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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional panel that the Fed could not save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy in 2008, and that if there is any lesson to learn from the financial crisis, it is ending the problem of banks being "too big to fail." Bernanke refuted the testimony of Lehman's former CEO, who told the same panel yesterday that the bank could have been saved, but government regulators refused to step in.

In economic news, American consumers appeared willing to spend last month, especially for back-to-school items. "There is a glimmer of hope out there for the retailers," said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics. "It's the first positive news we’ve had in a bit from the retail space."

Retail sales increased more than 3 percent compared to a year ago, slightly better than expected. But -- and doesn't there always seem to be a "but" these days when it comes to the economy? -- analysts point out that retailers got shoppers to spend by marking down prices. And while sales figures grew compared to a year ago, that wasn't hard to do. Sales at this time of year last year were horrible. And it has retailers worried about future sales.

"I don't think it suggests in any way a revival of the consumer, or that they're back. I think they just have way too many things still weighing on them," Perkins said. "First and foremost is job security."

Speaking of jobs, weekly claims for unemployment fell last week. But -- there's that "but" again -- the overall number of claims was still too high to indicate healthy economic growth.  

And home buyers signing contracts to purchase homes rose in July. It was welcome news after recent reports that housing sales dropped sharply recently. But the number of new contracts signed was significantly down compared to a year ago.  

"Everything is sort of yes, but," said Hugh Johnson, chairman of the investment firm Hugh Johnson Advisors. "In other words, the economy is recovering, but this is extremely slow, a snail-like pace, or very anemic when compared to all the other post-war recoveries."

In the end, investors largely ignored today's economic news. "I think the stock market is, shall we say, meandering today in anticipation of that very important employment report that is coming out tomorrow morning," Johnson said.

The Dow Jones rose 50 points to close at 10,320. The NASDAQ and S&P both closed up 1 percent.

The Future of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village

The fate of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village remains in limbo as a New York State Supreme Court judge decides which group of creditors has the right to foreclose and auction off the East Side housing complex.

WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez attended today's court hearing. She spoke with Amy Eddings to explain what happened.

Cindy, tell me about these investors. They claim they have the right to foreclose on the property and take control of it.  

That's right, Amy. The first player in this dispute is CW Capital, the representatives for the senior lenders, who hold a mortgage worth more than $3 billion on the property. They claim that a junior lender made up of a hedge fund and a real estate management company are coming in at the last minute and trying to maneuver their way into the top position and "drive the bus" so to speak.

You say they make these claims. Is that what is actually happening?

The hedge fund, called Pershing Capital, is owned by William Ackman. It purchased $300 million worth of debt on the property at a deep discount last month, and by doing that took over the equity in the property. A lawyer for Pershing and its partner, Winthrop Realty, says according to the contract between these two sets of lenders, they have the right to foreclose on the property. The senior lender though, argued today that can't happen unless that $3 billion mortgage is paid off in full.

So the fight over who gains control is ultimately about who is going to get paid off in the end?

Yes, I think that's right, I think the senior lenders are hoping to get back as much as they can, and I think William Ackman's joint venture clearly believes there is still money to be made here. His plan is turn the property into co-ops for those wishing to purchase their apartments. This is something that the tenants' association has been very interested in doing. But they are concerned that they won't be able to afford the sale price. City Councilman Daniel Garodnick actually wrote a letter to Ackman stating this. Now, on the other hand, Garodnick says that they want to make clear at this point that the tenants are remaining neutral and they're not taking sides in this dispute.

So this has been going back and forth for awhile.  Did the judge say when he would decide this case?

At the end of the hearing, lawyers for the junior lender said the senior lender had plans to put an ad in the paper tomorrow to auction off the property. That's when the judge said to both sides that he would not permit a foreclosure and auction until his decision is made, and he promised that would be much sooner than September 30.

Employees Paying More for Health Insurance

Finally today, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that workers are paying more for their health insurance costs. On average, workers now pay $482 more -- that's a 14 percent increase -- compared to a year ago, as businesses push rising health care costs onto their employees. The increase came largely through higher deductibles. Premiums for health insurance increased only slightly.  During the recession, nearly a third of employers reduced health benefits or increased costs, while a quarter increased how much employees pay for coverage.