10 things you need to know in markets September 26

The
sun rises to the east of the U.S. Federal Reserve building in
Washington, July 31, 2013.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Good morning! Here is what you need to know on Wednesday.

1.
It’d Fed day! With the Federal Reserve widely expected to raise
interest rates on Wednesday, financial markets are focused on
whether signs of an acceleration in US economic growth will
prompt the central bank to ramp up the pace of monetary policy
tightening. This week’s two-day policy meeting could
mark the formal end of the “accommodative” level of rates the Fed
has used to support the American economy since the onset of the
2007-2009 recession.
Citigroup says to be prepared for a dovish rates
announcement.

2.
China’s state planner on Wednesday called for further advancement
in the country’s $3.8 trillion digital economy, saying sectors
such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI) will become
drivers of job creation. The Chinese economy is in
the midst of a long-term restructuring that has seen the decline
of low-end industries and the emergence of higher-value factories
that make robotics and drones.

3.
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib
Razak, arrived on Wednesday at the country’s anti-graft agency
for a second round of questioning over a corruption probe at
state fund 1MDB. Her questioning comes amid
indications that more charges could be filed in the investigation
into how billions of dollars went missing from 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB).

4.
A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official warned European
powers on Tuesday that it was offering Iran a glimmer of hope by
trying to keep trade flowing, but that ultimately they would fall
behind the United States’ tough approach on Tehran.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain swiftly backed US President
Donald Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from a 2015
international accord with Iran that curbed Tehran’s nuclear
program in exchange for loosening economic sanctions. Meanwhile,
White House national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday

dismissed an EU plan for a special payments plan to
circumvent US sanctions against Iranian oil sales.

6.
Raytheon Co has been awarded a $1.5 billion modification to a
contract for the sale of Patriot missile systems to Poland, the
Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday.

7.
Deutsche Bank has looked at a theoretical scenario of merging
with UBS, the German business daily Handelsblatt reported, citing
people familiar with the matter. The scenario, along
with a potential merger with Commerzbank, was discussed at the
bank’s strategy meeting with the supervisory board earlier this
month, Handelsblatt said.

8.
England’s Football Association has reportedly agreed to sell
Wembley Stadium to a US billionaire for £600
million. The FA board will vote on Thursday whether
to sell the stadium to billionaire Shahid Khan, the Financial
Times reported.

9.Oil benchmark Brent traded little changed on Wednesday
after rising to its highest in nearly four years in the previous
session. US crude futures fell as US officials tried
to assure that the market would be well-supplied before sanctions
are re-imposed on producer Iran.

10.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will pledge on Wednesday that
her government will be “unequivocally pro-business” as it seeks
to forge a future role outside the European Union.
May will say she has no plans to abandon her current Brexit plan,
shrugging off criticism at home and in Brussels after an
acrimonious meeting of EU leaders last week, according to
extracts from a speech to be given to business leaders in New
York.