Fed drops hints on December rate rise, a Brexit warning and the perils of stress

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

The Fed has signalled that an interest rate rise may be on the table for December as the US central bank dropped previous warnings about the global financial and economic risks posed to the US economy. Many analysts had predicted that it would continue to strike a cautious note on the US and global economy in the statement accompanying its penultimate policy meeting in 2015.

The Fed has not lifted rates since 2006, and its December meeting will now be the subject of even greater scrutiny than usual. (FT)

In the news

Brexit warning A British exit from the EU would see it lose its chance to strike a preferential trade relationship with the US and leave it facing the same tariffs and other restrictions as emerging economies such as Brazil, China and India, the top US trade official has warned. The UK is due to vote on whether to leave the EU by the end of 2017. (FT)

Threat to open borders in Europe A row has erupted between Germany and Austria over handling the tens of thousands of refugees moving across central Europe. Berlin on Wednesday accused Austria of abandoning a bilateral pact to manage flows in an orderly way. Meanwhile, Vienna announced tentative plans to build fencelike structures along its border with Slovenia, the main refugee entry route to Austria. (FT)

No divi at Deutsche Deutsche Bank will pay no dividend for the next two years, the German lender announced on Wednesday night. New co-chief executive John Cryan is fighting to strengthen its balance sheet following a set of hefty exceptional charges. (FT)

Icahn calls for break-up of AIG Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has called on the insurer AIG to break itself up, accusing its chief executive of lacking leadership. (FT)

Iran to join Syria summit Tehran will participate in a meeting in Vienna this week in a long-sought diplomatic breakthrough that convenes a formal discussion for the first time between all the main powers with an interest in the Syrian conflict. (FT)

Paul Ryan gets US House speaker nod Republicans nominated the Wisconsin congressman as their choice to head the US Congress. Mr Ryan emerged as a reluctant consensus candidate, but may have his hands full dealing with the far right wing of the party that helped engineer the ousting of his predecessor. (WSJ)

GOP clashes The Republican White House contenders clashed on everything from fantasy football and gun control to tax reform and government budgets, in the latest GOP presidential debate that underscored how much trouble Jeb Bush has convincing voters that he should be in the Oval Office. (FT)

Pharma M&A to continue? Pfizer has held preliminary talks about taking over Allergan, in a deal that would create the largest drugmaker in the world with a market capitalisation of more than $300bn, according to two people familiar with the situation. (FT)

It’s a big day for

US GDP The first estimate of third-quarter growth is expected to show that the economy grew at a rate of 2 per cent, compared to 3.9 per cent in the previous quarter. (Reuters)

Read more about upcoming events this week.

Food for thought

The perils of stress People often like to moan that their job is killing them, but a study by researchers at Harvard and Stanford has shown that this may sadly be true. The amount of lifelost to stress can be as much as three years for some groups, the study suggests. (WaPo)

BoJ: double or nothing Stimulus from the Bank of Japan was the rocket engine for the economy: the yen plunged against the dollar and equities rose. But today consumption is lower than in 2012 and the economy is flirting with a technical recession. The central bank now facesa critical choice: double up and further increase easing or accept that it isn’t working. (FT

The lying-down desk A new convertible workstation that allows you to work lying down (as well as standing up and sitting) has just gone on sale. But it costs $5,900: being lazy doesn’t come cheap. (Wired)

Making movies A single camera, props and amateur stuntmen. Yet from these limited beginnings a film company in Somaliland is starting to produce hits. (BBC)

Video of the day

The Riksbank has added another SKr65bn to its quantitative easing programme and pushed forward its prediction for when it will raise rates. But, says FT investment editor James Mackintosh, the Swedish central bank cannot quite get to its inflation target.

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Image: The United States Federal Reserve Board building is shown behind security barriers. REUTERS/Gary Cameron.