Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• A Month of Bombs Dropped in One Night of Strikes on Syria. The U.S. continued to drop bombs and missiles on Islamic State positions in Syria today as the munitions used in a few days rivaled the total in the first month of attacks on the extremist group in Iraq. Five airstrikes using attack, bomber and fighter aircraft were conducted late yesterday and today, destroying eight vehicles in Syria northwest of Al Qa’im as well as armed vehicles and a weapons cache near Baghdad and fighting positions southeast of Erbil, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. 
• French Hostage Beheaded by Algerian Kidnappers, Hollande Says.
• Russia Threatens Foreign Media Ownership With New Rules. Russian lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a bill that would restrict foreign ownership of media, increasing pressure on independent publications in an industry where state control has grown under Vladimir Putin. The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, yesterday backed a first reading of the law, which would cut the limit for foreign ownership to 20 percent, by 434 votes to 1. Forbes Russia and the Vedomosti newspaper are among publications that would have to change ownership or close by 2017.
• German Business Confidence Drops for Fifth Month. German business confidence fell more than analysts forecast in September as economic and political risks in the euro area increase. The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 104.7 from 106.3 in August. Economists predicted a decline to 105.8, according to the median of 36 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The index is now at its lowest since April 2013.
• European Stocks Climb as Merck, Rio Tinto Shares Advance. European stocks rose, following the biggest drop in 11 weeks, as investors assessed the health of the euro-area economy and the prospects for European Central Bank stimulus after German business confidence fell for a fifth month.
  Merck KGaA and Rio Tinto Group climbed as brokerages recommended buying the shares. TNT Express NV lost the most in 20 months after dropping its 2015 profitability forecast. Adecco SA slipped 0.8 percent after saying Germany and France experienced weaker growth than normal this month. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.7 percent to 344.35 at the close of trading, extending gains in the final 30 minutes.

CNBC: 

• Fed's Mester calls for key 'considerable time' language to be reformulated.
• Tesla(TSLA) stock 'grossly overvalued': Former GM exec. (video)

ZeroHedge:

• Whatever You Do, Don't Look At Goldman's Latest Swirlogram, But If You Must... (graph)
• Global Trade Collapses: One Of World's Largest Logistics Companies Slashes Forecast; Blames Europe, US Trade. (graph)
• New Home Sales Explode Higher Thanks To... Record High Average New Home Prices? (graph)
• "Get To Work Mr. Chinese Chairman": China Set To Fire Its Central Bank Head, Unleash The Liquidity Floodgates.
• Obamacare Architect Says Society Would Be Better Off If People Died At 75.
• Bank Of Japan Buys A Record Amount Of Equities In August.

Business Insider:

• The Euro Meltdown Just Crossed An Ugly Milestone. (graph)

Telegraph:

• Germany's Ukip threatens to paralyse eurozone rescue efforts. Alternative für Deutschland has swept through Germany like a tornado, winning 12.6pc of the vote in Brandenburg and 10.6pc in Thuringia.