- HK Protesters Vow More to Come Unless Leader Leung Quits. Pro-democracy protesters vowed to press ahead with demonstrations unless Hong Kong’s top official steps down, with thousands of people surrounding government offices after violent clashes paralyzed the city center. Protesters dressed in black have gathered in the Admiralty district to demand free elections, while blocking a main road into the central business area. Rallies in the shopping neighborhoods of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok are picking up after a lull in the morning, leading banks to shut branches and deterring tourists.
- Merkel Says EU, U.S. May Be Facing Long Ukraine Crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel invoked the 40-year history of communist East Germany as showing that the European Union and the U.S. may be in for a long haul in their face-off with Russia over its actions in Ukraine. “I don’t see any change at the moment regarding Russia’s position,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Finland’s Prime Minister Alexander Stubb today in Berlin. “I’m from former East Germany. Weneeded 40 years to overcome East Germany. Sometimes in history one has to be prepared for the long haul, and not ask after four months if it still makes sense to keep up our demands.”
- Ukraine Army Sees Worst Day Since Truce as Battles Flare. Ukraine’s army endured its deadliest day since signing a cease-fire with pro-Russian militants 3 1/2 weeks ago, threatening to unravel a truce that calmed the six-month conflict in the nation’s east. Nine Ukrainian servicemen were killed in attacks during the last 24 hours, including an assault by a separatist tank on a government armored personnel carrier near the airport of Donetsk, the combat zone’s largest city, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said today. Twenty-seven soldiers were wounded as troops repelled two “powerful” storming attempts by rebel fighters, killing 50 militants, he said. The rebels do not release casualty figures.
- Russia’s RTS Slides Into Bear Market as Sistema Tumbles. Russia’s dollar-denominated RTS (RTSI$) Index entered a bear market as a court ruling restricting AFK Sistema from receiving dividend payments from its OAO Bashneft unit wiped a quarter off the holding’s value. The RTS dropped 2.6 percent to 1,126.21 by the close in Moscow, the lowest since April 25 and taking its decline from a June 24 high to 21 percent. The benchmark Micex Index (INDEXCF) fell 1.8 percent to 1,408.28. Sistema, controlled by the billionaire placed under house arrest in a probe into alleged money laundering, tumbled 25 percent to 12.68 rubles. The stock has lost 65 percent since Vladimir Evtushenkov’s Sept. 16 detention.
- Ibovespa Leads World Losses as Real Tumbles After Poll. The Ibovespa plunged the most among global stock benchmarks while the real slumped to a 13-month low after a poll showed increased support for President Dilma Rousseff’s re-election bid. The Ibovespa declined 3.4 percent to 55,283.69 at 12:52 p.m. in Sao Paulo, set for the biggest decline since July 2013. State-controlled oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA contributed the most to the gauge’s decline, tumbling as much as 8.9 percent. The real fell 1.1 percent to 2.4466 per U.S. dollar, the most among 31 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Traders are paring bets on the chances a new government will be elected next month and jump-start economic growth after the country fell into a recession in the first half of the year.
- Europe Stocks Fall as Banks Drop Amid Hong Kong Protests. A decline in bank shares led European stocks lower, with HSBC Holdings Plc weighing on the benchmark index amid pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. HSBC and Standard Chartered Plc slid more than 1.5 percent each as they shuttered some Hong Kong branches as protesters stayed on the streets after clashes with police. Commerzbank AG fell 4.2 percent after a person with knowledge of the matter said the lender faces a U.S. inquiry into whether it broke anti-money-laundering laws. Balfour Beatty (BBY) Plc slid to its lowest price in more than 10 years after signaling the outlook for construction earnings has worsened. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.4 percent to 340.99 at the close of trading, paring losses of as much as 0.9 percent.
- Nickel Poised for Bear Market as Prices Head for Quarterly Loss. Nickel was poised to fall into a bear market after prices tumbled this quarter on signs an ore-export ban by the world’s biggest producer hasn’t depleted supplies as fast as forecast. The metal in London retreated as much as 2.5 percent today and is down 12 percent this quarter. Indonesia introduced restrictions on shipments in January, sending prices to the highest in more than two years. Nickel has since plunged as analysts from Credit Suisse Group AG to Citigroup Inc. said the shortfall will be less than expected. London Metal Exchange stockpiles are at the highest in records going back to 1979.
- Bond Warnings Rise as ’94 Parallels Seen in Fed-CPI Split. For bond investors who are convinced a lack of inflation will keep the Federal Reserve from upending Treasuries when it begins to raise interest rates, there’s one parallel in history that suggests they still have cause for concern. The last time consumer-price increases were slowing before the Fed started increasing borrowing costs was in 1994 -- when Treasuries lost 3.3 percent in what was then the biggest selloff on record. At the time, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan shocked the financial world by doubling the benchmark rate to 6 percent, even though inflation was at a seven-year low of 2.5 percent.
- Hedge Funds Score With Small-Cap Shorts in Russell Drop. Hedge funds are finally getting something right in the equity market. Large speculators tracked by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have pushed short sales on the Russell 2000 Index (RTY) of the smallest shares to the highest in more than three years, just as the gauge is poised for its worst quarterly return since 2011. Bearish bets rose since March in the index, whose companies have a median value that’s 4 percent the size of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index stocks.
- California College Students Must Now Consent Before Sex. Colleges in California that receive state funding must bolster policies on campus sexual assault under laws signed yesterday, the first in the U.S. requiring students give consent before they have sex. The bill, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, requires public universities and private colleges that get financial grants to mandate students agree verbally or through some other affirmative signal before having sex.
ZeroHedge:
- "This Is What We Do" Warns 2nd Oklahoman ISIS-Supporter Arrested For Threatening To Behead Co-Worker.
Telegraph:
- Mass default looms as world sinks beneath a sea of debt. Global debt is still rising strongly, crimping growth and threatening defaults around the world.
- Morgan Stanley(MS) warns on Asian debt shock as dollar soars. Foreign debt in emerging Asia has soared from $300bn to $2.5 trillion over the last decade.
- Keidanren Says Further Yen Weakening Would Hurt Japan. Sadayuki Sakakibara, head of Japan's business lobby Keidanren, said further weakening of the yen would have a negative impact on the Japanese economy. Sakakibara said a weak yen would increase gasoline and raw materials prices boosting costs for households and small businesses.
No comments:
Post a Comment