A negative spin to crude's mysterious slide: Izzy takes a stab at explaining what prompted Monday's standard-deviation busting slide in crude futures. Among the possible catalysts... an options expiry and a fear of negative rates in Europe. ForRescued Metals Group: Joy for Australia's third biggest mining company as the stricken group receives much needed breathing space from its lenders. Neil takes us through the details. Central bank nostalgia and an equilibrium: Don't look to the size of central bank balance sheets for clues about money supply growth, because the conclusions could be misleading, according to JPMorgan's Flows & Liquidity team. David presents their case for why the demand side of the equation is perhaps equally, if not more, relevant. The ETF transmission mechanism: Corporate bond inventory levels at primary dealers may be falling, but inventory held by corporate-bond themed ETFs is on the rise. Izzy wonders to what degree ETFs are ending up with inventory that dealers can no longer manage themselves on account of regulatory burdens. US Election Watch: Mitt Romney's efforts to turn round his presidential campaign were thrown off course after video clips emerged in which he said US President Barack Obama could count on the support of 47 per cent of Americans who are "dependent on government," do not pay tax and "believe that they are victims," the reports the FT. The videos in question are available on Mother Jones. Meanwhile, China has moved to centre stage in the election, with the Obama administration filing a second trade complaint in as many months against Beijing, in both cases announcing the measures to coincide with presidential trips to the key swing state of Ohio, reports the FT. iAmPopular: Apple's iPhone 5 has smashed records before hitting the shelves with more than 2m people pre-ordering the coveted smartphone in its first 24 hours, double last year's figures, reports the FT. Artic setback for Shell: Royal Dutch Shell has been forced to abandon its plans to drill wells in the Arctic this year, after a vital piece of safety equipment was damaged during testing, the FT reports. NY Fed's Manufacturing Survey: Factory activity in New York state contracted in September for a second consecutive month, falling to its lowest level in nearly three and half years as new orders continued to shrink, reports the FT. Phone-y money: A technology company racing to become the default "wallet" on mobile devices has been valued $3.25bn in its latest fundraising, confirming its status as one of Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups, the FT writes. The new €38bn company to be formed by combining the Franco-German group with the UK's BAE Systems could be called "Airbus," reports the FT. The name was proposed by EADS but BAE opposes the idea arguing it would not be welcome in the US, where Airbus is the biggest rival to Boeing in the commercial aerospace industry. Reuters reports that the US Defense Department is seeking more information about the proposed merger because of security implications. Lenovo link-up: The WSJ reports that Lenovo is acquiring software company Stoneware Inc. When measured by shipments, Lenovo is the biggest personal computer manufacturer in the world, after Hewlett Packard. Stoneware's software allows users to link their PCs to other devices, such as tablets and televisions. German investor confident rose in September, the first rise in five months, according to data released by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research on Tuesday. The rise also beat expectations, Bloomberg reports. Markets: Growth-sensitive assets are struggling to extend their recent rally as traders continue to absorb the latest European Central Bank and Federal Reserve actions, wary that the eurozone remains vulnerable and the global economy weak, according to the FT's Global Market Overview. This entry was posted by FT Alphaville on Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 at 10:49 and is filed under Uncategorised.