Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Obama Says U.S. to Join EU in Tightening Russia Sanctions. The U.S. joined the European Union in stiffening sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, as the 28-member bloc offered to ease the restrictions once the Kremlin makes a good-faith effort to end the conflict. The U.S. will “deepen and broaden” measures against Russia’s financial, energy, and defense industries, President Barack Obama said in a statement today, adding that the sanctions will take effect tomorrow and details will be released then. The EU said it would also enact its latest round of economic restrictions tomorrow. Europe is acting against a peaceful solution in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 
• China Auto Sales Grow at Slowest Pace in Five Months. Passenger-vehicle sales in China rose at the slowest pace since March as the economy slows and the government steps up anti-monopoly probes into foreign carmakers in the world’s biggest auto market. 
• Most European Stocks Decline as Investors Weigh Earnings. Most European stocks fell for a fifth day as investors weighed mixed earnings from companies including Ocado (OCDO) Group Plc and Next Plc, while the European Union said that new sanctions against Russia will be enacted tomorrow. Next slid the most since April after posting first-half profit that missed analyst predictions. Ocado gained after third-quarter sales grew more than analysts had estimated. Air France-KLM Group added 1.9 percent after saying it plans to increase earnings by as much as 10 percent a year between 2013 and 2017. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent to 344.27 at the close of trading, paring earlier losses of as much as 0.6 percent.
• Commodities Fall to 5-Year Low With Plenty of Supplies. Commodities fell to a five-year low on speculation abundant supplies and slowing economic growth outside of the U.S. will curb demand for raw materials. The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined 1.2 percent by 5:06 p.m. in London to the lowest since July 2009. Brent oil traded at the cheapest since 2012, wheat, corn and soybeans retreated to four-year lows and gold slumped to a seven-month low.
• Auto-Loan Boom in U.S. Bringing More Bad Debt: Chart of the Day. Auto loans are in the midst of a U.S. boom that is coming to “the end of the road,” according to Pierre Lapointe, head of global strategy and research at Pavilion Global Markets. The amount borrowed has climbed for 15 consecutive quarters, the longest streak since 2005. The second quarter’s increase, 9.2 percent, was the biggest since 2002. “Credit quality is now deteriorating” as historically low interest rates and competition among lenders spur borrowing for car and truck purchases, Lapointe and a colleague, Alex Bellefleur, wrote in a report yesterday.
• Junk Blitz Making September Busiest Since 2008: Credit Markets. The riskiest borrowers are leading the busiest September in at least six years for speculative-grade bond sales in the U.S. as Moody’s Investors Service warns that protections in the debt are declining. J.C. Penney Co. (JCP), the retailer whose liquidity Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warned a year ago was under strain, is among issuers that have sold or are planning more than $17.5 billion in bonds this month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. AK Steel Holding Corp., which hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2008, is selling $430 million of notes. Clear Channel Communications Inc., the most leveraged U.S. broadcaster, raised $750 million. 

Wall Street Journal:

• Wilbur Ross: Deflation, Not Inflation, Is the Bigger Concern. He argued that governments–which have seen financing costs decline–have been the biggest beneficiary of QE, and not the private sector. Central banks have tended to be more focused on the dangers of inflation, he said, but with globalization, technology and a glut of government debt, “maybe deflation is what we should be fearing the most and combating the most.”

CNBC:

• A higher-ed bubble even bigger than student loans. (graph)

ZeroHedge:

• BofA(BAC) Warns "Everyone Should Pay Attention To Treasury Vol". (graph)
• Russia Responds To The Latest European Sanctions: "You Leave Us No Choice".
• Initial Jobless Claims Surge Most Since June. (graph)
• Ruble Plunges To Record Low As US Stocks Give Up Scotland "No" Poll Gains; Bond Yields Sliding. (graph)
• Ukraine Admits Resurgent Separatists Extend Control All The Way To Sea Of Azov.
• Obama's Broad Coalition Cracks - UK, Germany Won't Support Airstrikes In Syria.

Business Insider:

• Deutsche Bank Just Released A 104-Page Report On What May Be The World's Last Mega-Bubble.
• Yazidi Girl Tells Of Horrific Ordeal As An ISIS Sex Slave.
• Obama Now Owns A War He Helped Create.
• The Commodity Currencies Are Rolling Over Again. (graph)
• The New Map Of The Ukraine Conflict Is Alarming.

Reuters:

• Special Report: Scots warm to the power of Yes. In late August, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling shared the stage as part of the push to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom. The two Scotsmen, Britain’s prime minister and finance minister between 2007 and 2010, often fought each other in office. Darling once described his old boss as “brutal and volcanic.” Brown reportedly wanted to sack Darling during the financial crisis. But now here was Brown waxing lyrical about Darling, who heads the “Better Together” campaign that is trying to convince Scots to reject independence.