Archive - Sep 13, 2013 - Story

Earlier today, when we observed the overnight "news" floated by Japan's Nikkei we cautioned that the Nikkei is best known not for breaking news but for floating trial balloons. In other words, the report was merely leaked to gauge the market response. Sure enough, the response was gauged, and here comes the official news, shooting down this latest trial balloon.

• White House Is Saying Reports In Japanese Press That Obama Is Set To Name Larry Summers Are Wrong - Dow Jones

Sure enough, any modest USD strength accumulated on the overnight rumor, is now being promptly unwound.

No surprises here: Silver and Gold are the best, Banks and Greece - worst.

• U.S., Russia to push for new Syria peace talks (Reuters)
• Elite Syrian Unit Scatters Chemical Arms Stockpile (WSJ)
• Obama to nominate Summers as Fed chief: Nikkei (Reuters)
• Boehner Wants Joint Talks on Debt, Budget (WSJ)
• House Republicans go for broke in fiscal battles (Reuters)
• Pimco, BlackRock Together Received More Than a Quarter of Verizon's $49 Billion Bond Deal (WSJ)
• Insane financial system lives post-Lehman (Gillian Tett)
• JPM to add $2.5 billion to its litigation reserves in the second half of the year (WSJ)
• Goldman’s Zurich offices visited over working-hours complaint (FT)

Overnight asset classes got a jolt following a report by Nikkei that Obama was moving toward naming Summers the next Fed chairman, citing “several close US sources,”  pushing stocks modestly lower in Europe, with bond yields higher. According to the report, Obama is to name Summers as next Fed chairman as early as late next week, after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Otherwise, risk is still digesting the news of the confidential Twitter IPO, as it is becoming quite clear that some of the largest names (Hilton also announced yesterday) are seeking to cash out in the public markets. Is this the top?

Two years after insurgents attacked the main U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters in the heart of Kabul, killing at least nine people in a battle lasting several hours as attackers fired from a partially constructed building, and one year after the infamous Benghazi consulate attack which resulted in the deaths of Americans, overnight yet another attack was staged against US property in Afghanistan, this time the US consulate in Herat, western Afghanistan's main city, where detonated a powerful bomb outside the front gates and launching a gunbattle with security forces. At least three people were killed, however none of them Americans. The attack began at about 6 a.m. (0150 GMT). A Reuters witness said he saw flames in front of the compound rising from the wreckage of the vehicle and could hear the gunbattle as the attack unfolded.