Thursday, September 18, 2014

Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 3:03 PM
Bloomberg:
  • Scotland Votes as U.K.’s Future Hangs in the Balance. (video) Voters in Scotland are deciding whether to seek independence from the U.K. in a ballot that may spell the end of a three-century-old union that once dominated the world from America to Australia and trigger a new era of self-determination across Europe. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time in schools, church halls, libraries and community centers across Scotland for the country’s 4.3 million-strong electorate, and will close at 10 p.m.
  • Kurds Flee as Islamic State Captures Syrian Border Villages. Islamic State fighters backed by tanks and artillery have captured 21 Kurdish villages in Syria in the past 24 hours, triggering an exodus by residents, the head of the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The villages, around the town of Ayn al-Arab near the Turkish border, were seized following fierce clashes that began on Sept. 16 between the militant group and the Kurdish force known as the People’s Protection Units, Rami Abdurrahman said by phone.
  • Banks in Italy and Spain Take More Than 45% of ECB Loans. Banks in Italy and Spain were among the leading borrowers in the European Central Bank’s first targeted-loan program, taking more than 45 percent of the 82.6 billion euros ($106.5 billion) to trim funding costs. UniCredit SpA (UCG), Italy’s biggest bank, said it raised 7.8 billion euros, while Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP), the second largest, took 4 billion euros. Banco Santander SA sought 3.6 billion euros, a person familiar with the matter said, the most among Spanish banks whose borrowings were disclosed. The top lenders in Germany and France didn’t say how much they borrowed. 
  • European Stocks Gain as Bayer Rallies on Spinoff Plans. European stocks rose for a second day, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated interest rates won’t increase anytime soon, and Bayer AG rallied on plans to spin off its plastics unit. Bayer contributed the most to the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s gain. Sulzer AG jumped the most in almost three years after saying it is in talks with Dresser-Rand Group Inc. about a possible transaction. TUI Travel (TT/) Plc rose 4.7 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares. EasyJet Plc advanced after saying it will increase its dividend-payout ratio and exercise purchase rights for 27 Airbus Group NV A320 planes. The Stoxx 600 climbed 1 percent to 347.78 at the close of trading, its highest level in two weeks. 
  • Crude Oil Falls as Rising Dollar Curbs Investment Appeal. WTI for October delivery fell $1.03, or 1.1 percent, to $93.39 a barrel at 2:01 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was 3 percent above the 100-day average for this time of day. Prices have decreased 5.1 percent this year. 
  • Copper Slumps as U.S., China Housing Demand Slowing. Copper for December delivery retreated 1.6 percent to settle at $3.094 a pound at 1:13 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The loss was the biggest since Sept. 9.
  • Fewest Americans Since October 2013 See U.S. Economy Improving. The fewest Americans in almost a year say the economy is getting better as faster wage gains remain a missing element in the expansion. A measure tracking the economic outlook dropped to 41.5 this month, the weakest since October, from 45 in August, data from the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed today. The reading was the second-lowest since January 2012. Twenty percent of those surveyed saw the economy improving, the smallest share since October, when the partial shutdown of the federal government rattled households.
CNBC: 
ZeroHedge: 

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