- Iran Leader Says He Won’t Allow Nuclear Checks at Military Sites. Iran’s supreme leader said international inspectors won’t get access to military complexes under any nuclear deal, nor be allowed to interview Iranian scientists, a stance at odds with those taken by the nation’s negotiators. “We have said that we will not allow foreigners to carry out inspections of any military sites,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at a ceremony for army graduates. “I will not allow foreigners to interview, which is tantamount to interrogation, the prominent beloved scientists and sons of this nation.” Khamenei’s comments contradict both his own envoys to nuclear talks with a group of world powers and a U.S. State Department “fact sheet” published last month. That document stipulated that Iran would be required to grant the United Nations nuclear agency access to any “suspicious sites.”
- Greece, Creditors Delve Into Details as Deadline Looms. Greece delved into detailed proposals with creditors as some European policy makers struck an increasingly optimistic tone that a deal to unlock bailout aid can be reached. An agreement is possible in the coming weeks following progress this month, European Union Economic and Monetary Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told the French Senate Wednesday, the day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece had until the end of the month to reach a deal.
- Takeover-Fueled Junk Borrowing Hits Six-Year High in Europe. Europe’s junk-rated companies are raising funds for mergers at the fastest pace in at least six years. Buyout deals accounted for 61 percent of the almost 24 billion euros ($26.6 billion) of leveraged loans issued this year, the biggest proportion since the same period in 2009, according to S&P Capital IQ Leveraged Commentary & Data. Companies are also funding deals in the bond market, where sales are set for a record, according to Fitch Ratings.
- Portugal Sells Debt With a Negative Yield for the First Time. Portugal sold debt securities with a negative yield for the first time as the European Central Bank’s bond-purchase program helps to drive down borrowing costs. The country’s debt agency sold 300 million euros ($333 million) of bills due in November 2015 at an average yield of minus 0.002 percent. That compares with an average yield of 0.047 percent at a previous auction on March 18. A negative yield means investors buying the securities now will get less back when the debt matures than they paid.
- Euro’s Plunge Reignites Calls for Parity on ECB Bond-Buying Plan. The European Central Bank’s pledge to front-load its bond buying has given hope to euro bears frustrated by the currency’s sharpest rally in almost five years. In less than three days, the euro has tumbled 3 percent versus the dollar, erasing a third of its gains since mid-March. The cost of protecting against further declines using options jumped by the most in four months after ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Monday that the central bank will bring forward some of its monthly bond purchases before an anticipated summer lull.
- Burberry Lowers Outlook as China Shoppers Shun Hong Kong. (video) Burberry Group Plc, the British maker of $1,895 trenchcoats, lowered its earnings forecast after the strong pound and decelerating sales in Hong Kong weighed on last year’s profit, sending the shares down the most in seven months. Earnings in the period through March 2016 will be about 40 million pounds ($62 million) less than previously anticipated because of currency swings, London-based Burberry said Wednesday. Adjusted pretax profit fell 1 percent to 455.8 million pounds last fiscal year, the first decline since 2009.
- European Stocks Extend Three-Week High as Altice, UBS Advance. A jump in telecommunication shares and banks pushed European stocks up for a third day. Altice SA climbed 12 percent on deals activity, while Vodafone Group Plc rose 5.4 percent after Liberty Global Plc Chairman John Malone said a tie-up with the U.K. phone company would be a “great fit” for his cable empire. UBS Group AG gained 3.2 percent and Barclays Plc advanced 3.4 percent after agreeing to pay fines to settle probes into interest-rate rigging. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 406.42 at the close of trading in London, after falling as much as 0.3 percent earlier.
- Secret Data Collection on Innocent Americans Allowed Under Bill. A bill to limit widespread spying by the National Security Agency would continue to allow the U.S. to secretly obtain large amounts of data on innocent Americans. Senate leaders ended a standoff Tuesday by agreeing to vote on a House-passed bill that would prohibit the NSA from collecting bulk records while renewing three U.S. spy programs set to expire in two weeks.
- Airline Rally Unwinding as American Air Spurs Price War Selloff. Turns out cheap oil isn’t always good for airlines. U.S. carriers sank the most in seven months amid signs that a year of lower fuel costs has left them poised to ramp up competition for customers with cut-rate fares and more routes. Southwest Airlines Co. dropped 7.5 percent to $37.84 at 1:20 p.m. in its biggest drop in three years, while American Airlines Group Inc. tumbled 6.4 percent to $44.80 in its worst day since emerging from bankruptcy in 2013. Airline stocks have risen at twice the rate of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the past year.
- Germany’s Schäuble Doesn’t Rule Out Greek Default. Finance minister says election of left-wing party clouds outlook; also wants to ‘think together’ with U.K. on EU. Germany’s finance minister said he couldn’t rule out a Greek default, a stance that will add pressure on Athens as negotiations over much-needed financing enter their final stretch. Asked whether he would repeat an assurance he gave in late 2012 that Greece wouldn't default, Wolfgang Schäuble told The Wall Street Journal and French daily Les Echos that “I would have to think very hard before repeating this in the current..
- New nuclear threat? North Korea claims it has miniaturized warheads. North Korea claimed Wednesday that it has manufactured nuclear warheads small enough to fit on the head of a missile, an announcement that is likely to rachet up tensions in east Asia, particularly with South Korea.
- Fed sees weakness as 'transitory,' all but rules out June hike: Minutes. Federal Reserve officials at their April meeting mostly brushed aside the wobbly start the U.S. economy has had in 2015, attributing the lack of growth to "transitory" factors that will abate soon. Meeting minutes show a Fed Open Market Committee with little concern about growth, even though they detailed a laundry list of weak spots that included industrial production, housing and investment. Gross domestic product grew just 0.2 percent in the first quarter—a number likely to be revised to a negative—while the Atlanta Fed is tracking second-quarter growth at just 0.7 percent.
- Global Demand Dearth Costs $1.2 Trillion In Lost Wages, $3.7 Trillion In GDP. (graph)
- "One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other". (graph)
- The Gloves Come Off: Moody's Warns Of Greek "Deposit Freeze" As Schauble "Won't Rule Out Default".
- Even Harvard Economists Admit Fed Policy Has "Created Dangerous Risks".
- For Caterpillar(CAT), This Is What The "Second Great Depression" Looks Like.
- China's Richest Man Sees Half His Net Worth Wiped Out In Seconds After Bubble Stock Instacrash.
- 5 Banks To Plead Guilty To Criminal Rigging Charges, Pay $5.6 Billion For Manipulating Markets.
- The Market's One-Sided Game Of Chicken. (graph)
- Markets Hit All Time High As Massive Spoofing Is Unleashed After FOMC Minutes. (graph)
Reuters:
- Greece cannot make June 5 IMF payment without deal - lawmaker. Greece will not be able to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund that falls due on June 5 without a deal with its international lenders, the government's parliamentary speaker said on Wednesday. Athens faces several payments totalling about 1.5 billion euros (1 billion pounds) to the IMF next month and is in talks with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to clinch a cash-for-reforms deal before it runs out of money.
No comments:
Post a Comment