The UBS Consumption Indicator increased again slightly in July

Good morning,

- S&P500 goes negative, erasing gain of as much as 2.9%.

- The divergence between spot and first futures $VIX hit ~25 vols (a 7-yr high). At peak crisis in 2008 (Oct 20), the spread it ~45 vols...

- RBA Stevens: ''Key question for Australia is how to get more growth. May be potential growth is a bit lower than thought. Better allocative efficiency would add to growth.

- Crude oil futures dipped on Wednesday on fears of a hard landing for China's economy despite central bank moves to bolster stumbling growth and concerns about a supply glut. U.S. stock futures resumed their descent in early Asian trade and Asian shares were seen on the defensive on Wednesday as monetary easing by China's central bank had limited success in cheering up nervous investors.

- The UBS Consumption Indicator increased again slightly in July. Although the retail sector's assessment of business was not as bad as in the previous month, retailers remained pessimistic. The poor outlook for the development of prices and sales weighed in particularly on the sector. In contrast, the mood among consumers continued to worsen.

- Gold and silver's correlation (10-day) hit its lowest level in a year.

- October is a long shot, but Wall Street isn’t ruling it out. Traders and investors have been betting for months that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September or December. October -- the only other meeting on the 2015 calendar -- wasn’t part of the conversation, mainly because there’s no press conference scheduled along with the central bank’s interest-rate decision that day. Now that may be changing for some analysts after the recent financial-market turmoil.

- El-Erian from PIMCO, thinks that the Fed wouldn't risk normalizing policy in these conditions. Sounds like a challenge.

- China to delay publication of inflation data in September due to public holiday: Bloomberg.

- FX volatility prices have pulled back marginally from yesterday's multi-month peaks, but risks remain elevated.

- Swiss authorities have agreed to a U.S. request to freeze funds with suspected links to Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, a Swiss justice office spokesman said on Monday. U.S. authorities are asking counterparts in Europe to seize about $1 billion in assets related to an investigation into three telecom companies and intermediaries close to Karimova, the Wall Street Journal had reported this month.

- Copper Retreats Depsite China Measures. Gold Fades Safety Bets.

- PBOC's Ma: China monetary policy remains prudent. Rate cuts not a shift of monetary policy.

- Barclays Capital. EUR/USD: We are neutral given stretched daily studies and look for signs of a top to re-establish our overall bearish view. We would only buy on a break above 1.1710 for a short-term upside squeeze towards the 1.1810/75 area. From there we would look for signs of a top to and move lower in range. USD/JPY: We are standing aside and look for signs of a base to encourage us to resume our greater bullish view. A move below 116.90 would prompt us to turn bearish in the short-term towards the greater range lows near 115.55 where we would expect buying interest to emerge.

- Major news for today: US Retail, US Mortgages, US Durable Goods.

Have a nice Day !