Financial Markets and Economy
China Stemming Defaults Leaves Junk Bonds Hottest in 5 Years (Bloomberg)
China has stanched a string of defaults and speculation authorities will continue to stave off failures is leaving investors the most bullish on local junk bonds in five years, despite record maturities.
BlackRock Issues Warning on Treasuries as Fed Moves Toward Hike (Bloomberg)
BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, said investors should be wary of Treasuries as the Federal Reserve moves toward raising interest rates.
Mexican Peso Gives Clearest Market Signal That Trump Lost Debate (Bloomberg)
The Mexican peso rebounded from a record low, a sign investors may perceive Hillary Clinton outperformed Donald Trump in the first U.S. presidential debate.
Iran is changing the way it sells oil and gas (OilPrice.com)
It’s been an eventful week in oil. With reports from top producer Saudi Arabia showing record August production of 7.622 million barrels per day — weighing on market sentiment.
The Not so Silent Demise of Deutsche Bank (Financial Sense)
Since May 2007 Deutsche Bank shares have dropped from 150 US Dollars to around 12 US Dollars as we speak. Suddenly “the wires” are going viral with updates on the catastrophic state of the bank’s balance sheet.
Decline in Oil Prices Lands on Government Workers as Saudi Arabia Cuts Paychecks (NY Times)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia on Monday announced sudden, drastic cuts to salaries and perks for government employees as part of the kingdom’s struggle to slash spending at a time of low oil prices.
Dividend hungry investors are 'eating companies', says income fund manager (The Telegraph)
Investors chasing high yields are perpetuating unsustainable dividend practices and in some cases “eating companies”, a prominent fund manager has said.
Donald Trump’s Latest Conspiracy Theory Should Scare Investors (Money)
If you stepped away from the television to grab a beer during last night’s debate, or to hide under the covers, you may have missed one of Donald Trump’s favorite untruths about the Federal Reserve.
IRS Announces Private Collection Firms – They Start In The Spring (Forbes)
If you have an old balance due with the IRS and have not heard from them in a while, well, wait till the spring. The IRS has just announced the companies that it will be turning old receivables over to.
"It All Has A Very 2008 Feel To It" – For Deutsche Bank, The News Just Keeps Getting Worse (Zero Hedge)
It has already been an abysmal day for Germany's biggest lender: overnight Deutsche Bank plunged to fresh all time lows on speculation whether the German government would or wouldn't provide state aid to the bank (if needed), forcing the bank to state it does not need the funds at the same time as the government urged markets that "you can't compare" Deutsche Bank and that "other" bank, Lehman Brothers, although looking at the chart, one may beg to differ.
The "Nightmare Scenario" For The Bank Of Japan Is Starting To Come True (Zero Hedge)
On Friday, when we summarized why "It May Be Over For The BOJ" we presented a variety of sellside opinions, all of which were unanimously pessimistic on the BOJ's latest policy, we observed that the weakest link for the BOJ's latest incernation of QE, aka QQE with Yield Curve Control, or QQEWYCC (which even rhymes) would be if the 10Y JGB resumed its drift lower into negative territory, coupled with a return to curve flattening, two adverse side effects of its own prior policy which the BOJ is now explicitly trying to undo due to their adverse impact on the local banking and pension sectors.
How to Get Rich in Real Estate: 4 Different Cycles (Mashvisor)
People decide to start investing in real estate for many different reasons: to supplement their monthly salary, to gain a source of passive income, to change their career path, to afford early retirement, and so on and so forth.
China’s risk-loving mom and pop investors have abandoned local stock markets for bitcoin (Quartz)
China’s individual investors are known for their huge appetite for new assets. The government’s strict currency controls make it difficult for them to invest overseas, so their money has traditionally had to go somewhere inside the country’s borders.
Companies
Wells Fargo hit with class action lawsuit over sales practices (Reuters)
A shareholder class action lawsuit was filed against Wells Fargo & Co on Monday that alleged the firm misled investors about its financial performance and the success of its sales practices.
Yahoo hack: It's not just Verizon; AT&T should be worried too (CNet)
The massive hack that Yahoo disclosed last week is a headache for Verizon, the telecom giant set to buy the company early next year.
Rival AT&T should be nervous too.
Politics
Lester Holt, Given a Choice Assignment, Opted for Restraint (NY Times)
Call him the minimalist moderator. Facing “knees buckling” scrutiny — his words — ahead of Monday evening’s presidential debate, Lester Holt of NBC, with the nation’s eyes (and the internet’s critics) upon him, opted to lie low.
Trump vs. Clinton: Her jabs put him on the defensive in first debate (The Washington Post)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Donald Trump unrelentingly blamed the nation’s chronic problems on “typical politician” Hillary Clinton, yet he found himself mostly on the defensive in their first debate here Monday night as she denounced him for racial insensitivity, hiding potential conflicts of interest and “stiffing” those who helped build his business empire.
Fact-Checking the First Debate (NY Times)
Reporters for The New York Times are fact-checking statements made by Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton during tonight’s presidential debate.
Clinton Gets Under Trump's Skin Debate (Associated Press)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) — Donald Trump repeatedly clashed with Hillary Clinton during Monday's first presidential debate, interrupting her and appearing agitated at times as they tangled over the economy, her use of a private mail server and his unwillingness to release his income tax returns.
Clinton outscores Trump — but the campaign isn’t over yet (The Washington Post)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — The first presidential debate more than lived up to expectations, a noisy clash between two determined adversaries that produced electric moments and substantive difference. In the early stages, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump seemed evenly matched, but the longer it went on, the more she was able to score against him.
On social media, everyone wanted to talk about Donald Trump’s temperament (The Washington Post)
If we measure how candidates did in a debate by how people react online, it's hard to see how the first debate of the general election was a victory for Donald Trump.
Donald Trump's Questionable Personal Income Claims (Fortune)
Donald Trump bragged about his income during a question about his tax returns at Monday night’s presidential debate. He also said that voters could get plenty of information about his finances via Federal Election Commission disclosures (Hillary Clinton, of course, disagreed).
I asked 10 historians to nominate the 'worst' year in history — here are their picks (Slate)
Terror attacks, Zika, Brexit, police shootings, Syria, Trump, record-hot temperatures, the losses of Prince and David Bowie—this has been one unrelenting turn around the calendar.
Technology
Samsung Galaxy Burn Issues Continue:S7 Edge Explodes In The Philippines, Note 2 Ignites in Indian Flight (Inquisitr)
Samsung Galaxy burn issues continue to emerge in different parts of the world as a Galaxy S7 Edge burns up in the Philippines and a Note 2 ignites during an IndiGo flight.
Microsoft: Windows 10 now on 400 million devices (ZD Net)
Windows 10 is now running on 400 million active devices as of today, September 26, Microsoft officials said.
Pearl’s RearVision is a backup camera for those who want the best rear view (Tech Crunch)
Pearl’s goal as a company is to make modern tech available on older cars, and its first product is the Pearl RearVision, a wireless backup camera system that’s easy to install and uses your smartphone as the display.
Xiaomi's Mi 5s hides a fingerprint reader under its glass (Engadget)
We were already big fans of Xiaomi's Mi 5 flagship smartphone, so it's only natural for the Chinese company to build on this model's success by bringing us the Mi 5s.
Next gen Galaxy Note phones could use the S Pen as a speaker (CNet)
One of the Samsung Galaxy Note's most recognisable features, besides exploding, is its S Pen accessory. The S Pen may look like an ordinary stylus, but the software on the Galaxy Note has made it into a versatile tool that boasts, on the Note 7, 4,096 different pressure sensitivities.
UBER Wants To Fly You To Work In A Small Autonomous Aircraft (Digital Trends)
Always on the lookout for new opportunities, it seems Uber is eyeing the skies for its next big project.
The ambitious ride-hailing company said at the weekend it’s interested in launching a city-based air service to give riders access to faster modes of transport.
Health and Biotech
Kratom Drug Ban May Cripple Promising Painkiller Research (Scientific American)
Your body would never get used to the perfect painkiller, says Susruta Majumdar, a chemist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. So unlike the case with common opioids such as morphine or Oxycontin, you would not need to take ever-increasing doses to relieve the same amount of pain.
Life on the Home Planet
Ask Ethan: What 'Impossible Physics' Would Be Possible With Warp Drive? (Starts With A Bang)
When warp drive was first brought into the public consciousness with the debut of Star Trek fifty years ago, our understanding of the Universe was fundamentally different than it is today.
For a Night, the Mets’ Focus Shifts From Competition to Empathy (NY Times)
MIAMI — No matter how hard the Mets tried on Monday night, the emotions that overtook Marlins Park were so raw and profound that even they struggled. Jose Fernandez was not their teammate, but he was a young, vibrant and talented pitcher whom the Mets admired from afar and who sparked their own competitive fire.
Moody's downgrades Chicago Public Schools further into junk status (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Public Schools' financial reputation took another hit from a major Wall Street credit ratings agency on Monday.
Scenes From New England’s Drought: Dry Wells, Dead Fish and Ailing Farms (NY Times)
CENTER CONWAY, N.H. — The Saco River flows lazily here, from New Hampshire into Maine, ridged with sandy banks and lush forests, luring eager families in canoes and rowdy flotillas of young adults.
The ABC's of 529 college savings plans (Fidelity)
Whether you've got toddlers, teenagers, or even grandchildren, one thing is certain: Paying for college seems to get more expensive every year. Given that the average annual cost (tuition, fees, and room and board) for a four-year, in-state public college is $17,123 for the 2015-2016 tuition year, and $41,028 per year for a four-year private college,1 it's no surprise that college expenses can be overwhelming.
China upset as U.S. sanctions firm tied to North Korea nuclear program (Reuters)
China said on Tuesday it was opposed to any country using its own laws to carry out "long arm jurisdiction", after the United States sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery wholesaler tied to North Korea's nuclear program.
Syrian army, insurgents in fierce clashes in southwest Aleppo (Reuters)
The Syrian army and its allies fought intense clashes with insurgents in the opposition-held 1070 Apartments district of southwestern Aleppo on Tuesday, senior combatant sources on both sides said.
