Bloomberg:
- Russian stocks plunged and the cost to protect government bonds from default jumped to the highest in four years after the central bank shored up the ruble. Russia's RTS Index dropped 3.8 percent today, capping its worst week since May 2006, and credit-default swaps on the government's debt rose 14 basis points to 166, the highest since November 2004. Investors in Russia pulled out a net $4.6 billion since the invasion of Georgia last month, according to the central bank, contributing to the worst quarterly slump in stocks since the government's debt default a decade ago.
- Corporate bond sales in Europe fell 25 percent this week as the extra yield investors demand to buy the debt jumped to the highest in at least a decade.
- Copper fell the most in a year in London as the largest surge in inventories in three years signaled slowing demand in China, the biggest buyer. Prices extended their drop after the U.S. economy lost jobs in August. Stockpiles rose 18,775 metric tons, or 10 percent, to 200,875 tons, the steepest climb since August 2005, figures from the London Metal Exchange today showed. Almost 90 percent of new metal added went into warehouses in South Korea, the biggest source of LME-monitored copper inventories in Asia. ``This is clear proof that demand from China is growing less dynamically than previously expected,'' said Peter Fertig, a consultant for Dresdner Kleinwort in Hainburg, Germany. Copper will probably decline next year, he said. Copper is the ``most vulnerable'' among metals, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. analysts Andrew Keen and Nik Stanojevic wrote in a report today.
- Crude oil fell to a five-month low as the dollar gained, curbing demand for commodities as a hedge, and a government report showed employers in the U.S. cut more jobs last month than forecast, a signal that demand may drop. ``Demand destruction and the strength of the dollar are tailor-made to send oil prices lower,'' said Daniel Flynn, a broker with Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. ``If it weren't for the active hurricane season, prices would be below $100.''
- The euro may extend its decline to $1.3355 should it close this week below so-called support between $1.4310 and $1.4365, technical analysts at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. said.
- China, the world's biggest grain consumer, plans to grow genetically modified corn and soybeans for the first time starting next year, the country's largest independent agricultural researcher said. The country now has the technology and is ready to use it to create ``sustainable growth'' in farming incomes and boost grain output, Hanver Li, managing director of Shanghai JC Intelligence Co., said in an interview at a forum in Chengdu.
- John McCain's campaign expects to leave the Republican National Convention with $200 million in the bank and be able to match the Democrats' spending in the next two months, an aide said.
- ADC Telecommunications Inc.(ADCT), the maker of phone equipment for AT&T Inc., rose the most in three months in Nasdaq trading after projecting annual sales that topped analysts' estimates.
Wall Street Journal:
- Oil companies in Alaska are paying more money in taxes than ever before. The state's oil and gas tax revenues for its just-ended fiscal 2007 topped $10 billion. That's twice as much as fiscal 2006 and four times more than 2004. Some supporters of Barack Obama see that money coming in and say that John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, must have done what Sen. Obama wants to do -- sock those companies with a big fat windfall profit tax. This is a deeply misleading reading of her 2007 tax reform. Mrs. Palin's plan -- called "Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share" (ACES) -- improves incentives for developing new resources. It ensures the state does well in boom times -- as it is doing now -- when oil prices are high. But it also hedges against low prices in the future by ensuring that oil companies exposed to commodity price swings don't face a crushing tax burden when commodity prices fall.
- Top Citadel Investment Group executive Joe Russell, a key architect of the hedge fund's investments in E*Trade Financial Corp. and hedge fund Sowood Capital, has resigned from the firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Dell Inc.(DELL) is seeking to sell all of its manufacturing plants worldwide and has approached contract computer manufacturers.
NY Times:
- ESPN, Electronic Arts(ERTS) Merge Game Graphics, Anchors.
CNBC.com:
- Hedge Funds: Another Superman Falls to Earth.
- The One Laptop Per Child Foundation will sell its $200 computers at Amazon.com(AMZN) later this year, citing the group’s founder.
TradeWinds:
- Dry-bulk shipping rates won’t rebound any time soon because of weaker demand for raw materials from Chinese steelmakers, citing Shagang Shipping Managing Director Shen Wen Fu. Steelmakers are less willing to hire ships because higher raw-material costs and falling prices are squeezing margins, TradeWinds cited Shen as saying. A weakening Chinese property market is curbing demand for steel, Shen said.
USDA Commodity Intelligence Report:
- With sown area up by 4 percent from last year and yields forecast to increase by at least 10 percent, Russian grain production for 2008/09 will likely reach at least 94 million tons, the largest harvest in 15 years.
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