Markets news on stocks, currencies and oil; The web overtook TV advertising in the UK for the first time in H1 2009; Irish construction output dips by 39.3% in Q2 2009; Shares slides in US and Europe following poor economic data.

To see why a key government program aimed at resuscitating the securitized commercial-property debt market is off to a slow start, one need only look at the financing of a Manhattan office tower.

The US lost 254,000 private sector jobs from August to September 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the private sector ADP National Employment Report, which was released today. The estimated change of employment from July to August was revised by 21,000, from a decline of 298,000 to a decline of 277,000. In a third estimate of GDP (gross domestic product) in the second quarter issued by the US government, the contraction was less than previously estimated.

In the wake of the steep drop in values in European property markets, investors are reassessing their relationships with property-fund managers and other asset managers.

Empire Resorts, which has been trying to develop a casino near New York City, was looking into the financial abyss last June. Today the company’s prospects are looking rosier.

A Starwood-led group offered to pay $3.5 billion for the first mortgage of Extended Stay, setting the stage for a bankruptcy battle.

The seasonally adjusted Irish Live Register total increased from 428,800 in August to 429,400 in September, an increase of 600, according to the CSO. In the year to September 2009, there was an unadjusted increase of 183,422 (+76.4%). This compares with an unadjusted increase of 192,672 (+77.9%) in the year to August 2009.

Irish residential mortgage lending outstanding fell by €84 million in August — the fifth straight decline. The increase from a year earlier was down to 0.8 per cent in August, from 1.2 per cent in July. Irish private sector credit (PSC) fell 3 per cent in the year to end-August 2009, mainly explained by valuation effects - -  writedowns and increased provisions against bad and doubtful debts. Mortgage debt outstanding has fallen by €132 million so far in 2009, compared with a €7 billion increase for the same period in 2008.

Eurozone annual inflation is expected to be -0.3% in September 2009 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the EU statistics office said today. It was -0.2% in August, showing that deflation slightly accelerated. In a separate development, the European Central Bank announced it had lent banks in the Eurozone €75.2 billion today in a second 12-month auction.

Markets news on stocks, currencies and commodities: German unemployment fell unexpectedly in September, boosted by the normal seasonal decline that accompanies the end of the summer holiday period, the Labour Office said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the CEOs of America’s leading companies were reported to anticipate increased sales in the next six months, but do not see enough demand to translate into higher capital expenditures or hiring.