Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Scots Campaigning Final Hours Marked by Emotional Appeals. (video) On the final day of campaigning over Scotland’s future, both sides made emotional appeals to wavering voters to come to their side. Several hundred supporters of independence massed on the steps of the Royal Concert Hall on Buchanan Street in Glasgow today waving flags and banners. “Yes we can! And we will!” they chanted. “Hope, not fear!”

• Russia Sees Positive Step in Law for Eastern Ukraine. Russia called the new law providing a special status for war-torn eastern Ukraine “a step in the right direction” while the government in Kiev cautioned that a drop in Russian natural gas supplies could hobble the European Union during the peak heating season. A shaky cease-fire held in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with multiple violations reported since the truce took effect on Sept. 5. The Ukrainian parliament yesterday approved a measure for limited self-rule in the region. 

• China’s Slowdown Seen Yet to Bottom Even After PBOC Acts. China’s growth trajectory is still pointing down, even after an $81 billion liquidity injection. The People’s Bank of China move to provide 500 billion yuan of three-month funds to the nation’s five largest banks will help overcome any pre-holiday cash crunch, though is unlikely to move the needle on gross domestic product, according to economists at banks including Barclays Plc.

• Three Reasons to be Terrified of Alibaba.

• Richemont Sales Miss Estimates on Asian Slowdown. Cie. Financiere Richemont SA (CFR), the world’s largest jewelry maker, posted the slowest start to a year since the global recession as consumers held back on buying luxury goods in Hong Kong, halting Asian growth. 

• European Stocks Rebound From Two-Week Low Before Fed. European stocks rose for the first time in nine days as optimism that central bankers around the world will continue to support economic recovery helped the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebound from a two-week low. Air France-KLM Group gained 3.6 percent after France’s prime minister asked its pilots to end a strike. DS Smith Plc advanced 5.1 percent after saying sales are increasing at a faster pace than last year. Daily Mail and General Trust Plc dropped to an 11-month low after saying a delayed release of its risk-management-solutions product will result in an impairment and higher costs. Cie. Financiere Richemont SA fell 4.1 percent after five-month sales growth missed estimates. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.5 percent to 344.39 at the close of trading.

• Fed Keeps ‘Considerable Time’ Pledge as Growth Is ‘Moderate'. The Federal Reserve said the economy is expanding at a moderate pace and inflation is below its goal while maintaining a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after asset purchases are completed. “Labor market conditions improved somewhat further” while “significant underutilization of labor resources” remains, the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement in Washington. “Inflation has been running below the committee’s longer-run objective.” In July, the Fed said inflation was “somewhat closer” to its goal.

• Fracking Bans Enrage Coloradans Sitting on Energy Riches. Mineral owners left out of the energy boom in Colorado and other states are mobilizing to fight local fracking bans they say are depriving them of billions of dollars in oil and natural-gas royalties.

Wall Street Journal:

• PBOC Struggles as Chinese Borrowers Hold Back. Lack of Loan Demand Hampers Efforts to Increase Growth. China's central bank so far has failed to lift the world's second-largest economy out of its doldrums, and that is in part because of businesspeople like Li Jun. Mr. Li runs a fish-farming business in eastern China's Jiangsu province. The People's Bank of China is pushing the country's big, state-owned banks to lend more money to businesses like his. Instead of taking the cash, Mr. Li is cutting back. "Banks are...

MarketWatch.com:

• The biggest risk in Alibaba IPO may be China.

CNBC:

• Apple(AAPL) to announce new iPads in October: Report.

• Here's what changed in new Fed statement.

ZeroHedge:

• Obamanomics' Fatal Flaw: Minimum Wage-Hiking States Are Seeing Slower Job Growth. (graph)

• Abenomics Crushes Sony: Electronics Giant Forced To Cancel Dividend For First Time Ever.

• ISIS Releases New Video, Warns "Fighting Has Just Begun". (video)

• Wall Street Responds To China's QE: Beijing Finds Lack Of Faith Disturbing. (graph)

• Homebuilder Sentiment Soars To 9 Year High (Mortgage Apps 14-Year Low). (graph)

• This Russian Trend Is Not Europe's Friend. (graph)

• Bond Yields Slide As Core CPI Weakest In Over 4 Years. (graph)

• How FedEx(FDX) Just Beat EPS By A Whopping 14 Cents. (graph)

Quartz:

• Is the Kremlin trying to grab another oligarch’s oil company? The Kremlin is being accused of a big new asset grab in a murky case against Russia’s largest mobile telephone operator. Russian prosecutors yesterday ordered the house arrest of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who controls MTS, Russia’s largest mobile phone operator, and Bashneft, an oil company in the region of Bashkortostan.

CNN:

• Mark Mobius: Stay away from Alibaba. (video)