- Wall Street Has Doubts About Fed Lifting Interest Rates (WSJ [17])
- Global stocks at three-week highs as Fed decision looms (Reuters [18])
- Charting the Markets: The World Awaits the Fed (BBG [19])
- Powerful quake off Chile slams waves into coastal towns; eight killed (Reuters [20])
- As Fed Storm Brews, Europe Stocks Seen Weathering Turmoil Best (BBG [21])
- Fiorina's rise adds another insurgent to U.S. election fray (Reuters [22])
- No One Performed Better Than Carly Fiorina in Second Republican Debate (BBG [23])
- Syrian army starts using new weapons from Russia - military source (Reuters [24])
- Nine Blueprints for How to Handle the Stock Market on Thursday (BBG [25])
- Ukraine bans journalists who 'threaten national interests' from country (Guardian [26])
- China’s coal consumption higher than thought (FT [27])
- China will work with U.S. on hacking, defend its interests: official (Reuters [28])
- AB InBev, SABMiller Deal Expected to Face Global Antitrust Grilling (WSJ [29])
- Altice in Advanced Talks to Buy Cablevision (WSJ [30])
- Nobody goes to prison: U.S. Said to Have Settled With G.M. Over Deadly Defect (NYT [31])
- The World's Second-Richest Person Is Closing In on Number One (BBG [32])
- GM to pay $900 million, settle U.S. criminal case over ignition switches (Reuters [33])
- Uber Rivals Form International Alliance (WSJ [34])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- General Motors Co is expected to reach a criminal settlement with federal prosecutors as soon as Thursday, a punishment for the auto maker's botched handling of an ignition-switch defect that led it to recall millions of vehicles and was linked to more than 100 deaths. (http://on.wsj.com/1grSvxD [35])
- Anheuser-Busch InBev launched an effort to take over SABMiller PLC, a bold move that, if successful, would create a brewing giant that would dominate much of the global beer market. (http://on.wsj.com/1Nwv6sf [36])
- Altice is in advanced talks to buy Cablevision Systems Corp, the latest move by the European cable company to build a communications empire in the U.S. (http://on.wsj.com/1Lz4su7 [30])
- Uber Technologies Inc's biggest rivals around the world are banding together to launch a counterattack by linking their apps and effectively creating an international ride-hailing service. San Francisco startup Lyft Inc and Chinese startup Didi Kuaidi Joint Co said Wednesday they have formed an alliance to allow users of each app to hail rides from drivers of the other app while they are traveling to the other country. (http://on.wsj.com/1FgJpzL [34])
FT
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a colossus producing a third of the world's beer.
Africa's biggest gold producer AngloGold Ashanti said it has signed a deal with Randgold Resources to jointly redevelop its aging Obuasi mine in Ghana.
French ride-sharing start-up Blablacar has raised $200 million from three venture capital funds as it pursues its expansion in emerging markets.
NYT
- Federal prosecutors are poised to settle a criminal investigation into General Motors, according to people briefed on the matter, accusing the automaker of failing to disclose a safety defect tied to at least 124 deaths. The case, which the prosecutors plan to unveil on Thursday, would cap a wide-ranging investigation that tainted the automaker's reputation for quality and safety and damaged its bottom line. (http://nyti.ms/1QjcUS3 [37])
- Cablevision has agreed to sell itself to Altice , an acquisitive European telecommunications giant, for about $17.7 billion, including debt, people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. It is the latest deal to reshape the broadband and cable television landscape. (http://nyti.ms/1F3kZKc [38])
- Bank of America shareholders will vote on Tuesday on whether Brian Moynihan can retain his role as both chairman and chief executive. (http://nyti.ms/1W4sLaI [39])
- Janet Yellen, the U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman, faces a crucial moment on Thursday when the Fed's policy-making committee announces whether the time has come to start raising interest rates. (http://nyti.ms/1LztHg2 [40])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
- Debate over tycoon Li Ka-shing's move to pull business out of China has sparked a furore on the mainland, with more media wading into the fray. Beijing News, which is run by the capital's municipal propaganda department, defend HK tycoon's decision to scale back, saying "Li Ka-shing's leaving or staying actually is no indication of China's economy." (bit.ly/1LxQ8lH)
- Hong Kong's Trade Development Council has cut its forecast for the city's export growth this year to zero from 3 percent amid uncertainties in the global economy. TDC Director of Research Nicholas Kwan Ka-ming said a possible interest rate rise in the United States could further weigh on Hong Kong's export sector in the medium and long term. (bit.ly/1Ye0ZuG)
- Many Hong Kong property buyers are backing out of purchase deals while sellers are offering deep discounts in anticipation of a drop in prices once the United States raises interest rates. Alvin Cheung Chi-wai, an associate director at Prudential Brokerage, said developers who require purchasers to put down a small initial down payment will be hit the hardest. (bit.ly/1QHgAxK)
THE STANDARD
- Hong Kong's pension fund scheme posted its worst performance in three years after inflation outpaced returns of 65 percent of funds, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions found. (bit.ly/1Ogov6P)
- China government-backed developer Poly Property Group has won a residential site in Tuen Mun for HK$1.7 billion ($219.4 million), setting a record for land costs in the western New Territories. The developer won the tender at a price of HK$15,000 per buildable sq ft, 25 percent higher than surveyors' estimates of HK$1.4 billion. (bit.ly/1gsKbxU)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
- Macau police said they have received about 30 complaints regarding depositors unable to get back their funds deposited in Dore, a junket operator at Wynn Macau.
Britain
The Times
One of the longest running takeover sagas moved close to a conclusion on Tuesday after SABMiller said it had received an approach from Anheuser-Busch InBev for a possible deal to create an estimated 330 billion pound ($511.37 billion) brewing giant. (http://thetim.es/1OgbGJv [41])
British members of parliament have called on the Serious Fraud Office to investigate Lloyds Banking Group and one of its property advisers over allegations that they conspired to abuse the insolvency process. (http://thetim.es/1iQ5JpN [42])
The Guardian
Nestle has failed in an attempt to convince European judges to let it trademark the shape of the four-finger version of a KitKat in the UK. (http://bit.ly/1JbQzjT [43])
The Bank of England has edged closer to its first interest rate rise in nine years after two policymakers told member of parliaments an increase was needed soon to head off pay rise-induced inflation. (http://bit.ly/1QH64GL [44])
The Telegraph
Britain's exporters would come to little harm from a European Union exit, according to a new report. London-based consultancy Capital Economics said that Brexit "wouldn't spell disaster" for trade, as some opponents of EU withdrawal have claimed. (http://bit.ly/1NDREc4 [45])
UK motor manufacturers roared into the Frankfurt motorshow with a slew of new cars that displayed the best of British - both in terms of engineering and style. (http://bit.ly/1ixlwKz [46])
Sky News
Diesel use has risen by 76 percent over the past 20 years and it is now twice as popular as petrol, according to a study by motoring research charity The RAC Foundation. (http://bit.ly/1LhIArD [47])
Phoenix Group has approached its privately owned rival Guardian Financial Services about a 1 billion pound-plus takeover that would continue the deal frenzy sweeping the UK insurance sector. (http://bit.ly/1McaMKT [48])
The Independent
The case for a rise in interest rates got a boost with employment figures that have shown that UK wages are growing at the fastest pace for six years. The Office for National Statistics said wages, excluding bonuses, were 2.9 percent up on last year in the quarter to July - the biggest rise since January 2009. (http://ind.pn/1W3rO2w [49])