With enthusiasm for global trade deals waning across the globe, EU ministers are beginning a two-day informal meeting in Bratislava to discuss CETA and TTIP. Recently, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that TTIP talks have failed and French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl announced that France will demand the negotiations be suspended. The question now, say European officials, is whether these objections can be surmounted in the coming weeks.

Economy

U.S. futures are heading higher after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and lowered its forecasts. The Fed's decision shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of confidence in the economy, Janet Yellen said during her quarterly news conference, but gave a fairly strong indication that a hike will happen before 2016 is over. She also rejected the suggestion that the central bank bases its decisions on partisan politics.

The Paris climate deal has moved closer toward taking effect by the end of the year, as 30 more nations ratified it during a special meeting at the U.N. General Assembly. If the agreement enters into force in 2016, the U.S. would be prevented from pulling out for 4 years, potentially binding the hands of the next president. The specifics of each country's plans, though, are voluntary, and there are no sanctions for failing to control pollution.

An enormous fire which erupted at an electrical plant sparked a massive blackout in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving nearly 1.5M people across the island without power. Firefighters extinguished the blaze that hit two transmission lines, though the cause of the fire remains unknown. Supply is expected to be restored to most areas today.

Cooling to a long alliance with Saudi Arabia, Congress is preparing to override a presidential veto and push through legislation allowing families of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the terrorist attacks. Riyadh strongly opposes the bill and President Obama is expected to veto it tomorrow, but lawmakers are poised to override his veto for the first time since he took office.

A U.S. coalition Predator drone was in the vicinity of a Syrian aid convoy that was hit by an airstrike on Monday, according to Russia's Defense Ministry, countering American claims that Russian aircraft conducted the strike. The tensions resulted in a war of words at the United Nations, as diplomats from Washington and Moscow traded barbs, and little progress was made in coming to terms with the situation in Syria.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose rivalry derailed an oil supply accord earlier this year, met in Vienna a week before the organization holds talks in Algeria, Bloomberg reports. Iraq is also suggesting that conditions are better for a supply deal to occur when producers meet on Sept. 28. Besides the OPEC talk, oil prices are extending gains after a surprise third consecutive weekly U.S. crude inventory draw tightened surplus in the market.

Stocks

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte last night after violent new protests erupted over the police shooting of Keith Scott. Several officers were injured and one of the protesters was on life support after being shot by another civilian. Related stocks rallied yesterday in response to the growing unrest: (TASR +4.4%), (DGLY +2.4%), (SWHC +1.8%), (RGR +2.8%), (VSTO +1.7%).

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said he will fight the SEC's insider trading charges against him after the agency accused his hedge fund, Omega Advisors, of trading Atlas Pipeline Partners (now part of NGLS) on private information six years ago. "I could have settled this for far less money than I give to charity every year," Cooperman said on the conference call, adding, "I am not going to let these people destroy my legacy."

Battling the worst shipping downturn in years and a historic oil-price rout, A.P. Moeller-Maersk (OTCPK:AMKAF) is splitting into two separate units to generate growth. Maersk Line will spearhead a new Transport & Logistics unit, while the group's extensive oil interests will be pooled under an Energy division that will either remain part of Maersk or be separated as a joint venture, merger or new listing.

Korea Development Bank, the lead creditor of Hanjin Shipping (OTC:HNJSF), is offering a 50B won ($45M) credit line to help the company unload stranded cargo. An estimated $14B of goods was trapped on Hanjin ships when the world's seventh-largest container carrier collapsed late last month, creating havoc ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.

The SEC's investigation of how Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) values assets in a world of increasing climate change regulations is eliciting sharp reactions, with some investors seeing it as a tipping point, while others are calling it a politically motivated attack. But many agreed on one thing: It's a potentially transformative moment for U.S. companies, which now have to worry about regulators' scrutiny of future climate change impacts more seriously than before.

Schlumberger has won a large project in Venezuela, just months after it shut down some operations and fired hundreds of workers because of payment delays from the government. The company will drill 80 wells in an extra-heavy oil field in the Orinoco Belt, in a project that's dubbed "one of the world's largest drilling projects" and worth $3.2B. Terms of Schlumberger's (NYSE:SLB) deal are still being negotiated.

While a rumored deal with McLaren is not in the making, a NYT write-up claims Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in talks with Lit Motors regarding a possible acquisition. The closely held San Francisco-based company is a maker of two-wheeled electric vehicles. Together, the reports suggest that Apple, which recently laid off several dozen employees who had been working on its car project, may be refocusing its efforts and bolster its automotive-engineering expertise.

Yahoo is poised to confirm a massive data breach of its service, several sources told Re/code, outlining that the hacking may have exposed several hundred million user accounts. While sources were unspecific about the extent of the Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) incursion (since there is the likelihood of government investigations and legal action related to the breach), they noted that it is widespread and serious.

Pokemon Go fever has finally broken. The augmented-reality game's time as the top-grossing app in Apple's (AAPL) U.S. app store has ended at 74 days, after being supplanted by a familiar foe: Clash Royale. According to Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go, which includes Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) as one of its major stakeholders, pulled in $440M in gross revenue in Apple's marketplace and Google's Play store (GOOG, GOOGL).

Slashing around 3,000 jobs, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) plans to shutter the last of its Swedish manufacturing sites as part of planned savings, Svenska Dagbladet reports. That ends 140 years of production in Sweden, dating to telegraph days. In July, Ericsson said it would step up cost cuts in the face of deteriorating market conditions, having already announced a 9B Swedish crown cost-cutting program in 2014.

Caesars Entertainment shares saw a bump of nearly 5% after the bell, following the company's joint proposal with Apollo Global (NYSE:APO) and TPG Capital to offer an additional $1.2B to hold-out creditors of its bankrupt subsidiary. Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. filed for Chapter 11 in January 2015, leading to a battle over the amount its parent company, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), must pay to have it released from creditors.

Anthem and Cigna are blaming one another for violating the terms of their merger agreement, according to the Justice Department, which is suing to block the health-insurance deal on antitrust grounds. The claim is part of the DOJ's argument stating efficiencies from the insurers' $45B transaction will likely not bear out. Other disagreements between Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) and Cigna (NYSE:CI) became public in the spring.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch was accused of "disgusting greed" and of getting "filthy rich" by congressmen yesterday as she sought to defend her company's decision to hike the price of EpiPens by more than 500% in recent years. Bresch said that after rebates, marketing costs and other expenses, Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) earns about $100 for a pair of EpiPens. She also emphasized that the company is planning a half-price version of the device, and it provides them for free to many schools.

Airbus and Boeing have received U.S. licenses to sell planes to Iran, clearing the way for the first western aircraft sales to the country in decades. While the U.S. has relaxed many of its sanctions against Tehran, Washington still demands that even non-American manufacturers wishing to sell to Iran obtain an export license if their products include materials made in the U.S. The Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) deals are said to be valued at over $50B.

Wednesday's Key Earnings
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) +0.4% AH boosted by digital channels.
CarMax (NYSE:KMX) -2% on dipping prices.
General Mills (NYSE:GIS) +0.9% beating earnings estimates.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong +0.4% to 23759. China +0.5% to 3042. India +0.9% to 28773.
In Europe, at midday, London +1.2%. Paris +1.9%. Frankfurt +1.9%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.4%. Crude +1.1% to $45.84. Gold +0.4% to $1336.60.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.64%

Today's Economic Calendar

8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Chicago Fed National Activity Index
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Existing Home Sales
10:00 Leading Indicators
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet