Thursday, October 10, 2013

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  
  • European Stocks Rise on Signs of Compromise on U.S. Debt. European stocks rose the most in more than five weeks amid signs U.S. lawmakers will agree on a compromise deal to avoid an unprecedented default. Ladbrokes Plc rallied to a two-week high after a report that Playtech Plc founder Teddy Sagi may have acquired an almost 3 percent stake in the bookmaker. CGG gained 2.1 percent after saying third-quarter vessel-production rate jumped to a record. Rheinmetall AG declined after Moody’s Investors Service lowered its debt rating. The Stoxx 600 added 1.7 percent to 310.29, its highest level since Sept. 2.
  • WTI Rebounds on Signs U.S. Will Increase Debt Ceiling. WTI for November delivery advanced $1.40 to settle at $103.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday’s settlement of $101.61 was the lowest since July 3. Volume was 28 percent above the 100-day moving average at 2:38 p.m. WTI is up 12 percent this year.
  • Obama Fundraiser Said to Seek $1 Billion for Private Fund. Barack Obama’s top individual fundraiser, a former technology executive who collected millions of dollars for the president, is seeking as much as $1 billion for a private-equity fund that will invest in infrastructure and renewable energy, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Frank White Jr. has teamed up with two other Obama backers, Shomik Dutta and two-time Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel Michel, to establish a Washington-based money-management firm called DuSable Capital Management LLC, according to a regulatory filing. DuSable plans to raise $500 million to $1 billion, said the person, who requested anonymity because the details are private. White’s new firm joins a small group of money managers founded by former political figures and public officials, who have sought to parlay their connections to invest in industries that rely on direct or indirect government support.
Wall Street Journal: 
  • GOP to Propose Temporary Debt-Ceiling Increase. Plan Won't Include Additional Policy Conditions. The House Republican plan to extend the debt ceiling for six weeks would permanently ban the Treasury Department from using extraordinary measures to avoid default, congressional aides said. The provision would ban practices, used by Democratic and Republican administrations for decades, which have effectively allowed the Treasury to limit investments in pensions and other funds when the government bumps up against its borrowing limit. These steps have extended the time that Treasury can continue borrowing and paying the nation's bills while Congress debates terms for raising the debt ceiling.
CNBC:
Zero Hedge: 
Business Insider: 
IBD:
Reuters: 
  • Fed's Bullard: fiscal problems make Oct QE cut less likely. The Federal Reserve is less likely to reduce its bond-buying program this month given the U.S. government shutdown and resulting lack of economic data, as well as the ongoing debate over the debt ceiling, a top central bank policymaker said on Thursday. 
  • U.S. House debt limit plan to bar Treasury 'extraordinary' moves. A plan offered by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans to temporarily raise government borrowing authority would prohibit the Treasury Department from using "extraordinary measures" to continue borrowing once it hits up against the new limit, according to a senior House Republican aide. 
  • U.S. retailers' September sales rise modestly, shoppers wary. A group of eight U.S. retailers, excluding drugstores, reported a 2.2 percent rise in September same-store sales, lower than the 3.1 percent growth analysts had expected, the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index showed. Gap Inc will report after markets close on Thursday.

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