Markets: Asia's benchmark stock index swung between gains and losses after Japanese machinery orders accelerated less than expected and as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week. (Bloomberg) (Financial Times)
Brussels is probing Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands over their tax deals with multinationals. Europe's top competition authority has asked the governments to explain their system of tax rulings and give details of assurances given to several specific companies – including Apple and Starbucks – according to people who have seen the request. (Financial Times)
Verizon borrows $49bn in bond market record: The US telecoms company, which was raising capital to finance its $130bn acquisition of the 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless it does not already own, sold its 10-year bond at a yield of 5.19 per cent, or about 57 basis points higher than its existing debt for that maturity, a substantial concession for bond investors. (Financial Times)
Ministers will on Thursday give the go-ahead for a stock market flotation of Royal Mail. The announcement will kick off a sale process lasting four to six weeks. The flotation could value the company at up to £3bn. (Financial Times)
"Societe Generale, France's No. 2 listed bank, is exploring the sale of its Asia private banking arm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, seeking to exit a market where small managers are getting hit by rising costs and competition. The Singapore-based division could fetch around $600 million..." (Reuters)
Libor control to remain in London: However the Commission will propose that a college of supervisors from various member states should play a role in oversight, given the EU-wide risks of cross-border fallout from poor controls. This includes giving Esma the legal clout to mediate disputes between supervisors with binding decisions. (Financial Times)
Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, commits to reform vowing to overhaul state-dominated financial institutions, liberalise interest rates and eventually make the renminbi freely convertible in a sweeping restatement of the newly installed government's economic reform agenda. Although liberalisation of interest rates and renminbi convertibility are already stated policy objectives of the government, Mr Li has rarely laid out Beijing's financial reform agenda with much detail. (Financial Times)
Whistleblower sues Morgan Stanley over 'harassment': An ex-Morgan Stanley auditor has sued his former employer, claiming that his warnings that the bank was taking on too much credit risk before the financial crisis were ignored and "whitewashed" by senior executives and audit officers. (Financial Times)
Abu Dhabi is planning to invest as much as $5bn in Russian infrastructure projects over the next seven years in a move highlighting Russian efforts to attract sovereign wealth money. (Financial Times)
Disappointment over new iPhone price hits Apple shares: Its shares closed 5.4 per cent lower at $467.83 on Wednesday, amid speculation that investors may increase calls for a redistribution of its profits, which will probably be boosted by the new devices. (Financial Times)
Southeastern takes 11.9% stake in News Corp voting shares: Southeastern has built the largest non-family position in News Corp's voting shares since John Malone, the Liberty Media chairman, threatened the Murdochs' power with a 16.3 per cent stake in the middle of the last decade. (Financial Times)
"Qualcomm the most cash-rich semiconductor company, said its board authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program to return more money to investors. The plan replaces an earlier $5 billion buyback program that was announced on March 5..." (Bloomberg)
"San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee discussed ways to make the city an offshore yuan hub in a meeting with Bank of China executives this week, said two people with knowledge of the matter...San Francisco would join London, Paris and Frankfurt in seeking to become centers for yuan trading..." (Bloomberg)
Umpqua to buy Sterling Financial in $2 billion deal: "Sterling shareholders will receive 1.671 shares of Umpqua and $2.18 in cash for each share of Sterling common stock they hold. That equates to roughly $30.52 in value based on Umpqua's closing price of $16.96 on Wednesday. The transaction will create a bank with $22 billion in assets, $15 billion in loans and $16 billion in deposits, the companies said." (Reuters)
Australia's economy unexpectedly lost 10,800 jobs in August, versus expectations that it would create 10,000 jobs. (FastFT)
FT ALPHAVILLE
When Latinas attack: perhaps the strongest anti-Herbalife letter yet
Italian bank funding more fragile that it looks
Alphachat podcast: Diane Coyle, Tyler Cowen, and the econ books of the year
COMMENTS & CURIOS
A Putin op-ed on intervention (New York Times) Not his first btw (New York Times 1999)
China navy plots course to stock market (Financial Times)
A nearly 250-mile pro-Catalan independence human chain (Wall Street Joournal)
Dust starts to settle on derivatives revolution (Financial Times)
Abe as Frodo... or Gandalf... or Sauron (Financial Times)
Post-crisis policies promise chronic stagnation (Financial Times)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS: move along
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -33.40 (-0.23%) at 14,392
Topix down -5.00 (-0.42%) at 1,184
Hang Seng up +55.90 (+0.24%) at 22,993
US markets
S&P 500 up +5.14 (+0.31%) at 1,689
DJIA up +135.54 (+0.89%) at 15,327
Nasdaq down -4.01 (-0.11%) at 3,725
European markets
Eurofirst 300 up +4.01 (+0.32%) at 1,248
FTSE100 up +4.44 (+0.07%) at 6,588
CAC 40 up +2.47 (+0.06%) at 4,119
Dax up +49.19 (+0.58%) at 8,496
Currencies
€/$ 1.33 (1.33)
$/¥ 99.53 (99.85)
£/$ 1.58 (1.58)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.19 at 111.69
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.14 at 107.70
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -3.90 at 1,360
Copper (Comex) down -0.01 at 3.25
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.89%
UK 3.02%
Germany 2.00%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +0.18bps at 90.67bp
Markit iTraxx Europe -1.52bps at 96.98bp
Markit iTraxx Xover -4.81bps at 387.04bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
