Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• China’s Dagong Cuts U.S. Credit Rating After Debt Limit Raised. China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. cut its sovereign rating for the U.S. hours after President Barack Obama signed legislation raising the federal debt limit. Dagong, one of China’s four biggest credit rating companies, downgraded the local and foreign currency credit ratings of the U.S. to A- from A, maintaining a negative outlook, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. That’s below Dagong’s rating of Botswana, which has a A rating, and puts the U.S. on par with Brazil.

• China Companies Rank Lowest in Survey of Transparency Reporting. Chinese companies ranked the lowest in a survey of public reporting practices in emerging markets, underscoring concern that the government’s anti-corruption campaign may not take root in the corporate sector. The 33 Chinese multinationals surveyed averaged a score of 2 out of 10 points in Berlin-based Transparency International’s “Transparency in Corporate Reporting” survey, released yesterday. Chery Automobile Co., the closely held carmaker based in Wuhu, China, joined one other company among the 100 surveyed with a score of zero across the three categories measured.

• Iron Ore Futures Debut in Dalian as China Seeks Pricing Power. Iron ore futures for physical delivery debut on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today as China takes greater control of price setting in the biggest seaborne commodity trade after oil. 

• Gold Jumps Most in Four Weeks on Dollar Slump, Stimulus. Gold futures jumped the most in four weeks as the dollar slumped and speculation mounted that the Federal Reserve will hold off on scaling back monetary stimulus, boosting demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Gold futures for December delivery rose 3.2 percent to settle at $1,323 an ounce at 1:41 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Sept. 19. Trading was 31 percent above average for the past 100 days for this time, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. 

• Crude Drops as API Reports Increase in U.S. Inventories. Prices slid 1.6 percent. Supplies climbed by 5.94 million barrels, according to the American Petroleum Institute yesterday. Jobless claims reached 358,000 last week, the Labor Department said. WTI rose 1.1 percent yesterday before Congress voted to end the government shutdown and raise the debt limit.

• European Stocks Erase Their Decline as U.S. Equities Rise. European stocks erased their decline in the final half an hour of trading, leaving the Stoxx Europe 600 Index at a five-year high, as U.S. equities rebounded after Congress agreed to extend the American government’s debt limit. SABMiller Plc rose 4.2 percent after posting an unexpected increase in lager volumes. Sulzer dropped 4.4 percent as the Swiss pump maker cut its full-year sales forecast for a second time. Outotec slid the most in almost five years after the supplier of smelters to mining companies reduced its guidance for 2013. Royal KPN (KPN) NV plunged 7.9 percent after America Movil SAB withdrew its $9.7 billion takeover offer for the company. The Stoxx 600 added 0.1 percent to 315.98 at the close, rebounding from a decline of as much as 0.6 percent.

• Fed’s Evans Sees QE Tapering Postponed After Data Shutdown. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, an outspoken advocate of pressing on with Fed stimulus, said the central bank should not begin reducing the pace of asset purchases as the data used to gauge the economy’s health stopped during the government shutdown.

• Treasury Yields Fall to Lowest in 2 Weeks on Fed-Buying Wagers. Treasury 10-year note yields fell to the lowest level in two weeks on speculation the Federal Reserve will maintain its bond-buying program into next year after the government shutdown weighed on economic growth. 

• EBay(EBAY), Ellison Embrace Microgrids in Threat to Utilities. Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison plans to build one to power the Hawaiian island he bought last year. EBay Inc. (EBAY) has one to run a data center. The University of California at San Diego and the federal government have invested tens of millions of dollars in the technology.

Wall Street Journal:

• Attention Likely to Shift to Health Law. After Budget Distraction, Measure Could Become Focus of Greater Scrutiny. The end of Washington's budget showdown is likely to shift attention back to President Barack Obama's health law and its rocky rollout, news of which was sometimes submerged in the past 16 days of struggle. 

• Prosecutors and SAC Head Toward a Possible Record-Breaking Settlement. Potential Deal in SAC's Insider-Trading Case Could Top $1.2 Billion. 

• Goldman Sachs(GS) Revenue Drops as Fixed-Income Slumps. Investment Bank Raises Quarterly Dividend to 55 Cents. 

• UnitedHealth(UNH) Reports Muted Profit Growth, Cautious Outlook. Company Expects Funding Cuts From Federal Health Law.

Fox News:

• With budget ‘deal,’ national debt free to soar again. The good news: The national parks are open, furloughed federal workers are back on the job, and the country will not cut off benefit payments because it can't borrow. The bad news: The national debt is back on course to hit $17 trillion any day now, with no deal in sight to ever reverse the climb.  The latest increase in the debt cap is the sixth since President Obama took office, when the debt was $10.6 trillion.

MarketWatch:

• Individual policy pricing skyrockets under Obamacare, broker site says. If you want to see what will happen to individual health policies next year once Obamacare takes effect, you might take an online trip through the eHealth Inc. web site.

CNBC: 

• Signs of a new credit bubble emerge in business lending. The Federal Reserve's latest economic report raises the prospect that credit standards in loans to businesses may be slipping. "The Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, and Dallas Districts reported intense competition on pricing and terms for commercial and industrial loans. In addition, contacts in Philadelphia and Chicago expressed concern about an easing of credit standards on these loans," the Fed reported in its Beige Book summation of regional Fed activity.

Zero Hedge: 

• "Idiotic" Initial Claims "Rise Above" As Made Up California Numbers Continue Trickling In.

• It's Always Funny In Philadephia: Philly Fed Optimism Soars To Second Highest Ever. (graph)

• Fonzie Or Ponzi? One Theory On The Limits To Government Debt.

• Chart Of The Day: Entitlement Nation, Now And Forever.

• Ten Things to Expect from Obamacare in 2014.

Business Insider:

• GUNDLACH ON TESLA(TSLA): There's Something Wrong With This Picture.

• 50 Charts That Every Gold Investor Will Love.

• GUNDLACH: Interest Rates Will Stay Low 'For As Long As The Eye Can See'.

Foreign Policy:

•  Meet China's Beverly Hillbillies. The absurdity of the Middle Kingdom's Bentley-driving, blinged-out nouveau riche.

Real Clear Politics:

• Rubio: "There Is Going To Be An All-Out Revolt" Over Obamacare In 2014. (video)

Telegraph:

• Diageo reports lower-than-expected first quarter sales. Drinks giant Diageo sees slower growth in emerging markets as it report lower-than-expected first quarter sales.