Morning Market Update

1. Bloomberg reports that Vale has asked Nippon Steel Corp. and its Japanese rivals to pay 12% more for iron ore after agreeing in February to an increase of at least 65%. Vale has asked Chinese mills for a similar increase after Asian steelmakers in June and July agreed to gains of as much as 97% for Australian iron ore from Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd

2. Alpha Trading Systems postponed the September 26 introduction of its alternative trading platform to challenge the dominance of TMX Group Inc's Toronto Stock Exchange, after testing showed the system isn't ready.

3. German exports declined more than forecast in July as slowing global growth has cooled demand . The Federal Statistics Office said exports declined 1.7% from June. Economists were looking for a decline of 1.1% and don't see a significant recovery anytime soon. The German economy contracted 0.5% in the second quarter.

4. McDonald's Corp. (MCD) reported same-store sales increase of 8.5% for the month of August, drive by an 11.6% gain in Europe. The shares are up about 6% this year, significantly outpacing the S&P 500, which is down nearly 14%.

5. Wells Fargo (WFC) has surpassed Citigroup to become the 3rd largest bank by market capitalization. Bank of America (BAC) remains the largest, followed by JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

6. Hiring intentions in the U.S. have fallen to a 5-year low according to a Manpower Inc. The reading for stores and wholesalers is the weakest reading for any fourth quarter since they began tracking the data. Retailers are bracing for what is likely to be a very weak holiday season. The U.S. has lost over 600,00 jobs this year and the unemployment has risen sharply in recent months to 6.1%.

7. Shares of Dell Inc. (DELL) are up in the pre-market on news founder Michael Dell bought U$100 million of stock in the world's 2nd largest computer maker.

8. UxWeekly reports that the spot price of uranium was unchanged at US$64.50/lb U3O8. The group noted that several suppliers have noted a willingness to sell at the currently published price, while others are not willing and are still looking at holding off for higher prices. On the other hand, there are also some participants that are reporting offers being made at lower than currently published prices, however, there has been no verification of any current offers below last week’s reported indicator.

9. Harry Winston (HW) is expected to report results today where Consensus is looking for EPS of US$0.48.