CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
Oct 3, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly
(Bloomberg)
Probe
The New York Times published a 15,000 word report saying President Donald Trump received at least $413 million from his father, contradicting Trump’s own claims that he is a self-made billionaire who started with just a $1 million loan. The claims, many of which date back more than two decades and include what the paper calls “instances of outright fraud,” are now subject to an investigation from New York state tax authorities. The president’s lawyer, Charles J. Harder, said the allegations of fraud and tax evasion are 100 percent false, while White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the report a “misleading attack.”
Bounce back
Italian stocks and bonds rose following local media reports suggesting that the populist government planned to rein in deficit spending in future budgets, while sticking to its 2.4 percent target for 2019. In a positive sign for the new government, the country’s first-half budget deficit narrowed to 1.9 percent of gross domestic product, data released today showed. The spending plan for next year is expected to be unveiled in Rome later this morning.
May speech
British Prime Minister Theresa May will give her annual address to the Conservative Party conference at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time this morning as both the party and the country grapple with Brexit. May is more likely to use the speech to attack Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, than announce any major changes to her position on leaving the European Union. Away from the conference, the uncertainty over the terms of the U.K.’s exit continues to weigh on investors, with Michael Riddell, a U.K. portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors, describing the whole thing as “a mess.”
Markets mixed
Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent while Japan’s Topix index closed 1.2 percent lower with automakers leading declines following disappointing U.S. sales. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.2 percent higher at 5:45 a.m. as the bounce-back in Italian stocks lifted the wider market. Germany trading was closed for a holiday. S&P 500 futures pointed to a gain at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 3.071 percent, and gold held over $1,200 an ounce.
More Fed talk
The big week for Federal Reserve speeches has its biggest day today with no less than five due. At 6:30 a.m., Chicago Fed President Charles Evans speaks at an event in London, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is due at 8:05 a.m., Fed Governor Lael Brainard at 2:00 p.m., Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester at 2:15 p.m. and, finally, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will take part in a discussion in Washington at 4:00 p.m.
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