Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• China Liquidity Stress Signs Build as Fund Cost Jumps at Auction. Chinese lenders paid the highest interest rate in more than two years to borrow short-term government funds on Thursday, adding to recent signs of a mismatch between the demand and supply of cash. The People’s Bank of China auctioned 80 billion yuan ($12 billion) of three-month treasury deposits on behalf of the Ministry of Finance at 4.51 percent, according to a statement on its website. That’s the most expensive since December 2014.
• Your Evening Briefing.
• U.S. Consumer Comfort Is at a 16-Year High. (graph)
• Big News for Stock Pickers: You Only Lost $100 Billion This Year. (video) For active equity managers, this is what passes for good news nowadays. Investors are pulling money out of their funds and depositing cash in ETFs at only about half the rate they were in the previous two years. And all it took was the best stock picking in a decade.
• Abercrombie & Fitch(ANF) Shares Surge.

Wall Street Journal:

• U.S. Navy Calls Off Sea Search For Missing USS John S. McCain Sailors. Crews in the Seventh Fleet also begin operational pause for safety review.
• Bull Market in Uncertainty Propels Gold Rush. The precious metal is rising faster than the S&P 500 for the first time in six years.
• Sears(SHLD) to Close Another 28 Kmart Stores as Sales Slump Continues. Struggling retailer’s quarterly loss narrows amid efforts to rein in costs.
• OPEC Keeps Options Open, Including Extending Output Cuts. Inventories have been slow to decline despite the producers’ cut.

MarketWatch.com:

• Nvidia(NVDA) and AMD(AMD) are deluged with orders for PC graphics cards.
• Mortgage rates plunge to 2017 low.
• European stocks post cautious gains as central bankers gather in Jackson Hole.

Fox News:

• ACLU backs down in face of Twitter’s wrath for pic of white baby holding US flag.
• Ryan tamps down Trump's talk of gov't shutdown if no border wall. (video)

CNBC:

• Paul Ryan shrugs off Trump jab, assures that debt ceiling will get raised. (video)
• Dallas Fed president says US needs more immigrants to fill open jobs. (video)
• Retail stocks bounce back in relief as earnings come in better than feared.

Zero Hedge:

• The Cost Of Market Crash Insurance Just Hit A Record High. (graph)
• $20 Oil? Forget OPEC, China Controls Oil Prices.
• ESPN Prez Defends Idiotic Decision To Create A National Controversy That Never Existed.
• One Trader Says "Don't Fight The Fed...Or SWFs, Or SNB, Or Buybacks". (graph)
• Amazon(AMZN) Vs Maersk: The Clash Of Titans Shaking The Container Industry.
• Existing Home Sales Slump To 11-Month Lows; NAR Warns "Prices Are Rising Way Too Fast". (video)
• Trump Warns Of Debt Ceiling "Mess"; Blames McConnell, Ryan.
• Hurricane Harvey, First Since 2008, Set To Wreak Havoc On Texas Crude Production.

Business Insider: 

• Hurricane Harvey could devastate parts of Texas — here's what you need to know.
• Starbucks(SBUX) is closing its online store as a 'seismic shift' hits the retail industry.
• Amazon(AMZN) Prime members will get special discounts at Whole Foods(WFM).

PredictIt:

• The odds the US government will be shut down on October 2 are rising +2% to 27%.

The Telegraph: 

• We cannot be fooled by the myth of EU economic success.