• Gold tumbles 5.6%…Wednesday’s decline lopped $104.20 off the price of a troy ounce, pushing it down to $1,754.10: WSJ
• Jobs steps down from Apple. Rarely has a major company and industry been so dominated by a single individual. Stock’s reaction has major implications for U.S. indices: NYT
• U.S. may back refinance plans for mortgages. Administration officials said on Wednesday that they were weighing a range of proposals to increase the number of homeowners taking part in refinancings: NYT
• U.S. Northeast braces for Hurricane Irene. New York City activated its emergency operations center in downtown Brookly at 2 P.M. Wednesday, and city officials raised the possibility of a mass evacuation in low-lying areas as part of a worst-case scenario: WSJ
• Bernanke unlikely to promise new action by the FED. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is unlikely to use his speech Friday at the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole, Wyo., conclave to unveil new efforts to bolster the U.S. economy: WSJ