Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• Spain Turns Screws on Catalans With Threat of Direct Control. (video) Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stepped up pressure on Catalonia to halt its drive for independence, taking the first step in a process that could strip the region’s separatist government of its limited autonomy and impose direct control from Madrid. Rajoy convened an emergency session of cabinet on Wednesday, at which ministers agreed to issue a formal request to the Catalan government for confirmation of whether it had declared independence. Rajoy cited “deliberate confusion” sown by the regional administration in Barcelona the previous day.

• China to Flex Market Muscles in First Dollar Bond Since 2004. (video) China is moving forward with plans to issue its first sovereign bonds in dollars since 2004 in a deal that will put a symbolic seal of approval on the booming offshore Asian debt market. The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to meet with bankers in Beijing Wednesday to discuss the sale, according to people familiar with the plans. The deal is aimed for as soon as this month, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the specifics aren’t public. The MOF said in a statement it will sell $2 billion worth of notes.

• Your Evening Briefing.

• Inside the Fed’s September Meeting: The Annotated Minutes.

• Trump to Nominate Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security Secretary, Official Says. President Donald Trump plans to nominate Kirstjen Nielsen, a top aide to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, to head the Homeland Security Department, an administration official said. Nielsen had been Kelly’s chief of staff when he was secretary of Homeland Security and followed him to the White House, serving as his principal deputy there.

• MGM(MGM) Faces Questions Over Speed of Response in Las Vegas Shooting.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump Sets Nafta Goals: Dilute Pact’s Force, Loosen Regional Bonds. Proposals spark a backlash from Mexico and Canada and from business groups in all three countries.

• Spanish Leader Opens Door to Suspending Some of Catalonia’s Powers. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy demands regional leader clarify whether he declared independence.

• China’s Next Five Years—Squeezing the People to Feed the State. To support Communist Party rule and fend off a debt crisis, China needs to shore up state-owned companies’ weakened foundations.

• Kroger(KR) Weighs Sale of Convenience Stores. Food retailer doesn’t name any bidders or give timeline into when decision would be made.

• Five Things to Watch for in Bank Earnings.

• Obama and Clinton Don’t Have Much to Say About Weinstein. Nevertheless, they persisted.

MarketWatch.com:

• Wal-Mart’s(WMT) ‘sense of urgency’ triggers flood of stock price-target increases.

Fox News:

• NBC slammed for passing on Harvey Weinstein sex harassment exposé. (video)

• Boy Scouts to admit girls into Cub Scouts, establish new program.

CNBC:

• President Trump says he drove huge market rally but needs big tax break to keep it going.

• China will 'compel' Saudi Arabia to trade oil in yuan — and that's going to affect the US dollar.

• Fed minutes: December rate hike all but certain despite low inflation.

• NFL's brand 'clearly damaged' over anthem flap, says CEO of world's No. 2 ad agency. (video)

• Credit Suisse analyst raises price forecasts for Alphabet(GOOGL) and Facebook(FB) to the highest on Wall Street.

• US House panel approves $36.5 billion for disaster relief.

Zero Hedge:

• Trump Threatens Withdrawal Of NBC Broadcast License After "Fake" Tenfold-Nuke Story.

• Madrid Gives Catalonia 5 Day Ultimatum To Clarify If It Declared Independence.

• Facebook(FB), Instagram Experiencing "Extreme" Outages As Complaints Pile Up.

• OPEC To Take Drastic Action Despite Shale Slowdown. (graph)

• North Korea: "U.S. Will Pay With Hail Of Fire" After Trump Lit "Wick Of War".

• Vegas Shooter Used Hotel Freight Elevator, His Reno Home Was Broken Into.

• Trump's Touts "$5.2 Trillion" In Stock Gains, Promises More If "Congress Gives Us Massive Tax Cuts".

• Harvey Weinstein's "Heart Broken" Wife Says She's Leaving Him.

• US Job Openings Pull Back From All Time High. (graph)

• How NBC 'Killed' Ronan Farrow's Weinstein Exposé.

Forbes: 

• Amid Harvey Weinstein Allegations, Ben Affleck Accused Of Groping Hilarie Burton.

Reuters:

• Spanish stocks rebound in flat European market as Catalonia fears ease. (video) While Spain's benchmark IBEX .IBEX rose 1.3 percent, the pan-European STOXX 600 index ended flat and the euro zone blue chip index .STOXX50Einched up 0.2 percent.