Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs talks a good game. At yesterday's Apple media event in San Francisco, Jobs proudly announced that the Apple iPod Touch is the world's "number one portable game player" and that there over 1.5 billion pieces of game and entertainment software have been downloaded on iPods through iTunes and the Apple App Store.

September is off to a wonderful start, with a 255-point Dow increase yesterday. But last month also started with a big (208-point) rise August 1 but then fell -4.3% for the full month, so Day One does not tell us where any month is going. As the financial media keep reminding us, September is the "worst month for stocks," although this has not been true lately. September has risen in four of the last five years.

The proposed acquisition by BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) is not in China's best interests, and the government is searching for a way to make its own play for Potash Corp. China apparently believes that it must take direct action to stop the sale because it is pretty clear that no other company is going to step up with a counter offer.

While the U.S. may appear to have steadied itself somewhat from the mortgage crisis, the wake of banking destruction shows little sign of abating, with more than 800 banks – mostly smaller lending institutions – now facing serious threats and risk of failure.

Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) likes a good fight and that's just what they're going to get. Just 24 hours after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) unveiled their new iTunes software, Sony announced a new streaming digital music service of their own. But whether Sony can compete with iTunes won’t be as quickly decided.

Here is your daily Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock news for September 2. The Apple Inc. media event went off without a hitch yesterday as…

Foreign stocks in developed countries as represented by the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (NYSE: EFA) have underpeformed this year, while emerging market stocks as represented by the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: VWO) are flat. Currency weakness is putting a damper on the performance of foreign securities, particularly Europe investments as represented by the Vanguard European ETF (NYSE: VGK).

Students of market history get a chill when the calendar flips to the first month of autumn. And for good reason: September is by far the worst month for stocks. Since 1928, the S&P 500 has lost on average 1.2% for the month. Compare this to the 0.3% average loss in February, the second worst month.

Facebook IPO rumors continue to rumble. But with the announcement by Target (NYSE: TGT) that it will begin selling Facebook Credits in gift-card form to shoppers starting Sept. 5, it appears that Facebook is looking hard at unique ways to increase its cash flow and profitability. That’s probably in part due to Facebook IPO hopes and a desire for new revenue streams.

When Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced on Tuesday that they would begin offering their Kindle e-reader through Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) retail chains in addition to Target (NYSE: TGT), it was just the latest piece of good news for the company. A few months ago, investors were being told that the tablet PC market was about to make e-readers obsolete.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is launching their own streaming video service, according to reports this week. And in other news, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) is strengthening their ties to the current champion of home video delivery Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) in a new partnership.

Halo Reach sales start in less than two weeks, and investors and video game junkies alike are watching closely. That’s because this Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox title is one of the most popular franchises in history and video game sales for Halo Reach could be off the chart again. That would be a bright spot in an otherwise dark outlook for video game sales in 2010.

There's a trifecta of Apple TV items today, with a report that claims Netflix will be partnering with Apple to offer instant streaming video on the new Apple TV. Speaking of the rumored iTV, it looks like the service and iTunes will be getting their 99 cent TV show rentals after all. Finally, a new Apple survey lets the cat out of the bag concerning instant video streaming through iTunes.

The world's second-largest fast food chain, Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) is apparently beating the private equity bushes for a buyout firm. The reports have sent Burger King shares up more than 13% in early trading.

Summer box-office revenue rose +2.4% to a record $4.35 billion in the U.S. and Canada as higher prices more than made up for the lower attendance, according to Hollywood.com Box Office estimates. The average ticket price is expected to have increased +5.1%to $7.88 from $7.50 last year, the largest overall gain since the +6.3% increase in 2000.