Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Ukraine Says It Destroyed Part of Armed Convoy From Russia. Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed a column of armed vehicles that had crossed the border from Russian territory, while Russia said it was concerned about an attack on another convoy carrying aid. Ukrainian government troops engaged the vehicles that had arrived overnight through a rebel-held section of the border, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev today. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said. The government in Kiev has for months said that separatist rebels in its easternmost regions are receiving support from Russia, which backs them with artillery fire. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian unrest. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said it was concerned about potential attempts to disrupt the humanitarian convoy and repeated a call for a cease-fire to allow for aid delivery. 
• EU Warns Russia on Further Sanctions as Ukraine Escalates. European Union governments warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that they’re ready to expand sanctions if the conflict in Ukraine intensifies. Citing a “worsening crisis in eastern Ukraine and its humanitarian impact on the civilian population,” EU foreign ministers urged Russia in a joint statement today to stop “any form of border hostilities,” including arming pro-Russian separatists, and to pull back its forces from the border. Illustrating the stakes, Ukraine said its troops attacked an armed convoy that had crossed the border from Russia just as the 28 ministers wound up emergency talks in Brussels. U.S. and European stocks tumbled on the news. 
• Ruble Drops With Eurobonds Souring Weekly Rally on Convoy Attack. The currency fell 0.5 percent to 36.2000 per dollar at 5:51 p.m. in London, reversing a gain of as much as 0.4 percent. Russia’s dollar-denominated bonds due in March 2030 fell for the first time in six days, sending the yield up 23 basis points to 4.73 percent. Local markets had closed before Ukraine announced the attack, with the Micex Index completing its best week since March and 10-year ruble bond yields sliding the most since 2009. “It certainly has the potential to be the start of something much bigger and more serious than we’ve seen so far, given that it puts Ukrainian forces into direct conflict with Russian forces,” Neil Shearing, the chief emerging-market economist at Capital Economics Ltd., said by phone from London. “It now seems to be fairly clear that Russian military vehicles have passed into Ukraine. If this is the beginning of something more serious, it would have serious market implications.”
• Russia Bracing for Price Growth at 5-Year High on Food Ban. Russia is preparing for consumer prices to rise at the fastest pace since 2010 after President Vladimir Putin banned food imports from the U.S. and its allies and backed a sales tax, according to three officials. Annual inflation is likely to accelerate to 8 percent in 2015, far above a 4.5 percent target, the officials said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Prices may grow 10 percent next year for the first time since 2008 if tit-for-tat sanctions escalate, two of them said.
• Iraq Leader-in-Waiting Calls for Unity Against Insurgents. Iraq’s leader-in-waiting Haidar al-Abadi vowed to fight graft and build an inclusive government to counter a spreading Islamist insurgency in his first comments since ending a dispute over who will lead the country. Poised to replace caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Abadi won backing from Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, while Massoud Barzani, president of the largely autonomous Kurdish region, said he’d support the premier-designate in a call for a government that “involves all Iraqi factions,” state-run National Iraqi News Agency reported.
• China Bank Bad-Loan Buffers Slip in Sign of Profit Pressures. Chinese banks’ loan-loss reserves fell to the lowest level against soured debt in three years, signaling a looming drag on profits from the need to set aside more money as delinquencies rise. The bad-loan coverage ratio fell to 262.9 percent as of June 30 from 273.7 percent three months earlier, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement today. Nonperforming loans have climbed for almost three years, the longest run since the data began in 2004, to reach 694.4 billion yuan ($113 billion). 
• Hong Kong Cuts Growth Forecast After Unexpected Contraction. Hong Kong cut its economic growth forecast for the year after an unexpected contraction in the second quarter as a slowdown in China crimped the purchases of luxury items and weighed on local sentiment. The economy is forecast to expand 2 percent to 3 percent, the government said in a statement, compared with its February prediction of 3 percent to 4 percent. Gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent in the second quarter from the prior three months, missing the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News for 0.4 percent growth. 
• Apple(AAPL), Samsung Face Rising Challenges in China Market. The world’s biggest phone market is getting a lot tougher for Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) China Mobile Ltd. (941), the biggest carrier, is cutting subsidies by $2 billion in a sign the industry is less willing to pay for expensive devices like the iPhone and Galaxy S. That may accelerate growth for Chinese makers Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) that offer similar features for lower prices.
• U.S. Investment Outflow Hits Record as China Cuts Holdings. The U.S. posted a record cross-border investment outflow in June as China and Japan reduced their holdings of Treasuries and private investors abroad sold bonds and notes. The total net outflow of long-term U.S. securities and short-term funds such as bank transfers was $153.5 billion, after an inflow of $33.1 billion the previous month, the Treasury Department said in a report today. The June figure, and $40.8 billion in net selling of Treasury bonds and notes by private investors in June, were the largest on record, the Treasury said.
• European Stocks Drop as Ukraine Attacks Armed Convoy. European stocks pared a weekly rally, erasing gains in the final hour of trading, after Ukraine said its troops partially destroyed a military convoy that entered the country from Russia. SVG Capital Plc lost 4.5 percent after Permira Holdings Ltd. sold its entire stake in the company. BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed 1.2 percent after the world’s biggest mining company said it may spin off some assets. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) advanced after posting a surge in sales last month. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4 percent, the most in a week, to 329.72 at the close of trading in London.
• Treasuries Climb as Safety Demand Jumps Amid Turmoil in Ukraine. Treasuries rose, sending 30-year (USGG30YR) yields to the lowest since May 2013, as conflict in Ukraine spurred investor safety demand and reports signaled the U.S. economy will struggle to gain traction. 
• End of Boom Forces Miners to Review $616 Billion of Deals. A proposed spinoff by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) of about $15 billion in assets signals the start of a new round of disposals as the biggest mining companies adapt to the end of a boom for commodities. With Anglo American Plc (AAL) fielding offers on a weekly basis for mines and Rio Tinto Group last month dumping Mozambique coal assets for a fraction of what it paid three years ago, producers are streamlining in the wake of China-led minerals demand that drove record profits as metals prices soared.

Wall Street Journal:

• Ukraine Says Russian Armored Vehicles Destroyed. Vehicles Had Been Seen Crossing Border Near Russian Aid Convoy. Ukrainian artillery destroyed a large part of a column of armored vehicles that had been seen entering Ukraine from Russia, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Friday. Ukraine, backed by Western capitals, has for weeks accused Russia of sending men and heavy weapons to pro-Russia rebels that hold several towns and cities in Ukraine's east. 
• Credit Default Swaps Near Revamp After Banco Espírito Santo Snafu. Investors Are Counting On Changes To The CDS Market to Fix Problems.

CNBC:

• George Soros loads up on bearish market bet. (video) Soros Fund Management, the large family office that manages assets for billionaire George Soros, raised its protection against a U.S. stock market drop dramatically, sparking concerns that the powerful investment firm is expecting a big fall in equities. 
• DoubleLine's Gundlach: Could see US 10-year yields go to 2.2%. (video)
• Commodities are flashing a warning sign. Commodities have been getting crunched and I believe it has rather serious implications for both the global economy and worldwide monetary policies.

ZeroHedge:

• It Begins: Ukraine Troops Destroy Part Of "Armed" Russian Convoy, Stocks Crash.
• Russia Responds: Ukraine Statement On Convoy "Provocation", Seeks To Aggravate Conflict, Drag In Russia.
• Europe Says Would Consider Any "Unilateral Military Action By Russia A Blatant Violation Of International Law".
• German Stocks Give Up Week's Gains As Bund Yields Plunge To Record Lows. (graph)
• Subprime Car Loans Are The New "Cash For Clunkers" - Auto Production Soars Most Since July 2009. (graph)
• Consumer Confidence Collapses To 9-Month Low, Biggest Miss In Over 8 Years. (graph)
• Ebola Outbreak "Moving Faster" Than Reported Cases Suggest, May Be Far Worse WHO Warns. (graph)
• Producer Prices Slide Driven By Biggest Plunge In Energy Since November 2013, Core PPI Rises Most Since May. (graph)
• Empire Manufacturing Tumbles Most In 2 Years, Biggest Miss In 4 Months. (graph)
• NATO Accuses Russia Of Escalating Ukraine Conflict, Demands Withdrawal Of Russian Troops From Border.

Business Insider:

• Deere(DE) Laying Off More Than 600 US Plant Workers. 
• Apple(AAPL) Is Now Storing Users' Personal Data On Servers In China.
• CITI: The Economy Has Entered Its Scary 'Phase 3' Where Bubbles Form Prior To A Crash.

Reuters:

• High-yield bond funds post 5th week of global outflows -BofA. Investors worldwide pulled $2.4 billion out of high-yield junk bond funds in the week ended Aug. 13, marking the fifth straight week of withdrawals and indicating increasing concern over risk assets, data from a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed on Friday. The outflows from junk bond funds came after record withdrawals of $11.4 billion in the prior week and against the backdrop of investors moving into plain-vanilla securities including Treasuries.
• Fed's Kocherlakota sees continued weak job market, low inflation.