Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Losses Piling Up for S&P 500 as Weekly Drop Is Worst Since June. What had been just a sleepy August is turning into an increasingly painful one for U.S. equity market bulls. Notwithstanding an hour-long burst of optimism that followed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s policy speech Friday, the buoyancy that lifted stocks for the first half of the summer has now been missing for the better part of a month. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 2,169.04 this week, the biggest drop since June, to erase its August gains. Not since the presidential administration of Lyndon B. Johnson have stocks done so little for so long. Unable to break out of a 1.5 percent band for more than 30 days, the market is locked in its tightest trading range since the end of 1965 amid confusion about Federal Reserve policy and the outlook for earnings.
• BOJ’s Kuroda Says Ready to Ease as Jackson Hole Debates Options. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he won’t hesitate to boost monetary stimulus if needed, reiterating a pledge during an annual policy retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at which central bankers stressed their need for backup from fiscal policy. “There is no doubt that there is ample space for additional easing in each of the three dimensions,” Kuroda said Saturday, referring to the BOJ’s package of asset buying, monetary-base guidance, and negative interest rates. “The bank will carefully consider how to make the best use of the policy scheme in order to achieve the price stability target,” he told the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s symposium.
• Germany Warns U.K. That Brexit Talks Will Be Very Difficult. German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth warned that the U.K.’s negotiations to leave the European Union “will be very difficult” and that Britain won’t be allowed to “cherry pick” the best that the bloc has to offer. “If the British want full market access but want to limit the access of workers from Germany, France or Poland, they will find there is no a la carte cooperation in this direction,” Roth, the government minister responsible for European affairs, said at a Berlin event Saturday. “We’ve told the British they can’t expect to pick the best aspects of the EU and leave matters at that.”  
• Stronger Case for Fed Rate Rise Increases Volatility in Asia. Asian currencies look set for a bumpy ride over the next three months after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that the case for an interest-rate rise has strengthened, amid growing speculation the hike could come as early as next month. Yellen’s statement will create some volatility over the next three months, Raymond Yeung, chief economist at ANZ Banking Group in Hong Kong, said by phone. “The cost of the U.S. funding will increase, and Asian currencies will be under downward pressure.”
• September in Play for Bond Traders as Goldman Sees 40% Fed Odds. A September interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve, an unthinkable move just two months ago, is now very much on the table, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bond market concurs.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Janet Yellen Lays Out Tools for Next Recession Fight. Unconventional programs like increasing bond purchases are on the table, but she doesn’t mention negative interest rates.
• Two Regional Fed Chiefs Doubt Central Bank Would Raise Rates Twice This Year. Dennis Lockhart, James Bullard distance themselves from Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer’s Friday remarks.
• Another Obama Parting Gift. His final fiscal year federal budget deficit will increase by 35%.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (VZ), (VIAB), (PYPL), (NFLX), (SYMC)  and (MET).
• Had bearish commentary on (DIS) and (MYL).

Fox News:

• Niners QB Kaepernick refuses to stand for anthem in protest. (video) ''I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,'' Kaepernick said. ''To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.''

Zero Hedge:

• BleachBit Brags Of Wiping Hillary's Servers Clean With Claims It "Stifled FBI Investigation".
• “I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This Before" - The Housing Markets In The Hamptons, Aspen And Miami Are All Crashing.
• The EpiPen Scandal Is Worse Than You Think: What You’re Not Being Told.
• Joe Biden Humiliated In Turkish "Appeasement" As Erdogan Bombs US Allies In Syria.
• In "Victory For Eurosceptics" British PM Will Begin Brexit Negotiations Without Parliamentary Vote.
• American Electorate Loses As Partisan Media Coverage Of Candidate Health Turns Outright Bizarre.
• It Begins: Barney Frank Tells Yellen Not To Hike Before The Election, "It Risks Destabilizing Markets".
• Clinton's Pay-to-Play Is The Natural Consequence Of Big Government.
• How Obamacare Destroyed The Middle Class In One Chart.
• The Number One Factor Influencing Fed Monetary Policy.
• Illinois Governor Furious After Pension Fund Cuts Returns Forecast, Sticking Taxpayers With "Crippling" Tax Hike.
• Recession Odds Spike To 37%, JPM Calculates, Highest Yet For This Cycle.
• How The Hillary 'Victory Fund' Uses State Democratic Committees To Launder Money To The DNC.
• The Man Who Fabricates China's Econ Data Was Arrested For "Selling Power For Sex" And "Lacking Political Faith".
• Millennials Love Free Markets, But Don't Understand Them.
• Herbalife(HLF) Surges After Icahn Denies WSJ Selling Report, Says He Bought Another 2.3 Million Shares.
• The Reckoning Looms - Central Bankers Really Don't Know What They're Doing.
• Weekend Reading: The Coin Flip Market. (graph)
• J-Holed: Stocks Slide After "Good" Yellen, "Bad" Powell, & "Ugly" Fischer.

Business Insider:

• The Bank of Japan is worried about a stock market crash.
• This trade has gotten completely out of hand. (graph)
• The government wants to force trucks and buses to drive slower.
• Dwyane Wade's cousin was the latest victim of Chicago's horrific gun violence.
• Huge hedge fund redemptions are horrible news for the industry.

Financial Times:

• The rally in emerging markets masks frailties. Investors should be wary of Chinese debt lurking in a jumble of assets.

FAZ:

• Germany's Schaeuble Says Low ECB Rates Are Damaging. Low or negative interest rates are harmful, in areas including retirement planning, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says in an interview.

Spiegel:

• Germany Says ECB Bond Purchases Are Distorting Rates. German Finance Ministry concerned that European Central Bank's buying of government bonds is distorting interest rates, citing internal Finance Ministry documents.