US stocks little changed as energy shares drop with oil

US stocks were little changed  as energy  shares  declined after oil dipped below  US$80  a  barrel  while  telephone  and  consumer  shares  rose.  The S&P  500  Index  slipped  less  than  0.2%  to  1,961.63.  The  Dow  Jones Industry Average rose 12.53 points at 16,817.94.

Pending home sales in US increase less than forecast

The number of contracts to buy existing homes rose less than forecast in September, signaling demand will probably plateau heading into the end of 2014.  The pending  home sales index increased 0.3%  in September  after dropping  1%  in  August,  the  National  Association  of  Realtors  said.  The median projection in a Bloomberg survey called for a 1% gain.

US services activity remained solid in Q314

The pace of US services activity in the Q314 remained at an elevated level after  cooling  a  bit  during  October.  The  preliminary  Markit  Services Purchasing  Managers’  Index  (PMI)  slipped  to  57.3  in  October  from  a blistering  58.9  in  September.  This  brought  the  Composite  (services  and manufacturing PMIs) to 57.4, also lower than the September reading of 59.

ECB says €1.7bn of covered bonds bought last week

The  ECB  said it settled  €1.704bn (US$2.2bn) of covered-bond purchases last week as it started its latest effort to revive the euro-area economy. The central  bank  began  purchases  on  Oct.  20,  returning  to  the  market  for  a third time in six years as part of a renewed attempt to stave off deflation and pump life into a moribund recovery.  President Mario  Draghi plans to fulfill his pledge of expanding ECB’s balance sheet by as much as €1trn.

German Ifo business confidence drops for sixth month

German business confidence dropped for a sixth month as the specter of a recession  haunts  Europe’s  largest  economy.  The  Ifo  institute’s  business climate  index  dropped  to  103.2  in  October  from  104.7  in  September. Median forecasts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a decline to 104.5.

Schaeuble says EU’s Russia sanctions over Ukraine will work

European Union sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis were “unavoidable  and  they’ll  pay  off,”  German  Finance  Minister  Wolfgang Schaeuble  said.  Schaeuble  said  the  current  weakening  of  Germany’s economy “has to do with geopolitical risks in the first place and that’s not surprising when you look at what’s happening in Ukraine.”

France to make extra budget efforts, Sapin tells EU Commission

France will work harder to cut its public deficit with a tougher crackdown on tax  fraud  and  aided  by  lower  borrowing  costs,  Finance  Minister  Michel Sapin  told  the  European  Commission.  The  euro-area’s  second-largest economy  will  reduce  the  deficit  by  an  additional  €3.6-3.7bn  (US$4.7bn), the  minister  said.  In  the  budget  law  for  2015  submitted  initially,  France estimated the 2014 deficit would rise to -4.4% of GDP, the first increase in five years. For 2015, it saw almost no improvement to -4.3% of GDP.

Brent falls for second day as Goldman reduces forecast

Brent  fell  for  a  second  day  as  Goldman  Sachs  Group  Inc.  joined  other banks  in  lowering  price  forecasts.  Brent  for  December  settlement  slid US$0.30 to end at US$85.83 a barrel.

Source: Bloomberg