Apple is expected to unveil new products at a San Francisco event later today and the iPhone 7 is in the spotlight. The device is expected to lose its headphone jack, gain improved cameras and include a pressure-sensitive home button, while a new Apple Watch and improvements to the iOS 10 operating system are also expected. Separately, Ireland's parliament is in the middle of debating the government's decision to appeal the €13B tax ruling against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) by the European Commission.

Economy

It "makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate increases, preferably sooner rather than later," San Francisco Fed President John Williams announced late Tuesday in prepared remarks to the Hayek Group. He also said the economy was in "good shape," predicting unemployment, now at 4.9%, to fall to 4.5% in 2017 and inflation to rise to the Fed's 2% target in the next year or two.

Another Brexit grilling is on tap. Speaking for the first time since the BoE decided to slash interest rates and increase its asset purchases, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will testify today before the Treasury Select Committee. Since the policy announcement, a batch of strong economic data that flies in the face of Brexit has been released, prompting some analysts to say the BoE pulled the trigger too soon.

Compared to the start of this year, China's monthly foreign exchange reserves readings have become something of a humdrum affair, falling 0.5% M/M to $3.19T in August. While the latest reading marks a second month of contraction and a low point for the year to date, the dip is marginal in comparison to the losing streak in late 2015 and early 2016 that had global markets on edge.

Australia has now gone 25 years without being in recession, the second longest streak in the developed world. "But it is no time for complacency," said Treasurer Scott Morrison. "We continue to fight for every inch of growth." Official numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed seasonally adjusted Q2 GDP growth of 0.5%, a shade under forecasts of a 0.6% increase.

Turkey plans to deepen its involvement in Syria by establishing a de facto safe zone with rebel groups to consolidate and extend the recently captured territory south of its border. President Erdogan has asked the U.S.-led coalition to help create a no-fly zone over the region, which he hopes eventually to repopulate with refugees who have fled to Turkey in the five years since the Syrian conflict began.

The Obama administration followed up a planeload of $400M in cash sent to Iran in January with two more such shipments in the next 19 days, totaling another $1.3B, to settle a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal, WSJ reports. The revelations come as Congress returns from a summer recess with Republicans vowing to pursue charges that the White House paid a ransom to Tehran, a charge President Obama has repeatedly rejected.

Saudi Arabia is intensifying efforts to shrink the highest budget deficit among the world's biggest 20 economies, aiming to cancel more than $20B of projects and slash ministry budgets by a quarter, sources told Bloomberg. The world's biggest oil exporter is taking unprecedented steps to rein in a budget shortfall that ballooned to 16% of GDP last year, curtailing fuel and utility subsidies as well as cutting billions of dollars in spending.

Paring some of the previous day's losses, oil prices are on the rise partly thanks to a weaker dollar, but the limited likelihood of a near-term producer deal to rein in production kept gains in check. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said his country would respect a freeze in oil output, but warned Iran, which has announced it will increase its production in line with its customers needs, could stop any attempt to reach an agreement.

Stocks

Like Apple, Sony plans to make tech news today, staging an event at 3 p.m. in New York, where it's expected to introduce two new game consoles. The first is the PlayStation 4 Slim, a system that has been all but reviewed before it was even announced by Sony (NYSE:SNE). The second is the PlayStation Neo, an upgraded PS4 platform that will offer improved game visuals, better VR experiences and maybe even 4K support.

The final piece in Dell's complex $62B acquisition of EMC is set to fall into place today, when an unusual tracking stock with a notional face value of more than $16B starts trading in New York to help finance its takeover. The new Class V shares will represent some 65% of its stake in VMware (NYSE:VMW) - though holders will have no direct rights in the company and Dell will have the right to switch the underlying assets the shares represent in future.

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping has won an order from a U.S. judge extending bankruptcy protections so its vessels can dock at American ports without fear creditors will try to seize its ships. Since the decision is temporary, Hanjin (OTC:HNJSF) will need to return to court on Friday after talks with shareholders to try and resolve complex problems involving ports, terminal operators and retailers.

As if there weren't enough ways to order takeout in London, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will start delivering meals from restaurants direct to customers in some parts of the city, the newest entrant to an increasingly competitive market which includes Just Eat, UberEats and Deliveroo. The "Amazon Restaurants" service will be available to Prime subscribers and delivery will be free for orders over £15.

Poland is seeking formal U.S. approval to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems from Raytheon (NYSE:RTN), marking a key move toward closing the estimated $5B deal. If cleared, the country will become the 6th NATO Patriot country and the 14th Patriot partner nation. Raytheon has agreed to perform at least half the value of the work in Poland.

Just days before the start of a new school term, ITT Educational Services (NYSE:ESI), one of the nation's largest for-profit educational companies, has closed nearly all its campuses. The company cited the Education Department's recent decision to bar the chain of colleges from using federal financial aid to enroll new students as the reason for the sudden shutdown.

Bill Ackman's hedge fund has taken a 9.9% stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), sending shares up 6.5% AH and buying into the once high-flying company battered by food-safety issues. Pershing Square intends to engage in discussions with the restaurant's board and management, stating the stock was undervalued and attractive. Ackman also left the board of Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CP) on Tuesday, marking the end of a four-year tenure that helped overhaul the ailing railroad company.

In what could be a tweak of Fox News, NBC (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has hired Gabriel Sherman - whose investigative reporting of Roger Ailes broke open the story of a sexual harassment scandal - as a contributor. Meanwhile, along with news that Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) settled with Gretchen Carlson for $20M and issued an unprecedented public apology, the company reportedly reached additional settlements with a "handful" of other women who had accused Ailes of harassment.

New York has opened a probe into whether Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) broke antitrust law under its EpiPen4Schools program, which gives many schools the devices for free, but may have barred institutions from buying rival products for a year. Meanwhile, new reports suggest Mylan pays no more than $30 per EpiPen, while some patients are forced to pay a little over $600 for a two-pack of the lifesaving medication.

Upending an earlier deal that let the bank avoid prosecution, DOJ officials are considering criminal charges against HSBC related to conduct on its foreign-exchange desk. The new investigation could lead to a step that has often been threatened but rarely taken: prosecutors tearing up a deferred-prosecution agreement if a company fails to comply with the reform plan laid out by the Justice Department.

UBS may escape liability for at least a portion of an estimated $2.1B of losses stemming from residential mortgage-backed securities it sold in 2006 and 2007 before the U.S. housing market collapsed. In a 239-page decision, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel said U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), as trustee for three trusts issuing the securities, did not show that UBS was willfully blind toward deficiencies in many of the loans.

After asking permission for its funds to lend to each another, the SEC will allow BlackRock's (NYSE:BLK) mutual and money-market funds to borrow up to a third of their assets in total (or up to 10% of assets without posting collateral) through its "InterFund Program." Some other companies already can provide similar lending, including Vanguard and Fidelity, yet BlackRock's request came as regulators and Wall Street put mutual funds' liquidity under a microscope.

Goldman Sachs has banned its high-ranking employees from contributing money to certain campaigns including that of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to a report in Politico. The policy change is meant to "prevent inadvertently violating pay-to-play rules," but doesn't prohibit top brass from donating to the Clinton ticket. A Goldman (NYSE:GS) spokesman emphasized that the impact on the presidential election is entirely coincidental.

Tuesday's Key Earnings

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) -0.5% on disappointing guidance.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -0.4% to 17012. Hong Kong -0.2% to 23741. China flat at 3091. India -0.2% to 28926.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.4%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow flat. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +1% to $45.29. Gold -0.1% to $1352.20.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 1.54%

Today's Economic Calendar

7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30 Gallup U.S. Job Creation Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:45 PMI Services Index
10:00 Fed’s Esther and Lacker testify before the House Committee
10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
2:00 PM Fed's Beige Book