The bottom line

FDIC expects more bank failures

Since the financial crisis exploded in September 2008, 279 U.S. banks have failed, and more seem sure to follow. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s latest list of “problem banks,” those at high risk of failure, includes 829 institutions.

The Wall Street Journal

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U.S. sees widest income gap since 1967

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans—those making more than $100,000 annually—received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S. in 2009. The 14.3 percent of Americans living below the poverty line received 3.4 percent of income, the Census Bureau says. The disparity between those at the top and those in poverty is the widest recorded since the Census Bureau started tracking household income in 1967.

Associated Press

Mobile phones: Not made in the USA

In 2008, 1.2 billion mobile phones were sold worldwide. None of them were made in the United States.

BusinessInsider.com

Home sales: Down in July, up in August

Sales of U.S. homes rose 7.6 percent in August, following a steep slide in July. Bargain prices helped drive sales—the median price of a home sold in August was $178,600, down 1.9 percent from July’s median.

Los Angeles Times

Few Americans apply for farm jobs

Since January, California farmers have advertised to fill 1,160 vacant jobs. Only 233 American citizens have applied for the work; only 36 of them have been hired.

The Boston Globe

For many millionaires, work is recreation

More than half of 2,000 millionaires surveyed by Barclays Wealth say they want to continue working past retirement age. Asked why, most cite longer life spans and financial uncertainty, but more important, they say, is that they consider work a form of recreation.

The Wall Street Journal