Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• Iraq Premier Says War May Spread as U.S. Weighs Action. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that the offensive by Islamist militants his army is fighting could spill over into neighboring states, as the U.S. weighed options on how to counter the insurgents. “They will flee to you and your countries will also be inflamed with sectarian wars,” Maliki said in a televised speech today, without naming nations he considered at risk. His Shiite Muslim-led government yesterday accused Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest Sunni power, of providing “moral and material support” for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the group that began its assault by sweeping into Mosul last week. 

• ISIL Battles Elite Iraq Troops for Nation’s Biggest Refinery. Islamist insurgents battled Iraqi forces for control of the nation’s largest oil refinery. Local police said militants are inside the plant, while the central government said its elite troops are in control. Army helicopters struck fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant near Baiji after militants seized the 310,000 barrels-a-day refinery, according to a statement from the Salahudin provincial police. ISIL fighters are still inside the facility and the battle continues, it said. Iraq’s troops killed 40 militants and repelled their attack, military spokesman Qassim Ata said in a televised news conference. 

• $120 Oil Flagged as Danger Point for Global Economy on Iraq Crisis. The global economy faces a new threat from an old enemy: oil. A spike in the price of crude foreshadowed economic slumps in each of the last four decades and economists are worrying anew after Brent touched its highest price in nine months above $113 a barrel amid fresh violence in Iraq, OPEC’s second biggest producer. Brent started the year about $6 cheaper.

• China Auditor Blames CIC Mismanagement for Investment Losses. Mismanagement at China Investment Corp., the nation’s $575 billion sovereign wealth fund, led to overseas investment losses that could widen, according to the National Audit Office. A dereliction of duty by managers, and inadequate due diligence and post-investment management were identified in 12 investments made abroad by the fund between 2008 and 2013, according to results of an audit conducted last year, that didn’t identify the individual cases.

• World Cup Pushes Brazilian Inflation Above Analyst Forecasts. Brazil’s consumer prices in the month through mid-June rose more than economists forecast, as the World Cup boosted prices for flights, hotels and tours. Inflation as measured by the benchmark IPCA-15 index decelerated to 0.47 percent from 0.58 percent the prior month, the national statistics agency said on its website today. That was faster than the 0.42 percent median estimate from 38 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

• Homebuilders See Record Bearish Bets on Shaky Recovery. Someone thinks the housing rebound is built on shaky foundations. A record 180,000 puts traded on the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB) exchange-traded fund on June 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The contract with the highest ownership pays off in the event of a 20 percent slump by December in the ETF tracking stocks from DR Horton Inc. to Williams-Sonoma Inc.

• FedEx(FDX) 2015 Profit Forecast Tops Estimates on Growth View. FedEx Corp. (FDX) forecast an annual profit range with a midpoint that exceeded analysts’ estimates as it reaps the benefits of a three-year turnaround plan and foresees moderate economic growth.

Wall Street Journal

• Obama's Job-Approval Rating Takes a Hit. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds President Barack Obama’s job-approval rating at 41%, which matches a previous low. Approval of his handling of foreign policy hit a new low of 37%.

CNBC: 

• Murderous ISIS may have a secret weapon: Bribery.

• GM(GM) hit with $10 billion lawsuit saying recalls damaged brand.

ZeroHedge: 

• Putin Advisor Proposes "Anti-Dollar Alliance" To Halt US Aggression Abroad.

• The Top 100 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Right Now. (table)

• Iraq Formally Asks 'Reluctant' US For Airstrikes Against Jihadists.

• TD Ameritrade Admits "Virtually Always" Sells Retail Orders To HFTs.

• US Patent Office Strips "Washington Redskins" Name For Being "Disparaging".

• In Escalating War Of Words, Saudi Arabia Fires Back At Iraq, Warns Of Civil War, Opposes Foreign Intervention.

Business Insider: 

• LIVE: Amazon Is About To Reveal Its First Smartphone. 

• NYC Real Estate Has Gotten So Hot That Stockbrokers, Hipsters, And Yuppies Are Invading The Far Reaches Of Brooklyn.

Freemaninrealworld:

• A net 6% of European fund managers see European equities as over-valued, highest since 2000. (graph)

Mysteel.com:

• Daily Crude Steel Output by China Key Cos. Hits Record. Crude steel output by large Chinese steel makers averaged 1.83m tons a day in the first 10 days of this month, hitting a record, citing data from the China Iron and Steel Association.

Xinhua:

• Audits Find Irregularities in 3 Major Chinese Financial Institutions. Irregularities have been revealed in the operation and management of three major financial institutions in China, according to the country's top auditing body on Wednesday. China Investment Corp, Agricultural Development Bank of China and Bank of China have been found violating regulations in issuing loans and their financial management described as "chaotic," the National Audit Office said in a statement. The institutions had either issued loans to projects which failed to go through a whole set of approval procedures or meet funding adequacy requirements, or offered loans to companies without going through required procedures.