Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• Ukraine Fight With Rebels Intensifies as Deaths Mount. Ukraine’s armed forces said they continue to push back separatists in fighting in the country’s east, as the death toll from the conflict, already more than 2,000, mounted further. Ukraine’s National Guard captured the city of Ilovaysk, leading rebels to counter-attack with tanks and artillery, the force said today on its website. Nine Ukrainian servicemen died and 22 were wounded in the past 24 hours, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in Kiev. He later told reporters that government troops control a “significant” part of Luhansk, one of the main separatist strongholds. Thirty-four civilians were killed and 29 hurt in Donetsk, the other redoubt, in the past 24 hours, the regional administration said.

• Germany to Arm Kurds as Europe Shocked Into Helping Iraq. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government cleared the way for Germany to supply Iraqis with weapons to fight Islamic State militants, dropping a post-World War II taboo on arms shipments to conflict areas. Germany’s reversal of its postwar arms doctrine reflects the revulsion felt across Europe at the brutal advance by Islamist fighters in Iraq. It also shows governments’ determination to halt the violence perpetrated by Islamic State from spilling back into Europe’s heartland.

• Argentina’s Bonds Decline on Plan to Offer Local-Law Swap. Argentina’s bonds sank the most in two weeks after the government said it plans to pay foreign-currency notes locally to sidestep a U.S. court ruling that blocked payments and caused its second default in 13 years.

• European Stocks Are Little Changed as Carlsberg Declines. European stocks were little changed, following the biggest two-day gain since April, as investors awaited central-bank cues on the interest-rate outlook. Carlsberg A/S dropped 3.6 percent after the brewer cut its full-year earnings forecast. Balfour Beatty Plc tumbled 6.7 percent after Carillion Plc stopped pursuing a merger with the British builder. Heineken NV (HEIA) jumped the most since October 2008 after reporting profit for the first half of the year that exceeded analysts’ estimates. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 335.3 at the close of trading in London, paring losses of as much as 0.4 percent.

Wall Street Journal:

• Fed Minutes: Rate-Hike Debate Heating Up. Officials Opt to Await More Evidence of Policy Success Before Changing Timing of Increases.

CNBC:

• Fed minutes: Some want 'relatively prompt' rate hike, most say more data needed. (video)

• Investors basically have no fear about volatility.

• BofA(BAC) reaches $17 billion settlement over sale of mortgage-backed securities.

ZeroHedge: 

• GMO: "There Is No Safe Place To Hide".

• Car Repos Soar 70% As Auto Subprime Bubble Pops; "It's Contained" Promises Fed.

• Gaza Truce Talks Over; Hamas Warns World To "Halt All International Flights To Israel".

• Russian Convoy Crosses Border, Enters Ukraine Customs.

• Why The Casino Is Dangerous: There Is Nothing Below.

• It's Official: For Caterpillar, The "Great Recovery" Is Now Worse Than The "Great Recession". (graph)

• Ten Killed From "Ebola-Like Symptoms" In Africa's Second Largest Country.

Business Insider:

• North Korea Just Moved Some Of Its Most Advanced Weaponry To The Chinese Border In A Sign Of Rising Tensions.

• Two Charts Showing The Rapid Rise Of ISIS.

• ISIS Is Now Directly Threatening To Attack American And European Targets.

• Russia's Food Ban Shows Just How Far It Has Plunged Into Camouflaged Autocracy.

The Guardian:

• Qatar Financing IS Jihadists, Says German Minister. GERMANY’s development aid minister, Gerd Mueller, on Wednesday accused Qatar of financing the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) operating in Syria and Iraq. "A story like this always has a history," he said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF. "Who is financing these troops? Hint: Qatar."