The Traderszone Network

A U.S. appeals court on Monday weighed whether to uphold the approval of an estimated $5.7 billion antitrust settlement by MasterCard Inc (MA.N) and Visa Inc (V.N) with merchants over credit card fees despite the objection of several major retailers. A lawyer for retailers including Target Corp (TGT.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) urged the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to reject the deal, saying it forces merchants to give up their rights to sue over various policies and practices.

William Dudley, head of the New York Fed, and John Williams, head of the San Francisco Fed, both signaled support for an interest rate hike this year, saying they expect inflation to rise towards the Fed’s 2-percent target. Williams sounded more hawkish, saying that just “a little bit” more data could convince him that a rate hike is needed. The Fed’s 17 policymakers have scheduled 16 separate speeches or public appearances this week across the country, less than two weeks after the central bank decided to delay what would be its first rate hike in nearly a decade.

Microsoft Corp said it was changing the way it reported financial results to reflect its emphasis on cloud and mobile businesses. Starting this quarter, the company will report revenue and operating income …

Japan Tobacco Inc (2914.T) is in the final stages of talks to buy Reynolds American Inc’s (RAI.N) Sante Fe Natural Tobacco unit for about $5 billion, aiming to reach an agreement this week, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday. Officials at Japan Tobacco (JT) and Reynolds American were not immediately available for comment. With the purchase of Sante Fe, JT hopes to gain marketing rights for the Natural American Spirit brand, which is sold in the United States, Japan and Europe, the Nikkei said.

The Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut rates again today
– The announcement is due at 0530GMT
– The  repurchase-agreement rate is expected to be cut to 7% (from 7.25% currently), according to

Asian shares tracked Wall Street’s sell-off on Tuesday, with commodity plays among the biggest casualties on the back of China-related worries.

Here we go, Glencore troubles continue, spread, amplify. A bit like a virus, really.
Bloomberg have a trio of pieces on Glencore and of course none of it notably new news, and none is pretty: