Trader Talk: An Analysis of the Markets this Morning

Good morning,

Markets are called to open higher this morning.

Lawrence Summers’ withdrawal as a candidate for Federal Reserve chairman came after an unprecedented campaign to stop a Fed nominee even before he was announced, spearheaded by Democratic senators who took on a president of their own party.

The decision by Summers, the former Treasury secretary and economic adviser to President Barack Obama, came as liberal and moderate Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee began publicly and privately signaling their concerns about Summers to the White House.

Several Democratic senators, including Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, mounted a sustained lobbying campaign, pressing colleagues in their own party to oppose Summers on the grounds that he was too lax on financial regulation. They pressed forward as the White House was focused on building support for a military strike in Syria.

Stock to watch: Apple

Apple Inc.’s new high-end iPhone gives a glimpse of future products that may be in store from the world’s most-valuable company.

A new motion-sensor chip inside the iPhone 5s lays the groundwork for wearable-computing products, while a fingerprint sensor opens more opportunities to make the smartphone a tool for making purchases at stores, according to technology analysts who study Apple. Another new processor chip in the device may give the company the chance to switch its Mac computers away from Intel Corp. chips.

Since Apple unveiled two iPhones on Sept. 10, investors and analysts have been looking for clues about future gadgets and services from the Cupertino, California-based company. The scrutiny is amplified because Apple hasn’t entered a new product category since the iPad’s 2010 debut, and the release of a watch-like wearable computer or fresh payments platform would

WHAT TO WATCH:

• Summers Quits Race to Succeed Bernanke

• Dollar Falls While Asian Stocks Jump on Summers

• Merkel Gets Election Tailwind From Bavaria as FDP Concerns Grow

• Lufthansa’s Carsten Spohr Is Potential Successor to CEO: FAZ

• Lufthansa $14b of Jets Said to Be Boeing-Airbus Split

• EU Bank-Failure Proposal Hits Rocky Road as Germany Leads Revolt

• Three Losses to U.K. in a Week Limit EU Financial Reform Plans

• Rightmove Raises U.K. House Price Forecast After Summer Lull

• Clegg Rejects House-Price Bubble Concerns Citing BOE Tools

• Growing Banks Hold Onto Profit to Meet Targets, BIS Says

• ViroPharma Said to Hire Goldman Amid Interest From Sanofi

• Hollande Says French Tax on Diesel Fuel Won’t Rise in 2014

EARNINGS All times CET, estimates where available:

• Petra Diamonds (PDL LN) 8am, FY adj. EPS est. $0.07

• PureCircle (PURE LN) 8am, FY adj. loss/shr est. $0.06 (3 ests.)

Good day and happy trading!

Kristian Camenzuli