1. Asia: Asia stocks eased on Monday as investors reduced expectations of an aggressive interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, while heightened Middle East tensions following an Iranian seizure of a British tanker lifted crude oil prices. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent. South Korea's KOSPI shed 0.3 percent, Australian stocks lost 0.2 percent and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5 percent. (Image: Reuters)