Spain bailout plan to be unveiled next Thursday: EU authorities are working behind the scenes to pave the way for a new Spanish rescue programme and unlimited bond buying by the ECB. The plan will focus on structural reforms to the Spanish economy long requested by Brussels, rather than new taxes and spending cuts. James Murdoch is being lined up to take direct responsibility for News Corp's US television businesses, the FT has learnt. The news comes just as UK regulator Ofcom heavily criticised Murdoch's record in that country, although it ultimately cleared him and deemed BSkyB fit to hold a licence. (Financial Times) (Ofcom statement) Deutsche Bank could cut thousands of jobs in Germany according to a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The bank would bring together back-office services from its retail banking brands from several subsidiaries to one new unit and transfer all IT systems to one platform, potentially eliminating thousands of jobs, the German newspaper reported. Deutsche had announced 1,900 job cuts in July, but said they would come mostly outside of Germany. iPhone 5 maps outrage as sales begin: As the new phones go on sale today, criticism is already rife over errors in Apple's replacement for the Google Maps app. (Wall Street Journal) (Financial Times) Sales of the device are still expected to break records. China's slowdown could last longer than during the height of the global financial crisis, according to a state economist. Oracle's hardware sales are expected to drop further after tumbling 24% from a year ago in the three months to August 31. It had forecast a decline of 7 to 17%. This quarter it predicted a drop of 8 to 18 percent. Software sales rose 6% year on year, as forecast. Oracle is struggling turn around its Sun computer division amid tight technology budgets. US borrowers in states where home foreclosures are costly and time-consuming will have to pay more for their mortgages, the top housing regulator has proposed. Lenders originating new loans in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida and Connecticut will be forced to pay US-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up to 30 basis points extra for their credit guarantee, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in its proposal. The boards of Glencore and Xstrata were holding last-minute meetings on Thursday to review the final details of the companies" planned $80bn combination. While the board of Xstrata could reveal as soon as Friday whether it will recommend Glencore's offer of 3.05 shares of the commodities trading house for each of the miner's, people close to the talks said an announcement was not likely to be made until Monday, the final deadline given by regulators. Martin Wolf: The puzzle of falling UK productivity. Gillian Tett on Richard Fisher and the Fed's QE transmission problem. More reasons why the euro crisis still hasn't turned a corner. Gold bulls are overjoyed. Pension funds rush for Dalio-style "risk parity" approach. Asian markets Nikkei 225 up +53.44 (+0.59%) at 9,140 Topix up +4.35 (+0.58%) at 758.16 Hang Seng up +157.51 (+0.76%) at 20,748 US markets S&P 500 down -0.79 (-0.05%) at 1,460 DJIA up +18.97 (+0.14%) at 13,597 Nasdaq down -6.66 (-0.21%) at 3,176 European markets Eurofirst 300 down -1.41 (-0.13%) at 1,115 FTSE100 down -33.84 (-0.57%) at 5,855 CAC 40 down -21.90 (-0.62%) at 3,510 Dax unchanged 0.00 (0.00%) at 7,389 Currencies €/$ 1.30 (1.30) $/¥ 78.22 (78.20) £/$ 1.62 (1.62) Commodities ($) Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.45 at 110.48 Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.58 at 93.00 100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,768 Copper (Comex) up +3.05 at 380.30 10-year government bond yields (%) US 1.77 UK 1.80 Germany 1.57 CDS (closing levels) Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe n/abps at 141.88bp Markit iTraxx Europe n/abps at 128.27bp Markit iTraxx Xover n/abps at 531.01bp Markit CDX IG -0.3bps at 85.2bp This entry was posted by Kate Mackenzie on Friday, September 21st, 2012 at 5:40 and is filed under Uncategorised.