Markets: "Asian stocks rose, with the regional equities gauge rebounding from last week's decline, after weaker than forecast U.S. consumer confidence spurred bets the Federal Reserve will maintain stimulus." (Bloomberg) (Financial Times)UK battens down hatches ahead of storm: The "short, sharp storm" is likely to have finished by Monday afternoon, according to Helen Chivers, head of news and social media at the Met Office. Nevertheless, its unusual severity has prompted the government agency to grade the storm at the "top end of an amber alert." (Financial Times)
UK's Big Six face challenge over power bills: British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power and npower have all used the argument of mounting wholesale costs – which make up nearly half of household bills – to justify recent price increases averaging 9.1 per cent. They have also blamed government green schemes and rising network charges. But data from energy regulator Ofgem show wholesale prices have been almost flat over the past year, rising by a mere 1.7 per cent. (Financial Times)
Probe clears Mizuho of gangster loans cover-up: "A probe into loans to gangsters by Mizuho Financial Group has found evidence of slapdash management but no sign of a deliberate cover-up, paving the way for Japan's number two bank by assets to punish executives with pay cuts rather than the loss of their jobs." (Financial Times)
Merkel's phone tapped by US since 2002, leaked documents claim: According to leaked documents seen by the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, US intelligence intercepted the German chancellor's phone from before she became chancellor until shortly before a visit by President Barack Obama to Berlin this past June. (Financial Times) (Spiegel)
Barack Obama mounts big push to bolster FDI in US: The move by Mr Obama to pitch America as open for business is more aggressive than usual from the White House, reflecting a growing realisation in Washington that the case for investing in the world's biggest economy is no longer self-evident. The US attracted $166bn in foreign direct investment in 2012, a 28 per cent decline compared with 2011 and slightly below 2010 levels -- this year's performance could be even weaker. (Financial Times)
Fed probes banks' exposure to mortgage vehicles: The private discussions, described by one person as a "deep dive" into the topic, underscore regulators' growing concerns about the rapid expansion of mortgage real estate investment trusts. MReits finance their purchases of long-term mortgages with short-term borrowings, known as repo, secured from dealer banks.The worry is that MReits could be vulnerable to a sharp increase in interest rates which would force the vehicles to quickly reduce their holdings of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and set off a wider fire sale. (Financial Times)
South Korea warms to idea of joining TPP trade group: "Basically, our thinking is that we need to take part in the TPP, but we have to consider very seriously when is the right time," Cho Won-dong told the Financial Times, stressing that no final decision had been taken. (Financial Times)
Emirates is in advanced negotiations with Boeing to buy as many as 100 long-haul passenger jets. It could be a record-breaking $30bn-plus commercial order for the US aircraft manufacturer which is also evaluating whether to buy more long-range aircraft from Airbus, including A380 superjumbos and the largest version of the European aircraft maker's planned new A350 jet. (Financial Times)
"Barclays joined UBS and Bank of America in forecasting a Hong Kong property slump, predicting home prices will fall at least 30 percent by the end of 2015 as income growth stalls and supply increases." (Bloomberg)
Argentina's President Cristina Fernández suffered a major setback in congress in midterm elections on Sunday, putting an end to her ambitions to be re-elected in the 2015 presidential polls. Although it did not lose its congressional majority, the president's ruling coalition won just 32.8 per cent of the national vote with 95.5 per cent of the votes counted, compared to Ms Fernández's victory in 2011 presidential elections with 54 per cent of the vote. (Financial Times)
COMMENTS & CURIOS
Scrivener's error undercuts patent-law overhaul (WSJ)
China nuclear subs 'gallop to depths of ocean' (Financial Times)
Beijing's caution on reforms makes sense – for now (Financial Times)
Xia Yeliang: The China Americans don't see (WSJ)
China begins first trial of anti-graft activists (Reuters)
Reasons to talk to North Korea (NYT)
Happy birthday Abenomics (Financial Times)
Plumbing the depths of JPM's mortgage woes (WSJ)
The relaunch of RBS (Financial Times)
Young divorce case may be last gladiatorial battle of the titans (Financial Times)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 up +255.85 (+1.82%) at 14,344
Topix up +15.39 (+1.31%) at 1,194
Hang Seng up +108.77 (+0.48%) at 22,807
US markets
S&P 500 up +7.70 (+0.44%) at 1,760
DJIA up +61.07 (+0.39%) at 15,570
Nasdaq up +14.40 (+0.37%) at 3,943
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -1.13 (-0.09%) at 1,285
FTSE100 up +8.16 (+0.12%) at 6,721
CAC 40 down -3.38 (-0.08%) at 4,272
Dax up +5.11 (+0.06%) at 8,986
Currencies
€/$ 1.38 (1.38)
$/¥ 97.61 (97.41)
£/$ 1.62 (1.62)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.26 at 107.19
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.17 at 97.68
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,352
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.27
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.52%
UK 2.64%
Germany 1.75%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +1.01bps at 71.65bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +0.4bps at 86.9bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +0.95bps at 349.73bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
