- Putin Meets Obama, Poroshenko Amid Talk of Cease-Fire. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. President Barack Obama and held his first talks with Ukraine’s new leader, Petro Poroshenko, as France used D-Day commemorations to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine crisis. Obama and Putin had an “informal conversation” in northern France today, during which the U.S. leader said that to defuse tensions Russia must recognize Poroshenko as Ukraine’s head of government and end support for rebels, Ben Rhodes, deputy White House national security adviser, said.
- China’s Focus on Growth Goal Risks Reform Delay, World Bank Says. China may fail to implement changes needed to put its economy on a more sustainable path as weaker expansion pushes the government to roll out stronger supportive policies to meet its growth target, the World Bank said. “The government should have sufficient room for those policies, but they may perpetuate China’s traditional growth model that relies on government-led investment fueled by credit expansion,” the Washington-based lender said in a report today. “A policy focus on meeting growth targets could distract from pushing through the structural reforms intended to put long-term growth on a more stable footing.”
- Chinese Banks ‘Not as Cheap as They Look,’ Templeton Says. Valuations of Chinese banks at near-record lows are not as “cheap as they look” because of an increase in non-performing loans and risks of write-offs, according to Templeton Equity Group’s Norman Boersma.
- European Stocks Gain as U.S. Jobs Report Beats Forecasts. European stocks advanced to a six-year high after a report showed the U.S. economy created more jobs last month than forecast. Commerzbank AG climbed 4.1 percent after the lender’s chief executive officer predicted that the European Central Bank would find no problems during an audit. Italian and Irish banks dragged the Stoxx Europe 600 Index higher as yields on the two countries’ bonds fell to the lowest level since the introduction of the euro. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA retreated 2 percent after saying it will offer new shares to investors at a 35.5 percent discount in an attempt to rebuild capital. The Stoxx 600 rose 0.7 percent to 347.30 at the close of trading. The benchmark has gained 0.9 percent this week as the ECB lowered interest rates and unveiled a package of cheap loans for the euro zone’s banks.
- Copper Futures Set for Biggest Weekly Loss Since March. Copper has dropped 3.8 percent in four days after the inquiry was reported, extending a decline this year amid concern that slowing global economic growth would crimp demand. China’s finance deals use commodities from iron-ore to soybeans to obtain credit and may tie up as much 1 million metric tons of copper, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated in a March report. “Worries that the slowdown in demand from Chinese financing deals after recent inventory fears in Qingdao Port are still the driver here,” Steven Scacalossi, head of global metals sales at TD Securities in Toronto, said in an e-mailed report. “Momentum sellers are joining the fray.” Copper futures for July delivery fell 1.3 percent to settle at $3.051 a pound at 1:13 p.m. on the Comex in New York. On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slid 1.4 percent to $6,688 a ton ($3.03 a pound).
- A Hawk Stirs as Weber’s UBS Sees U.S. Inflation Set to Take Off. Leave it to Axel Weber to sound the inflation alarm while most of the world is focused on the threat of deflation. A stalwart advocate of tight money at the European Central Bank, where he helped to set interest rates from 2004 to 2011, Weber says U.S. price gains and the subsequent response of the Federal Reserve will outpace investor expectations. “I see more potential ahead for nervousness in the market,” Weber, chairman of UBS AG since 2012, told a London conference of the Institute of International Finance yesterday. “The whole driver is going to be the inflation rate by the end of the year in the U.S.”
- Gambler Linked to Icahn-Mickelson Faced $15 Million Loss. William “Billy” Walters, the Las Vegas gambler who U.S. authorities are said to be investigating in connection with possible insider trading in 2011 and 2012, was at the time facing a multimillion-dollar debt to the government over a soured golf-course deal, according to court records.
- Uber Sets Valuation Record of $17 Billion in New Funding. Uber Technologies Inc. is creating a new category of hot startup: the $17 billion club. The San Francisco-based transportation service, which lets people order private town cars and other vehicles from their smartphone, said today that it has raised $1.2 billion in a new financing led by Fidelity Investments. The funding positions the company at the front of a pack of Internet startups, with a valuation of about $17 billion, up from $3.5 billion in a financing last year.
- Price of coming forward: 37 VA whistle-blowers claim retaliation. Dozens of Veterans Affairs workers who have come forward with stories of mismanagement and patient abuse say they have faced retaliation within the scandal-scarred agency, according to federal investigators.
- Photos purportedly show frantic, dangerous search for Bergdahl in 2009. (pics) Newly obtained photographs purportedly depict the frantic search for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in the initial days after he disappeared from his post in eastern Afghanistan. The images were provided to Fox 5 DC by a soldier from Bergdahl's Blackfoot Company who was at the base the day he disappeared. The soldier, like several others who have spoken to the media since the Obama administration announced Bergdahl had been freed in exchange for five Taliban leaders, claimed Bergdahl had deserted. The images purportedly show the lengths to which his fellow soldiers went to find him.
ZeroHedge:
- You Know It's A Top When... (graph)
- What Quality Jobs? Over Half Of May Payroll Growth Is In Education, Leisure And Temp Help Jobs. (graph)
- How Much More Upside Is There? (graph)
Reuters:
- Exclusive: As bank fines soar, U.S. threatened $16 billion BNP penalty. U.S. authorities negotiating with BNP Paribas over alleged sanctions violations at one point suggested that France's biggest bank pay a penalty as high as $16 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Mexico central bank unexpectedly cuts rate to spur weak economy. Mexico's central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates to a record low on Friday, saying a sluggish economy gave it room for a one-off cut to spur growth without fanning inflation pressures.
- Fed’s easy money has disconnected markets from the real economy. Junk bond spreads near all-time lows and stocks at record highs.
- Interest rates are entering the twilight zone. Central banks are only storing up problems for the future by sticking to printing money.
- Austrian Central Bank Warns of Euro Area Recession on Russia. Euro area may contract by as much as 2.3% through 2015 if conflict with Russia escalates, citing Austrian central bank calculations. "High impact scenario" in calculations assumes rise in energy prices, no gas deliveries for 1.5 years.
- Weidmann Says 'Absurd' to Herald Further ECB Measures. ECB Governing Council member Jens Weidmann says it's "absurd to immediately herald the next round" of easing measures, citing an interview. Says "now we'll have to wait and see the effects" of yesterday's ECB decisions. Says teh ECB must not become the bad bank of the euro area. The Governing Council "wrestled hard" before deciding on the latest package of measures, he said.
- Donetsk Militants Hold More Than 200 People Hostage. More than 200 people, who are citizens of various countries, are currently held by unlawful armed groups in Donetsk region, says Serhiy Taruta, the head of Donetsk Regional Administration.
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