Afternoon Update (HPQ, MS)

According to Gary Shilling, Americans are correct in their belief that the economy has not bottomed as yet and that the US has just seen the beginning of a prolonged period of economic depression. Although his forecast for the GDP growth of an average of 2% for the next ten years is not bad, it is far lower than 3.3% needed to keep the unemployment rate stable. The Justice Department has asked Hewlett-Packard HPQ to provide internal records related to an international probe. The company faced the probe after allegations of the company paying bribes in Russia surfaced. According to analyst Richard Berner of Morgan Stanley MS, growth is set to improve going forward. He attributed weak numbers for Q2 to the European debt crisis, which "triggered a sudden, temporary tightening in financial conditions and increased uncertainty about the sustainability of global growth." Read more from Benzinga's Markets.