saying that would be a primary consideration . . . READ MORE