Bloomberg:
- Greek Senior Bank Bonds Fall on Dijsselbloem Bail-In Comment. (video) Senior bonds of Greek banks tumbled after Euro-area finance ministers protected depositors from any losses in the nation’s 86 billion-euro ($96 billion) bailout. While Greece’s third bailout will spare depositors in any restructuring of the nation’s financial system, senior bank bondholders may not be so lucky, according to comments from Eurogroup President and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem. The bondholders will be in line for losses if Greek lenders tap into any of the financial stability funds set aside in the new bailout.
- Russia Sales Outlook Worst in BRIC Markets on Oil, Recession. Russia is the standout these days among the biggest emerging markets, but for all the wrong reasons. Beset by the country’s first recession since 2009, oil selling at half its five-year average price and international sanctions linked to the Ukraine conflict, Russian companies are poised to post the biggest drop in sales among the four so-called BRIC nations, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Two of the others, Brazil and India, also are projected to slump, while China is seen growing modestly. The 50 companies listed in the benchmark Micex Index will post an average 17 percent ruble-denominated revenue decline in the next 12 months, according to analysts’ estimates. In dollar terms, the forecast is for a 25 percent slump.
- Protests Keep Heat on Rousseff as Longest Slump Since 1931 Looms. Nationwide street protests Sunday against the government kept the pressure on embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as the country heads to its longest recession since 1931. More than half a million people took to the streets to denounce corruption and economic mismanagement amid calls for Rousseff’s impeachment or resignation. While the rally drew fewer people than similar demonstrations in March, rising unemployment and the fastest inflation in more than a decade will keep Rousseff under fire.
- Goldman Sachs(GS) Cuts Yuan Forecast on Risks From Economic Slowdown. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its forecast for the yuan, saying China’s deepening economic slowdown will weaken the currency and increase volatility. The yuan will decline to 6.60 per dollar in 12 months, and to 6.70 per dollar by the end of 2016, London-based strategist Kamakshya Trivedi wrote in a note Monday. The bank previously predicted the currency would trade at 6.15 per dollar and 6.20 by those dates, respectively. The yuan was little changed at 6.3947 Monday.
- Chilean Peso Drops to 12-Year Low as Copper Declines on China. Chile’s peso fell to a 12-year low as copper plunged amid concern that China, the biggest buyer of the metal, is growing more slowly than official data suggest. The peso slid 0.9 percent to 690.26 per U.S. dollar at 11:58 a.m. New York time. It was on course for its lowest close since 2003, when it weakened in the aftermath of the Asian crisis and Argentina’s default. Copper, which accounts for half of Chile’s exports, fell 1.6 percent in New York to a six-year low of $2.314 a pound. Three-month inflation-linked swaps slid 0.15 percentage point to minus 3.12 percent.
- Emerging Currencies Extend Longest Selloff Since Turn of Century. (video) Emerging-market currencies fell, extending the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2000, as Malaysian assets tumbled, Turkey’s lira touched a record low for a third day and the ruble and Russian stocks retreated amid a slump in oil. A gauge tracking 20 of the most-traded developing-nation currencies dropped 0.3 percent, with the ringgit weakening to the lowest level since 1998 and Thailand’s baht slumping as an explosion struck Bangkok’s central shopping district. The currency measure has fallen for eight straight weeks as the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates and the shock devaluation of the yuan magnified risks. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index of stocks retreated 1.1 percent to 854.41 at 11:30 a.m. in New York.
- European Stocks Close Higher, While Germany’s DAX Index Declines. (video) After fluctuating between gains and losses throughout the day, European stocks ended with advances. But not those in Germany. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent to 387.26 at the close of trading in London, recovering from a decline of as much as 0.6 percent triggered by a report that showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly shrank. Volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands was a third lower than the 30-day average, a factor that might have contributed to the volatility.
- Commodities Slump Bolsters Treasuries as U.S. Stocks Advance. (video) A renewed slump in commodities damped inflation expectations and boosted demand for Treasuries, while China’s shock devaluation of its currency continued to roil emerging markets. The Bloomberg Commodity Index sank to a 13-year low as decline in assets from copper to aluminum boosted the value of fixed-income assets. Copper sank 1.7 percent, adding to six weeks of declines, on signs of slowing growth in China. Aluminum also slipped.
- Goldman(GS) Sees Iron Ore Slumping 30% on Supply, Steel Outlook. Iron ore prices may tumble about 30 percent over the next 18 months as supply expands while steel output falters, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said the impact on the market from China’s devaluation was a sideshow. Prices retreated. “Supply is likely to diverge further from demand,” analysts Christian Lelong and Amber Cai wrote in a report. “Contrary to market consensus, we believe that peak-steel production will be followed by a contraction” in China, they wrote, sticking with price forecasts for the next four quarters.
- Dallas Fed Names Harvard Professor Robert Kaplan as Next President. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has named Robert Steven Kaplan, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive who left to teach at Harvard in 2006, as its new president. Kaplan, 58, will take his post Sept. 8, the Dallas Fed said Monday in a press release. He will replace Richard Fisher, who was president from April 2005 to March 2015. Helen Holcomb, the Dallas Fed’s first vice president, has served as interim head since Fisher retired.
- Buzzkill Profs: Hedge Funds Do Half as Well as You Think. Their study shows that due to inherent biases in the way hedge-fund databases compile results, the industry's returns have been about half as strong as they appear. The average annualized return for the industry since 1996 goes from 12.6 percent to 6.3 percent when the biases are removed from the data, according to the paper.
- After Curing Hepatitis C, Gilead Works to Vanquish More Viruses. Gilead Sciences Inc., basking in the success of its cure for hepatitis C, is setting ambitious goals to vanquish two other major viral scourges: HIV and hepatitis B. Even with some promising signs in early trials, the biggest biotechnology firm in the world faces long odds in finding a way to rid humanity of the diseases. And it’s unclear whether a cure for either virus would produce the kind of lucrative return that Gilead has earned from its treatments for hepatitis C.
Fox News:
- At least 27 dead in Bangkok bomb blast. (video) At least 27 people are dead and 78 injured in an explosion that rocked the area near the popular Erawan shrine in a busy intersection in Bangkok, Thailand, Reuters reported Monday morning. A spokesman for Thailand's ruling junta says at least two bombs were found at the scene. At least one planted on a motorcycle had detonated. Security video showed a powerful flash as the bomb exploded. "We are not sure if it is politically motivated, but they aim to harm our economy and we will hunt them down," Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon told reporters.
- Ex-officials prosecuted for mishandling gov’t info see ‘double standard’ in Clinton case. (video) Ex-officials who were prosecuted and had their lives upended for allegedly mishandling sensitive records are accusing the Obama administration of a "double-standard" in its approach to the Hillary Clinton email scandal. This administration has charged more people under the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law once used to go after major breaches, than any other in history. While the FBI is looking into Clinton's server amid revelations of state secrets potentially passing through it, some critics -- including those charged under that act -- doubt the Democratic presidential candidate will get the same treatment.
CNBC:
- IRS says thieves stole tax info from additional 220,000. A computer breach at the IRS in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed. An additional 220,000 potential victims had information stolen from an IRS website as part of a sophisticated scheme to use stolen identities to claim fraudulent tax refunds, the IRS said Monday. The revelation more than doubles the total number of potential victims, to 334,000.
- US pork demand climbs as big pig herd pressures prices. Two years after a devastating swine virus killed nearly 10 percent of U.S. hogs, farmers who built up herds to compensate are faced with a sober realization: they've produced too much bacon.
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
- Greek government on its 'last legs' while Angela Merkel faces growing rebellion in Berlin. 'Deep wounds' within ruling Syriza party and growing disquiet in Berlin threaten to derail political support for a new €86bn Greek rescue.
No comments:
Post a Comment