Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• EU Moving With U.S. on More Russia Sanctions. The U.S. and European Union will act on stiffer sanctions against Russia as soon as this week as Vladimir Putin’s government is “doubling down” on its support for Ukrainian rebels, an Obama administration official said. The new sanctions by the EU are aimed at the Russian finance, defense and energy industries as well as Putin’s “cronies,” Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said. 

• Secret Tunnels Under Israel Reveal Threat From Gaza. Slipping into a tunnel under Israel’s southern border and heading toward the Gaza Strip, the scorching summer heat suddenly turns cooler and the boom of artillery fire above fades away. 

• Europe Stocks Decline as Investors Weigh Unrest, Earnings. European stocks fell for a second day as investors weighed unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East, and watched companies’ financial results. Wincor Nixdorf AG slid the most since May after the maker of automated teller machines posted third-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Aberdeen Asset Management Plc (ADN) slid 5.3 percent after reporting a drop in assets under management. Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA) added 2.7 percent after lifting its fiscal full-year profit goal as quarterly profit more than doubled. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc rose 2.7 percent after saying it will spin off its pharmaceutical business. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent to 341.34 at the close of trading after sliding as much as 0.7 percent and rising as much as 0.3 percent.

• Fed’s Fisher: Rates Too Loose for Too Long. (video)

• Buying on Dips Pays Most in Five Years as Stocks Rebound. Not since the bull market began has buying dips in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index been a surer way of making money. Declines (SPX) in the benchmark gauge for American equity are lasting an average of 1.5 days in 2014, the shortest since at least 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Starting last year, returns on days after the index fell have averaged 0.13 percent, the highest since they were 0.38 percent in 2009.

• Memphis Cops Call in Sick in New Tactic to Stop Cuts. Police and firefighters in Memphis are calling in sick by the scores as a new Tennessee law kicks in requiring cities to stop shortchanging workers’ pensions. Their beef: Memphis’s plan to comply. Tennessee’s largest city, which for years has failed to save enough to support promised retirement checks, plans to make up that sum by eliminating retirees’ health insurance, which has fewer legal protections. At one point, 558 police officers stayed home, one fourth of the force, in a city that had the sixth-highest incidence of violent crime in the U.S. last year. At the end of last week, 131 were out.

Wall Street Journal:

• Fragile Gaza Truce for Muslim Holiday Breaks Down. Four People Killed in Israel by Mortar Shell.

• Ukraine Reports Heavy Fighting Around Malaysia Airlines Crash Site. Kiev Seeking to Cut Off Rebel Stronghold of Donetsk.

MarketWatch.com:

• Stock trader who called three crashes sees 20% collapse. Insight: Veteran investor expects bear market within 12 months.

CNBC:

• The Fed in denial.

• Fed up? Janet Yellen facing challenges from within.

• When everything tech is up and to the right.

ZeroHedge:

• Earnings Recovery? Europe Would Love Some Of That. (graph)

• The Case For A Bull Or Bear Market In Two Charts. (graph)

• LOCO IPO Soars To Insane 20x EBITDA Multiple. (graph)

• Pending Home Sales Tumble From Recovery Highs, Biggest Miss In 2014. (graph)

• US Services PMI Beats After Last Week's Manufacturing PMI Record Miss, Employment Plunges. (graph)

• China's Solution To “Property Companies Facing Huge Debt Burdens”: Much More Debt. (graph)

• "Reprehensible" Lloyds Bank Agrees To $105 Million Wristslap For Manipulating Libor.

• Spanish Bond Yields Tumble Below 2.5% - Lowest In History. (graph)

Business Insider: 

• The White House Is Furious At Israel’s Thrashing Of John Kerry.

• WHITE HOUSE TO RUSSIA: Prepare To Get Whacked By The Worst Sanctions Yet.

• Former Yale Professor Says Ivy League Schools Are Churning Out 'Zombies'.

• Africa's Most Populous Country On 'Red Alert' After Ebola Death In City Of 21 Million.

• POLL: Romney Would Beat Obama In Election Rematch.

• ZILLOW(Z) BUYS TRULIA(TRLA) FOR $3.5 BILLION.

• This Could Be The Busiest Week For IPOs Since August 2000.

• ART CASHIN: Three Things Worry Me Right Now.

NY Post:

• 2,500 Ground Zero Workers Have Cancer. More than 2,500 Ground Zero rescuers and responders have come down with cancer, and a growing number are seeking compensation for their illnesses, The Post has learned. The grim toll has skyrocketed from the 1,140 cancer cases reported last year.

Spiegel:

• EU Ministers May Decide on More Russian Sanctions Soon. EU foreign ministers will be able to make decisions on tougher sanctions for Russia "in the coming days," Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German foreign ministers, says in an interview.

Le Temps:

• Russia May Retaliate Against Sanctions, Chizhov Says. Russia reserves the right to respond to "hostile measures" in manner that will be "as strong," and "symmetrical," Vladimir Chizhov, Russia ambassador to European Union, says in an interview. Russia is not only considering retaliation measures, is also ready for them, Chizhov says.

Xinhua:

• China angered by U.S. protectionism. The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced on Monday that China is strongly dissatisfied with the United States for its anti-dumping and countervailing probes into Chinese exports of photovoltaic products.

China News Service:

• China Property Market May Face 2-3 Years Adjustment. Large number of housing units will enter the market after 2014 and result in oversupply, citing a report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Short-term declines are inevitable. Prices won't crash entirely, the report said.