REUTERS/Toby Melville
- Asian markets closed lower, with Japan's Nikkei off -1.4%. Korea's Kospi index declined -0.3% and Australia's ASX 200 fell -0.1%. European markets were slightly higher. US futures were flat.
- ISM will release its "non-manufacturing" index for July at 10 am today. It's expected to hit 53 against a prior reading of 52.2. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is speaking at 11:45 am in Portland, Oregon.
- Tyson, Jamba Juice, and Fidelity are among firms that will announce earnings today. HSBC posted a 23% net profit gain for the first half of the year, but its shares were getting crushed on weak returns from emerging markets, the FT said.
- Eurozone PMI climbed to a two-year high, hitting 50.5 in July compared with 48.7 prior. Anything above 50 indicates expansion. But retail sales fell slightly in June, off -0.5% from May — the biggest drop since December, according to the Wall Street Journal — and -0.9% from June 2012.
- Meanwhile, the UK's business activity index climbed to 60.2 in July from 56.9 in June — the highest reading since December 2006, according to Markit. "The strong gain in new work placed pressure on capacity, leading to a marked increase in backlogs of work and encouraged solid payroll growth," the firm said. "Service providers were also optimistic about future activity levels while, on the price front, output charges were raised to the greatest degree since June 2011."
- The White House announced Saturday it would reverse a decision to ban the import of older iPhone and iPad models. The US International Trade Commission had said earlier that some of the models infringed on a key Samsung patent.The FT suggests the reversal conflicts with the administration's stated aim of stricter worldwide intellectual property controls.
- The world's largest dairy exporter, New Zealand's Fonterra, faces scrutiny after the company announced contaminated milk powder may have been shipped to markets across Asia. The company said it was facing a ban from China on whey protein products.
- Time Warner's major market blackout of CBS is set to stretch into its fourth day Monday as the two sides fail to come to terms over the network's desire to increase broadcasting fees. The Wall Street Journal says everyone is likely to lose from the spat: "Cable and satellite operators see subscriber defections and television channels suffer steep declines in ratings."
- The NCAA announced that last year's Heisman Trophy winner, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, is under investigation for allegedly taking money for autographs. Our Tony Manfred explained why the investigation represents peak NCAA hypocrisy.
- Major League baseball will likely announce that Alex Rodriguez has been suspended, but he'll still be able to play while he's appealing, the New York Post reports. He'll actually be playing in his first game of the season this evening when the Yankees take on the White Sox in Chicago.