- Ukraine Sees Russian Pullback as EU, U.S. Mull Sanctions. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russia has withdrawn more than two-thirds of its troops from his country as the U.S. and the European Union prepare their toughest sanctions yet against the Kremlin. “According to the latest information from our intelligence unit, 70 percent of Russia’s troops have been recalled across the border,” Poroshenko said in Kiev. “This gives more hope the peace initiatives have good prospects.”
- Cheney Says Obama’s Policies Spurred Rise of Terrorists. President Barack Obama’s “disengaged” foreign policy has contributed to the rise of Islamic State militants in the Middle East and Russian aggression against Ukraine, former Vice President Dick Cheney said today. “There’s a connection between these problems, between a disengaged president and some very volatile situations abroad,” Cheney, a Republican, said during a speech to the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based policy research group. “We’re nearing a crisis in the decline of American military power,” he added. “It has to be addressed, and right away.”
- Europeans Once Keen on Obama Now Desert Him, Poll Shows. Europeans once keen on Barack Obama as the bringer of an era of multinational good feelings are having second thoughts about the U.S. president, a poll found. Obama’s European approval rating dropped to 64 percent, sliding for the fifth straight year from 85 percent when he took office, according to a poll released today in Brussels by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The falling-out was most pronounced in Germany, due to outrage at National Security Agency snooping on Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama’s numbers also slipped in France and Italy, and were unchanged in Britain.
- Barclays Cuts Euro Forecast to Most Bearish on Economy Slowdown. Barclays Plc lowered its one-year euro forecast to the most bearish of Wall Street banks as the currency union’s economy deteriorates and as increasingly aggressive monetary policy signals further depreciation.
- European Stocks Little Changed as Investors Weigh ECB. Lingering questions about whether the European Central Bank’s stimulus measures will kickstart the region’s stagnant economy outweighed prospects for peace in Ukraine, keeping investors in European stocks on the sidelines. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 344.7 at the close, after falling as much as 0.6 percent in intra-day trading. The gauge has declined 1.2 percent since reaching a two-month high on Sept. 4.
- Commodities Fall to 8-Month Low as Brent Stays Below $100. Commodities dropped to an eight-month low as signs of abundant supplies and slowing economic growth curbed demand for raw materials. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials fell 0.3 percent by 3:24 p.m. in London after earlier declining 0.4 percent to 122.9665, the lowest since Jan. 10. The gauge declined 2.1 percent this year. Brent oil traded below $100 a barrel for a third day.
- Top LBO Fund Investors Pile on Leverage to Boost Returns. Some of the world’s biggest investors in leveraged-buyout funds are themselves using unprecedented levels of debt to boost returns. “Leverage is a double-edged sword,” said Oliver Gottschalg, a professor at French business school HEC Paris. “It can boost the performance on the upside and rapidly eat into capital on the downside. The more leverage you apply, the more extreme the outcome will be for the investor.”
- Profit-Margin Peak Points to U.S. Stock Shift: Chart of the Day. (graph) Profitability at U.S. companies may have reached its peak for the current economic expansion, according to Sean Darby, Jefferies Group Inc.’s chief global equity strategist.
- BofA(BAC) Trading Executives Leave Firm as Job Cuts Loom. Bank of America Corp. trading executives David Moore and David Hartney departed as the firm prepares to eliminate fixed-income and equities jobs worldwide, according to people with knowledge of the moves.
- Emerging-Market Currencies Slide on Fed Rate Jitters. Investors Brace For Potential Rise in U.S. Interest Rates in 2015.
ZeroHedge:
- Russian Retaliation Begins: Gazprom "Limiting EU Gas", Cuts Poland Supplies By 24% In Past Two Days.
- Scotland De-Escalation: Stocks Jump As Latest Poll Reveals Majority "No" Vote.
- Islamic State's Ultimate Goal: Saudi Arabia's Oil Wells.
- Germany Openly Hostile To Putting Frenchman In Charge Of European Financial Affairs.
- Rates Rise By The Tiniest Amount, And This Happens... (graph)
- There Goes GDP: Wholesale Inventories Miss, Weakest Since May 2013. (graph)
- Wall Street's Big Brazil Trade Is A Total Farce.
- Another Top Wall Street Strategist Abandons Her Bearish Stock Market Call.
- U.S. mortgage applications fall to lowest since Dec 2000 -MBA. Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week to the lowest since December 2000 as interest rates rose for the first time in four weeks, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 7.2 percent in the week ended Sept. 5. The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications dropped 10.7 percent to the lowest since November 2008, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 2.6 percent.
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