Markets: Asian bourses were decidedly mixed as investors waited for earnings releases from some of the biggest companies in the region as well as more certainty on US monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's meeting this week. (Financial Times)
Iran tries to lure back western oil groups by offering them more lucrative contracts as part of efforts to repair its battered economy and improve the Islamic Republic's relations with the western world. In a rare interview, Mehdi Hosseini, an adviser to the oil minister, said the current system of "buyback" contracts – which do not allow foreign companies to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian projects – would be scrapped. (Financial Times)
"The federal government is set to slap Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever, claiming the Indian outsourcing giant illegally placed workers on visitor, rather than work, visas at big corporate clients across the U.S. The government is expected to announce Wednesday it will fine Infosys about $35 million, according to people close to the matter. An investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department found that the Indian company used inexpensive, easy-to-obtain B-1 visas meant to cover short business visits—instead of harder-to-get H-1B work visas—to bring an unknown number of its employees for long-term stays, these people say." (WSJ)
"China's money rates stabilized after the central bank resumed open market operations on Tuesday morning for the first time since Oct 15, easing worries that the authorities were preparing to dramatically tighten monetary policy." (Reuters)
"India's central bank raised its policy interest rate for the second time in as many months on Tuesday, warning that inflation is likely to remain elevated for the rest of the fiscal year, and rolled back an emergency measure put in place to support the slumping rupee. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted its policy repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.75 percent, in line with the expectations of most analysts in a recent Reuters poll, despite the risks to an economy beset by sluggish growth." (Reuters)
Apple upbeat over iPhone sales momentum: Tim Cook, chief executive, said Apple was "stronger than ever" and would consider returning more cash to shareholders by the beginning of 2014, amid calls for an increased buyback programme. (Financial Times)
Deutsche Börse said it had received an offer from the US to settle an investigation over the alleged violation of US sanctions against Iran for $152m. The sum is less than half the $340m Deutsche Börse had set aside pending the investigation. (Financial Times)
"China National Petroleum Corp., the country's largest oil producer, is nearing an agreement to buy Petroleo Brasileiro SA's assets in Peru for more than $2 billion, said three people with knowledge of the matter. The proposed deal may be announced as soon as next month, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private." (Bloomberg)
"On Monday, Consol Energy the fifth-largest U.S. coal producer, said it would sell five large mines to closely held Murray Energy Corp. in a deal valued at $3.5 billion, one of the biggest transactions in recent years in the coal patch... what makes Murray's purchase all the more intriguing: It sees a long-term future for coal while most rivals in the industry don't." (WSJ)
Morgan Stanley "is considering asking the Federal Reserve for permission to purchase more [of its own] stock next year, a move aimed at boosting its middling returns on equity." (WSJ)
COMMENTS & CURIOS
Leaks have weakened American control of the web (Financial Times)
US split over whether allies' spying fury is genuine (Financial Times)
Cantor tries to change Vegas. Kinda. (WSJ)
Goldman is being nicer to its analysts, for obvious reasons (WSJ)
Asia's export engine stuck in neutral despite U.S. uptick (Reuters)
India's farmers start to mechanize amid a labor shortage (WSJ)
China Inc badly needs IPO thaw (Financial Times)
World Bank: it's easier to do business in Russia than China (Financial Times - beyondbrics)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -97.09 (-0.67%) at 14,299
Topix down -2.93 (-0.24%) at 1,195
Hang Seng down -2.57 (-0.01%) at 22,804
US markets
S&P 500 up +2.34 (+0.13%) at 1,762
DJIA down -1.35 (-0.01%) at 15,569
Nasdaq down -3.23 (-0.08%) at 3,940
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -1.83 (-0.14%) at 1,283
FTSE100 up +4.48 (+0.07%) at 6,726
CAC 40 down -20.70 (-0.48%) at 4,252
Dax down -7.09 (-0.08%) at 8,979
Currencies
€/$ 1.38 (1.38)
$/¥ 97.54 (97.65)
£/$ 1.61 (1.61)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.39 at 109.22
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.25 at 98.43
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +7.70 at 1,360
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.26
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.53%
UK 2.65%
Germany 1.75%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -0.02bps at 71.63bp
Markit iTraxx Europe -1.77bps at 85.13bp
Markit iTraxx Xover -2.73bps at 347bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
