Asian stocks were mixed, with benchmarks swinging between gains and losses, with positive momentum from US markets failin to carry over. Markets in Hong Kong were suspended due to a storm. The MSCI Asia Pacific rose less than 0.1% and most commodities fell. Today: UK unemployment, BOE minutes, EU GDP and CPI. US mortgage applications and PPI. JP Morgan "whale" traders could be charged today: Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, neither of whom now works at the bank, are expected to be criminally charged in connection with misvaluing trades, according to people familiar with the investigation. A lawyer representing Martin-Artajo said his client was confident he would be exonerated once the relevant events were reconstructed. The bank could also face civil charges. UK gilt yields reach two-year record on doubts Carney will keep inflation contained: The yield on 10-year UK gilts rose above 2.6% on Tuesday - the highest since October 2011 - before easing slightly, as improving economic data convinced investors that official interest rates would rise sooner than expected by the Bank. Today is the first release of UK jobs data since new BOE governor Mark Carney gave guidance relating to the unemployment rate. Kroes rebuked for "unambitious" telecoms reform: "Brussels" top competition authority has called for 28 national telecoms regulators to be replaced by a single pan-European watchdog in a sharp rebuke to a set of proposals from Neelie Kroes, the bloc's telecoms chief." The US Department of Justice sued to block the merger of US Airways and American Airlines" bankrupt parent. The DoJ says the $11bn merger with AMR Corp and US Airways would push up fares. The two companies had been confident of completing the merger next month after more than a year of negotiations. Antitrust lawyers said the companies would have difficulty resolving the DoJ concerns. BP sues US government over post-disaster contract ban: The Environmental Protection Agency temporarily suspended BP from winning new contracts last November over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, saying the ban would not be lifted until it could provide sufficient evidence that it met federal business standards. In a filing made in the US District Court for the southern district of Texas, BP challenged the EPA's decision and called on the court to declare the suspension and disqualification null, void and unenforceable. Icahn amasses "large" Apple positions, pushes for bigger buyback: Carl Icahn announced a "large" position on Twitter and said he'd talked with CEO Tim Cook about his views on bigger share buyback. Icahn says Apple has the ability to do a $150bn buyback now by borrowing funds at 3%. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) China is accelerating plans to cut excess industrial capacity. The government will complete by the end of 2014 its overcapacity reduction plan for the five years through 2015, and will seek to cut further outdated capacity, China National Radio said yesterday, citing Industry Minister Miao Wei. Foxconn considers moving into solar panels: Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision, best known for assembling Apple products, may end up timing such a move well despite overcapacity concerns, say analysts. ""We aim to make a decision about whether or not we will enter this market by the end of this year," Foxconn spokesman Simon Hsing told Reuters. " Whirlpool agreed to buy a majority stake in Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Co, a Chinese home-appliances maker. The purchase of a 51% stake for $552m in cash (Rmb3.4bn) is a big expansion of Whirlpool's Asia business, with the region only accounting for 4.7% of its sales last year. On the low-wage recovery. Where are the hyperloop barons? Crash test dummies and fund manager surveys. Hyperloop, dehyped. Internet tycoons and their futuristic ventures. John Kay: The shortcomings of economic forecasting. US corporate profit growth is beginning to stumble - or worse, if you exclude financials. ... Yet stocks are surging and earnings forecasts are strangely optimistic. Why can't a central bank browbeat markets into submission? Shiller's CAPEs are growing inconvenient for brokers. FT Longshort How can blue-collar workers avoid being replaced by robots? The 1m Ghanaian miners suffering from gold's downfall. Chinese billionaire waits for go-ahead from Iceland's new government. Student loan burdens make entrepreneurship unsurprisingly difficult. Asian markets Nikkei 225 down -98.73 (-0.71%) at 13,768 Topix up +2.18 (+0.19%) at 1,159 Hang Seng unchanged 0.00 (0.00%) at 22,541 US markets S&P 500 up +4.69 (+0.28%) at 1,694 DJIA up +31.33 (+0.20%) at 15,451 Nasdaq up +14.49 (+0.39%) at 3,684 European markets Eurofirst 300 up +6.96 (+0.57%) at 1,237 FTSE100 up +37.60 (+0.57%) at 6,612 CAC 40 up +20.82 (+0.51%) at 4,093 Dax up +56.51 (+0.68%) at 8,416 Currencies €/$ 1.33 (1.33) $/¥ 97.90 (98.17) £/$ 1.54 (1.54) Commodities ($) Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.54 at 109.28 Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.60 at 106.23 100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +1.30 at 1,323 Copper (Comex) down -0.01 at 3.31 10-year government bond yields (%) US 2.70% UK 2.63% Germany 1.81% CDS (closing levels) Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -1.16bps at 88.33bp Markit iTraxx Europe -0.9bps at 94.76bp Markit iTraxx Xover -3.58bps at 394.45bp