- The bankers are coming: Banker Plan Would Fund Super-PACs to Sway U.S. Senate Elections (Bloomberg [21])
- Risk Increases of Prolonged World Slowdown, BOJ’s Miyao Says (Bloomberg [22])
- Spain Seeks to Stem Its Banking Crisis (WSJ [23])
- Deadly shooting mars new Quebec premier's victory rally (NBC [24])
- Democrats Keep Tax-Raising Focus On Top 2% Of Households (Bloomberg [25])
- Merkel Swings Into 2013 Election Mode Evoking Crisis, China (Bloomberg [26])
- Europe’s money market funds future in focus (FT [27])
- Pressure Mounts on ECB to Bring Down Bond Yields (Reuters [28])
- Swiss bank vows to hold franc down (FT [29])
- Australia economy still solid in Q2 despite GDP miss, but threats mount (Reuters [30])
- Clinton Brings to Beijing Plea for Maritime Solution (Bloomberg [31])
- The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business (BusinessWeek [32])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Facebook Inc took steps on Tuesday to reassure investors and employees worried about its plummeting stock price, as the social network's shares hit new lows.
* Apple Inc invited the media to a product announcement Sept. 12 at which it is widely expected to announce a new iPhone. Several media outlets had already reported on the date of the event, which coincides with when Apple typically introduces a new version of its flagship device.
* Technology blogs were abuzz on Tuesday with news that a group of hackers leaked a million ID numbers from Apple devices-numbers that they claim to have taken from a database that also had people's other personal information on it.
* The owner of Hudson's Bay Co., North America's oldest company, has hired banks to explore an initial public offering of the firm's Canadian and U.S. stores for as early as this October, according to people familiar with the matter.
* The European Union escalated its push to break Russian domination of Europe's natural-gas supplies as it launched an investigation on Tuesday into suspected efforts by Moscow's state-owned energy giant OAO Gazprom to lock up markets on the bloc's eastern flanks.
* A judge said on Tuesday that AMR Corp can reject labor agreements with its pilots union, 20 days after he forced the American Airlines' parent to make changes to the proposal.
FT
HEATHROW AND NHS DOMINATE RESHUFFLE
Expansion at Heathrow and the future of the NHS were the top subjects of debate in the wake of David Cameron's first cabinet shake-up.
HACKERS PUBLISH APPLE USERS' DATA
Hackers have caused embarrassment for Apple by publishing a trove of sensitive customer information online.
BUSINESS OPPOSES QUOTA OF WOMEN DIRECTORS
Business leaders urged the government to stand firm against the European Commission's plan to legislate quotas of women on boards.
MONEY MARKET FUNDS LOOK TO PASS ON LOSSES
Investors in the 1.1 trillion euro ($1.38 trillion) European money market fund industry are facing losses as big managers prpeare to pass on the impact of negative short-term interest rates.
MEGAFON PLANS LONDON IPO TO RAISE $4 BLN
One of Russia's major mobile phone companies is planning a $20 billion flotation in London and Moscow.
BRUSSELS OPENS PROBE INTO GAZPROM
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into suspected market abuses by Gazprom.
EU SET TO APPROVE UK MOBILE WALLET SYSTEM
Britain's largest mobile phone payment platform is set to be granted unconditional EU approval despite objections by rivals such as Google.
MADRID PLANS TO INJECT BANKIA WITH DEBT
Spain is planning to provide 4.5 billion euros ($5.65 billion) in stopgap rescue money to Bankia by injecting it with Spanish government debt.
SHELL WOES DETER OTHERS FROM US ARCTIC
Royal Dutch Shell's regulatory problems in the U.S. Arctic are deterring other energy groups with licences in the U.S.' northern oceans.
SANTANDER LAUNCHES $4 BLN MEXICAN IPO
Spanish bank Santander plans to raise up to 3.4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) through the stock market listing of a quarter of its Mexican unit.
DEUTSCHE CUTS EQUITIES SALES STAFF IN ASIA
Deutsche Bank cut 10 percent of its Asian equities sales and trading staff on Tuesday.
NYT
* Facebook Inc said its largest shareholder and Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg, would not sell his shares or options for at least another year; and moved up when some employees could start selling their shares. The moves appeared aimed at instilling confidence into Wall Street, analysts said.
* Hackers released a file that they said contained a million identification numbers for Apple Inc mobile devices, claiming that they had obtained it by hacking into the computer of an F.B.I. agent. The F.B.I. said it had no evidence that this was true.
* The scandal over global interest rates has states working to build a case for suing the nation's largest banks.
* Major automakers reported on Tuesday that sales grew 19.9 percent in August despite higher gas prices during the month.
* With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger.
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* A historic Quebec election that returned the Parti Québécois to power ended in tragedy Tuesday when a gunman killed one person and wounded another after trying to start a fire at the Montreal venue where PQ Leader Pauline Marois was celebrating her minority mandate.
* Canada's most prestigious medical journal is calling on parents, lawmakers and doctors to put an end to the practice of spanking children. In an editorial published Tuesday, Canadian Medical Association Journal editor-in-chief John Fletcher adds his publication's heft to a growing call to strike down Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which outlines legally allowable "corrective" physical punishment of children by their parents.
Reports in the business section:
* Canada needs an "immense amount of capital" to develop and move its resources to market, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Tuesday, signifying the federal government's desire to encourage foreign investment in the natural resources sector.
NATIONAL POST
* The PQ calls him a double crosser and the Liberals have dubbed him a closet separatist, but in a minority National Assembly, Coalition Avenir Québec leader François Legault now holds the balance of power in Quebec. Despite election-eve claims that his party would rise to power in a last-minute, NDP-style sweep, the third place finish was nevertheless an impressive feat for the province's youngest political party.
* Peel Police put three Brampton schools under a hold and secure order Tuesday morning after a stabbing on the first day back to class. The victim suffered minor injuries after an altercation with another student at Cardinal Leger Secondary School.
FINANCIAL POST
* The skies over Europe are darkening (again) and the U.S. is heading into an election, but we're not worried - at least not in the Canadian bond market. No contagion here. Government of Canada yields remain at historic lows and debt issued by companies is also benefiting from Canada's safe haven status.
* The owner of Hudson's Bay Co is aiming to take the department store chain public before the end of the year, sources said Tuesday. A successful offering would put some control of North America's oldest private enterprise back in Canadian hands, but softer market conditions from global economic uncertainty could still derail the deal.
European Economic Update:
- Switzerland CPI for August 0.0 m/m -0.5 y/y – lower than expected. Consensus 0.1% m/m -0.4% y/y. Previous -0.5% m/m -0.7% y/y.
- Italy PMI Services for August 44.0 – higher than expected. Consensus 43.3. Previous 43.0.
- France PMI Services for August 49.2 – lower than expected. Consensus 50.2. Previous 50.2.
- Germany PMI Services for August 48.3 – in line with expectations. Consensus 48.3. Previous 48.3.
- Sweden PMI Services 50.8. Previous 54.8.
- Norway PMI s.a. 48.7 – lower than expected. Consensus 50.1. Previous 48.7.
- Spain PMI Services 44.0 – higher than expected. Consensus 43.4. Previous 43.7.
- Eurozone PMI Services for August 47.2 – lower than expected. Consensus 47.5. Previous 47.5.
- Eurozone PMI Composite for August 46.3 – lower than expected. Consensus 46.6. Previous 46.6.
- Eurozone Retail Sales for July -0.2% m/m -1.7% y/y – lower than expected. Consensus -0.2% m/m -1.5% y/y. Previous 0.1% m/m -0.9% y/y.