Private Equity

• Stick to tapering and rates pledge, says Boston Fed chief (FT)
• Turkey to let Iraqi Kurds reinforce Kobani as U.S. drops arms to defenders (Reuters)
• Obama makes rare campaign trail appearance, some leave early (Reuters)
• Japan GPIF to Boost Share Allocation to About 25%, Nikkei Says (BBG)... or three months of POMO
• Japan Stocks Surge on Report GPIF to Boost Local Shares (BBG)
• China Growth Seen Slowing Sharply Over Decade (WSJ)
• Russia, Ukraine Edge Closer to Natural-Gas Deal (WSJ)
• Leveraged Money Spurs Selloff as Record Treasuries Trade (BBG)
• After clashes, Hong Kong students, government stand their ground before talks (Reuters)

The surge in foreigners buying up U.S. real estate has been well documented in recent years. Of all this buying, no nation has demonstrated a bigger increase in purchases than China. In fact, it is estimated that 24% of all foreign purchases of domestic real estate this year have come from China, up 72% from last year. In some California communities, 90% of real estate buyers are from China. Yes, 90%. Naturally, many of them are buying multi-million dollar homes in “all cash” transactions. Well it appears that one of those communities is the 57,000 person Los Angeles suburb known as Arcadia. The suburb had a relatively insignificant Asian population of 4% in 1980, but it is now 59%.

Mel Watt is one of the most dangerous financial oligarch puppets operating in America today. As Bloomberg reports, "a U.S. housing regulator plans new steps to encourage banks to lend to buyers with less than-perfect credit scores... Watt will also discuss an effort that would allow borrowers to put down as little as 3% of the purchase price." It’s for the good of the people right? He’s a “liberal” so he’s always working for the little guy, right? Wrong...

Theories abound why this is suddenly happening, after years of deceptive calm.

• Privately, Saudis tell oil market: get used to lower prices (Reuters)
• OPEC Members’ Rift Deepens Amid Falling Oil Prices (WSJ)
• Russia Spending $6 Billion Not Enough to Stop Ruble Rout on Oil (BBG)
• Deutsche clampdown on bad behaviour prompts exodus of traders (FT)
• Can't beat the spin: China trade data eases slowdown fears, more stimulus may still be needed (Reuters)
• China’s Exports Buoy Growth as IPhone Inflates Imports (BBG)
• Italy on Sale to Chinese Investors as Recession Bites (BBG)
• Hong Kong Protesters, Antiprotest Activists Clash (WSJ)
• Turkey Offers Military Bases to U.S.-Led Coalition (BBG) ... and the price is a small piece of post-Assad Syria
• Passenger With Flu-Like Symptoms Causes Ebola Scare At LAX (CBS)
• Boston patient deemed unlikely to have Ebola virus (Boston Globe)

• Five U.S. airports to screen for fever (Reuters)
• Danger, central banks trading with each other: Bipolar U.S. Stocks See Biggest Mood Swing in Three Years  (BBG)
• Draghi Policies Blunted in Berlin as German Protests Grow (BBG)
• White policeman kills black teen in St Louis, triggering fresh protests (Reuters)
• Au Revoir to France’s Welfare Model as Socialists Cut Spending (BBG)
• Here comes Roberto Cavalski (Reuters)
• There are 49 U.S. venture-capital-backed companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more—the highest number on record (WSJ)
• Pressure mounts on Hong Kong leader over payout amid crisis (Reuters)

• Turkey says Syria town about to fall as Islamic State advances (Reuters)
• Only now? Growth worries grip stocks, oil (Reuters)
• Hong Kong Protest Leaders ‘Furious’ at Agenda for Talks (BBG)
• Earthquake Damages Thousands of Homes in Southern China (BBG)
• Keystone Be Darned: Canada Finds Oil Route Around Obama (BBG)
• Where Is North Korea's 31-Year-Old Leader? (BusinessWeek)
• Australia to Revise Employment Data (WSJ)
• Americans Living Longer as Fewer Die From Heart Disease, Cancer (BBG)
• A 401(k) Conundrum: Can You Make Cash Pile Last for Life?  (BBG)
• China Services Sector Slows in September (WSJ)

• Liberian Rubber Farm Becomes Sanctuary Against Ebola (WSJ)
• The World’s Most Powerful Central Banker: Janet Who? (BBG)
• Islamic State moves into south west of Syrian Kurdish town (Reuters)
• Waldorf to Be Biggest Chinese Property Purchase in U.S. (BBG)
• Spain Seeks People in Contact With Ebola-Infected Nurse (BBG)
• Hong Kong protests at crossroads as traffic, frustration pile up (Reuters)
• Immigration: Grim Caseload at the Border (WSJ)
• China Cuts Thousands of ‘Phantom’ Workers From State Payroll (BBG)
• U.S., U.K. Regulators Push to Settle Deutsche Bank Libor Case This Year (WSJ)
• Wall Street Moles Go to NY’s Top Cop, Spurning SEC Cash (BBG)
• Pimco's outflow headaches only just beginning (Reuters)
• Japan Lawmakers Flag Need for Exit Strategy as Yen Falls (BBG)

Due to the trend of renting as opposed to buying by average citizens, there has been an enormous construction boom of apartment complexes across the U.S. However, as Bloomberg reports, the U.S. apartment-vacancy rate rose for the first time in almost five years. Rents are still rising, but for how long? Unless incomes rise substantially, it will be difficult to continue this trend, which is why so many of the financial players have already started bailing on the “buy-to-rent” strategy. And today's zero wage gains does not help support the positivity.

• Mystery Man Who Moves Japanese Markets Made More Than 1 Million Trades  (BBG)
• Draghi’s Trillion-Euro Pump Finds Blockage in Spain: Euro Credit (BBG)
• Apple plays defense on iPhone 6 bending, software concerns (Reuters)
• U.S. to Shield Military From High-Interest Debt (WSJ)
• U.S. Outgunned by Extremists on Social Media Battlefield (BBG)
• Yen Weakens on Pension Fund Reform; Aussie Drops to 7-Month Low (BBG)
• Secretive Russian oil giant has no fear of sanctions (Reuters)
• Ride-Sharing Services Face Legal Threat From San Francisco, Los Angeles (WSJ)
• Putin’s Sell-Treasuries-for-BRICS Bonds Plan Has Limits (BBG)

• Apple CEO Cook Goes From Record Sales to IPhone Stumbles (BBG)
• Deal With Saudis Paved Way for Syrian Airstrikes (WSJ)
• Drone delivery: DHL 'parcelcopter' flies to German isle (Reuters)
• Tory Burch Hires Ralph Lauren Veteran as Co-CEO (WSJ)
• Apple releases iOS 8 workaround to fix dropped cell service (Reuters)
• Ukraine Probes Ex-Minister Over $3 Billion Russian Bond (BBG)
• Goldman Sachs-Led Group Near Deal to Buy Messaging Startup Perzo (WSJ)
• U.K. Seeks to Criminalize Manipulation of 7 Benchmarks (BBG)

If the US economy had boosted everyone's income by $1.4 trillion in the past quarter, USD GDP would now be growing at a double digit pace. It did not. So to get a sense of just whose net worth rose by the noted amount, we go to Stone McCarthy which answers the question who benefited from holding stocks directly. Bottom line: the gains in net worth associated with holding stocks directly have been concentrated among a relatively small number of households.

• U.S., backed by Arabs, launches first strikes on fighters in Syria (Reuters, BBG)
• But not all all back: Turkey Bars Kurds From Entering Syria to Fight Islamic State (BBG)
• Dollar Weakens on Airstrikes; Europe Stocks Drop (BBG)
• Ready for Rate Riot? Emerging Markets Set to Follow Fed (BBG)
• White House fence jumper had ammunition, machete in car, prosecutors say (WaPo)
• El-Erian "would have done things differently" (Reuters)
• Eurozone business growth slows in September, PMI survey finds (BBC)
• Shrinking Bond Desks Taken by Journeymen as Masters Fade (BBG)
• Manufacturing Rebound Relieves Growth Concerns in China (BBG)
• Former Trader Quits Playboy Club to Open Own Restaurant (BBG)

• Quid pro quo Clarice: Iran seeks give and take on Islamic State militants, nuclear program (Reuters)
• Alibaba’s Banks Said to Boost IPO Size to Record $25 Billion (BBG)
• European Stocks Fall Amid China Concern as Tesco Slides (BBG)
• Tesco Suspends Executives, Probes Error That Triggers New Profit Warning (WSJ)
• Kurds say they have halted Islamic State advance on Syrian town (Reuters)
• Because luck and managing money is genetic: Financial Elite's Offspring Start Their Own Hedge Funds (WSJ)
• Islamic State Onslaught Spurs Mass Exodus of Syrian Kurds (BBG)
• Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity From Fossil Fuels (NYT)

Earlier in the week, perhaps reflecting on the fact that 90% of hedge fund managers are overpaid, California Public Employers Retirement System (CalPERS) announced it would cut its entire exposure to hedge funds. It seems the decision is becoming more popular, as Bloomberg reports, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the sixth-largest U.S. public pension, has decided to cut its hedge fund allocation by 1 percentage point to only 8% of the fund. The decision enables the fund to reduce equity exposure and raise fixed income exposure.