Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Debt ceiling fandango: Izzy takes us through the key dates in the unfolding US debt ceiling drama.
NEWS
Italy's PM seeks to shore up government: Enrico Letta is seeking urgently parliamentary support for a new government after centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi pulled his ministers out of their five-month-old coalition, risking a financial market backlash. (Financial Times) Italian bonds and stocks are suffering. (Financial Times) (FT editorial)
Parts of the US government may shut down at midnight on Monday for the first time since 1996 if Congress and the White House can't find a way out of their latest stand-off on fiscal policy – analysis shows that automatic US government spending cuts which took effect in March are causing the most damage in regions that weathered the recession better than the rest of the country. (Financial Times)
Twitter prepares to unveil IPO filing: "Twitter is planning to make public its secret filing for an initial public offering as soon as this week, people familiar with the matter said. That means the social media and microblogging company's stock could begin trading by late October or early November, if the offering moves at full speed." (WSJ)
Wall Street's top five banks face $1bn earnings cut on growing fears of a sharp decline in trading revenues coupled with increased legal costs.Analysts reduced their expectation of net income by $210m for Citigroup, $128m at Bank of America, $123m at Goldman Sachs and $97m at Morgan Stanley, according to Bloomberg data. (Financial Times)
Faltering Chinese factory growth adds to rebound fears: The purchasing managers' index published by HSBC edged up to 50.2 in September from 50.1 in August. The preliminary result had fuelled optimism that China's recovery was in full swing after a shaky first half of the year, but the final result suggests the recovery could easily falter. (Financial Times)
Tories accelerate help for home buyers: In a a riposte to Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour party David Cameron, UK prime minister, is to expedite a government-backed mortgage scheme to help would-be homeowners in a bid to portray his party as champion of "hard-working" families. (Financial Times)
"Mizuho Financial Group fell the most in more than three months in Tokyo trading after Japan's banking regulator penalized the lender for dealing with organized crime groups." (Bloomberg)
Axa to spin out private equity arm: Axa Private Equity, the $32bn fund management business headed by industry veteran Dominique Senequier, will announce early this week that it has spun out of the French insurer in a management-led buyout that creates a standalone European heavyweight. (Financial Times)
CLO issuance hits highest level since before financial crisis: A spurt in sales last week has helped push US issuance of so-called "collateralised loan obligations" so far this year to at least $55.41bn, according to S&P Capital IQ LCD – the highest since the $88.94bn sold in 2007, just before the financial crisis. (Financial Times)
Global banks cautious on Shanghai free-trade zone, reflecting widespread confusion about how the zone will operate, even as regulators have appealed for patience. Citigroup and Singapore's DBS are the only foreign banks that will begin operations in the new zone for now. (Financial Times)
Markets: Falling Wall Street equity futures are pulling global stocks into the red and the dollar is near multi-month lows as failure to agree a budget deal in Washington leaves a US government shutdown looking increasingly likely. Fear of the impact such a closure would have on the world's biggest economy is hurting growth-focused assets – Brent crude is slipping 89 cents to $107.74 a barrel – and bolstering the haven status of highly-rated sovereign debt and the yen. Adding to global economic concerns is a report suggesting activity in China's manufacturing sector is not as perky as first thought, news that is helping push copper down 0.2 per cent to $3.32 a pound. Meanwhile, further weakening investor sentiment is political turmoil in Italy, which is reviving eurozone fiscal fretting. Rome's 10-year borrowing costs are up 9 basis points to 4.65 per cent, the Milan bourse is off 1.9 per cent and the euro is down 0.2 per cent versus sterling to £0.8359. (Financial Times)
