- Ukraine Trades Accusations With Russia of Shelling. Ukraine and Russia traded accusations of cross-border shelling as tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors intensified. “Ukraine’s border checkpoint at Marynivka in the Donetsk region was attacked from Russian territory by mortars, Grad missile systems and artillery,” at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time yesterday, damaging infrastructure and equipment, a Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said in Kiev today. Rossiya 24 state television said about 40 artillery shells landed in the Rostov region of southern Russia from across the border and one woman may have been injured. It showed pictures of unexploded shells near a border post. While both countries have swapped such accusations before, the latest allegations come as the pro-Russian rebel stronghold of Donetsk, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the border, awaits a possible onslaught by Ukrainian government forces.
- EU Vows Russia Action as Merkel Said to See Sanctions Next Week. The European Union said it’ll work “swiftly” to hit Russian industries with sanctions as support grows for the package of trade restrictions outlined this week. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing her colleagues to sign off on the measures by the end of next week and is prepared to accept curbs on her country’s technology exports to win support, according to two German government officials, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.
- Australia Risks Tension With Ukraine Rebels Sending Armed Police. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s plan to deploy armed police officers to the site of the Malaysian Air crash risks increasing tension in the Ukrainian territory held by Russian-backed rebels, according to political analysts based in Berlin and Brussels.
- Russia Unexpectedly Raises Key Rate Third Time on Ukraine. Russia’s central bank unexpectedly increased borrowing costs for a third time this year as the intensifying conflict over Ukraine and the threat of wider sanctions squeeze the economy and undercut the ruble. The central bank in Moscow increased its one-week auction rate to 8 percent from 7.5 percent, according to a statement on its website today.
- Norway on High Alert Amid Warnings of Attack Next Week. Police in Norway are on high alert after receiving intelligence that nationals returning from Syria may be plotting a terrorist attack within days against the Scandinavian country. Information obtained by Norway’s security service, PST, suggests an attack could be imminent, the unit’s chief, Benedicte Bjoernland, said yesterday. Authorities have strengthened their presence at Norway’s borders, airports and train stations, and police in all districts are at a heightened state of preparedness.
- China Credit Trust Delays Payment on $210 Million Product. China Credit Trust Co. delayed payments on a 1.3 billion-yuan ($210 million) high-yield trust product backed by coal-mining assets after the borrower failed to raise funds to repay investors. The Beijing-based company will extend the maturity of Credit Equals Gold No. 2, which was scheduled to expire today, according to a statement distributed to investors in the product and seen by Bloomberg News. China Credit Trust aims to sell assets held by the product within 15 months to repay investors, the July 24 statement showed.
- Bond ETFs Swelling in Europe as Trading Debt Gets Tougher. Bond buyers are pouring record amounts of money into exchange-traded funds in Europe that buy debt as central bank largess boosts demand and makes investors less willing to part with their fixed-income assets. Investors deposited more than $16 billion into ETFs that purchase debt from high-yielding corporate notes to sovereign bonds, almost quadruple the amount in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world’s biggest provider of ETFs, estimates bond-fund inflows will climb to about $20 billion by year-end.
- European Stocks Fall as LVMH Leads Luxury Retailers Lower. European stocks fell the most in a week, extending losses in the final half hour of trading, as companies including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Statoil (STL) ASA posted earnings that missed forecasts. LVMH fell the most since August 2011 after the world’s largest luxury-goods company also said demand weakened in Asia. Air France-KLM Group climbed 2.6 percent after reporting second-quarter profit that beat estimates. Sky Deutschland AG added 1.4 percent after British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc offered to buy the German broadcaster. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc rallied the most in more than four years after saying first-half profit almost doubled. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.7 percent to 341.95 at the close of trading.
- West Bank Protests Grow as Israel, Hamas Fighting in Gaza Rages. Palestinian Death Toll in Gaza Reaches 817, and Another Israeli soldier is Killed.
- Junk bond fears rise as outflows accelerate. Most money leaves high-yield funds since June 2013. (graph)
ZeroHedge:
- Are We Addicted to Failure? (graph)
Reuters:
Telegraph:
- IMF fears ultra-low rates are fuelling asset bubbles. Chief economist Olivier Blanchard says fund is watching financial markets “like a hawk” because world economy is still too fragile to withstand interest rate rises.
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