Tender Offer

• As we warned in May 2013... Gross Exposes $42 Trillion Bond Market’s Key Flaw in Exit (BBG).... hint: no liquidity
• WTI Crude Slips Below $90 for First Time in 17 Months (BBG)
• Traders Thank Fed for Once-in-Decade Surge in Profit (BBG)
• Islamic State committing 'staggering' crimes in Iraq: U.N. report (Reuters)
• Philippine Islamist militants threaten to behead German on October 17 (Reuters)
• Draghi’s Buying Spree for the ECB Might Start Modestly (BBG)
• Russian Officials Say No Plans for Capital Controls (WSJ)
• Indians Join the Wave of Investors in Condos and Homes in the U.S. (NYT)
• Leader of Mexican drugs cartel captured (FT)
• Dallas Ebola patient vomited outside apartment on way to hospital (Reuters)

• British PM begs Scots: Don't rip apart our UK 'family of nations' (Reuters)
• Obama has become Bush: Obama’s Task: Rally U.S. Public, Allies in Terror Fight (BBG)
• Alibaba's record IPO covered after first few roadshow meetings (Reuters)
• Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemolo to quit after 23 years (BBC)
• Combat Reversals Pressure Assad (WSJ)
• Top LBO Fund Investors Pile on Leverage to Boost Returns (BBG)
• BOJ's Iwata upbeat on economy, unfazed by post-tax hike slump (Reuters)
• Carney Can’t Escape Housing as Debt Colors BOE Policy (BBG)
• Detroit Clears Crucial Hurdle on Bankruptcy (NYT)

• Facebook Researchers Manipulated News Feeds in 2012 Study (BBG)
• Argentina at Brink of Default as $539 Million Payment Due (BBG)
• Hedge fund correlation risk alarms investors (FT)
• As China Flexes Muscle, Obama Frets Over Rival’s Weakness (BBG)
• As caliphate declared, Iraqi troops battle for Tikrit (Reuters)
• Dubai Caps Worst Month Since 2008 as Real Estate Stocks Tumble (BBG)
• Russian Advisers Ready Iraq to Use New Combat Aircraft (BBG)
• Blackstone Readies Big-Bet Hedge Fund (WSJ) - so what was GSO?
• Pope says communists are closet Christians (Reuters)
• Thomson Reuters revising FX trading standards (Reuters)

• Obama to tout manufacturing gains, highlight economic progress (Reuters)
• Iraq Gunmen Attack North of Baghdad as Obama Weighs Plan (BBG)
• Chinese Regulators Block Shipping Alliance Abandoned Deal (WSJ)
• Russian $8.2 Trillion Oil Trove Locked Without U.S. Tech (BBG)
• Ukrainian forces, rebels clash near Russian border (Reuters)
• M&A talk lifts stocks, Iraq tensions ease slightly (Reuters)
• Wealthy Clintons Use Trusts to Limit Estate Tax They Back (BBG)
• Argentina vows to service debt despite new legal blow (Reuters)
• Allergan's Bitter Pill for Morgan Stanley (WSJ)
• Islamists kill 50 in Kenya, some during World Cup screening (Reuters)
• American Express Revs Up Pursuit of the Masses (WSJ)

"The investigators believed it was hard to wiretap Icahn without him finding out because he owned a stake in a telecommunications company through which surveillance might have to be conducted, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing one of its sources."

• Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels, Putin warns of consequences (Reuters)
• Obama to Russia: More sanctions are 'teed up' (AP)
• Vienna Banks Bemoan Russia Sanctions Testing Cold War Neutrality (BBG)
• GE’s $57 Billion Cash Overseas Said to Fuel Alstom Deal (BBG)
• GM posts lower first-quarter profit after recall costs (Reuters)
• Apple Stock Split Removes Obstacle to Inclusion in Dow (BBG)
• U.S. regulators to propose new net neutrality rules in May (Reuters)

• Ukraine Says Russia Exporting ‘Terror’ Amid Eastern Push (BBG)
• Civil War Threat in Ukraine (Reuters)
• China Shoe Plant Strike Disrupts Output at Nike, Adidas Supplier (BBG)
• Mt Gox to liquidate (WSJ)
• Ex-Co-Op Bank Chairman Charged With Cocaine Possession (BBG)
• Goldman Sachs plans to jump-start stock-trading business (WSJ)
• Credit Suisse first-quarter profit falls as trading tumbles (Reuters)
• U.K. Unemployment Rate Falls to Five-Year Low (BBG)
• Lawmakers Back High-Frequency Trade Curbs in EU Markets Law (BBG)
• Yahoo's growth anemic as turnaround chugs along (Reuters)
• Spain ETF Grows as Rajoy Attracts Record U.S. Investments (BBG)

Putin Is No Mad Man to Russians as Power Play Trumps Economy (BBG)
Alibaba picks U.S. for IPO; in talks with six banks for lead roles (Reuters)
Russia hearts selling German energy: Billionaire Fridman’s L1 Buys RWE Unit for $7.1 Billion (Bloomberg)
Malaysia plane search straddles continent as police focus on crew (Reuters)
Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to China set to bolster investment (Al-Awsat)
Bugatti-Driving 26-Year-Old Tied to Penny-Stock Website (BBG)
Vodafone agrees $10 billion deal to buy Spain's Ono (Reuters)
The Hidden Rot in the Jobs Numbers (WSJ)
SocGen Ex-Trader Kerviel Walks to Forget Loss as Judgment Looms (BBG)
U.S. Banks’ $75 Billion Payout at Stake in Fed Tests (BBG)

• Yuan suffers biggest weekly loss as PBOC punishes speculators (Reuters)
• Euro Gains as Bonds Decline With Stocks on Inflation Data (BBG)
• Biggest Sovereign Fund Forced to Sell Stocks as Mandate Breached (BBG)
• Because we don't already have enough fried foods.. (Reuters)
• Putin: Russia to Consider Aid to Ukraine (AP)
• Wall Street Hates JPMorgan Fee for $1 Trillion Junk Loans (BBG)
• Yellen Sticks to Plan Amid Weather Doubts (WSJ)
• U.S. Retail Chains See First Profit Decline Since Recession (BBG)

• California couple finds $10 million in buried treasure while walking dog (Reuters) ... not bitcoin?
• Dimon Says Threats to JPMorgan Span Google to China Banks (BBG)
• Stocks So Many Love to Hate Buoyed by Fed’s Jobs Priority (BBG)
• White House Weighs Four Options for Revamping NSA Phone Surveillance (WSJ) ... to pick the fifth one
• Credit Suisse Executives Weren’t Aware of U.S. Tax Dodges (BBG)
• Militias Hunt Kiev Looters From Central Bank to Bling Palace (BBG)
• Crisis Gauge Rises to Record High as Swaps Avoided (BBG)
• Obama to Propose Highway-Repair Program (WSJ)
• Ukraine Pledges to Protect Deposits as Kiev Rally Called (BBG)

• Hilsenrath: Next Cut in Fed Bond Buys Looms - Reduction to $65 Billion Could Be Announced on Jan. 29 (WSJ)
• China Workforce Slide Robs Xi of Growth Engine (BBG)
• Obama pulls the race card: Obama Says Race May Blunt Poll Standing in Interview (BBG)
• Chinese firm's IPO deal switches banks as chairman's daughter moves from JPMorgan to UBS (SCMP)
• China and Russia may hold joint naval drill in the Mediterranean (RT)
• Iran invite to Syria talks withdrawn after boycott threat (Reuters)
• Seven Chinese IPOs Halt Trading After 44 Percent Share  (BBG)
• U.S. military says readying plans for Olympic security assistance (Reuters)
• Thank you Bernanke: Investors Most Upbeat in 5 Years With Record 59% Bullish in Poll (BBG)
• From His Refuge in the Poconos, Reclusive Imam Fethullah Gulen Roils Turkey (WSJ)

•  'Life-threatening' cold bites Midwest, heads east (Reuters)
• Gold Analysts Get Most Bullish in a Year After Rout (BBG)
• Asian Stocks Fall Most in Three Weeks on China Services (BBG)
• Angela Merkel in skiing accident, cancels visits (Reuters)
• High-Speed Traders Form Trade Group to Press Case (WSJ)
• Toyota and Honda post record China sales (FT)
• China Shadow Banking Risks Exposed by Local Debt Audit (BBG)
• J.P. Morgan to Pay Over $2 Billion to U.S. in Penalties in Madoff Case (WSJ)
• Corruption trial of Trenton, N.J., mayor starts Monday (Reuters)
• Car Makers at Consumer Electronics Show Tout Ways to Plug Autos Into the Web (WSJ)

• Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission’s accomplished (WaPo)
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Extends Six-Year High on U.S. Data  (BBG)
• Retailers blend stores, e-commerce to snag holiday stragglers (Reuters)
• Storm wreaks havoc in Britain, France ahead of Christmas (Reuters)
• Big Rally to Pump Up Wall Street Bonuses (WSJ)
• Obamacare Sign-Up Extended as Record 1 Million Use Site (BBG)
• Merkel Hits Wall With Europe Fix (WSJ)
• Boaz Weinstein Loses for Second Year as European Bet Sours (BBG)
• UniCredit has reached an agreement to sell almost €1 billion in nonperforming loans to Cerberus (WSJ)
• U.S. mortgage applications fall as refinance hits five-year low (Reuters)
• Cohen Said to Have Warned Friend About Possible Federal Investigation (NYT)
• ‘Duck Dynasty’ Dad Risks $500 Million With Gay-Sin Remark (BBG)

• Vocal billionaire activist IRR - 150x: Icahn bought $1 billion of AAPL stock, seeks $150 billion buyback (BBG)
• BlackBerry Said to Have Sought Buyers Since 2012 (BBG) - for a phone or the entire company?
• IPhone Fingerprint Reader Talk Boosting Biometric Stocks (BBG) - also, the NSA will need to grow its Utah data center
• UPS Jet Crashes in Birmingham, Ala. (WSJ)
• America's Farm-Labor Pool Is Graying (WSJ)
• Hong Kong Lowers Storm Signal as Typhoon Closes on China (BBG)
• Indian submarine explodes in Mumbai port (FT)
• BofA Banker Sued by Regulator Later Joined Fannie Mae (BBG)
• Software that hijacks visits to YouTube uncovered (FT)
• Chinese Billionaire Huang Readies Iceland Bid on Power Shift (BBG)
• China to launch fresh pharmaceutical bribery probe (Reuters)
• Defeat at J.C. Penney Hurts Ackman as Performance Trails (BBG)

Following the Friday plunge in the ISM-advance reading Chicago PMI, it was a night of more global manufacturing data, which started off modestly better than expected with Japanese Tankan data, offset by a continuing decline in Chinese PMIs (which in a good old tradition expanded and contracted at the same time depending on whom one asked). Then off to Europe where we got the final print of the June PMI which continued the trend recent from both the flash and recent historical readings of improvement in the periphery, and deterioration in the core. At the individual level, Italy PMI rose to 49.1, on expectations of 47.8, up from 47.3; while Spain hit 50 for the first time in years, up from 48.1, with both highest since July and April 2011 respectively. In the core French PMI rose to a 16-month high of 48.4 from 48.3, however German PMI continued to disappoint slowing from 48.7, where it was expected to print, to 48.6. To the market all of the above spelled one thing: Risk On... at least until some Fed governor opens their mouth, or some US data comes in better than expected, thus making the taper probability higher.