STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 2 July 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 2 July 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 1 July 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 1 July 2014
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Dow Jones 16,956.07 +129.47 (0.77%)
S&P 500 1,973.32 +13.09 (0.67%)
Nasdaq 4,458.65 +50.47 (1.14%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.57% +0.02 (0.78%)
30 Year 3.40% +0.02 (0.59%)[font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.








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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. The cartoonists were pretty brutal on Hobby Lobby

[Demeter]

2. It's the Supremes they should be hard on

I am back from my first day of adventure. I took the train to the T to the Prudential Center for the colloquium on Forensic Sciences.

There were lectures/surveys on Nucleic and Mitochondrial DNA identification techniques, toxicological testing, composite drawings for identification of victims and suspects, juvenile law and competency, and the piece de resistance: Kathy Reichs, the creator of Temperance Brennan of Bones.

I'm not sure what I am doing tomorrow, but it is nice to break out of my confined, cloistered life and do something frivolous and adventurous. To test my abilities to act like a competent adult....

[Tansy_Gold]

3. I think the first and second 'toons posted addressed that

At least to some degree.

There were others, too, that hit the Supremes harder.

Oooh, Forensic Sciences sounds cool! I just wouldn't want to have to see any actual, you know, bodies.. . . . . . I'm squeamish.

And Forensic Accounting??? Now that would be REALLY cool!!!

[Demeter]

4. Funnies

[Demeter]

30. more

[tclambert]

5. Religious corporation. Religious corporation. Religious corporation.

No matter how many times I hear that phrase, it makes no sense.

That ruling makes no sense. The Supreme(ly dumbass) Court says the law can't force a religious corporation to pay for contraception. But they specifically said the government could pay for the contraception. And the law can require the corporation to pay taxes, which the corporation must pay regardless of their religious beliefs. So the religious corporation ends up paying for the contraception anyway.

[Demeter]

29. The more holes they punch in Obamacare, the more inequity they impose on the citizenry

the sooner the torches and pitchforks come out. We'll overthrow the 1% and get universal single payer healthcare.

If we survive, that is.

[xchrom]

6. ASIAN STOCKS MOSTLY HIGHER ON US, CHINA GROWTH

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-07-01-23-37-12

BEIJING (AP) -- Asian stocks were mostly higher Wednesday on improved U.S. and Chinese economic activity.

The regional heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225, gained 0.5 percent to 15,406.03 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1 percent to 23,409.33 and Taipei, Seoul and Sydney also gained. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.2 percent at 2,046.25.

Traders were encouraged by surveys showing China's manufacturing activity improved in June for the first time in six months. That came on top of the government's decision to expand credit by allowing banks to lend more relative to the size of their deposits.

Both developments "bode well for growth," said Credit Agricole CIB economist Dariusz Kowalczyk in a report.

[xchrom]

7. DEAD AHEAD: A POTHOLE IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION AID?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRANSPORTATION_STALEMATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-07-02-03-22-20

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the summer driving season swings into full gear, states can expect a large pothole in their construction budgets if Congress doesn't reach an agreement quickly on how to pay for federal highway and transit programs, President Barack Obama and his top officials are warning.

States will begin to feel the pain of cutbacks in federal aid as soon as the first week in August if lawmakers don't act, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a letter to states. That's because the balance in the federal Highway Trust Fund is dropping and will soon go below $4 billion, the cushion federal officials say is needed for incoming fuel tax revenue to cover outgoing payments to states.

The cuts will vary from state to state but will average about 28 percent, transportation officials said. By the end of August, the trust fund's balance is forecast to fall to zero and the cuts could deepen.

A second deadline is coming Sept. 30 when the government's authority to spend money on transportation programs expires.

[xchrom]

8. Europe’s IPO Market Cooling as Investor Fatigue Spreads

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/europe-s-ipo-market-cooling-as-investor-fatigue-spreads.html

U.S. baseball legend Yogi Berra once said of a restaurant, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” Something similar is happening in Europe’s initial public offering market.

While companies raised the most capital in the last three months since 2006, investors are growing more selective about where they put their money. At least eight companies postponed or withdrew listings last quarter after failing to find buyers, compared with none in the previous period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.K. retailer Fat Face Group Ltd. and Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air Holdings Plc cited market conditions after they pulled their sales.

Companies that did list have little to crow about. Their shares were on average up just 2 percent, while in the first quarter they posted median gains of about 19 percent, the data show. Insurer AA Ltd. (AA/), which raised $2.3 billion in the largest IPO of the last quarter, declined 7 percent on its trading debut and is trading 1.2 percent below offer price.

“I feel genuine IPO fatigue,” said Laurent Millet, co-portfolio manager of the Artemis European Opportunities Fund. “Selectivity is the name of the game.”

[xchrom]

9. European Stocks Advance Second Day Before U.S. Jobs Data

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/europe-stock-futures-are-little-changed-before-u-s-data.html

European stocks advanced for a second day, following yesterday’s biggest gain in almost two months, as investors awaited reports on U.S. jobs and factory orders. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rallied.

Royal Vopak NV added 1.5 percent after saying it will divest about 15 terminals in a plan to boost free cash flow. Chr. Hansen Holding A/S increased 3 percent after posting third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ predictions. Orange SA dropped 3.2 percent after saying it cannot participate in a consolidation of the French telecommunications market.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3 percent to 345.79 at 9:06 a.m. in London. The gauge rose 0.9 percent, the most since May 8, yesterday as data showed manufacturing expanded in China and the euro area. It gained 2.3 percent in the second quarter, capping the longest stretch of quarterly advances since March 2010. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.9 percent to extend a six-year high.

In the U.S., data from the ADP Research Institute at 8:15 a.m. New York time may show companies hired 205,000 employees in June, compared with an increase of 179,000 the previous month, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The private report precedes the Labor Department’s payrolls data tomorrow.

[xchrom]

10. JPMorgan Investors Show Support for Dimon in Cancer Fight

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/jpmorgan-ceo-dimon-will-undergo-treatment-for-throat-cancer-1-.html

Jamie Dimon, whose eight years atop JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) have made him one of Wall Street’s most powerful leaders, said he’ll start treatment for throat cancer, raising new questions about succession plans at the biggest U.S. bank.

Dimon, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, told employees and shareholders in a memo his condition is curable and that he’ll continue running the firm “as normal” during eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. The treatment will start soon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, limiting his travel, the CEO said.

Dimon, 58, has led New York-based JPMorgan since the end of 2005, navigating the 2008 financial crisis without a loss and doubling annual profit as the lender’s shares climbed 45 percent. Six months ago, the board credited his ability to resolve government probes of the bank. The illness will revive questions about how the panel would theoretically handle his succession, said Ralph Cole, a portfolio manager at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. in Portland, Oregon.

“Transition has always been a question and now that will be at the top of investors’ minds,” Cole said. “They have to be very vocal about who’s going to be stepping up during the eight-week period. They’ve got to be clear with everybody about who that is.”

[DemReadingDU]

28. throat cancer and also some lymph nodes

from the article

“The prognosis from my doctors is excellent, the cancer was caught quickly and my condition is curable,” Dimon wrote, according to a statement yesterday from the bank. “I have been advised that I will be able to continue to be actively involved in our business, and we will continue to run the company as normal.”

“The cancer is confined to the original site and the adjacent lymph nodes on the right side of my neck,” he wrote. “Importantly, there is no evidence of cancer elsewhere in my body.”

[xchrom]

11. Sale of 4,000 U.S. Missiles to Iraq Is Readied

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/sale-of-4-000-u-s-missiles-to-iraq-said-to-be-readied.html

The State Department has told lawmakers informally that the Obama administration wants to sell Iraq more than 4,000 additional Hellfire missiles for the government’s fight against Islamic insurgents, according to people familiar with the plan.

Sale of the laser-guided missiles made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) would be in addition to 500 previously purchased, of which about 400 have been delivered.

The U.S. has pledged military aid to Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State, an extremist Sunni group that’s seized a swath of territory north and west of Baghdad. Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S., Lukman Faily, said yesterday in Washington that weapons have been too slow in coming and “further delay only benefits the terrorists.”

Members of the Senate and House foreign relations committees were informed of the planned sales last week and are conducting an informal review of the potential sale that could last as long as 40 days, according to the people, who asked not to be identified in advance of a public notification. That notice would be issued unless lawmakers voice major reservations.

[xchrom]

12. Biggest Pension Fund Replaces BOJ Driving Stock Rally

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/biggest-pension-fund-replaces-boj-driving-stock-rally.html

Move over, Haruhiko Kuroda.

Stock investors, tired of waiting for a boost from the Japanese central bank, have found a new hero in the nation’s 128.6 trillion yen ($1.3 trillion) retirement fund, said Societe Generale Securities. The Topix index rebounded 5 percent last quarter as the Government Pension Investment Fund moved closer to an asset overhaul that’s expected to pour 3.6 trillion yen into Japan’s equities. The gauge started the year with the developed world’s steepest quarterly slump as the yen gained and Kuroda dashed expectations for more stimulus.

“The BOJ’s role is over and the market is now counting on GPIF,” said Akihiro Ohara, head of Japan sales trading at Societe Generale. “I expect the fund to change its asset allocation around September.”

Government efforts to encourage the GPIF’s strategy shift, signs Japan’s economy has weathered a sales-tax increase and a global stock rally brightened the mood on Tokyo trading floors last quarter. The Topix will advance to 1,400 by year-end, an 11 percent gain from its June 30 close, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of investors and analysts.

[xchrom]

13. Dow Average Climbs Toward 17,000 as Small Caps Hit Record

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/u-s-stock-index-futures-rise-on-china-manufacturing-data.html

Strength in manufacturing pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) to within two points of 17,000 for the first time, joining small caps and transportation stocks at records in a pattern that chart analysts consider bullish.

Netflix Inc. (NFLX), Amazon.com Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc., among the biggest losers during a two-month selloff earlier this year, rose at least 2.3 percent. International Business Machines Corp. climbed 2.8 percent, leading a rally among technology stocks. General Motors Co. jumped 3.6 percent after a surprise sales gain in the auto industry’s best month since July 2006.

The Dow increased 129.47 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,956.07 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 1,973.32. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies rallied 1.1 percent and the Dow Jones Transportation Average (TRAN) gained 0.7 percent. The Dow, S&P 500 and transport gauge all closed at records, while the Russell 2000 touched an intraday high.

Simultaneous gains in disparate sections of the market are sometimes cited by chart analysts who base predictions on charts as evidence economic growth is pervasive enough to fuel additional gains.

[xchrom]

14. Emerging Market Stocks Climb; Aussie Falls With Platinum

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/asian-futures-rise-on-s-p-500-record-as-oil-holds-losses.html

Emerging-market stocks climbed, with a benchmark index at a 13-month high, as Asian markets rose and Europe’s benchmark equity gauge gained. Australia’s dollar slipped on worse-than-estimated trade data, while platinum slid.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.8 percent by 8:27 a.m. in London, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index traded at the highest since June 9, 2008. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.2 percent. Futures (SPA) on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The Aussie lost 0.4 percent as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index held near the lowest close since May 6. Platinum snapped a three-day rally. Yields on German two-year notes slipped below 0.02 percent for the second day while French 10-year bonds fell.

A gauge of global equities closed at a record yesterday as data showed manufacturing activity expanding in major economies. Germany auctions five-year notes today before private figures on U.S. payrolls, with the government’s monthly report tomorrow. Australia’s trade deficit was A$1.91 billion ($1.81 billion), more than nine times wider than the A$200 million shortfall estimated by economists.

“Economic conditions continue to look reasonably favorable and the U.S. continues to recover,” Angus Gluskie, who helps oversee more than $550 million at White Funds Management in Sydney, said by phone. “People view the market broadly favorably.”

[xchrom]

15. Vacation-Phobic Americans Donate a Million Years of Work Annually

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-30/vacation-phobic-americans-donate-a-million-years-of-work-annually.html

The big difference between hoarders and collectors: One of them appreciates what they're piling up.

The U.S. stands alone among developed countries by not mandating vacation time. Of those who get vacation time, four in 10 Americans stockpile them, failing to take all the days they're offered. Those stay-at-work Americans leave an average of 8.1 days unused, according to a 2014 Oxford Economics analysis. That's about 429 million unused days per year.

Those million-plus years are one big gift to corporate America -- and a gesture that doesn't do employers or their employees much good. Few cultures can match the U.S. for its ability to stigmatize vacation time. The irony amid the mix of sincere devotion to the workplace, job insecurity and false emblems of productivity (like, say, dropping by the office on a weekend just to say you did): All this obsessing over work can get in the way of getting stuff done. According to managers, HR professionals and behavioral economists, time off makes you not just happier and healthier but more productive on the job.

Skipping a vacation or working longer hours can make sense if you get something for it. Some workers are compensated for unused days, but that's hardly the main reason people skip vacations. Since the recession, the fight for raises and promotions has gotten cutthroat and more workers fret over job security, says Penn State University economics professor Lonnie Golden. Extra time at the office may give you a tiny leg up. One 2013 study found that, for those who work more than 47 hours a week, five extra hours correlate with a 1 percent increase in yearly wages.

[xchrom]

16. Singapore Says More Overseas Criminals Seek Bank Accounts

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/singapore-says-more-overseas-criminals-seek-bank-accounts.html

Singapore prosecuted a record number of money laundering cases and seized more than S$115 million ($92 million) of suspected criminal proceeds in 2013 as more overseas offenders seek out bank accounts in the city.

“Singapore’s openness as an international transport hub and financial center exposes it to cross-border money-laundering and terrorist financing risks,” Tan Boon Gin, director of the Commercial Affairs Department, said in the agency’s annual report posted on its website. “We are seeing a trend of overseas criminals seeking to launder money through Singapore bank accounts.”

The city’s white-collar police has tripled its financial investigation resources with an increase in suspicious transaction reports and aid requests from overseas enforcement agencies. Organized crime groups are getting more sophisticated and taking advantage of opportunities as Singapore’s financial industry expands, the agency said.

The agency received 22,417 suspicious transactions reports in 2013, a 25 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the report. It provided financial intelligence to foreign agencies in 341 instances, up from 160 in 2012. The financial police received 164 overseas requests for assistance. More than S$65 million of suspected criminal proceeds were seized in the preceding year, according to the agency’s 2012 annual report.

[xchrom]

17. Hobby Lobby Discounts Outweigh Dismay Over Court Ruling

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/hobby-lobby-discounts-outweigh-dismay-over-court-ruling.html

While Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.’s customers may disagree with the retailer’s stance on contraception, they aren’t changing their shopping habits or seeking their craft supplies elsewhere.

“I’m a supporter of reproductive rights, but the ruling doesn’t really impact me much in terms of where I’m going to shop,” Suzie Frazier, 43, said yesterday outside a Hobby Lobby in Canton, Michigan, west of Detroit, as she prepared to buy sidewalk chalk for her son. “Yeah, it’s disappointing that Hobby Lobby feels that way, but if they have something I need that others don’t, I’ll shop there.”

The closely held store’s right to refuse to pay for employees’ birth control because of religious objections was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

Frazier isn’t alone. The Oklahoma City-based company’s sales have outpaced competitors such as Michaels Stores Inc. and Jo-Ann Stores Inc. in the last year as the case wound its way through the U.S. legal system. The Supreme Court’s decision capped a 22-month battle by the purveyor of plastic flowers and children’s crafts against a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that its health plans cover birth control without cost to their workers.

[xchrom]

18. Abe Confronts War-Allergic Japan Public on Defending Allies

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-01/abe-confronts-war-allergic-japan-public-on-bid-to-defend-allies.html

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to allow Japan to defend its allies are meeting opposition from a war-wary public, concerned that broadening the remit of the military could drag the country into a conflict after almost 70 years of peace.

With the cabinet agreeing to reinterpret the constitution to permit collective self-defense, Abe’s government, which has a majority in both houses, plans to submit bills starting in the autumn specifying changes to the role of the Self-Defense Forces. Surveys show ordinary Japanese are increasingly concerned about his actions, raising the risk of slow progress through the Diet as lawmakers waver.

Public opposition is high despite China sparring with Japan over territory, beefing up its military presence in the region and calling Abe a trouble-maker. His move to reinterpret the pacifist Article 9 of the postwar constitution is seen as potentially opening the door to major changes to the defense forces.

“A lot of Japanese people think it’s Article 9 that has brought them peace,” said Andrew Horvat, a visiting professor at Josai International University in Chiba, who researches postwar reconciliation in Europe and Asia. “People identify with this and it’s difficult to suddenly accept the idea that peace is purchased at a price -- and that price is vigilance and vigilance requires armed forces or a credible response to countries that don’t buy into the idea of peace.”

[xchrom]

19. Argentina Seen Backtracking on Fernandez Vows as Legacy at Risk

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/argentina-seen-backtracking-on-fernandez-vows-as-legacy-at-risk.html

Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has less than a month to choose between two unpalatable options: fulfilling a vow never to pay off creditor hedge funds, or negotiating with them to avoid a rerun of the 2001 debt crisis that forced a predecessor to flee the presidential palace in a helicopter.

With the economy contracting and foreign currency reserves near an eight-year low, she is likely to decide that a deal to pay off the $1.5 billion the funds are demanding is the least bad choice, said Claudio Loser, the head of research firm Centennial Group Latin America.

“A catastrophic situation in the economy would be worse” for Fernandez than any backtracking on her promises, Loser, a former International Monetary Fund director, said by phone from Washington. The government “is very fearful that they could be kicked out or the last year of their term is a disaster.”

Fernandez has already moved to regain access to global credit markets for the first time since the 2001 default. Since October, she has settled arbitration cases at the World Bank, paid Spanish oil company Repsol SA for the expropriation of YPF SA and negotiated with the Paris Club of creditor nations. Now she must go the final yard and negotiate with hedge funds she calls “vultures,” Loser said.

[xchrom]

20. Puerto Rico’s Downgrade Shows Debt Law Can’t Contain Rot

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/puerto-rico-s-downgrade-shows-debt-law-can-t-contain-rot.html

A law allowing some Puerto Rico government entities to restructure debt outside bankruptcy failed to contain a crisis as its credit rating was cut three levels, imperiling the U.S. commonwealth’s ability to finance itself.

The island’s electric authority, which could shed some of its $8.6 billion in debt by making creditors accept losses, said yesterday after the market’s close it had paid off maturing bonds in full. That was only after Moody’s Investors Service sent Puerto Rico’s rating on $14.4 billion of general-obligation debt to B2 from Ba2, and reduced sales-tax debt to speculative grade. The cuts and the restructuring measure restrict Puerto Rico’s ability to borrow, said Peter Hayes, head of municipal debt at BlackRock Inc.

“With these ratings and this legislation, that access to the market is gone,” said Hayes, whose New-York based firm oversees $108 billion of munis.

Little is certain about what has grown to become a $73 billion obligation for the commonwealth and its agencies. Most of the debt is tax free, held in 66 percent of U.S. muni mutual funds as the yield created by risk made it a mainstay of U.S. municipal finance. The downgrade now leaves those investments in danger and the poverty-ravaged island with few options to borrow money.

[xchrom]

21. Asian Stocks Rise To Three-Year-Highs

http://www.businessinsider.com/asian-stocks-rise-to-three-year-highs-2014-7

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks scored a three-year peak on Wednesday in the wake of upbeat global economic data that whetted risk appetites and helped Wall Street taste all-time highs.

Dealers said fund managers were rotating money out of bonds and into equities for the start of the second half of the year, nudging up U.S. Treasury yields.

At the same time, the outlook for super-low rates in the major economies and an almost eerie absence of volatility across markets, encouraged investors to take on leveraged bets in search of higher returns - the so-called carry trade.

"Global equity and credit markets are feeling the tailwind of firmer activity data in the world’s largest economies, with the exception of the euro area," analysts at Barclays wrote in a client note.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/asian-stocks-rise-to-three-year-highs-2014-7#ixzz36Iq55qd9

[xchrom]

22. China’s Internal Tensions Are Reaching Dangerous Levels

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-tension-reaching-dangerous-levels-2014-7

Last fall, I described what I saw as an “accumulating risk of crisis” in China.

Recent developments in two parts of the country only reinforce my sense that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is entering a period during which it will find it increasingly hard to sustain its monopoly on state authority.

The first part of the country drawing fresh attention is Hong Kong, where pro-democracy activists have mobilized a new nonviolent challenge to the Party’s authority in spite of the center’s pointed efforts to discourage them.

Organizing under the Occupy Central label, these activists recently held an unofficial referendum that drew nearly 800,000 voters who overwhelmingly endorsed proposals that would allow the public to nominate candidates for elections in 2017 — an idea that Beijing has repeatedly and unequivocally rejected. Today, on 1 July, tens of thousands of people marched into the city’s center to press those same demands.



Read more: http://dartthrowingchimp.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/another-chicken-little-post-on-china/#ixzz36ItdaDFR

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23. Scottish independence growing less likely - research

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/02/uk-scotland-independence-polls-idUKKBN0F648R20140702

(Reuters) - Scotland looks unlikely to vote for independence in September, researchers say, citing poll data as showing the separatists have been unable to build momentum behind their campaign as decision day nears.

A study by the University of Stirling published on Tuesday estimates a 79 percent chance that the people of Scotland will reject the chance to end a 307-year-old union with England, up from 70 percent in April.

Earlier in the year some polls had shown the pro-independence Yes campaign closing the gap on the pro-union campaign's lead.

However, a YouGov poll for the Times newspaper on Tuesday found that backing for the anti-independence campaign had risen, with the Yes campaign struggling to convince voters a split would not hurt the Scottish economy.

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24. Bank of England builds new unit to crunch economic data - Bloomberg

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/02/uk-bank-of-england-data-idUKKBN0F708I20140702

(Reuters) - Bank of England's new Chief Economist Andy Haldane is creating a unit internally to crunch data and improve economic analysis, Bloomberg reported.

Paul Robinson, the former head of foreign-exchange research at Barclays Plc, has also joined the bank as the head of advanced analytics and will run the team, Bloomberg reported. (bloom.bg/1iSWBjo)

The move is part of several steps initiated by BoE Governor Mark Carney to restructure the bank's operations, after it faced growing criticism of its response to possible manipulation of foreign exchange rates.

Bank of England's press office declined to comment on the report.

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25. Bank of England studies fallout from annuities reform

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/uk-boe-regulator-insurance-idUKKBN0F64R820140701

(Reuters) - The Bank of England (BoE) is asking insurers how they can stay in business after the British government scrapped a rule forcing people to buy their most successful product, an annuity pension.

Chancellor George Osborne stunned Britain's pensions industry in March when he announced the rule change, the biggest reform of pensions in a generation to give savers a choice on how to use money saved during their working lives.

The Bank of England's supervisory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said it was holding talks with life insurers whose annuity sales were their "unique selling point" as other parts of the business are under pressure.

Sales are likely to be significantly and permanently reduced, BoE director of life insurance Andrew Bulley told a meeting of parliament's all-party group on insurance and financial services on Tuesday.

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26. Exit of immigrants sees Spain’s population fall for second year in a row

http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/30/inenglish/1404137176_069862.html

The number of people in Spain has declined for the second year running for the first time since the current statistical series began in 1971. One of the main reasons for the fall is the lower number of foreigners living in the country. A total of 547,890 people left Spain during 2013, of whom 79,306 were Spanish, according to a report released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on Monday.

During 2013, the number of foreigners living in the country fell 7.8% to 4,676,022 as a result of the combined effect of emigration and people acquiring Spanish nationality.

The migratory balance – i.e. the difference between the number of people who arrived in Spain and those who left – was negative, coming in at 256,849. A total of 291,041 people arrived in Spain last year from abroad, while 547,890 left. That figure was up 80.2% on last year.

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27. Spanish workers in Germany unite in defense of their labor rights

http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/30/inenglish/1404117952_274795.html

It’s been a familiar scene in these recent years of crisis, which have pushed many into economic exile: a group of young Spaniards gets together in a bar in a European city, or some other part of the world. But the twenty- and thirtysomethings sharing beers last Wednesday in the Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg have more in common than just having left behind a country where more than half of those aged under 25 are unemployed. After also leaving Spain because of the crisis, they are now getting organized to help those who emigrated later and, once in the so-called “German paradise,” found themselves in jobs with abusive conditions or salaries clearly below those paid to local workers.

Together they have created the Labor Action Group (GAS), a platform designed to serve as a connection between workers suffering abuses in the country and German labor unions that has its roots in the 15-M popular protest movement, which was born in Madrid in May 2011.

Nurses who earn half of what their German colleagues are paid, and are not allowed to take a break during 12-hour shifts; employees in innovating companies who pay €300 a month for a full-time position… These are the kind of situations in which some of these youngsters have found themselves in Germany, and that have now led a group of Spaniards to set up a consultancy service for those newly arrived in Berlin. The aim was to give information about how to sign up at City Hall, as well as guiding people through other bureaucratic processes, and it led to the formal creation of GAS in February.