WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is the text of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office's August Budget Review with it's estimate for last month's deficit. The U.S. Treasury Department is scheduled to release its monthly statement September 13:

BEIJING (MNI) - China bought Y640.8 billion in short-term Japanese bills in July, according to data published by Japan's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

China's net holdings stood at Y583 billion versus Y456.7 billion the previous month.

However, China also sold Y57.7 billion in medium- to long-term Japanese bonds in July.

TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's core private-sector machinery orders surged by a seasonally adjusted 8.8% in July from the previous month, posting the second straight m/m rise after rising 1.6% in June and slumping 9.1% in May, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday.

TOKYO (MNI) - Japan's money stock, measured by the key M2 aggregate, rebounded slightly to 2.8% y/y in August from +2.7% in July after having decelerated each of the previous two months, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday.

Money stock growth had accelerated in the March-May period, reaching a recent peak of 3.1% in May.

TOKYO (MNI) - Outstanding loans by Japanese banks fell 2.0% year-on-year to Y394.20 trillion in August, marking the ninth straight y/y drop, with the pace of decline accelerating slightly from the unrevised -1.9% rate in July, Bank of Japan data released on Wednesday showed.

"The pace of the y/y drop accelerated from the previous month but there is no major change in the bank lending trend," a BOJ official said.

LONDON - The growth rate of UK permanent jobs and temporary jobs slowed to a 10-month low in August and salary growth was softer, the latest Markit survey of the labour market for KPMG/REC found.

All figures year-over-year percent changes unless otherwise specified.