Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE:EMN) announced that it has acquired Scandiflex do Brasil S.A. Indústrias Químicas, a manufacturer of plasticizers located in Mauá, São Paulo, Brazil. The acquired Scandiflex plasticizer business and manufacturing capabilities are now part of Eastman's Performance Chemicals and Intermediates (PCI) segment. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The stronger U.S. Dollar is putting pressure on December Gold overnight. Long traders began taking profits in gold on Friday following a turnaround in the Greenback, triggered by conservative comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke regarding quantitative easing.

The U.S. Dollar is giving back some of Tuesday’s gains overnight but investors remain jittery over European bank concerns.

Global equity markets fell sharply lower overnight on renewed fears in the Euro Zone and rising tensions between North Korea and South Korea. The sell-off started early when Asian traders began liquidating equities on war concerns between the Korean nations and quickly spread to Europe and the U.S. as these two regions continued to struggle with the spreading debt issues in the Euro Zone.