Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Ukraine Rebels Renew Call for Independence as Truce Ends. Ukrainian rebels in the eastern Donetsk region renewed their call for independence, saying too many people have died in the past six months to accept governance from the capital Kiev. “There is no truce, buffer zones are non-existent,” the deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Andrei Purgin, said via Russian state news service RIA Novosti. Purgin said some estimates put the number of deaths during fighting in the Donetsk region alone at 9,000, though the real figure is probably closer to 4,000 or 5,000. That compares with a United Nations estimate of 3,660 deaths and 8,756 injuries from fighting in all of eastern Ukraine. At least 331 of those fatalities ocurred after the belligerents agreed to a cease-fire in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 5, the UN said today. “Such casualties make any political union with Ukraine impossible,” Purgin was cited as telling RIA by phone.
• First Ebola Patient Diagnosed in U.S. Dies From Virus. (video) Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., died from the virus while in isolation at a Dallas hospital, ending a case that helped bring into sharp focus the nation’s risk from the disease. The incident showed that Ebola could quietly make its way into the country, and that hospital protocols designed to control it may not always work. At the same time, it rang an alarm for medical professionals and federal officials to tighten the safety net.
• Brazil Inflation Quickens More Than Forecast by All Analysts. Brazil’s inflation last month accelerated faster than forecast by all economists, pushing annual inflation to the fastest in three years less than three weeks before presidential elections. Monthly inflation as measured by the benchmark IPCA index sped up to 0.57 percent from 0.25 percent in August, the national statistics agency said today in Rio de Janeiro. That was higher than every estimate from 40 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, whose median forecast was for a 0.48 percent rise. Annual inflation accelerated to 6.75 percent from 6.51 percent the month prior. Brazil targets inflation of 4.5 percent plus or minus two percentage points. 
• Sears(shld) Vendor Said to Halt Shipments as Insurers Back Away. Three of the biggest insurance firms for Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD)’s suppliers are seeking to reduce coverage, prompting at least one medium-sized vendor to halt shipments to the department-store chain, people with knowledge of the matter said.

CNBC: 

• 3 bear market red lights flashing: David Darst. (video)

ZeroHedge: 

• Hilsenrath Confirms Dovish Fed Talking Down The Dollar.
• FOMC Talks Down Dollar, Fears Growth Slowdown, "Considerable Time" Misunderstood. (graph)
• The Japanification Of Europe Is Complete. (graph)
• Homeland Security Orders Agents To Monitor All Travelers To US For "General Signs Of Illness".
• Fed's Lacker Slams Fed For "Inappropriate" Bond-Buying, "Distorting Markets & Undermining Independence".
• The Irony Of Bubbles.

Business Insider:

• Obama's Former Secretary Of Defense And CIA Director Has Been Shredding Him On Syria And ISIS.

ABC:

• Gen. Dempsey 'Fearful' ISIS Could Take Over Key Syrian City. (video) The nation’s top military leader said he is concerned that ISIS could soon take the key city of Kobani located on Syria’s border with Turkey.

CNN:

• U.S. officials: ISIS will capture Kobani, but it's not a big concern to us. (video) The key Syrian border city of Kobani will soon fall to the Islamist terror group ISIS, several senior U.S. administration officials said. They downplayed the importance of it, saying Kobani is not a major U.S. concern. But a look at the city shows why it would mark an important strategic victory for the Islamic mlitant group. ISIS would control a complete swath of land between its self-declared capital of Raqqa, Syria, and Turkey -- a stretch of more than 100 kilometers (62 miles). As Time.com put it, "If the ISIS militants take control of Kobani, they will have a huge strategic corridor along the Turkish border, linking with the terrorist group's positions in Aleppo to the west and Raqqa to the east." And Staffan de Mistura, U.N. special envoy for Syria, warned of the horrors ISIS could carry out against the people of Kobani -- horrors it has carried out elsewhere. "The international community needs to defend them," he said. "The international community cannot sustain another city falling under ISIS."

Telegraph:

• IMF: global 'flare-up' could wipe $3.8 trillion off economy. Ultra-loose monetary policies and a rise in non-bank lending have led to excessive risk-taking, warns International Monetary Fund.