Quick Overview

• MoM The U.S. Conference Board’s confidence index fell to 48.5, lower than forecast, from 53.2

• The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 0.1 % MoM but rose 3.2% YoY -- the smallest year-over-year gain since March, the group said. The index remains 27.9 % below the peak set in mid-2006.

• YoY Chilean copper output grew 1.3% in August to 467,680 metric tons from the 461,856 tons produced in August 2009.

• The La Nina weather event has strengthened even further and looks likely to last into early 2011, the government's Bureau of Meteorology reported Tuesday.

• India extended by a year the deadline for tax-free imports of rice to keep prices under check.

• Israel set up a new military intelligence unit to incorporate high-tech hacking tactics.

• Credit rating agencies warned Ireland that its debt is at risk of further downgrades.

• Ukraine grain export restrictions are possible, news items say..

• Pension funds will be looking to increase their gold holdings considerably after years of "negligible exposure," the director of global research from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas has said.

• The yields for Monsanto's SmartStax corn seeds are trailing those of its legacy VT Triple Pro and VT Double Pro products, said Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander in a note to clients.

• The US Treasury sold $35 bln five-year notes at a record low yield of 1.26%.
  
  
  
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  Japan’s Tankan index for big manufacturers' sentiment was plus 8 in September, up for a sixth straight quarter and marking the best reading since March 2008.