Bloomberg:
- U.S. Joins Ukraine Incursion Concern as Putin Hits Back. The U.S. joined NATO and Poland in warning about the risk of Russia sending troops into Ukraine. Russia called reports of a military buildup on its western border “groundless” and hit back at sanctions against it. The threat of an incursion is “reality,” U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said yesterday in Germany. Earlier, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said there’s a threat of Russian troops crossing the border under the “pretext” of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission. Russia ordered limits on food imports from nations that have sanctioned it.
- Putin Hits Tipping Point as Ukraine Tightens Rebel Noose. As the military endgame in Ukraine approaches, President Vladimir Putin must decide just how far he’s prepared to go to defend the pro-Russian insurgency. His options range from an invasion under the guise of a peacekeeping mission to abandonment of the rebels to avoid further sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union, said politicians, advisers and analysts. With Ukrainian forces closing in on the remaining separatist strongholds in the eastern part of the country, military analysts say the revolt sparked by Putin’s annexation of Crimea in March is destined to fail without a sharp increase in aid from Russia. That means Putin must now decide whether to escalate his support to rebels and risk further international isolation, which seems likely, according to Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist studying the country’s elite at the Russian Academy of Sciences. “Putin has a very difficult choice in front of him,” Kryshtanovskaya said by phone from Moscow. “He has to protect his position in Russia. He has to show that he’s successfully pursuing his goals. He can’t afford to look like a loser in the eyes of the people.”
- Rajan Sees Risk of New Crisis on Loose Policy, CB Journal Says. Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the world is at risk of another financial crisis as monetary stimulus in developed economies encourages investors to take risks and boost asset prices, the Central Banking Journal reported, citing an interview. “We are taking a greater chance of having another crash at a time when the world is less capable of bearing the cost,” Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist who warned in 2005 about the last crisis, is quoted as saying. Rajan said investors are counting on “easy money” being available for the foreseeable future and thinking they can sell before everyone else does. “They put the trades on even though they know what will happen as everyone attempts to exit positions at the same time,” he said, according to the Journal. “There will be major market volatility if that occurs.” He said the problems arising “are not so much from credit growth, which is relatively tepid in the industrial markets and has been much stronger in emerging markets, but from asset prices due to financial risk-taking and so on.”
- China Home Glut May Worsen as Developers Avoid Price Drop. The biggest immediate risk facing China’s economy is about to get worse. A reluctance among some developers to sell units at prices lower than they could fetch just months ago threatens to cause a swelling in unsold properties. The worsening glut would extend a slide in construction that’s already put a drag on the world’s second-largest economy, and counter policy makers’ efforts to stimulate the real-estate industry with loosened rules.
- Australian Jobless Rate Tops U.S. First Time Since 2007: Economy. Australia’s jobless rate jumped to a 12-year high in July, surpassing the U.S. level for the first time since 2007, sending the local currency tumbling. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4 percent from 6 percent, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today, versus the median estimate for unemployment to hold steady in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The number of people employed fell by 300.
- Prada’s Sales Growth Slows on Weaker Asia, Europe Demand. Prada SpA (1913) the Milan-based luxury handbag maker, posted the slowest half-yearly sales growth in three years as demand weakens in some Asian countries and in Europe amid economic and political uncertainties. Shares fell. Prada’s revenue climbed 1 percent to 1.75 billion euros ($2.34 billion) in the six months through July as demand weakens in some Asian countries and in Europe amid economic and political uncertainties, according to the company’s preliminary figures filed to Hong Kong’s stock exchange yesterday.
- Malaysia Builders Hit by Tax Amid Worst Slump Since 1998. UEM Sunrise Bhd. (UEMS), Malaysia’s biggest developer by market value, said it faces lower profit margins from a new tax and may delay some projects amid the nation’s steepest slump in property sales since the 1998 recession.
- Irish Ready to Quiz Bankers Amid Concern That Bubble Back. Ireland’s banking inquiry could help avoid a repeat of western Europe’s worst real-estate crash as house prices surge again, according to the chairman of a parliamentary probe into the country’s financial meltdown.
- Draghi Outlook Menaced by Putin as Ukraine Crisis Bites. The crisis in eastern Europe may be starting to disrupt Mario Draghi’s economic outlook. Evidence is building that the conflict in Ukraine and European Union sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s Russia are undermining a euro-area recovery that the European Central Bank president already describes as weak.
- Asian Stocks Poised for Third Day of Decline on Ukraine. Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for a third day of losses, after Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to a 12-year high and as tensions mounted over Ukraine. DeNA Co., a Japanese mobile game and social-media service, slumped 8 percent after cutting its profit forecast. Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. sank 5.9 percent in Hong Kong after workers at its Macau casino staged a protest yesterday demanding higher wages. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. gained 2.9 percent in Tokyo after its price target was raised at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. and Nomura Holdings Inc. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) dropped 0.4 percent to 145.62 as of 9:58 a.m. in Hong Kong, after rising 0.2 percent earlier.
- Nickel Stockpiles at Record High as China Turns Exporter. Nickel inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange extended gains to a record after China, the biggest producer and consumer, shipped more metal out than it imported amid a financing scandal. Stockpiles climbed to 317,874 metric tons, for a 21 percent increase this year, according to the LME data. Exports of refined nickel from China almost tripled in June to 16,737 tons, exceeding imports for the first time ever by 5,723 tons, customs data show.
- NYSE Order Revamp Seen Worsening Conflicts That Sprecher Decried. The New York Stock Exchange, whose owner has been at the head of efforts to improve U.S. equity markets, is asking regulators for permission to alter order types in a way that is drawing criticism on Wall Street.
- Crises Undercut Support for Obama's Long Game in Foreign Policy. Attempts to Keep Distance From Daily Melee Lead to Uncomfortable Moments. President Barack Obama and his top aides believe they are putting in place a new global security structure that will frame international relations for decades. Every day, however, brings a split-screen contrast between the White House's confidence in its long-term strategy and the daily chaos playing out from Ukraine to the Middle East. The disconnect is reflected in the president's declining poll ratings. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released this week shows Americans' approval of his foreign-policy record at a new low of 36%.
- African Health Workers Feel Ebola's Wrath. Mounting Deaths Increase Strain on Front-Line Medical Staffers; Obama Says Better Infrastructure Can Help Control Virus. The number of people to have died in the worst Ebola outbreak in history has risen to at least 932, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, as overworked hospital staff struggled to quell the epidemic and in many cases became its front-line victims. Between Saturday and Monday, 45 people died of the disease in West Africa, with 108 new cases reported during that period, the WHO said as it began a two-day emergency meeting in..
- Summertime Living Isn't Easy for Macro Funds. Graham Capital, Rubicon Among Hedge-Fund Firms Feeling Heat of Poor Returns. The market's summer stumble has dealt a new blow to a group of macro hedge funds that seek to anticipate trends in global markets. Graham Capital Management LP has laid off more than 10% of its staff, or more than 20 employees, according to people close to the matter. Six funds at the firm, run by Kenneth Tropin, have posted declines of as much as 5.9% this year, the people said. Rubicon Fund Management LLP's Rubicon Global..
- Deals' Demise Wrecks Funds' Bets. Busted Buyouts and Warning by Obama Sting Big Investors; It's 'Arbageddon'. On a day some traders dubbed "Arbageddon," hedge funds who bet on big corporate takeovers, known as arbitragers, suffered their worst rout in years after two deals fell apart and regulators indicated they may take steps to stymie others. In a rapid-fire series of moves over the course of 24 hours, 21st Century Fox Inc. dropped its $80 billion bid for Time Warner Inc., and Sprint Corp. abandoned its plans to acquire T-Mobile US Inc. Walgreen Co. wrong-footed other traders by deciding not to move offshore to lower..
- China Steps Up Antitrust Duel With West. Regulators Inspect Microsoft's Offices and Investigate Accenture. Chinese antitrust regulators are intensifying pressure on foreign technology and auto companies in separate moves that experts say show Beijing's desire to give Chinese companies greater heft in their dealings with foreign firms. Regulators from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said they conducted surprise inspections Wednesday of Microsoft Corp.'s China offices in regard to suspected monopolistic practices. They...
- Frontier-Markets Boom Prompts Warnings as Investors Pile In. Billions of Dollars Flow Into Smaller Markets, Inflating Prices. Adventurous investors looking for big returns are pouring billions of
dollars into frontier markets, but big fund managers say recent gains
are too much, too soon.
- Transparency troubles: Audit finds $619B gap in federal spending site. The Obama administration failed to properly account for how it spent nearly $619 billion, according to a watchdog audit of the main federal website meant to track where taxpayer money is going.
CNBC:
- Obama aims to move fast to curb inversions. (video) President Barack Obama said on Wednesday his administration plans to move quickly to curb what he called a "herd mentality" by companies doing business deals that help them escape U.S. corporate taxes, saying the practice was unfair to Americans.
- Unsold land in China signals developer uncertainty. For the first time in three years lands plots up for auction in Beijing went unsold last week, signaling that developers are nervous about ongoing weakness in the country's property market. Two of the five lots put up for
sale by the Beijing government last week received no bids – for the
first time since April 2011, according to Chinese media reports.
In another auction on Monday, two of four lots were sold to developers
at lower-than-expected prices. According to Ryan Huang, strategist at
IG's Singapore office, the unsold auctions suggest "a mismatch between
what increasingly cautious developers are willing to pay versus what
local
governments want."
- Is This Decline The Real Deal? (graph)
Reuters:
- Risk-averse China seen pushing back plans to free yuan. China is quietly pushing back its loose timetable to make the yuan freely convertible, policy insiders say, as authorities fear removing capital controls too soon could unleash damaging speculative flows that will make it harder to reshape the economy.
Obama takes on coal with first-ever carbon limits
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130919_ap_0f857b20e0c144a5a1e1b9dddc9f9d72.html#YRThyDOhArykUeYy.99
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130919_ap_0f857b20e0c144a5a1e1b9dddc9f9d72.html#YRThyDOhArykUeYy.99
Financial Times:
Telegraph:- US banks warn on ‘excessive’ risk-taking. An influential group of Wall Street banks has warned the US Treasury that low volatility in many markets is creating a feedback loop that exacerbates “excessive risk-taking” by investors.
- Vladimir Putin's pointless conflict with Europe leaves it a vassal of China. Russian president Vladimir Putin has been obsessed with an imaginary threat from an ageing, pacifist Europe in slow decline, while throwing his country at the feet of a greater threat - China.
- None of note
- Asian equity indices are -.50% to unch. on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 110.0 +2.5 basis points.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 74.25 +.75 basis point.
- FTSE-100 futures +.08%.
- S&P 500 futures +.03%.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.02%.
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
- (EAT)/.87
- (ZEUS)/.44
- (AES)/.28
- (WEN)/.10
- (ICE)/2.02
- (SSYS)/.45
- (CQB)/.62
- (DUK)/.98
- (CSC)/.94
- (NVDA)/.26
- (SCTY)/-.99
- (SFM)/.18
- (MNST)/.75
- (SLXP)/1.69
- (NWSA)/.03
- (JOE)/.01
- (BNNY)/-.03
- (DV)/.67
8:30 am EST
- Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to rise to 305K versus 302K the prior week.
- Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2512K versus 2539K prior.
- Consumer Credit for June is estimated to fall to $18.650B versus $19.602B in May.
- (JOBS) 2-for-1
- The BoE rate decision, ECB rate decision, BoJ rate decision, China trade data, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, (IDXX) analyst day, (TIVO) annual meeting and the Needham Advanced Industrial Technologies Conference could also impact trading today.
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