TOP STORIES 
 
REDSTONE FIRM TO CALL ON VIACOM, CBS TO WEIGH MERGER 

National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, is set to call for the media companies to consider a merger, according to a person familiar with the matter.

YELLEN CALLS FOR REGULATORY RELIEF FOR SMALL BANKS 

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said regulators need to do more to alleviate the regulatory burden on small lenders, a signal the central bank may soon propose easing rules for community banks.

WELLS FARGO CEO JOHN STUMPF STILL FACES RISKS, FOLLOWING $41 MILLION CLAWBACK 

For now, there are no signs John Stumpf is contemplating giving up his roles as chairman and chief executive over Wells Fargo's sales-tactics scandal. And there haven't been any formal discussions at the board about his resigning from either position.

U.S. STOCKS TURN LOWER AS BIOTECH SHARES SLIDE 

Stocks bounced around the flatline, as declines in biotechnology stocks offset gains in the energy sector.

FED'S BULLARD TOUTS IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL BANKS AT BANKING CONFERENCE 

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard kicked off the regional bank's fourth annual community banking conference, touting the importance of local banks to a strong economy.

YAHOO HACKERS WERE CRIMINALS RATHER THAN STATE-SPONSORED, SECURITY FIRM SAYS 

An information-security firm says the hackers who stole at least 500 million records from Yahoo are criminals who are selling access to the database, and not a state-sponsored group as Yahoo contends.

WELLS FARGO ISN'T THE ONLY BANK THAT DRAWS CROSS-SELLING COMPLAINTS 

Problematic sales practices at banks may extend beyond the abuses revealed in the $185 million enforcement action against Wells Fargo, according to a new analysis of customer complaints maintained by the U.S. government.

SEC ADOPTS RULES FOR CLEARINGHOUSES 

Clearinghouses that guarantee trades in equity, fixed-income and derivatives markets will have to maintain a capital buffer that would allow them to meet their obligations in the case of a failure, under new rules approved Wednesday by U.S. securities regulators.

SEC SAYS ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV INDIAN UNIT MADE IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO OFFICIALS 

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev NV would pay $6 million to settle charges that it made improper payments to Indian government officials and then chilled a whistleblower who reported the misconduct.

FORD RECALLS FOCUS HATCHBACKS 

Ford is recalling about 74,000 Focus hatchback cars in the U.S. and Canada because the hatches can be unlatched too easily while the cars are moving.

EU TO PROBE DEUTSCHE BÖ RSE, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE MERGER 

The EU's antitrust regulator has opened an investigation into the proposed merger of Deutsche Bö rse and the London Stock Exchange, citing concerns about reduced competition.

U.S. DURABLE-GOODS ORDERS FLAT IN AUGUST 

U.S. factories reported flat demand for big-ticket goods in August, suggesting the economy continues to be restrained by sluggish business spending.

OCC PREPARES GUIDANCE FOR BANKS ON GAUGING RISK FROM FOREIGN BANKS 

A top bank regulator said his agency will release new guidance about how banks should evaluate risks in their foreign banking relationships, in an effort to address criticism that a crackdown on money laundering has inadvertently cut some countries off from the U.S. financial system.

AIR-BAG MAKER TAKATA IN TALKS TO SETTLE LIKELY CRIMINAL CASE 

Takata is negotiating after U.S. prosecutors found evidence of unlawful conduct in the Japanese automotive supplier's handling of rupture-prone air bags linked to numerous deaths and injuries.

RBS PAYS $1.1 BILLION TO SETTLE LAWSUITS IN U.S. 

Royal Bank of Scotland Group has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to a U.S. regulator to resolve two civil lawsuits over the way it sold mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis.

OPEC MINISTERS REACH FOR COMPROMISE ON OIL OUTPUT 

OPEC ministers began a closed-door session this afternoon to discuss a proposed cut to the cartel's oil production, the latest attempt to stem a two-year crude-oil rout.

DEUTSCHE BANK LIFTED BY $1.2 BILLION ABBEY LIFE SALE 

Deutsche Bank said it sold its U.K.-based Abbey Life insurance unit to Phoenix Group Holdings for $1.2 billion, boosting the German lender's capital cushion slightly at a time of intense focus on its financial health.

SAMSUNG LOOKING INTO COMPLAINTS ABOUT REPLACEMENT GALAXY NOTE 7S 

Samsung, grappling with a recall of its premium Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, said it is looking into complaints in the U.S. and South Korea that some replacement phones are overheating.

NATIONWIDE TO ACQUIRE ANNUITIES COMPANY JEFFERSON NATIONAL 

Nationwide Mutual Insurance is acquiring an annuities company that specializes in fee-based products, a sign of how new federal retirement-savings rules are starting to transform parts of the financial-services industry.

MOODY'S BOOSTS GUIDANCE ON HIGHER ISSUANCE ACTIVITY 

Moody's Corp. said a pickup in debt issuance and a bigger impact from cost-cutting initiatives have improved its business recently, leading the company to lift its annual guidance.

 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
Capital Account 
A GROWTH-FRIENDLY CLIMATE CHANGE PROPOSAL 
 

Polarized politics have made it difficult to reconcile climate change and economic growth, but voters in Washington state are considering a revenue-neutral carbon tax proposal that does just that, Greg Ip writes.

 
World News 
FOR CLINTON AND PUTIN, THE MISTRUST IS MUTUAL 
 

While Vladimir Putin has called Donald Trump a "colorful and talented person," the Kremlin has long viewed Hillary Clinton as pushing a democratization agenda that it sees as a threat to its sovereignty.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2016 13:10 ET (17:10 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.