Auto lift

US consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in July, in line with forecasts, as Americans took advan tage of the “cash for clunkers” program, the Commerce Dept. said.

Clunker crop

Ford Motor Inc. said cash for clunkers helped spur the first industry wide sales boost in more than two years and its August sales have already passed last year’s, as Gen eral Motors Corp. said it sees US sales up by 2 million next year.

StuyTown

Fitch downgraded $3 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securi ties on Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village and said reserve funds for the rental complex, will run out by year end if owners Tishman Speyer Properties LP and Blackrock Inc. don’t add more.

AIG rally

Shares of insurer American International Group Inc. rose for the eighth straight session, to $50.23, up 5 percent, in a rally pegged to CEO Rob ert Benmosche’s opti mism on a turnaround.

Paper deal

Philadelphia Newspa pers LLC, owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, reached an interim financing deal with creditors, who also agreed to let it seek votes for its reorganization plan until Nov. 2.

Radio days

Clear Channel, said $412.1 million of debt was tendered in the heavily leveraged media compa ny’s bid to buy back up to $500 million of notes.

Sources: AP, Bloom berg, Reuters and Dow Jones