The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

 FINANCE

 AUG. 26, 2014

REUTERS/Mykola Lazarenko/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivers a speech dedicated to his decree to dissolve parliament in Kiev, August 25, 2014.

Good morning! Here’s what people will be talking about Tuesday. 

1. Officials said Monday night that the U.S. is “preparing military options, including surveillance flights, to pressure Islamic State in Syria,” Reuters reports. Plans for military action have been on the table for weeks, though nothing has been confirmed yet. 

2. Opposing sides of the Scottish independence referendum faced off in a televised debate Monday night, with many polls showing pro-independence leader Alex Salmond coming out on top against rival Alistair Darling, leader of the Better Together campaign. 

3. France is expected to choose a new cabinet on Tuesday, one day after Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced the resignation of his government following critical remarks from economy minister Arnaud Montebourg about Germany’s austerity policies. 

4. Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko dissolved parliament on Monday and announced plans to hold snap elections in October. According to the Associated Press, Poroshenko said the move met with “the expectations of the vast majority of the citizens of Ukraine.”

5. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is helping to finance Burger King’s takeover of Tim Hortons. Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway “is expected to provide about 25% of the deal’s financing,” The Wall Street Journal said. 

6. For the first time, two major private major banks in Switzerland will release their financial statements. Geneva’s Bank Pictet and Lombard Odier will both release their first-half results this week, Reuters said. 

7. President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss much-needed economic aid for the African country. Mugabe is “seeking a £2.4 billion rescue package, according to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, which cited unnamed sources,” The Telegraph reports. 

8. The 6.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked California’s wine country, causing hundreds of injuries, may cost up to $1 billion in property damage, the Associated Press said. The largest quake to smack the region in 25 years has also brought attention to the need for better warning systems. 

9. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in an economic summit on Tuesday as the two countries remain locked in a conflict over eastern Ukraine. 

10. AMC’s “Breaking Bad” cleaned up at the Emmy awards Monday night. The show won a total of six awards including best drama series. 

And finally…

An 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth skeleton was found in a gravel pit by a Texas family. The skeleton is extremely well-preserved experts said