Markets: "The U.S. dollar sagged to eight-month lows on Thursday as the U.S. government shutdown dragged on with no end in sight, though share markets found comfort in expectations major central banks might now have to stay super-loose for longer. Also helping sentiment was an upbeat survey on China's huge services sector, an antidote to a disappointing report on manufacturing earlier in the week." (Reuters) (Financial Times)
Wall Street fears mount over US default: "Wall Street expressed mounting concern on Wednesday over the prospect of the first default by the US of its debt obligations as the impasse continued on Capitol Hill on the second day of the US government showdown." (Financial Times)
Obama invites lawmakers to talks over shutdown: "President Barack Obama invited lawmakers to a White House meeting on Wednesday as a government shutdown caused by a congressional impasse over funding continued for a second day." (Financial Times)
China's service sector hits six-month high: The non-manufacturing PMI rose to 55.4 in September, up from 53.9 in August. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. (FastFT)
Draghi pledges to keep interest rates low: While the ECB reiterated its "forward guidance" policy that promises to keep rates at or below current levels for an extended period, the council remained divided, for the second month in a row, over whether it should cut further. (Financial Times)
Italy's coalition government comfortably survived the crucial Senate vote of confidence by 235 votes to 70. Mr Berlusconi was jeered by onlookers as he left the chamber, his 20-year unchallenged grip on Italy's centre-right severely weakened by his parliamentary humiliation and the looming prospect of being ousted from the Senate and banned from holding public office following his conviction for tax fraud in August. (Financial Times)
Repo 'fire sale' risk worries regulators: "The prospect of financial assets being dumped in a "fire sale" has re-emerged as a substantial risk in a crucial $2tn funding market used by US banks, despite changes since the financial crisis to reduce risk." (Financial Times)
Thai concerns over growing gold habit: "A steep rise in Thailand's appetite for gold has triggered fears that speculative trading involving the metal could hurt consumers, the baht and the broader health of southeast Asia's second-largest economy. " (Financial Times)
US private payrolls growth is sluggish in September: "US companies created fewer than expected jobs in September in an indication that the country's labour market is struggling to pick up pace. Private sector payrolls rose by 166,000 last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a downwardly revised 159,000 rise in August, data from ADP, the private payrolls processor, showed on Wednesday. Economists had expected an increase of 180,000." (Financial Times)
SEC throws spoke in the wheel of new derivatives regime: SEC officials contacted participants on Wednesday and warned them that new platforms, known as "swap execution facilities", should not be used to trade certain products because they might fall in to the SEC's jurisdiction and should only be traded on traditional exchanges, according to three people familiar with the situation. (Financial Times)
US grabs $3m worth of Bitcoins in Silk Road raid: As part of the raid, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Silk Road's alleged proprietor, the 29-year-old Ross William Ulbricht who goes by the name "Dread Pirate Roberts". (Financial Times) (FTAV)
Some of Microsoft's biggest shareholders have expressed concern about the effect that Bill Gates' outsized influence at the company will have on the search for a replacement to chief executive Steve Ballmer. (Financial Times)
MF Global trustee plans to return more customer funds: "Wednesday's request by court-appointed trustee James Giddens would reallocate money earmarked for general unsecured creditors to customers of the brokerage, who have a higher-priority payback status. The move could bring closure to customers who have waited nearly two years to fully recover their money, which became tied up when MF Global went bankrupt on October 31, 2011." (Reuters)
"The U.S. is overtaking Russia as the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas, a startling shift that is reshaping markets and eroding the clout of traditional energy-rich nations... The U.S. ascendance comes as Russia has struggled to maintain its energy output and has yet to embrace technologies such as hydraulic fracturing that have boosted American reserves." (WSJ)
COMMENTS & CURIOS
Sequestration nation: Cut to the core at Los Alamos (Financial Times)
Britain should not take its credit status for granted - Rogoff (Financial Times)
A mother's lessons for the PR industry (Financial Times)
Berlusconi's latest volte face leaves him weakened (Financial Times)
IRS at 100: How income taxation built the middle class (Reuters)
India's wealthy must open their gates and fight chaos (Bloomberg)
An American blogger vs. Palestine's first family (WSJ)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -11.51 (-0.08%) at 14,159
Topix up +1.42 (+0.12%) at 1,177
Hang Seng up +222.56 (+0.97%) at 23,207
US markets
S&P 500 down -1.13 (-0.07%) at 1,694
DJIA down -58.56 (-0.39%) at 15,133
Nasdaq down -2.96 (-0.08%) at 3,815
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -8.83 (-0.70%) at 1,247
FTSE100 down -22.51 (-0.35%) at 6,438
CAC 40 down -38.44 (-0.92%) at 4,158
Dax down -59.72 (-0.69%) at 8,629
Currencies
€/$ 1.36 (1.36)
$/¥ 97.64 (97.33)
£/$ 1.62 (1.62)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.28 at 108.91
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.40 at 103.70
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,321
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.31
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.62%
UK 2.75%
Germany 1.82%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -0.63bps at 85.47bp
Markit iTraxx Europe -0.74bps at 98.67bp
Markit iTraxx Xover -0.34bps at 397.66bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
